This Memorial Day, communities in Le Sueur County are once again honoring the military men and women who gave their lives in service to their country. Across Le Sueur, Le Center and Cleveland veterans organizations are coordinating with local school districts and guest speakers to hold services on Monday, May 27 remembering the sacrifices of the nation’s servicemembers.
Le Sueur
Le Sueur VFW Post 4297 and American Legion Post 55 will be hosting a Memorial Day Ceremony on May 27 at 9:15 a.m. Monday at the American Legion Park featuring local Navy veteran Terry Johnson as keynote speaker.
After graduating from high school in Constantine, Michigan, Johnson completed two years of college before deciding to join the U. S. Navy. Once he completed basic training, Johnson was ordered for sea duty and assigned to the VA 146 attack squadron.
Johnson’s first tour was as a plane captain on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Constellation. Upon returning to the U.S, he attended A school, returning to Vietnam as an electrician for A7 aircraft on the U.S.S. Enterprise. His third tour aboard the Franklin D. Roosevelt, took him to the Mediterranean Sea, where he visited ports such as Barcelona, Spain, the island of Sicily, Naples, Italy and Athens, Greece.
After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy, Johnson joined the Army National Guard and was assigned to the 34th Military Police Company as a combat M.P. By the end of his career, he was the platoon sergeant for the 5th Platoon, 24th Military Police Company, 34th Army Division.
Upon moving to Le Sueur with his wife Colleen in 2017, he joined both V.F.W. Post 4297 and American Legion Post 55 and remains active in both organizations.
Before the ceremony, the Le Sueur VFW and American Legion color guard, the Le Sueur-Henderson band and local veterans will be marching together at 9 a.m. from Le Sueur-Henderson Middle School/High School to American Legion Park.
In the event of rain, the ceremony will be held at the Le Sueur-Henderson High School gymnasium.
Le Center
Le Center American Legion Post 108 and VFW Post 1803’s annual Memorial Day ceremony will be held in the Tri-City United Le Center gymnasium with featured speaker, Minnesota VFW Junior Vice Commander Edward J. Keogh. Veterans will be meeting at Legion Post 108 to pay respects at 9:30 a.m. before marching to TCU Le Center, where the program will begin at 10 a.m.
Keogh is a lifelong resident of Montgomery and joined the US. Navy a few months after graduating from Montgomery Lonsdale High School. Keogh served a tour of duty in Vietnam assigned to two different bases. His duties included operating teletypes, working as a chaplin driver, and serving as radioman on a River Patrol Boat.
After his tour of Vietnam, Keogh was stationed at U. S. Naval Air Base Rota Spain. His duties were overseeing the communication and navigation office for his air squadron.
Over the course of his military career, Keogh was decorated with numerous medals and citations including the Republic of Viet Nam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation, Vietnamese Campaign Medal, Republic of Viet Nam Civil Actions Unit Citation, Vietnamese Service Medal, and the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon.
After returning home, Keogh pursued a career in law enforcement and corrections which he has since retired from. He is married to his wife Jean, and they have one son Tony.
In addition to serving as the state VFW’s junior vice commander, Keogh is the current Montgomery VFW Post 5340 Commander and president of the Le Sueur County Veterans Council. He is also a member of American Legion Post 45 New Prague, The Last Man Standing Club St. Peter, and the VFW Military Order of the Cooties along with being a member of numerous civic organizations in Montgomery.
Don Hayden will be serving as Master of Ceremonies. The event opens with a hoisting of the colors by the color guard and the national anthem sung by Rita Sapp. After the pledge of allegiance and an invocation by Pastor Heath Queen of the St. Paul EV Lutheran Church, TCU Boys State representative and State Legion Oratorical Contest third place winner Caleb Robrahn will read the Gettysburg Address.
Following the keynote speech by Keogh, the American Legion and VFW Auxiliaries, accompanied by Sapp, will sing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “God Bless America.”
Legion Post Commander Anita Janda and VFW Post Commander Paul Traxler will then read a roll call of the past year’s deceased veterans, followed by a minute of silent prayer. The Le Center Honor Guard will perform a salute to the area’s deceased veterans with taps played by Taylor Engle, concluding the ceremony.
After the event, community members are invited to visit area cemeteries, where post and auxiliary members will have placed flags, poppies and flowers on the graves of local veterans and servicemembers.
Cleveland
At 10 a.m. Cleveland American Legion Post 207 will be hosting its annual Memorial Day program at the Veterans Memorial in Water Tower Park.
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