'Somebody cared about them': Albia RAGBRAI stop features monument for veterans, soldiers

ALBIA — Jim Keller said his fellow soldiers weren't welcomed home when they returned from the Vietnam War.

"And I was bitter about it," he said. "And the only thing that kept me grounded was that American flag."

His friends' poor reception is part of what prompted Keller, 76, and a group of war veterans in 2005 to build the Welcome Home Soldier Monument in Albia, Thursday's RAGBRAI meeting town. The monument, situated southwest of the city center on the 34th Infantry Division Highway overlooking a sea of rolling hills, is meant to be a safe place for veterans to feel welcome and honored for their service.

"I want them to know that somebody cared about them," Keller said.

Maintained and cared for entirely by a board of volunteers, the monument includes a black granite wall engraved with more than 4,200 names of soldiers, past and present; 21 white crosses representing the 21-gun salute; 100 U.S. flags on Humble Hero Hill; 50 state flags; an Iwo Jima statue; three battlefield crosses; a Vietnam Memorial; a Korean War monument; and a Civil War bugler statue that plays reveille and taps.

In the next year, they plan to add a monument honoring women in the military .

To date, the volunteer organization has invested $2.5 million into the monument, all provided through donations and grants, according to volunteer Vickie Wilkinson. Any honorably discharged veteran from any branch of service can have their name engraved on the wall for $200.

Keller won't say he was treated as poorly as his friends were because Iowa may not have been as harsh as other large cities.

Here's what he will say: "War is not pretty. Especially if you're on the ground. It's very, very personal. It's hard to keep your humanity during it many times."

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On Thursday morning, many incoming RABGRAI riders hopped on a shuttle for a 5-minute ride to the memorial from Main Street in the city square. Many said they'd never heard of the monument.

RAGBRAI riders and siblings Rita Chapman of Norwalk and Tony Bassett of Urbandale said their grandfather served on the USS Tippecanoe in the Navy during World War II. Their father was an Army veteran stationed in Korea during the Cold War. Sons in both of their families serve, as well.

Chapman, 55, whose daughter lives in nearby Knoxville, said she never knew the monument existed.

"It's overwhelming," Chapman said of the monument. It makes her think of "all the people that have served our country and what they've fought for. They were out there fighting for us."

Jeanine Frantz of Walcott said many family members including her father, grandfathers and uncles served in the military. Her son, Joshua Paustian, will be going into the Army next year.

"I cried through the whole memorial," Frantz, 47, said, reflecting on her son's new chapter. She feels "proud, scared ― and he hasn't even left."

Frantz said walking through the memorial evokes a sense of grief, pride and gratitude.

"Just grateful to all the names on the wall, the gentleman that did it, anyone that serves, honestly, or has," she said.

Earlier in the day, cyclists encountered Dean Hoy and his memorial to soldiers who died in the Vietnam War in his front yard between Attica and Lovilia, two pass-through towns on Thursday's route.

“I couldn’t find the silhouette that I wanted,” Hoy said. “I found this at a yard sale for $35.”

He’s owned the farm for 53 years. He served as a food inspector for the military during the Vietnam War. A trained animal scientist, Hoy also worked in livestock feed sales and a few other ag-related businesses.

Hoy and his wife, Carolyn, watched RAGBRAI riders go by Thursday morning. From their home they could see a line of bicycles stretching around a bend 2 miles away.

RAGBRAI last visited Attica in 2003 and Lovilia in 2000. As riders passed their home, most raced at more than 20 mph through an easterly headwind. But a few riders stopped to chat in the shade. Carolyn Hoy kept a visitor log with the names of every rider who stopped.

“It’s going to keep me occupied throughout the whole day,” Dean Hoy said with a laugh at 7:30 a.m. Thursday. “We’ve not had RAGBRAI go by here ever. It’s just kind of fun."

Register reporter Philip Joens contributed to this story.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com . Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2 .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 'Somebody cared about them': Albia RAGBRAI stop features monument for veterans, soldiers