Photos by Deb Gau Taps performed by American Legion members in remembrance of veterans who died in the past year during a program at Hill Street Place on Friday.

MARSHALL — There were many ways that area residents observed Veterans Day on Friday, from community programs to acts of public service. But no matter their methods, residents kept the focus on remembering the sacrifices of U.S. military service members.

“We are all here today to say thank you to our veterans for their bravery, sacrifice and protection,” said Marshall High School senior Braxton Seifert.

He was one of the speakers at a community Veterans Day program held at the Marshall Adult Community Center.

In his speech, Seifert said it was military service members who have helped ensure that America stays “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Speaker Quentin Brunsvold also spoke of how veterans remain committed to their communities even after their active military service is over. For example, he said, 27% of law enforcement officers in the U.S. have military backgrounds.

“The service of America’s veterans truly never ends,” Brunsvold said.

Brunsvold called on area residents to support veterans in return, and especially to work to help reduce homelessness and suicide among veterans.

“The stigma of seeking help has to end,” he said. “Veterans value courage, and it takes courage to seek help.”

Honoring veterans

Some area residents honored veterans through acts of service to their community. At Hill Street Place’s Veterans Day program, residents dedicated a solar light to the memory of Air Force veteran Sharon McCully. McCully, a Hill Street Place resident, served as an evacuation nurse during the Vietnam War. She died in October, at the age of 83.

Hill Street Place housing manager Susie Sammons said residents got together to purchase a solar-powered light to illuminate the American flag outside Hill Street Place, in honor of McCully. The light needed time to charge up, especially during this week’s cloudy weather, Sammons said.

“Hopefully on Monday or Tuesday, we will be able to light our flag, for all of our veterans,” she said.

Mike and Denise Dulas observed Veterans Day by donating a drop box for retired American flags, which will be installed outside the Marshall American Legion post, at the corner of West Lyon Street and Fifth Street. Area residents can put worn or damaged U.S. flags in the box for collection and proper disposal. Members of the Marshall Legion post said they retire around 600 worn flags a year, at a ceremony they hold every summer.

Mike Dulas said the inspiration to donate a flag collection box for the Legion came from his wife. Denise had reminded him to drop off a retired flag with the Legion, but Mike saw there was no drop box at the Legion post.

“We thought it would be fitting that the Legion post would have one,” Dulas said. He said it would also be a good way to remember veterans. Both Mike and Denise had family who served the Korean War, and Mike served in the Navy.

On Friday, members of the American Legion presented Mike and Denise with the first flag to be deposited in the new box. Legion members said the new drop box, together with one located outside the city maintenance building near the Marshall Aquatic Center, will help make sure there is enough space to collect retired flags.

Remembering the Great War

Balaton area residents observed Veterans Day with a community program Friday, but they also had a chance to learn more about the ways Minnesota soldiers served in the past. A traveling history exhibit, “WWI From the Front to the Homefront,” is at the Balaton Community Center until Nov. 15. The exhibit tells the story of how people in west central Minnesota joined the war effort.

John Daniels, of the American Legion post in Balaton, said the World War I exhibit was a good fit for Veterans Day. The date Veterans Day is observed, Nov. 11, came from the 1918 armistice that ended WWI.

“They thought it was the war to end all wars,” Daniels said. In the 1950s, Nov. 11 was officially proclaimed Veterans Day.

Daniels said around 75 people gathered Friday morning for the Veterans Day program, and to see the exhibit. “We had a good turnout,” he said.