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Martin County Vets have a proud history

FAIRMONT — While Monday may have begun with very wet weather and flood watches, the rain could not wash away the fervor of those determined to honor the memories of those who have fallen in service to their country. The annual Memorial Day ceremony filled the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fairmont, where guest speaker Elroy “Ernie” Nuss shared stories of Martin County Veterans past and present.

“Martin County men and women have always stepped up and stepped forward to serve their country,” he said. “The 37 county cemeteries in Martin County contain the graves of approximately 3,300 veterans. This number includes the 208 veterans who served in the Civil War.

“Some [Veterans] were drafted, some volunteered and others enlisted. I for one was number one on the Bremer County, Iowa draft list on November 22, 1963. That afternoon, my employer received a call from his friend who was the secretary of the Bremer County draft board.

“She told him that he better notify me that President Kennedy had been assassinated and that I could expect my draft notice in a couple of days. Ten days later I received that notice.”

Nuss then entered into service on February 4, 1964 and attended basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was trained for advanced radio repair at Ft Gordon, Georgia, and his duty station was First Battalion 10th Infantry Headquarters Co Fifth Infantry Division at Ft Carson, Colorado. He was Battalion radio repairman and was discharged on February 3, 1966 at the rank of Specialist 5th Class (E5), and spent the rest of his life as a certified public accountant.

Nuss then went on to share stories of other Martin County veterans.

“Did you realize that in 1864, C.H. Johnson, a man with a crippled leg from East Chain, and his friend walked to Rochester, Minnesota to sign up for military duty with the Civil War? Mr. Johnson received a certificate of deferment signed by Doctor W.H. Mayo, the original doctor of the Mayo Clinic. That document of deferment still hangs in the Military Room of the Martin County Historical Society.”

Nuss also shared that Martin County had 14 veterans on active duty during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He continued with the stories of other World War II Veterans, including Charles “Chuck” King, who was a mail carrier and owner/operator of a restaurant in Fairmont.

King was captured and detained as a prisoner of war in Italy, where he and others in the camp feared they would not survive and were driven to escape. The men decided to travel in pairs and traveled without identification, maps, matches, food, or winter clothing.

“They finally found allied soldiers just before Christmas, 1943,” Nuss said. “They no longer had dog tags or any form of military identification, so when they found the allied lines it was assumed they were German soldiers trying to infiltrate allied lines. They were shipped back to the Pentagon and interrogated like any prisoner of war.

“After some time, it was finally agreed that they were American soldiers. To benefit them for their grief, they were rewarded with a leave to visit their families and were given orders to report back to the Officers Candidate School. They made officers out of them for their brave actions.”

After sharing several other stories of Martin County’s veterans, Nuss summed up by thanking those in attendance and offered up a poignant reminder.

“I want to remind you that the next time you visit with a veteran grandpa, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, son or daughter, tell them that you thank them for serving. Always remember there is a cost to freedom. Freedom is not free.”

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