Honoring those who served

Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — Our country became a nation because of a war. The Revolutionary War gave to this nation its independence. The veterans of that war are long gone, but they’re still remembered in history.

Our country was engaged in conflicts periodically during the 1900s, especially the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. All of those conflicts were fought by men, and those who survived were referred to as veterans and were remembered.

After World War I, a group of men formed an organization to keep the memories of what they had accomplished. This was the American Legion. Whenever our nation was in a conflict, this group worked to keep the memories of those who had fallen. They also helped the returning veterans take their place as civilians again.

This was accomplished by forming departments in every state. These departments helped establish Legion posts in the cities and towns throughout their state. These Legion posts honored those who had fallen in service to their country by naming the post after them. From World War I, Worthington’s American Legion Post 5 is named for Arthur Calvin, who had died in the Battle of Argonne in France on Sept. 27, 1918. From World War II, Post 5 added the Knuth name to honor two Knuth brothers, Arvin (from Naval Aviation) and Charles Lowell (from the Army Air Force). The brothers were killed in plane crashes in 1941. Post 5 is now known as the Calvin-Knuth Post.

Ceremonies take place each year on Memorial Day in May and on Veterans Day in November. In 2007, the veterans of this community and Nobles County went one step further by dedicating Freedom Veterans Memorial Park on the shore of Lake Okabena as an additional memorial for all those who have served their country.

This year, Memorial Day services were again at the cemeteries — the final resting places of those veterans who served our nation. The dedication at Freedom Veterans Memorial Park on the Sunday before Memorial Day was special in honoring all veterans — living and dead — for their service to this nation.

Al Swanson is president emeritus of the Nobles County Historical Society.

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