Rugby Veterans Day program is Nov. 11
There is a brief, but important part of every Rugby Veterans Day program.
It’s a moment of silence to remember those soldiers who never returned home from foreign battles.
Soldiers who are classified as POW/MIA/Killed in Action, whose bodies were never recovered. Soldiers who are long forgotten by most, and cast off as the harsh consequences of war.
Daryl Kuhnhnenn, VFW Commander, served his country during the Vietnam War. A war which had its share of casualties. A war where many Americans soldiers were never found. According to Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, there are 1,731 U.S. Servicemen still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
Kuhnhenn said it’s difficult not to think of those men, especially on Veterans Day.
At this week’s Veterans Day program on Wednesday morning, Nov. 11 at 10:30 a.m. at the Memorial Hall, the names of 10 North Dakotans who fought and served their country in Vietnam and never were found will be read aloud.
It’s a departure from past Veterans Day programs which have mostly featured speeches, poems and stories.
Perhaps it will hold more meaning, Kuhnhenn said. Perhaps it will serve as a solemn reminder of the uncertainties of war.
There are no guarantees everyone will return home. And those who do come home, carry the scars of war with them.
And a few of those scars is the knowing some of their fellow soldiers never came back.
As in years past, the Veterans Day program will feature the American Legion colorguard of Ron Torgerson, Ray Norsby, Christ Heintz and John Heilman. Tilman Hovland will once again be the bugler playing Taps. Rugby High School band member will be playing some musical selections as well.