MEMORIAL DAY
‘Stories changed my understanding’ of Memorial Day
For Justin Stoks, Memorial Day isn't just about residents of a town gathering for an hour or so on a
Monday morning. It isn't about backyard barbecues or a day o from work. After 20 years of service, the 2004 graduate of Yellow Medicine East High School and current Walnut Grove resident, has realized the importance of the stories that are told about those who have fought to protect our freedoms - stories that need to be shared to honor those who gave all for their country.
"I've been blessed with the opportunity to meet some incredible soldiers and families across this great country," said Stoks, the keynote speaker at Monday's Memorial Day service in Tracy. "Along the way, I've heard stories that have changed my understanding of what Memorial Day truly means." Stoks enlisted in the National Guard in August 2006 and was deployed to Iraq in 2009, serving as a gunner. He was promoted to Sgt. in 2015 and three years later to Staff Sgt. He will be retiring from the Guard in 2027.
Two decades of service have created a library of personal memories for Stoks, but it’s the ones other soldiers and veterans have shared with him that continue to make an impact — like the one he heard from an elderly man at the St. Cloud VA in 2011 after returning from Iraq. The two talked about their service and compared their service time.
“He realized it really wasn’t all that different,” Stoks said. “He talked about the fun things soldiers did to keep themselves entertained, what it was like being away from home and how he and his wife would write letters back-and-forth to each other.”
The man told him that he had lost a few close friends and half of his platoon in one day during battle.
“I told him I was sorry; he said it was hard for a long time but eventually he found a way to honor them,” Stoks said. “Every year, he and his wife would go to his favorite restaurant, order one large glass of beer and leave it there in their honor — I told him that was incredible.”
The two parted ways but not before Stoks thanked him and his wife, because, as he told Monday’s crowd, soldiers can’t do what they do without their families standing behind them and supporting them.
“His wife told me that he said that was the first time he truly felt what he had done, the things he experienced and endured while serving had impacted younger soldiers,” Stoks recalled. “She told me she got emotional, too, because her husband rarely showed any emotion and never really talked about his service outside of to his close friends. That moment stayed with me.”
Stoks said Memorial Day is about honoring the soldiers that have been laid to rest, as well as MIAs and POWs, but also carrying on stories of the men and women behind the uniform.
“If you served, don’t be embarrassed to share your stories,” Stoks said. “Talk to your loved ones. Tell them about the funny moments, the memories that made you who you are. If you’re one of the family members who have been entrusted with those stories, keep telling them.”
The Tracy American Legion also honored three veterans for their continuous membership to the club: William Veit (75 years), Philip Nelson (75 years) and Richard Bosacker (50 years). The Legion also recognized veterans who have died over the last year: Rodney Krueger, Dick Mickelson, George Timmerman, Art Rogers and Harold Deal.
Accompanied by Katelyn Elton on the keyboard, Allisyn Stoks played the National Anthem on her flute, and the Placing of the Wreaths was conducted by Jane Wahl and Dave Dieter.
• In Currie on Monday, the Currie American Legion honored a trio of veterans for their 50 years of ontinuous service with the Legion. They are Wayne Carter, John Paden and Keith Dumos. Also as part of the service, Evan Schreier read the poem “In Flanders Fields,” and Mallory Schreier created “America’s Answer,” both, traditional poems read at many Memorial Day services. The I.H.M. Choir also sang a number of patriotic songs. New Legion Commander Austin Steinle led the service, and the keynote speaker was AnnaLee Fedeler of the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs.
• At Bethel Cemetery near Garvin, the Memorial address was give by Pastor Kory Tedrick, and the traditional poems were read by Sherill Petenrson and Kathy Schmidt. Garvin Legion members gave a salute to the dead and decorated crosses at the site, and Gale Otto and Sue Nelson provided special music.
