Memorial Day remembrance programs in Winger and McIntosh

McIntosh

The Memorial Day Parade and Program will be held on Monday, May 28, 2018 with the parade starting at 10:30 a.m. The Win-E-Mac Band will march with the Color Guard and play the Star Spangled Banner. Followed by the program beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the Community Center in McIntosh.

Quilts of Valor will be given to John Wertish, James Wertish, and Tom Reitmeier.  Rev. Theo Scheytt of Germany will give the address.  

Rev. Scheytt grew up in Nazi-Germany and helped to complete the story of Herbert Harms, an American soldier, whose plane crashed and he died because his parachute did not open.  Dan and Darlene Dierkes had one of Rev. Scheytt's  son as an AFS student.

The Memorial Day Choir will practice at 9:30 a.m. under the direction of Gerald Borud on Monday, May 28.

The laying of the wreaths by the students will be held on the lawn of the Heritage and Arts Center building immediately following the program.  

Ben Ramse will read the names of the Veterans and  taps will be given and the flag raised to the top.

The McIntosh Friends of Veterans are sponsoring this program and will be sponsoring other Veterans' events during the year.  

Dues will be $5.00 a year and can be paid beginning on Memorial Day.

Everyone is cordially invited to this very special Memorial Day Celebration.

Winger

The Memorial Day program in Winger will take place at 8:30 am on Monday at the Winger Community Center.

The featured speaker for the Winger Memorial Day program will be CDR Tory T. Hegrenes, a native of Brooklyn Park, MN graduated from Park Center High School in 1997. After high school, he graduated with a degree in Math and Physics from Luther College in Decorah, IA in 2001. 

In December 2001, he received his commission and designated an Ensign as a Naval Officer through the Navy Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, FL and entered flight school.  

After flight training, he received his ‘Wings of Gold’ and designated a Naval Flight Officer in June 2003.

Following initial training in the F-14 Tomcat, he completed a combat deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS GEORGE WASHINGTON flying combat missions in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.    

After his initial fleet tour, he was selected to attend the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN).  

He completed a seven-month combat deployment aboard USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. 

He was awarded the 2010 Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic Naval Flight Officer of the year award.

CDR Hegrenes completed a nine month combat deployment aboard USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH flying missions in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM and was one of the first aircraft in Iraq and Syria supporting OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE in the battle against ISIS.  

He graduated from the Naval War College in Newport, RI in 2016 with a master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies.  

CDR Hegrenes is currently stationed in Key West, Florida.  

His military personal decorations include four Strike Flight Air Medals, three Navy Commendation medals, the Navy Achievement medal, the National Defense Service medal, the Afghanistan Campaign medal, Inherent Resolve Campaign medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary medal, the Global War Terror Service Medal, Navy Pistol Expert and various unit awards.  

He has accumulated more than 2,600 flight hours in the Navy.