Memorial Day honors those who have given their lives for something bigger than themselves
Bringing the keynote address to Mountain Lake’s Memorial Day program this morning (Monday, May 30) in the Mountain Lake Public School auditorium, was a man who knows all about – and has experienced first-hand – that the United States is the “home of the free” – because of the brave.
Lieutenant Colonel Bradley Ommodt, of rural Butterfield, has given decades of service to his greater community, to Minnesota, and to this country as a member of the Minnesota National Guard.
He joined the National Guard in 1985, during his junior year at Butterfield-Odin Public High School (B-OHS). Over the course of the summer between his junior and senior years of high school, Ommodt attended basic training in order to get a jump start on his service.
His first five years with the National Guard were as an enlisted man. After graduating from B-OHS, he went on to college at Mankato State University (today, Minnesota State University-Mankato), and joined the ROTC program at the college. ROTC is a college-based scholarship program for training commissioned officers for the United States Armed Forces.
During those first years, he was based in the St. James National Guard Unit. Also included were month-long training deployments to South Korea and Norway.
At the same time he received his degree from Mankato State University, Ommodt was also recognized as a ROTC graduate, receiving his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the National Guard.
Over the years, he has had duties as an officer in Guard units in Windom, Luverne and Jackson, in addition to St. James. For three years, he commanded Jackson’s Bravo Battery.
As well, he began his career as a Marketing and Project Manager with Mathiowetz Construction of Sleepy Eye.
Following 9/11, his service turned from the usual training and drills – to completely unpredictable.
Multiple, lengthy deployments began lining up.
To Germany to back-fill for units that had been sent to Iraq.
To Iraq as part of a combat team.
And to Afghanistan, as one of a 22-member Minnesota Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) helping the Afghan government develop necessary governmental infrastructure for a Department of Agriculture, as well as teaching Afghan farmers about agricultural practices – after Ommodt had transitioned into a Guard unit with this new mission.
During the course of those deployments, Ommodt’s rank was on the rise, to Major – and then to his current Lieutenant Colonel.
Mountain Lake Mayor and Mountain Lake American Legion Post #389 member Mike Nelson welcomed those in attendance to the Memorial Day recognition.
The colors were posted – and retrieved – by Mountain Lake American Legion Post #389 members Bill Fast and Jim Crawford.
The Mountain Lake Public High School Senior High Band, under the direction of Instrumental Music Director Kurt Jahnke, presented three selections – “The Star-Spangled Banner;” “Spirit of America,” arranged by Allen Gray and “A Plus March,” by Thomas Duffy.
Three Mountain Lake Christian students shared readings – Danica Dick with “Memorial Day,” by Eula Gladys Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” by Josh Raabe and Melissa Lohrenz on “Freedom is not Free,” by Kelly Strong.
Nelson shared thoughts from Elvin Ewert. This winter, Ewert, a native of Mountain Lake, was featured in a Fox 9 television news story. The segment featured the 90-year-0ld Ewert, along with Francis Laqua, also 90 years old, who both ended up at the same Minnesota rehab center. While there, the pair learned that they had much more in common than being hospitalized for health problems. Even though they were born almost 700 miles apart, they lived parallel lives.
As the news report notes, They were both drafted during World War II, and were both Browning Automatic Riflemen in the same infantry division, “Tropic Lightning,” in the Philippines. They each fought in one of the bloodiest conflicts in the waning years of the war, the Battle of Balete Pass.
Both were injured in combat and awarded a Purple Heart.
‘People ask you what did you think of the war? You don’t. Everyone is in the same shoes. You didn’t have time to be scared,’ Ewert said.
After the war, both men moved back to the Midwest. Ewert moved to Mountain Lake and Laqua went to Williston, North Dakota, where they both got married and raised families.
But they never met or crossed paths until they ended up as roommates at the Birchwood Rehab Center in Forest Lake a few days ago.
‘It was crazy. You didn’t know what to think. It was ironic,’ Ewert said.
‘It’s the first time in 70 years that I’ve run into a guy in my division. And I’m the first one he’s run into,’ Laqua said.
Even though Ewert and Laqua share a lot of similarities, they have more differences than just their physical therapy regimens. For instance, Ewert has shrapnel in his left leg, while Laqua still has shards of metal in his right.
You might think these brothers in arms would sit around sharing war stories all day. But what do they talk about? – ‘Whatever comes along. Whatever girl walks by,’ they laughed.
Now these former strangers feel like life-long friends.
‘Its been very good. Its so unusual. What can you say?’ Ewert said.
‘We get along like a couple of buddies. Old buds. Young buds,’ Laqua said.
It won’t be long before Ewert and Laqua go their separate ways, but their parallel lives will be intertwined from now on.
‘It’s not too often this sort of thing happens. That you run into someone. Neither one of us had an idea this could happen,’ Ewert said.
The closing prayer was given by Pastor Peter Kufahl of Trinity Lutheran Church of Mountain Lake.
The program closed solemnly with the trumpet presentation of “Taps” and the retrieval of the colors.
Below are some photos from the program:
