Those who gave their life

Originally called Decoration Day, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags, Memorial Day is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country.

This Memorial Day, be sure to stop whatever you are doing at 3:00 pm and take a minute or two to thank the brave men and women who are no longer around to enjoy the day with their families.

Below are those listed on Odebolt's Veterans Memorial Monument as "died in service"up until 2000.

WORLD WAR I Robert F. Bernhardt George J. Bihrer Ernest J. Buller Iver H. Carlson William F. Martin Fred C. Meyer Andrew G. Norton Robert M. Pike Herman A. Roose ** Charles A. Wekmeister

WORLD WAR II Gerald R. Bauer Norbert B. Bengford Wayne W. Bernhardt Harry W. Briggle Donald C. Huebner John O. Hunt Delbert W. Lewis William C. Malone Glenn R. Pedersen Norman F. Petschauer   Wendall D. Reinhart Joseph L. Simon Joe L. Sixon Edward H. Stauffer Edward N Walters William Walters

KOREAN WAR

WAR IN VIETNAM    Kenneth L. Boger Thomas J. Kelly Leonard E. Neville Robert F. Rex.**MIA Earle E. Schwaller

 ** *Odebolt's American Legion Roose Post 313 was named after Herman A. Roose, the first soldier in Odebolt, and in Sac County, to die in the service of his country in World War I.  Herman August Roose, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Roose, was born in Odebolt, Iowa, January 9, 1901, and died at Chaumont, France, December 31, 1917, at the age of 16 years, and 11 months.

Click to see all veterans listed on the monument

Click to see photos of servicemen lost in WWI

Click to see photos of servicemen lost in WWII (3 pages)

All the military history on the Odebolt History Pages

Odebolt Veterans Memorial

In honor of Veterans Day 2017 we have reconstructed the Odebolt Area Veterans Memorial page that was once on odebolt.net.

This monument to honor Odebolt's veterans was finished in late 2003 by the Odebolt American Legion Roose Post #313 and Auxiliary.  It is located in Odebolt Cemetery, about 1/2 mile south of Odebolt on Highway 39 (S. Des Moines Street).

On the memorial are listed 939 area veterans who served from in World War I, World War II, in Korea and in Viet Nam, covering the years of 1901 to 2000.

Please visit the page to see the list of veterans.

See more military history at the Odebolt History Pages.

Comment about Odebolt Ground Observer Corp

This was left as a comment on the blog, but I am posting it for people who may not see it. - editor
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As I was looking for information on the United States Air Force Ground Observer Corp I was pleased to see so much about the Odebolt USAF-GOC.

I was Chief of the JN54B Post in LeMars, Iowa from 1953 to 1955 and can't find anything about that post. Our observation tower was at the top of the highest building on the Westmar College campus. Sometimes during drills the B-29s would fly at tree top level making the tower shake and we could see the rivets in their wings. We had a direct line to the Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska also.

There doesn't seem to be any recognition nor appreciation for those who served as volunteers in the Air Defense Command so I want to express my own thanks to the USAF-GOC members of Odebolt, Iowa, and wish for all who served to protect our freedoms to have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, A.D. 2015.
 - Arthur E. Angove, D.O., general surgeon, Ret., New Berlin, WI


My reply:  Thank you for your comment. Harvey Keller, who kept this historic information and passed it on to us, died November 29, 2014. He would have been so pleased to see your post.

For those readers that are interested, information on the Odebolt Ground Observer Corp is located at the Odebolt History Pages, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iaohms/1950s/goc_tower.html

- Barb Horak, editor

Rear Admiral Bradley Gehrke

Note from editor:  My sister and I went home to Odebolt for the Creek Days weekend last week.  Our parents' house is next to the home the Gehrke family lived in and we were wondering how Brad Gehrke was doing.  My brother ran a search and found the below biography.  He is now a Rear Admiral and has had a very interesting career.

UNITED STATES NAVY BIOGRAPHY 

 from  http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio_ret.asp?bioID=462

REAR ADMIRAL BRADLEY R. GEHRKE, RETIRED

Rear Admiral Bradley Gehrke, a native of Odebolt, Iowa, attended the United States Naval Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1980. Additionally, he attended the Defense Language Institute and Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he earned a Master’s degree in National Security Affairs and studied Mandarin Chinese.

After initial training, Gehrke reported to USS Narwhal (SSN 671) for his first sea tour. He subsequently served as navigator aboard USS Tecumseh (SSBN 628) and as executive officer of USS Scranton (SSN 756). During these tours, he made four deployments, six strategic patrols and earned five Battle Efficiency awards.

Ashore, Gehrke served on commander, Submarine Group Six staff conducting tactical weapons certifications, U.S. Atlantic Command as executive assistant to the director for Operations, Navy Personnel Command as the submarine/nuclear power officer distribution division deputy director/commanding officer detailer, and as the chief of staff for commander, Submarines Allied Naval Forces South in Naples, Italy.

Gehrke commanded USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) (Gold). During this tour, he completed four strategic patrols, earning a Battle Efficiency and the CINCLANTFLT Silver Anchor Award for retention. Additionally, he was awarded the 2000 Jack N. Darby award for inspirational leadership and excellence in command.

In August 2004, Gehrke was relieved as commander, Submarine Squadron 15 in Guam and served as commodore until July 2006. Afterwards, he served as chief of staff for Commander, Submarine Group Seven/ CTF 74/CTF 54 in Yokosuka, Japan until June 2008. Gehrke was promoted to flag rank in December 2008 and assigned as the U.S. Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy, Beijing, from June 2009 to June 2011. Gehrke served as the director of Defense Counterintelligence and HUMINT Center at the Defense Intelligence Agency from June 2011 until July 2013.

His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal (two awards), Legion of Merit (two awards), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards), and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Gehrke is currently the director of Maritime Headquarters, U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

MIA Robert Rex not forgotten

POW-MIA issue not forgotten at Sullivan museum

         Article by Holly Hudson,| Waterloo Courier | Sep 22, 2013

A POW-MIA bracelet owned by Dorothy Ackerson photographed at the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum on Friday in Waterloo. Ackerson gave the bracelet to the museum so that it can be put on display for others to see. - TIFFANY RUSHING / Courier Staff Photographer

WATERLOO | Dorothy Ackerson never met Robert Rex, yet the two have been connected for decades.

According to the Grout Museum District, Rex was born in Odebolt in 1941 and was the first person from his hometown to earn an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy.  He graduated from the academy in 1963 as a second lieutenant and became a pilot a year later. In 1968, he volunteered to serve in Southeast Asia.  In 1969, his plane crashed near the Quang Tri Province in South Korea. His body was never recovered.

Read the rest of the story

Also, visit a page about Robert Rex on the Odebolt History Pages

Memorial Day Reflections by Andy Ross

View all veterans honored in the
Odebolt Veteran's Memorial Monument
located in the Odebolt Cemetery

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The below was submitted by Andy Ross, former resident of Odebolt
who graduated with the Class of 1967.  Thanks, Andy!

Just taking a moment to wish you all a Happy Memorial Day, pausing to reflect on those who have sacrificed their all on the field of battle that we might live in freedom.

As a kid in a small Iowa town, (Odebolt) I delivered newspapers before school each morning, and one of the stops was the Earle F. Rex residence. Mr. and Mrs. Rex had a son, Robert, who was a pilot in the Air Force while I was their paperboy.

Robert Rex had the distinction of being the first student from Odebolt-Arthur Community High School to be appointed as a cadet to the U.S. Air Force Academy, graduating in the class of 1963, then reporting as a second lieutenant to flight school, becoming an Air Force pilot upon completion.

This past year has found me working on a construction project at Dyess AFB in Texas, and daily I would drive past their airplanes on display, one of which being this O-2A Skymaster, an observation aircraft commonly used in Vietnam.

The O-2A Skymaster is a twin-engine observation aircraft with a tractor propeller in front and a pushing propeller in the rear.

Each day driving past the O-2A, I would be reminded that it was also the plane which Captain Robert F. Rex flew in Vietnam. The last plane he flew.

On March 9th, 1969 Captain Robert Rex's O-2A was lost over Laos. Captain Rex has not returned.

 On this Memorial Day Weekend please take a moment to view the attached document written to honor Captain Robert F Rex and his crew member, Staff Sergeant Tim L Walters, US Army. 

Click for attached document

Respectfully,
Andy Ross

 

Remembering Pearl Harbor

From the Sioux City Journal 12/7/11

Click the below link for the article that talks about the Patton brothers who once lived north of Odebolt
Former Odebolt resident remembers 6 brothers who survived Pearl Harbor


Read more about the brothers at The Odebolt History Pages

The book "124 Years Before The Navy Mast - The Patten Family", by Clarence Floyd Patten, III, Dale E. Sporleder

The above shows the Patten family from a photo on The Odebolt History Pages.
  Click to read identities.