When Cdr. Lee Ottman and the other veterans in American Legion Post No. 140 return from visiting 13 cemeteries Memorial Day, there will be work to do.

They will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 3 p.m. Monday for the new Grand Meadow Veterans Memorial.

The tribute in stone to deceased veterans will be constructed in what is called Grand Meadow Veterans Park, where the old public school was once located.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, Post No. 140 will hold a flag retirement ceremony.

Marble pavers dedicated to individual veterans are being sold to help pay for the memorial, according to Ottman.

The response to the project has been so encouraging, already 100 pavers have been sponsored and will be laid in the ground this summer. The pavers are being sold for a donation of $250.

Any person, couple or family donating $100 or more will have their names engraved on a monument in the park.

The Harry T. Anderson Post No. 140 veterans memorial project is being modeled after a similar one at Hayfield.

And the Grand Meadow Legion Post members have an “ace up their sleeves:” Harlan Buck is on their side.

Buck passes along patriotism

Buck, a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, bleeds “red, white and blue.”

“I joined Post No. 330 at Hayfield the day I came home from the war,” he said. “I went into Citizens State Bank and Paul Arndt welcomed me home and invited me to attend a Legion meeting and I did.”

Arnold Rothie Post No. 330 of Hayfield is admired for its strength in numbers and success at spreading Americanism and patriotism.

Their community service projects are many and during the summertime, no other Legion post has a better marching unit than Post No. 330. With the mesmerizing cadence, straight lines, sharp turns and the crack of the firing squad’s rifles, the Hayfield Legion Post members stand out wherever they go, including the eight cemeteries they will visit Memorial Day.

Two years ago, the Rothie post members showed they stand behind their comrades.

On Veterans Day, Nov. 10, 2007, the post dedicated its own Hayfield Veterans Memorial in a downtown park.

“It’s designed for 327 pavers,” said Buck, who was instrumental in all facets of the successful project. “We added 64 more pavers when an expansion was done last Fall in 2008, so now we have a total of 373 pavers in place.” Eighteen more pavers will be installed soon.

The park’s capacity for pavers is an additional 128 pavers in two expansions, according to Buck.

The Hayfield Veterans Memorial also has a handsome sculpture of a soldier, plus individual salutes to the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard/Merchant Marine.

Buck was contacted by representatives of Grand Meadow’s Post No. 140 about helping their plans for a veterans memorial and he told the, “Yes, I will be glad to help you.”

Buck’s patriotism is unquestioned. He has held every office in the American Legion there is to hold, including serving as First District commander and state commander.

He is also loyal to his own era’s soldiers: The Korean War and tells a great story about visiting Washington, D.C. to see it.

But clearly, Memorial Day touches his heart like no other remembrance of those veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

“I feel so strongly that Memorial Day is an opportunity for everyone to stand up and honor all our veterans for their service to out country,” he said.

He will be doing his part Monday, when the nation pauses to remember the war dead. Buck will be the guest speaker when the Blooming Prairie American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars organizations salute veterans.

Buck is a life member of Hayfield Post No. 330 and a member of Blooming Prairie VFW Post No. 878. The program begins 11 a.m. Monday at Blooming Prairie City Cemetery.

When loved ones visit a Hayfield area cemetery Memorial Day, the flags flying over every veteran’s grave are the results of Buck’s involvement.

“The list is updated every year before Memorial Day so I’m pretty sure of its accuracy,” he said. “There are 477 veterans who are deceased and 477 American flags over their graves.”

Buck does not erect every veteran’s flag-holder by himself. He has help to do that.

And neither does he personally go to, for example, Fort Snelling, to unfurl flags over veterans’ graves.

But Buck makes sure there is a flag flying on Memorial Day over every man or woman of the U.S. Armed Forces who served America.

“The most flags we put out for Memorial day are at Fairview Cemetery in Hayfield,” he said. “We have 198 there.”

“There are another 95 at Greenwood Cemetery south of Brownsdale and another 52 at West St. Olaf and 45 at Evanger.”

In all, Buck tracks veterans buried at 22 cemeteries, including one each at Rochester and Britt, Iowa.

“If a Hayfield veteran dies and we hear about it, we’re not going to forum him,” Buck said.

After visiting eight cemeteries Memorial Day, Rothie Post No. 330 will host a program at Hayfield City Park at the Veterans Memorial, where Staff Sgt. Vince Reynolds will be the guest speaker.

A chicken dinner cooked by Alice Jensen and friends will be served, beginning 11:30 a.m. and ending 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Tickets are $7.50 for adults and $4 for those 12 and under.

Proceeds will help support Rothie Post No. 330’s community service projects.