Every day, hundreds of thousands of men and women put on their uniforms to represent the United States of America in the armed forces. They train endlessly, travel throughout the world and fight in war-ridden countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan to preserve our freedom.

A great story has developed recently of a local hometown hero.

Staff Sgt. Vince Reynolds of Hayfield has been named “Marine of the Year” out of all the Marines in the nation.

The already well-decorated Marine is in his second stint with the military. He enlisted from 1986 to 1993 and then again in January 2007.

He heads to Iraq in September and after that plans to return home to his wife and children with hopes to teach at Hayfield High School in the fall of 2010.

This is a huge honor for Reynolds, his family and southern Minnesota. We congratulate him on his achievement, and we thank him for his service.