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Traveling veterans memorial display visits Madison
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By CHUCK CLEMENT, Staff Reporter
| 05/29/2012 |
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Thirty-three banners that make up the Fallen Heroes display offer a sobering reminder of sacrifices that South Dakotans have made in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Madison-area residents have until the end of Thursday to visit the Fallen Heroes Banner Display at the Madison VFW Post. Volunteers will pack up the banners before a wedding reception is held on Friday and prepare them for shipment to a new display site in Harrisburg.
The banners memorialize the deceased men and women from South Dakota who were killed while on active duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
Their memorial timeline starts with Chief Warrant Officer Hans Gukeisen of Lead, who died on May 9, 2003, when his air medical helicopter crashed into the Tigris River. The memorial for Specialist Dennis G. Jensen of the S.D. National Guard currently provides the last banner in the display. Jensen, a Sioux Falls resident, died on Aug. 16, 2011, in Afghanistan from injuries sustained from a noncombat accident.
Large photos of each man and woman are featured on the blue banners, which also display their hometowns, branch of military, and birth and death dates.
Visitors can learn more about some of the fallen South Dakotans by opening the memory books that accompany the banner display. The Fallen Hero Memory Books contain biographies of many of the memorialized veterans, along with family and service photos and remembrances penned by their loved ones.
Courtney VanZanten of Colton transported the traveling banner display from Pierre to Madison late last week. VanZanten, a former U.S. Air Force captain, served as the main speaker during the Memorial Day ceremony held on Monday morning at Madison High School.
VanZanten picked up the banners on Saturday at the Pierre American Legion post, where they are stored when the memorial isn't visiting other communities.
Officials with the state Department of Veterans Affairs coordinate the schedule when the banner display is shown in cities and towns across South Dakota.
Visitors can view the memorial at the Madison VFW post from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. until Thursday.
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©Madison Daily Leader 2013
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