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Wally Voigt is being honored as this month’s Avon Veteran of the Month. Voigt is a Veteran of the Vietnam War and was drafted into the Army at the age of 19. At the time of his draft, he was working. He entered the service October 1st of 1969 and one year, 11 months, and 27 days later in September of 1971 his tour of duty ended. After being drafted, he was sent to Sioux Falls to do his physical before being sent to Tacoma, WA. Voigt attended basic training at Fort Lewis in WA for three months. After basic training he was sent to Fort Gordon in Georgia for three months for his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) in radio communications. As a radio communications specialist, Voigt performed maintenance of communication equipment and security devices; prepared, transmitted, received and recorded messages; and maintained assigned power generators. After completing his AIT training, Voigt was shipped to Germany. In Germany, Voigt worked on many training missions where he and his unit would set up radios and contact other local communication units. He completed many training exercises near the German town of Kaiserslautern. Voigt’s experiences while oversees were enjoyable. This was Wally’s first time away from Avon and South Dakota but he did not feel homesick. Voigt made good friends while he was stationed in Germany and that made his experience that much better. One of his close Army buddies who was married was able to bring his wife over to Germany from Missouri. They had a great time together as both Voigt and the buddy were farmers at heart. After his service came to end, he was flown from Germany to New Jersey where he was officially discharged from the Army. While in New Jersey, Voigt did a little sight-seeing and was impressed with all the vineyards. He then flew home to South Dakota. Wally was born and raised two miles outside of Avon. His dad was a farmer. After returning home to Avon from the military, Voigt went to work as a carpenter which was a trade that he had learned. He eventually worked as a Bon Homme County blade man for 32 years before retiring. On August 23, 1975 Voigt married his beautiful wife, Deb, who was a daughter of a farmer south of town. The couple was blessed with one daughter, Amy. Amy and her husband, Matt Yost, have two daughters, Emma and Lydia. Over the years, Wally has enjoyed bow hunting deer and turkey; and watching sports, especially his granddaughters, Emma and Lydia’s sporting events. He has been a member of the Avon Legion for 50 years and has even served as the commander in the past. Another community board that Voigt has been a part of is the City Council. Thank you, Wally, for your service and for being this month’s Avon Veteran of the Month.