The annual VFW Post 7319 Veterans Day Banquet was held at the American Legion with a potluck supper at 7:00 p.m. on November

11. Toastmaster for the evening was Mark Roberts. The Invocation was given by Mark who then introduced officers of boththe VFW and American Legion and their Auxiliaries.

Following a delicious chicken dinner, with pot luck provided by the Auxiliary, the drawing began for the annual gun raffle fundraiser. Winners of the three guns were Jim Toupal, Wyatt Honomichl and Richard Holiday. Entertainment for the evening was provided by the Wagner Community School.

Four of the Voice of Democracy essay contest winners that were selected to represent Post 7319 in the District 7 level competition were on hand to read their essays. Rose Eitemiller, Callie Frei, Kallen Kafka and Grant Namminga all presented their essay on “What Makes America Great”.

The POW/MIA table was set in a place of honor. It is set for one. This table is a way of symbolizing the fact that members of our military are missing from our midst. We call them comrades. They are unable to be with their loved ones and families, so we join together to pay our humble tribute to them and to bear witness to their continued absence.

The program for the evening was presented by Dr. Rich Lofthus, Professor of History at Mount Marty College, a position he has held for thirty-one years.

His presentation, ”From Wentworth to the Western Front: The World War One Odyssey of Private John Warns" was a slide presentation, based on a book with the same title, that features letters to and from Private Warns, photos from the World War One era, newspaper coverage, and secondary sources to explore the manner in which World War One linked rural South Dakota to the maelstrom of events surrounding World War One. World War One was the event that set the stage for the modern world and transformed the United States from an isolationist promised land to a crusading state, willing to go to war for ideological reasons. This presentation illustrates the dramatic impact that this transformation had on South Dakota.

Dr. Lofthus is the author of Remembering Private Harris: A South Dakotan in World War One and From Wentworth to the Western Front: The World War One Odyssey of Private John Warns. Copies of the books were on sale following the program.

To conclude the evening, continuous membership pins were presented by Commander Mark Roberts to 16 post members, to include 45 year members Don Hosek and Butch Holec, 50 year members Walt Ishmael, Richard Jones, Colin Olson and recently deceased member Jimmy Anderson, 55 year member JB Weber and 60 year members Francis Cuka and Charlie Thaler. Paul Stogsdill received his 65 year membership pin at a ceremony at the Wagner nursing home earlier in the day.

VFW Auxiliary President Charlene Beeson thanked those present for making the banquet a success and for all of the food which was donated by those in attendance.

Mark Roberts closed the banquet with the Benediction and thanked all who attended.