VFW Auxiliary dinner held to honor local veterans at Agriplex military exhibit

Mark DeLap
Posted 11/14/22

Veteran's Day in Platte County at the the Agriplex

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VFW Auxiliary dinner held to honor local veterans at Agriplex military exhibit

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WHEATLAND – Veteran’s Day held many ceremonies to honor the local veterans, and the remembrance at the Agriplex was run in cooperation with the REA who sets up a type of Veteran’s museum for a day.

Becky Condie who is in the process of taking over setting up the massive military museum for the years to come was busy with Al Teel getting tables set, putting out uniforms, making sure the military histories corresponded with uniforms and generally made it a jaw-dropping experience knowing that these were the uniforms local vets wore into battle, the old telephones and helmets were used on the battlefields and the names were familiar to visitors.

“This is my second year,” Condie said. “I think it’s amazing. There are a lot of learning curves for me because as I’m doing it I don’t know all the military rankings and things like that. The appreciation that you gain for the service these men and women did has deepened just from reading their stories. To me, that has been phenomenal.”

The military exhibit is not only of value to the community, but to the veterans who are still alive.

“And for our future veterans, I love that we’ve started that,” Condie said. “They are the people serving because they need to know they are appreciated and their community is proud of them. That is part of what I do, finding all the vets and getting a write-up for them. Once most of them see what it is, they agree to being a part of sharing their story.”

Last year the kids from Wyoming Cowboy Challenge were instrumental in helping set up and serving, but since that program has finished, the local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts along with students from Wheatland High School picked up the slack and helped to serve and to carry out meals for veterans who find it hard to get around and who could not wait in the long line.

“The kids are so helpful,” Teel said. “They helped us with tables and with setting tables and serving. They just don’t know how important to us they are.”

The honor and the fellowship for the local veterans looked like a family reunion, and it kind of was.

“The other lovely thing about this, you get the veterans here together and they start talking and bonding and remembering,” Condie said. “They love and they need that sense of community and purpose and the friendship. They come and hang out all day.”

According to Condie, there were 125 write-ups and stories of the soldiers and their lives. In addition there were 60 uniforms on display as well as shadow boxes and memorabilia such as helmets, old field phones, goggles and flight gear to name just a few artifacts.

Justin Herdt was on hand to play the music for the evening and during the ceremony and Pastor Chris Furl from Memorial Baptist offered a prayer before the meal.

photo captions: 

Agrivets1: Wheatland High School senior David Bookout recited the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by John McCrae. The Wheatland REA put up their annual display of war uniforms, history of local veterans and wartime memorabilia on a night where the VFW auxiliary honored veterans with a special night of music and a dinner.

Agrivets2: Al Teel from the Wheatland REA has been putting this display throughout the Agriplex for years and it is a treasure trove of information about local veterans and displays uniforms and memorabilia that were actually used in wartime.

Agrivets3: Ruth Herdt, president of the VFW auxiliary post 3558 was instrumental in organizing, setting up, getting music for the evening and getting a meal ordered for the annual Veteran’s Day remembrance Day.

Agriplex4: Platte County Veterans marched the colors into the Agriplex on Veteran’s Day in honor of the annuall remembrance. As the colors came forth, the crowd stood and put their hands upon their hearts in solidarity.