Reach out to World War II vets, speaker urges

DES MOINES - As a brisk autumn wind whipped flags and chilled ears and noses, Dan White reminded the small gathering that time is running out to thank the 'Greatest Generation” for its service to the country.

White encouraged those who attended the Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday at the World War II Monument near the state Capitol to reach out to veterans who served in that conflict before it's too late.

'We are losing too many of them,” said White, a former state commander for the VFW and a Vietnam veteran. 'If you know a vet from the Second (World) War, sit down and talk with him, see if he will tell you about his experiences. You will find out so many things.

'So many veterans came home and would not talk to their families about what they experienced. They need to have their stories told. We need to know exactly what they did on an individual basis.”

The American Legion of Iowa put on the program and a similar one earlier Tuesday at capital city's World War I Monument. The Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Iowa participated, as did the Patriot Guard Riders of Iowa.

Standing at the World War II Monument just east of the Capitol, White praised World War II veterans, a group that includes his father. He praised not only their service in the war, but the work they did when they came home.

'I don't think we can ever say enough good about what our veterans and the people of the Second World War have done for us. I don't think we can ever thank them enough,” White said. 'I just want you to remember them, thank them for everything that they have done for us in their time.”

Myrtle VanDyk of Des Moines may have been the only World War II vet at Tuesday's ceremony. VanDyk said she delivered mail as a member of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). She said she tries to visit a Veterans Day program every year.

On Tuesday, she was one of the few veterans of her kind at a program dedicated in their honor.

'I'm sorry today that we haven't that many here,” White said. 'But like I say, we are losing too many.”