Photographic evidence ... Dan Davis photographs aircraft wreckage on the seafloor in Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia. Photo by Matthew Breece, Project Recover.
by Brianne Grimstad
With Memorial Day on the horizon, many start to think about taking flowers and decorations to cemeteries, getting ready for Memorial Day parades and programs, and reflecting on the American men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their country and its freedom. Some families can go and visit the graves of their loved ones at local cemeteries, some servicemen and women are interred in cemeteries in other parts of the state or country, some have their final resting place overseas, and some have not yet had their remains found to be brought to their final resting place.
Over 81,000 American service members are still Missing In Action (MIA), and rural Waukon resident Dan Davis is part of a non-profit group called Project Recover that has made it their mission to locate, identify and bring those MIAs back to their loved ones.
A special exhibit on the War in the Pacific during World War II will open Memorial Day weekend at the Allamakee County Veterans Museum. Included in the special exhibit will be the major battles from Pearl Harbor in 1941 through the Japanese surrender in 1945. The exhibit includes uniforms, weapons and equipment used by both American and Japanese forces, as pictured above.
The museum will be open for tours Friday, May 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday May 26 from noon to 4:00 p.m. Videos including combat footage from battles will also be shown continuously during each of those open tour days.
Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) officials closed the Black Hawk Bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing late Saturday night, May 17 after movement was detected within one of the bridge piers beyond what is deemed typical and safe, according to DOT standards. Officials say the bridge will likely be closed for at least a week, and perhaps longer, depending upon what an ongoing follow-up analysis currently being conducted might show.
Effigy Mounds National Monument has scheduled several free, public events for Spring, many of those being scheduled to take place during the month of May. Those events have ranged from hiking as a designated event or as part of a challenge series offered by the local National Park Service facility, to a series of historic presentations. Those scheduled events include the following remaining dates and activities as the month of May begins to wind down:
Keep Iowa Beautiful is calling on Iowans to help achieve its statewide goal of 2,500 volunteers to clean up litter across the state this spring. Iowans are invited to host a 2025 Pick-Up Iowa event in their communities. Pick-Up Iowa will continue to run through June 30 of this year.
Pick-Up Iowa, a Keep Iowa Beautiful program, promotes focused efforts to clean up trash along Iowa’s roadsides, neighborhoods, streets, school grounds, parks, forests, and streams.
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Waukon area’s Women’s New Century Club. In December of 1899, seven members of the Nineteenth Century Club withdrew from that group to form the nucleus of a new women’s study club. January 9, 1900 officially opened the new club, thus the name The New Century Club. The founding members of that new club were Catherine Daugherty, Lucy May, Lena Helming, Ida Van Nice, Mable Coffeen, Kate Kidder and Anna Beeman.
The focus of the Club was to improve the mind, promote growth of sociability among its members, and the advancement of education, civic and philanthropic work. The Club survived two World Wars, other conflicts, the Depression, and more recently, COVID-19, and it continues to meet today. Membership has varied over the years from as few as six members on up to as many as 30 members.
LCpl Landyn J. Lewey recently graduated from the Aviation Communication Systems Technician course at Air Control Training Squadron, MCCES, Twentynine Palms, CA. He will be stationed for at least three years with the 3rd Division Marine Littoral Anti-Air Battalion at Marine Corps Base-Hawaii, starting this month.
LCpl Lewey is a 2024 graduate of Iowa Falls-Alden High School, and the son of Bryan and Rachel Lewey of Iowa Falls. He is the grandson of James and Kathy Stammeyer of Oelwein, and Richard and Jean Lewey of Waukon. He is also the great-grandson of Irene Lewey of Waukon.
The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) school board met for its regular monthly meeting Monday, May 19. Under the Consent Agenda items, the following personnel recommendations were accepted (pending a satisfactory background check): Ben Pline, Social Studies PLC Leader; Randy Nordheim, JJV Volleyball Coach; John Papp, Volunteer Baseball Coach; Samantha Weigert, Elementary ELL/TAG Teacher; Megan Wise, Elementary General Music Teacher; Dani Bucknell, Assistant FBLA Adviser; Julie Lenth, English Language Arts PLC Teacher Leader; and Payton Dietzenbach, Middle School Year Book Advisor.
National EMS Week observed at Veterans Memorial Hospital ... National EMS Week is a time to show gratitude toward emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics who provide lifesaving care across the nation every day. This year’s theme is “We Care. For Everyone.” More EMTs are needed in every community. For more information about local EMT service opportunities and classes, contact Cheryl Livingston, Paramedic, EMS Instructor, at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411. Submitted photo.
This is National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week. National EMS Week is a time to show gratitude toward emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics who provide lifesaving care across the nation every day. EMS Week is also a time to educate the public about EMS and the essential service they provide to the area communities. This year’s theme is “We Care. For Everyone.”
EMS Week began in 1974 after a proclamation called on the nation to support efforts to improve emergency medical care across the county. Much has changed in the care provided by emergency medical professionals since that time, but the dedication to help others continues.
Safety demonstrations during Safety Day Camp ... This year’s VMH Safety Day Camp will encompass a wide range of safety topics that are educational for all children, with some of those sessions pictured in the photos above and at left. The camp will be held Wednesday, June 4, at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds. A small fee per child will include lunch, snacks, a take-home goodie bag, first aid kit and a safety day camp T-shirt. Registration forms are available at the main entrance of Veterans Memorial Hospital, at Allamakee County Extension or online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YMQPJPL. Submitted photos.
Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) will be hosting the Safety Day Camp for children ages six to 14 Wednesday, June 4, at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds in Waukon from 8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. The camp is open to all children in the area of that age range. The Safety Camp provides instruction about safety topics that are relevant to every child’s life.
Children often see the outdoors as an exciting playground - providing endless hours of fun and adventure. But the great outdoors can set the stage for tragedy. That is why this safety camp was established by Veterans Memorial Hospital and Allamakee County ISU Extension 25 years ago.
