Cloudy skies and rain may have forced the annual Shawano Veterans Day ceremony inside Nov. 11, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of those who attended the event inside Shawano Ambulance Service, across the street from the Shawano County Courthouse.
Dennis Bohm, hosting his last Veterans Day ceremony, introduced the guest speaker, state Sen. Eric Wimberger, of Gillett.
Wimberger entered Marquette University Law School in 2002. After earning his law degree in 2005, he received a commission with the United States Marine Corps. He spent four years in the Marine Corps, working in the Judge Advocate Division in Japan and Washington, D.C. He was honorably discharged as a captain in 2010.
“A lot of us did serve, and we came back to the community to continue to do things from this place,” he said. “When I got back, I still felt some sort of a disconnect after being overseas. The thing that bothered me the most was the feeling that some people didn’t care about what we were doing.”
He clarified that he wasn’t talking in a selfish way.
“I thought we were developing something together, you and me in a partnership,” Wimberger said. “When I would see people not trying and giving up on themselves, or having the things that were given to them by this country and then not taking advantage of it, the things that would make them a better person, that disconnect is the thing I think veterans struggle with the most.”
He told those in attendance not to let thanking a veteran be just a transactional occurrence.
“Do the thing that thanks a veteran every day by doing the best you can, by going out there and succeeding, and picking yourself up when you fail,” he said.
At the end of the ceremony, Bohm announced this would be his last time hosting the ceremony.
“I’m very sad,” he said. “I decided at the age of 87 going on 88, I’m going to get some youngster to come in here and take my place.”
He chose Richard Kucksdorf as his replacement in organizing the Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies in Shawano.
“I know Richard is going to do a great job,” Bohm said.
From willingly joining the Marine Corps one month after graduating from high school to a Sunday School teacher to driving veterans to their medical appointments and covering more than a quarter of a million miles, Bohm has offered himself up to others throughout his life.
Never one to volunteer for his own benefit, he was named the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce 2024 Distinguished Citizen of the Year.
“The love of my country, my feeling for my fellow veterans and the drive to serve our community, along with the love of those close to me, makes serving others easy with the grace of God,” he said at the time.
The Allied Vets Council organized the program, and the Rev. Scott Ludford of Zion Lutheran Church gave the invocation and benediction.
Bohm and Kucksdorf recited the names of deceased veterans, followed by the presentation of a wreath by Stacey Cicero, Shawano County administrative coordinator.
The Allied Vets Council includes VFW Post 2723, DAV Chapter 53, AmVets Post 10, VVA Chapter 206 and American Legion Post 117.
Veterans stand at attention at the start of the Shawano County Veterans Day ceremony. The event was moved inside the bays of Shawano Ambulance Service due to the weather. (Greg Mellis | NEW Media)
