Lee Pulaski, lpulaski@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski John Maino, a Green Bay radio personality and journalist, spoke at the Veterans Day ceremony in Shawano on Wednesday, noting the sacrifices that veterans have made for their country and their devotion to its principles.
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Korean War veterans Don Baumgartner, U.S. Army, left, and Don Gutt, U.S. Marine Corps, salute in front of a wreath they placed at the front of the veterans memorial at the Shawano County Courthouse during a ceremony Wednesday.
The Veterans Day ceremony in front of the Shawano County Courthouse on Wednesday included words of praise from Green Bay radio personality John Maino for those who have served and are serving today.
Maino, a journalist, said he has seen firsthand the war zones where many in the armed forces have served.
“It’s an honor to be here with all of these people who raised their right hands and said, ‘I’m ready, willing and able to do whatever my country wants me to do,’” Maino said. “It doesn’t matter if you get sent to the front lines. It doesn’t matter where you are. The real courage comes from having the guts to raise their right hand and swear their allegiance to the country, because after that, they don’t have control of it.”
The program was organized by the Shawano Allied Veterans Council.
Maino took notice of the children standing nearby, including students from Sacred Heart Catholic School who sang the national anthem for the ceremony. He encouraged the children to learn about their veterans, noting that Wisconsin residents who served in the armed forces have a rich history to reveal.
On Nov. 11, 1918, for example, near the end of World War I, the 32nd Division was given a mission to attack the German lines. Maino noted that the soldiers knew the war was about to end, but they carried out their duty without question, “and many Wisconsin soldiers died. They didn’t run. They took their orders, and they did it.”
Maino paid tribute to the veterans of World War II, as well, noting that many of them had struggled through the Great Depression and often didn’t know where their next meal was coming from.
“Our World War II guys were just trying to earn a living,” Maino said. “They started out so far behind, it was just incredible. With perseverance and sticking with it, they won that war.”
Maino has traveled twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan to see the men and women fighting for America’s freedom, and he said the number one thing on many of their minds was trying to make the world a better place for the civilians.
“They put themselves on the line — in danger,” Maino said. “Many times, they suffer horrific injuries and even die trying to help people.”
Dennis Bohm, commander of AMVETS Post 10, said he’d really hoped to get Maino as a speaker for a local Veterans Day ceremony at least once, and a fellow veteran, Kevin Barkow, helped make the arrangements.
Bohm described Maino as a “veterans man and a community man.”