Grace Kirchner Leader Correspondent
Retired Lt. Col. Christina Flanagan will be the guest speaker for the Veterans Day observance at the Veterans Memorial, on South Main Street in Clintonville, Saturday. The observance will begin with a moment of silence at 11 a.m.
Flanagan, a Clintonville resident, served in the U.S. Army for 29 years. She entered the Army in 1980 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the chemical corps in 1982. Flanagan’s military career has included command and staff positions around the world, including Europe, South Korea, Canada and Iraq.
Flanagan has served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon, working on the International Chemical Weapons Treaty, and she has worked at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq as an assistant military police adviser. Her last active duty assignment was at the Pentagon, where she served as the Senior Chemical Weapons Treaty Adviser for NATO and International Treaties.
After retiring from the Army in 2010, Flanagan worked for the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Health Affairs and two civilian defense contractor companies before moving to Wisconsin in 2016. Her husband, Tim, a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Army, is a native of Bonduel.
For the Veterans Day observance, Richard Beggs will serve as master of ceremonies. Mayor Lois Bressette will give the welcome. Pastor Ben Hollingshead of Christus Lutheran Church will deliver the invocation and the benediction.
Jim Poole will perform the Star Spangled Banner. The firing squad salute will be lead by the American Legion, DAV & VFW. Playing Taps will be Joseph Shelton.
Veterans and their families are invited to a free dinner at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Building on Memorial Circle.