JoAnne Rademacher, Northern Sentry Contributor

On this 4th of July, I am at Mouse River Park near Tolley, ND. I always think of this as a patriotic park and a great place to spend Independence Day because of the large memorial display “dedicated to the memory of those who served to protect our freedom” at the entrance to the park. It always reminds me that a deep cost has been paid by many for my freedom to enjoy the beauty around me and the ability to move freely to wherever I want to be. I can read, write, and speak on any topic without fear. I am free to make the most of my life with family and friends. How great is that? Where else in all the world, have the rights and liberty of a country’s citizens been recognized and defended so ferociously for 250 years?

Throughout our country’s history, military personnel and civilians of all ages have made the ultimate sacrifice so all of us can enjoy our freedom. As I enter the park, I am reminded once again of one such soldier. Specialist 5th Class Larry Bruce Jacobson is featured on the dedication display. He was the sole casualty of the Vietnam Conflict from Renville County. SPC5 Jacobson was born March 15,1949 in Norma, North Dakota to Arthur and Margaret Doris Jacobson and is buried at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Kenmare, ND.

In the Army, he was a single-rotor turbine observation/utility helicopter repairman. On 26 August 1970, SPC5 Jacobson was Crew Chief on a US helicopter on mission to extract troops. They were hit by enemy fire, exploded and crashed. He received the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, and is honored on the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, DC.

There is another local hero I have often thought of over the years. Around 2001, I was leaving messages on genealogy message boards, trying to locate Danish relatives. A woman from Washington noticed my location, Foxholm, ND, on one of the boards and contacted me. She was hoping to locate the grave of her uncle who was killed in the WWII attack on Pearl Harbor. I found him in the cemetery a mile from my home. I cleaned up the marker and sent a picture to her.

“Seaman Second Class Charles H. Johannes entered the U.S. Navy from North Dakota. On December 7, 1941, he was a crew member aboard the USS Oklahoma when the ship came under attack from Japanese forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Oklahoma capsized in the attack, and SEA2 Johannes was among those killed in the incident. In the years following the attack, remains were recovered from the Oklahoma. Those that could not be identified at the time were buried as unknown remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) received authorization to exhume unknown remains associated with the Oklahoma and reexamine them using advances in forensic techniques. A group of unidentified remains were disinterred and accessioned into the DPAA laboratory as part of this effort. A group identification was made for these remains, which included SEA2 Johannes. Seaman Second Class Johannes is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.”

Our Independence Day celebrations are generally joyous, raucous affairs, as they should be. We have a lot to celebrate. We also have much to be grateful for, including individuals like SPC5 Jacobson and SEA2 Johannes who paid the ultimate price for our continued liberty.

Whether in the middle of an unpopular conflict or stationed here at home or abroad during peace time, our military personnel and their families are the wall standing between each of us and the world’s chaos. When I see the golf carts decorated in red, white and blue parading through the park, the fireworks in the evening, or the big 250th July 4th events on TV, I am filled with gratitude for this, the United States of America, where I am so privileged to be a citizen. For one day, I will do my best to put aside the arguments over ideologies and politics to simply enjoy this country I so dearly love, that has given so much to so many.

Hand over hearts, here we go…

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”