TO OUR READERS

Some of my greatest memories are from the Fourth of July. As a little girl, my older brother Matthew and I would lay out in the yard while my dad set off fireworks. We would have a bonfire, roast marshmallows and hotdogs.

To this day, I squeal like a little girl when I get to see a fireworks show. Makes me feel like a kid again. All this wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for our service and military members who keep us and our country safe.

As a third generation on my mother’s side of the family, almost every generation starting in the late 1800s has members who have served in the military. Such as my Grandpa Roy Knutson, who was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army. He enlisted at the age of 17 and became a parachute instructor and a member of the “Jumping Gypsies.” He made more than 60 parachute jumps while on duty in Japan. He served from 1943-1947 in the 11th Airborne division. Knutson served in World War II and the Korean War, decorated with the following honors: Asiatic Service Star, Pacific Bronze Service Star, Philippine Liberation Bronze Service Star. While in the service he was an honor guard at President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s funeral.

During Knutson’s time in the military, he met the love of his life, my Grandma Vera (Vera Kucharek). Vera left home at the age of 16 to be a nanny for extended family. At that time she met her lifelong friend, Frenchie. Soon after, the two of them became “Rosies” where she was a riveter on airplanes in Detroit, Mich. In 1943, Kucharek enlisted in the Women’s Army Aircorp (WAC) where she became a master sergeant. This is when Knutson and Kucharek met and married Oct. 4, 1946 in Greenville, S.C. After the war, they moved back to Owatonna, Minn., and became dairy farmers. The family soon grew from the two of them to plus-seven. Roy B. Knutson passed away July 8, 1989, and Vera Knutson passed on Nov. 29, 2004.

On my father’s side of the family, Fred Keller was a corporal for the U.S. Army intelligence sector from 19441947. Prior to enlisting, Fred was wed to Blanche Eleanor Lee on Jan. 5, 1944. Leaving behind his new wife and newborn daughter, Mary Ruth, he served in WWII. Once the war ended, Keller went to the Illinois School of Optometry, graduating in 36 months in 1949. Keller then returned to Mora, Minn., to raise a family with four kids until his passing on May 4, 1999. Blanche later passed away Oct. 6, 2006.

It is important to learn about our history, to understand what it took to get us where we are today. I am proud of my family, and thank them for what they have done.

In this issue you will read about many spectacular women who now live to serve and protect our communities and our country. Each has shared why they joined and the journeys they have experienced. Thank you to all for letting our team have the great opportunity to learn new perspectives on military and service leader life.

I want to thank all of our veterans and active members of the military and community service leaders who work every day to keep us safe. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Megan Keller Advertising Director