Read five compelling stories of veterans from World War II to Afghanistan. We salute all of Nebraska's veterans.
Marty Ramirez rarely had the nightmares or flashbacks of combat that have haunted many other Vietnam veterans.
Marty Ramirez served during the Vietnam War. His father fought in the early 1900s with Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa.
MARTY RAMIREZ
A group of U.S. Army soldiers in Vietnam in 1968.
MARTY RAMIREZ
Marty Ramirez crossing a river in Vietnam while in the Army in 1968.
MARTY RAMIREZ
Marty Ramirez served during the Vietnam War.
MARTY RAMIREZ
Walter Coy, 103, was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944 and left as a sergeant. He still lives in the Omaha home that he built himself in the 1950s.
ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALDDrive by Walter Coy’s South Omaha house on a summer day, and you may catch the World War II Army veteran cutting the grass in his front yard.
Now 103 years old, he’s been on Earth for every Veterans Day since the first one (then called Armistice Day) to celebrate the end of World War I in 1918.
Walter Coy carries a shadowbox with his military honors that his daughter put together.
ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD
The 1944 draft letter for Coy, now 103 years old.
ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD
A photo of Coy, his first wife and their daughter, in his bedroom.
ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD
Vince Orduña, Vietnam War veteran, poses for a photo at the Memorial Day parade in Omaha on May 28, 2021.
VINCE ORDUÑAThis Veterans Day, odds are good you’ll find Vince Orduña puttering in the backyard of his modest Plattsmouth home.
If he’s not chopping away at a chunk of wood or sprinkling feed for the chickens, he’ll probably be kicking back in a lounge chair next to a bubbling koi pond he built himself, inside a screened patio, where his seven cats roam free.
Vince Orduña’s photo from Omaha Central High School.
Vince Orduña is shown in August of 1968.
Vince Orduña competes for Central High during a track meet in 1967.
Vincent Orduña, Vietnam War Army veteran from Plattsmouth, with his younger brother, Paul.
PAUL ORDUÑA
PAUL ORDUÑA Vincent Orduña, Vietnam War Army veteran from Plattsmouth, shown in his Texas State Patrol uniform.
PAUL ORDUÑA
Vince Orduña, a Vietnam War Army veteran from Plattsmouth, is greeted by his family after his return from a Vietnam veterans flight of honor in 2017. Pictured are, from left, stepson, Isaac; brothers, Paul and John Jr.; sister-in-law, Sharon; Vince; mother, Doris; sister, Juanita; and wife, Marcella.
PAUL ORDUÑA
Bob Wiegand, 96, at his home in Cedar Bluffs. He served in the Merchant Marine in World War II.
ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALDIn the waning days of World War II, Merchant Marine seaman Bob Wiegand served in the engine room of a ship convoying war supplies to American service members fighting Japan in the Far East.
He endured boot camp, wore a uniform and saluted officers like other members of the U.S. armed forces. He bore the risk of sudden attack by kamikaze aircraft or submarine-launched torpedoes.
Bob Wiegand tells of when he had to man the engine room of a ship by himself during a typhoon in September 1945. “I stayed on duty all through that storm, probably 30 hours,” he said. “I had to keep turning valves. Otherwise, you’d blow the whole ship up.”
photos ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD110721-owh-spe-vet-wiegand-ar04
Lincoln will honor veterans with a virtual ceremony and walk of recognition Thursday.
The 23rd annual Veterans Walk of Recognition will start at 9:30 a.m. at the southwest corner of Memorial Stadium and conclude at the Veterans Memorial Garden, 3200 Memorial Drive, in Antelope Park. Flags will also be placed in the garden to commemorate Veterans Day.
Watch Now: Sights and Sounds of the Lincoln Veterans Parade
Lincoln residents lined K Street on Sunday to celebrate veterans during the city's third annual Veterans Day Parade, which included five Lincoln high school marching bands and more than 50 other local groups.
Former city councilman and veteran Roy Christensen said this year's theme — Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans — aimed to "honor those who were not honored then."
A giant inflatable bald eagle is pulled down K Street past the Capitol Building Sunday during the third annual Lincoln Veterans Day Parade.
EAKIN HOWARD, Journal Star
Vice Admiral Walter E. “Ted” Carter Jr., the University of Nebraska President, and his wife, Lynda, ride in the third annual Lincoln Veterans Day Parade on Sunday.
EAKIN HOWARD, Journal Star
Spectators holding American flags watch the third annual Lincoln Veterans Day Parade on Sunday at the Capitol Building.
EAKIN HOWARD, Journal Star
Rick Pollen sits with his wife, Emily (not pictured), while he watches the third annual Lincoln Veterans Day Parade on Sunday at the Capitol Building. "We love America and want to support the veterans" they said.
EAKIN HOWARD, Journal Star
Joe Burgess, William Brown, and Bob Reisser flew nearly 100 bombing runs over German cities in 1944 and 1945. Almost eight decades later, they have stories to tell.
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