PHOTO COURTESY OF JEANNE PAUSTIAN Gladbrook Legion Auxiliary Unit President Jeanne Paustian, IVH Commandant Todd Jacobus, and Post Commander Ron Busch.

GLADBROOK — The Gladbrook Auxiliary hosted a birthday party for the Gladbrook Legion Post #127 on March 20. Members were welcomed by President Jeanne Paustian, who stated that the American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, servicemembers and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States.

The American Legion was founded on four pillars:  Americanism, Children and Youth, National Security, and Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation. There are over 1,800,000 members of The American Legion, making it the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization. The American Legion has thousands of  Posts in communities throughout the United States.

Unit V-P Candice Bartel introduced Todd Jacobus, Commandant of the Iowa Veterans Home, for an introduction into his 33-year military career in the Army National Guard/Engineer Battalion, spending a good share of his deployment in Iraq and in helping Kosovo’s people fight for a new democratic government, explaining that this small European country now has five ‘sister’ cities with all five in Iowa, with a strong American military base there.

After his service career ended, the position of IVH Commandant was open. Jacobus applied and is excited and happy to have accepted the position, which he started on Nov. 7, 2022.

The Marshalltown facility was established in 1887 and was formerly called the “Iowa Soldiers Home.” It sits on 120 acres in the center of the state and in the past 10-15 years has seen the number of residents decrease from over 750 to 385 at the present time. During that time, several new buildings were built as independent living facilities, with only a waiting list for these rooms at the present time.

Military spouses and Gold Star family members may be admitted with a 400+ resident capacity, which is one of 133 Veterans Homes in the U.S. He explained that recently, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals came for a surprise week-long visit to the Home and after only four days of the five allowed, reported that they had found ‘zero’ deficiencies.

They continue to practice ‘COVID mask’ precautions when a resident in a ward shows symptoms and a positive test.

Jacobus said he is amazed at all the incredible support that the IVH receives from not only communities and individuals but from Veterans Service Organizations like the American Legion.

Jacobus ended his presentation with a quote from President Ronald Reagan, “The Great Communicator.”

“Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”

The Commandant kindly answered many questions and the Auxiliary certainly enjoyed his visit to the Gladbrook Post and Unit.