“You grow up quick. I went through boot camp down at Fort Leonard Wood (in Missouri). Then I went to AIT for training because I did all the armament systems on the Cobra helicopters,” he said. “I was really amazed. When I left there, I was a distinguished graduate and was promoted from E1 all the way to E4… and then from there, my duty station was Fort Carson, Colo.”

The way it shook out, his period of service ended up being relatively brief. Huseboe stayed stateside until the official end of the war in May of 1975, and one winter in the snowy mountains of Colorado had been enough for him to know he was ready to get back home.

At 19 years old, he was honorably discharged after just shy of two years of service, but he was quick to note he enjoyed his time and the work he did on the Cobra helicopters, including getting the opportunity to learn how to fly them. Before long, Huseboe had settled back into a relatively normal civilian life, helping at his brother’s body shop for years before eventually taking a job at Fisher Controls around the turn of the 21st century.

It was this job and the friendships he made through it that inspired him to help other veterans and ultimately set him on the path to become Marshall County’s Veterans Affairs director, a title he has held since 2021.

Marshall County VA Director Kevin Huseboe addresses the board of supervisors during a recent meeting. He has held his current position since August of 2021.

“I knew a lot of veterans. My great uncle was World War I. My uncle and my dad both served in World War II in the Navy, and then my other uncle in the Korean (conflict). And then myself Vietnam era, and my cousin’s oldest son was War on Terror,” he said. “I mean, we’ve got a little bit of military background.”

Huseboe also got involved in the American Legion Post 46, but while he was at Fisher, other veterans would ask him about benefits and what they might be entitled to through the VA. Then, in 2021, he was approached about applying for the Marshall County VA Director job, and after interviewing with the commissioners that July (originally, for the assistant position), they recommended him for the director position and told him the job was his.

On Aug. 16, 2021, he left Emerson-Fisher and started his new career in veterans affairs working 28 hours a week, and although it required a bit of an adjustment period and some on the job training, Huseboe knew he was doing something he truly enjoyed.

“I always consider it just paying it forward every day for the veterans and helping. Presently, we’re seeing over eight different counties of veterans coming here because they’re turned away in their counties and told they either don’t qualify because of their income or ‘Be thankful for the benefits you have, you know, you’re pretty much maxed out,'” he said. “Some of them got 20 or 30 or 40 percent, and they come here and we file their paperwork and we submit it. And like I say, if it sticks on the wall, it’s a win. It’s not our choice to tell a veteran no. If you come in with a good discharge, we’re gonna do everything we can for you.”

Along with the meat and potatoes work of helping veterans secure the benefits they’re entitled to, Huseboe has also engaged in extensive outreach through initiatives like the banners in partnership with the Marshalltown Central Business District and food box giveaways for veterans with pork from JBS. Next week, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Todd Jacobus will be on hand for the giveaway on the grounds of the newly renovated and reopened Marshall County Courthouse.

Because of IVH’s presence and the Iowa National Guard’s facility here, veterans issues have a special resonance in Marshalltown and Marshall County, and Huseboe is proud to serve in a place with such reverence for those who served their country.

“It’s just an honor every day to help and assist, and it’s like Secretary Pate said too. He really loves Marshalltown. He loves seeing what it’s becoming and how veteran friendly it has become,” he said. “And I always highlight the Iowa Veterans Home. That’s kind of the crown jewel of the state, and with the leadership out there now, everything moves forward. It’s a great facility. Todd does a wonderful job out there, and the staff’s doing a great job.”

In the future, Huseboe sees Marshall County being something of a regional hub for veterans struggling to obtain benefits, and he’ll continue to work for them as best as he can regardless of their level of disability or income. As he puts it, “show me a veteran without hearing loss.”

“That’s the worst thing I see all the time. It’s been 50 plus years since Vietnam, and they’ve been trying for years to get service connected,” Huseboe said. “And they’ve been told all of these years ‘You don’t qualify.’ And that is the worst statement. I get so tired of hearing that they’re coming in and saying that, and it’s not their fault they’re saying it. But they’ve been told that.”

He’s also relished the opportunity to meet local veterans he never knew served before they came into his office — especially those from Vietnam who haven’t said much because of the rejection many felt upon returning home from the war. If Huseboe can connect any ex-serviceman or woman, from WWII and Korea to the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the benefits they’ve earned as a repayment for wearing the nation’s uniform, he’ll consider it a job well done, and it also encourages them — especially those from other counties — to explore Marshalltown and its eating and shopping options while they’re here.

“It means a lot to those veterans, and they’re so grateful. They leave here smiling and saying thank you,” he said. “Every veteran deserves to be service connected for anything because they’ve earned that. When we all went into boot camp, we were always told there that if you make it to the ripe old age, there’s a bucket of money sitting over here with your Social Security number on it. If you need that later in life, that bucket of money, apply for it and you’ll get it… The multitude of paperwork and rifling through it is kind of a maze some days, but it’s such a great honor to have this job and to be able to help so many veterans and help them move forward.”