Military branches and members were honored on Saturday at the Iowa Veterans Home during the Wreaths Across America ceremony.

The special speaker was Vietnam veteran Tim Houts.

“This observance is conducted nationally at veteran cemeteries by placing Christmas wreaths at the graves of our heroes, as you know, who passed before us and stood up for the cause of freedom in this great country,” he said.

Houts wanted to tell the story of Iowan hero Nile Kinnick of Adel, who was the 1939 Heisman Trophy winner and died during a United States Navy flight training exercise in 1943.

“He looked at challenges with tenacity, hard work and courage,” he said. “He once said ‘Who can stand against me when I have God standing with me?'”

Kinnick intended to get a law degree and become a politician, but he put those plans on hold to respond to World War II. Houts said he joined the Navy three days before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“He always believed the power of God was with him and would protect him,” he said.

Kinnick was assigned to the flight crew on the USS Lexington carrier and were practicing flight operations off the coast of Venezuela. The engine in his plane developed a serious oil leak and was unable to return to the flight deck. Standard operating procedure was to attempt a water landing, but it proved deadly for Kinnick, Houts told attendees.

With the engine running out of oil, Houts said Kinnick probably said a prayer and thought the water landing was the best option. Lowering the landing gear, Kinnick hit the water and flipped his plane.

“He died rather instantly, or within a few minutes,” he said. “The plane immediately sank with its 24-year-old pilot. His plane and his body were never recovered and his name lives on at the University of Iowa . . . They named Iowa Stadium after Nile. As Paul Harvey would say, ‘Now you know the rest of the story.'”

There has been speculation why Kinnick did not try to return to the flightdeck. Houts said internal combustion engines can run for a short period of time without oil. Perhaps he wanted to ensure the Lexington crew was safe, considering the possibility of a crash landing on the ship.

Speaking to Vietnam combat veterans, Houts said they did not know the effects they would endure from being exposed to Agent Orange, but they all support one another in their advancing age. He recently received a new mechanical heart valve.

“That Agent Orange is nasty stuff,” he said. “Some of you may be suffering from the effects of that. It wasn’t fair, was it? We didn’t know they were going to poison us when we got over there to fight the war. Anyway, we stand with courageous hearts, and we don’t look back. We help each other. We serve each other. We take care of each other as brothers and sisters, because we can and because we must. God bless you and Merry Christmas to all of you.”

Some IVH residents participated in the ceremony by laying wreaths representing different United States military branches. Bringing the wreaths to the front of the room were:

Todd Rank, Army;

David Baker, Navy;

Duan Anderson, Air Force;

Bill Wiedrich, Marines;

Sandra Meyer, Coast Guard;

Bobby Schutty, Merchant Marines;

Craig Thomas, Space Force and;

Jerry Mellor, POW/MIA.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.