MARSHALL COUNTY — Veterans, their families and other proud Americans came out in force on Monday to observe Memorial Day at a host of local events that kicked off with the fourth annual service at the Raymon Veterans Park in Albion at 8 a.m., emceed by Joynell Raymon.

Raymon, widow of the late National Guard veteran and longtime Raymon Enterprises leader Larry Raymon, led a ceremony that featured a wide variety of patriotic musical numbers from the customary singing of “The Star Spangled Banner” by her daughter-in-law Amanda to a bagpipe performance of “Amazing Grace” by Mary and Mike Kurth to a medley of “God Bless the USA,” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” and “This Land Is Your Land” by Amanda Raymon with her husband Chad Raymon accompanying her on guitar, along with brass selections by Burt Tecklenburg, Paul Hermanson, Brian Cox and Dave Staron, “This is My Song (Finlandia)” by Krystal Randall, “Blades of Grass and Pure White Stones” and “God Bless America” by Marshalltown Men’s Chorus members Stacy Heil, Larry Pfantz and Andy Schwandt and the customary playing of “Taps” by Hermanson and Tecklenburg. Wayne Rayman and Steve Storjohann placed the Missing in Action wreath, and Lori Judge DeSaulniers, sister of the late Darwin Judge, gave a bell salute for those who have died in defense of the nation. Rep. David Blom (R-Marshalltown) also presented a special flag to Joynell Raymon, and despite a brief rain shower, her son Brian of Spokane, Wash. delivered the keynote address.

Brian recalled, as a boy, wishing his father a Happy Memorial Day, only to be reminded that it is a day about “absence” and “empty chairs.”

“That’s what I would ask you today to think about is about empty chairs and the sacrifice,” he said before reading a poem.

Pastor Dan Vellinga read the benediction before the Marshalltown Combined Honor Guard performed the traditional 21-gun salute, and “Taps” and “Echo” completed the event.

“99 percent of us enjoy the freedom; one percent of us defended it,” Joynell remarked.

Iowa Veterans Home

With a theme of “Remember and Honor,” the Iowa Veterans Home (IVH) in Marshalltown hosted its annual Memorial Day service Monday morning with, fittingly, a standing-room-only crowd.

American and Iowa flags, music, pageantry and compelling poetry served to compliment the succinct and inspirational remarks by keynote speaker Lt. Col. Jodi Marti of the Iowa National Guard.

“I am going to try to get through this (speech) without too many tears,” said Marti.

Marti — a Knoxville resident — said Monday’s service was significant to her and comrades because of the deaths of SSG Nate Howard of Marshalltown and SSG Edgar Torres-Tovar of Des Moines.

Both were Guardsmen who were ambushed by ISIS forces in December 2025 while on deployment in Palmyra, Syria.

“You were our battle buddies, comrades and mentors,” she said of Howard and Torres-Tovar. “The National Guard has served America from before the Revolutionary War to the Civil War to the War on Terror. We truly are citizen soldiers. Guard members leave classrooms, farms, factories and offices to answer the call, either in support of military operations worldwide or to help American or Iowa communities recover from natural disasters such as floods.”

Marti said attendees should spend Memorial Day with family, friends and more.

“That is something we encourage everyone to do,” she said. “In fact, the peace and freedom that allows our fellow Americans to enjoy this day is exactly why the day of remembrance was established. But for us, those who wear the uniform, or wore the unform and especially for those families that have an empty seat at the table today … this day carries a profoundly different weight. We do not gather today to celebrate … we gather to remember and to fulfill the sacred promise that we will never forgot those who laid down their lives for our state and nation.”

Marti — an Adair native — enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard in 2002 according to the event program. Her 24-year career has included three deployments, including a 2010-11 deployment to Afghanistan as a Forward Support Company commander with the 1st Battalion 133rd Infantry. She also deployed to Kosovo and worked with the U.S. Embassy in support of Operation Joint Endeavor where she served with IVH Commandant Todd Jacobus.

She recently returned from Kuwait as the 334 Brigade Support Battalion commander. Marti’s grandson Kaden is a Iowa National Guard military policeman.

A stirring rendition of “America the Beautiful” among other selections by the Marshalltown Municipal Band — under the direction of Brett Umthun — was acknowledged by event emcee Steve Storjohann of Marshalltown. He is chair of the All-Veterans Committee.

“You (the band) are always there for us,” he said. “I believe you have almost 100 years of service to Marshalltown.”

IVH resident George Trent read his poem “Remembrance” to honor the fallen as well as fellow IVH residents who had died.

“I was inspired to remember the veterans who died … and what kind of lives they have lived … their contributions large and small,” he said. “I have lived at IVH for ten years … and the food is good too. Be sure to put that in.”

Trent is a U.S. Air Force veteran whose art is also on display at IVH. He previously lived in Mason City.

Radio personality Kyle Martin of Marshalltown radio stations KFJB 1230-KIX 101.1 read the solemn “A Soldier Died Today” – a poem also known as “Just a Common Soldier” written in 1987 by Canadian veteran and columnist A. Lawrence Vaincourt.

The poem was written to honor the unselfish, ordinary veterans who quietly serve their country and tend to be forgotten by the public after the battle is over,” according to Internet resources.

Also contributing to the event were the Marshalltown Combined Honor Guard, Scouting America Troop 308, and Auxiliary Members. Bert Tecklenburg and Dr. Paul Hermanson performed “Taps and Echoes.”

Mayor Ladehoff delivers keynote address at Riverside Cemetery

The lives and ultimate sacrifices of Howard and Torres-Tovar will not be forgotten as long as Americans celebrate Memorial Day.

Howard is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Marshalltown, the resting place of hundreds of veterans from the Revolutionary War to World War I to World War II to the War on Terror.

It was also the site of Memorial Day ceremonies Monday afternoon. Dozens turned out and sat under large shade trees to partake in the ceremony emceed by cemetery manager Kelly Schott.

Accordingly, she named veterans who had died this year and are buried at Riverside.

“Nate left behind a beautiful wife — Arianna,” said keynote speaker and Marshalltown Mayor Mike Ladehoff.

He reminded attendees that Memorial Day – once known as Decoration Day to honor Civil War dead – is to honor veterans who died while serving, particularly those who perished in battle. Conversely, Veterans Day celebrates and thanks all American military veterans living or deceased who served honorably.

“All gave some and some gave all,” Ladehoff said. “So today, imagine possessing the caliber and strength of mind to run into a dangerous situation when everyone else is running out. The courage to leave your family and friends to serve in dangerous situations in lands far, far away from home. They are the true superheroes. And I will have to admit this Memorial Day stings a little more because of the deaths of Nate Howard and Edgar Torres-Tovar.”

Also participating were Rev. Kyle Tietz, the associate pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Marshalltown, members of the Joint American Legion/VFW Auxiliary, the Marshalltown Combined Honor Guard and Marshalltown Municipal Band.

Additionally, Rep. Blom acknowledged the cemetery’s 163-year history in honoring the state’s military veterans.

Dozens of American flags were installed along Riverside’s roadways prior to the event by volunteers from United Auto Workers Local 893 Amalgamated.

Howard was employed as a laser engraving specialist at Emerson Process Management in Marshalltown and was a member of the Local 893 Unit 1 prior to his deployment to Syria. He was also a graduate of Marshalltown High School.

“It is so beautiful here with the lake (Woodmere),” said Ladehoff to Schott and Tietz after the event’s conclusion.

Inaugural service at the Courthouse Veterans Memorial

For the first time ever, a well-attended Memorial Day service was hosted at the new Veterans Memorial on the Marshall County Courthouse lawn, led by Marshall County Veterans Affairs Director Kevin Huseboe at 2:30 p.m. on Monday. Marshall County Supervisor Carol Hibbs, whose father and uncles served in WWII, introduced the space as “a beautiful memorial and a fitting tribute to our veterans,” and Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs Commandant Todd Jacobus made special mention of the members of the Iowa National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves who were sent to the Middle East last year and never came home, including Marshalltown’s own SSG William Nathaniel “Nate” Howard — whose parents, Jeff and Misty Bunn, were in attendance.

“It is in their honor that we are blessed to be on this very ground right now honoring them and their memory. And I can’t think of a better place to be to honor a local man named SSG Nate Howard than right here with all of you,” Jacobus said. “Thank you for coming to be with us as we honor his memory and the hundreds of thousands of others who have represented us in harm’s way in some unfamiliar places all around our world. It is on their shoulders that our future rests, and I am grateful that there are such service members as Nate Howard willing to serve and sacrifice for all of us.”

Marshall County Veterans Affairs Commissioner Herschel Edwards, who is set to retire from the Guard after over 20 years of service, was the keynote speaker at the courthouse ceremony. He described Memorial Day as a sacred moment and a time to pause, reflect and honor the brave men and women who have given their lives in service to their country from the early days of the Revolutionary War all the way up to the recent conflicts in the Middle East.

“Today, we remember more than wars. We remember people. We remember sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, friends and neighbors. We remember the empty chairs at dinner tables, the folded flags handed to grieving families. Behind every name etched in stone is a story — a life full of dreams, love and promise. And we must never forget the families,” Edwards said. “The sacrifice of military service is not only worn by the individual alone. It is carried by the spouses who waited, children who grew up too soon and parents who endured the unimaginable loss of a child. Their strength, their resilience and their courage are part of this legacy.”

He concluded by urging those in attendance to live lives that carry on the tradition of freedom and pass it on to the subsequent generations. Blom also presented a special flag to Huseboe and Marshall County on behalf of the state.

“Today, as the flag waves and ceremonies take place across the nation, let us remember that Memorial Day is not just a date on the calendar. It’s a commitment, a promise, that the fallen will never be forgotten. To those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, we offer our deepest thanks. To their families, we offer our enduring respect and compassion, and to one another, we renew our shared responsibilities to keep their memory alive,” Edwards said. “May we always remember, may we always honor and may we always strive to be worthy of their sacrifices.”

Huseboe also read “A Veteran Died Today,” and after the 21-gun salute and the playing of “Taps” and “Echo,” the Marshall County VA Director had a special message for the Vietnam veterans in attendance.

“Welcome home, brothers and sisters,” he said.

Afterward, Marvis Drew and Rose Rusell of the Central Iowa Quilt Sew-ciety presented seven Quilts of Valor to area veterans — Steve Atcher (Air Force), Jeff Bond (Army), Ron Estabrook (Army), Dean Hennick (Army), Mary Milligan (National Guard), Jon Stubbs (Iowa Army Reserves) and his brother Randy Stubbs (Navy).