Culver Orders Flags to be Flown Half Staff for Soldier Killed in Iraq

Gov. Chet Culver ordered Friday that all flags in the state be flown at half staff on Monday, April 14, 2008, from 8 a.m. (CST) until sunset in honor of Maj. Stuart Wolfer, 36, who died on April 6, 2008 while serving in Iraq. Wolfer served in Des Moines from May 1994 through November 1996 with the Army Reserve's 19th Theatre Army Area Command of Fort Des Moines. Funeral services were held in Friday, April 11 in Des Moines.

The U.S. Department of Defense said Wolfer, who was deployed to Iraq in December 2007, died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 11th Battalion, 104th Division of Boise, Idaho.

Wolfer is survived by his wife, Lee Anne, whom he met while stationed in Iowa in 1995, and their three daughters: Lillian Wade, 5; Melissa Lacey-Marie, 3; and Isadora Ruth, 1. The Wolfers currently reside in the Emmett, Idaho, area.

Culver Orders Flags Flown at Half –Staff to Honor Soldier Killed in Iraq

Gov. Chet Culver has ordered that all flags in the state be flown at half staff from 8 a.m. until sunset on Wednesday, Feb. 27, in honor of Army Spc. Chad Groepper, 21, of Kingsley, who died on Feb. 17 from wounds suffered in Iraq. Funeral services for Groepper will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Kingsley-Pierson High School.

Groepper was killed in Diyala Province Iraq when enemy forces attacked his dismounted patrol using small arms fire. He had been serving in Iraq for nearly one year with the 2nd Battalion 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, based in Fort Lewis, Wash.

Groepper enlisted in the Army after graduating in 2004 from Kingsley-Pierson High School. He leaves behind his wife, Stephanie, and their 4-month-old daughter, Clarissa, who was born just four weeks before he came home on leave last year.

Groepper is also survived by his parents, Darcy and David, and his two sisters, Denae, 26, of Granger, and Abbie, 24, of Kingsley. His unit had been scheduled to return to the United States from Iraq sometime between mid-May and July.

“We had just been counting the days until he came home,” his mother told the Des Moines Register.

Groepper was the 65th person with Iowa ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2003.

Culver Orders Flags Lowered to Honor Soldier Killed in Korean War

Cpl. Clem Robert Boody and his family can finally rest in peace.


The Independence native who served with the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, in the Korean War was declared missing in action after heavy fighting near Unsan, North Korea, on Nov. 2, 1950. He was presumed dead on Dec. 31, 1953.

In April, Boody’s remains were positively identified by the Department of Defense as a result of DNA testing. His remains were among the remains of six American soldiers that North Korean military leaders turned over to a delegation led by former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

"More than a half-century after Corporal Boody was reported missing in action while fighting for our country, he will finally receive a dignified burial next to his parents in Iowa," Richardson said following a private meeting in Des Moines with Boody’s relatives. "Cpl. Boody made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. I hope his relatives can get some closure after so many years of wondering what happened to their Uncle Clem."

Boody’s will be laid to rest in Independence on Tuesday, Dec. 4, and in honor of his sacrifice, Gov. Chet Culver has ordered all flags in the state to be flown at half-staff on Tuesday.

Richardson, a Democratic presidential candidate, has been working on the issue of retrieving remains of soldiers for several years. During the April meeting in Pyongyang, General Ri said Gov. Richardson's involvement was a factor in sending North Korean soldiers to the Unsan region during recent months to look for additional remains. The remains of one soldier had been found in October 2006, and Ri ordered 10 North Korean soldiers to the region to search for more remains, Ri told Gov. Richardson.

In addition to help bring Boody’s remains home to his surviving family, Richardson ensured that Boody’s family finally received the Purple Heart he was awarded 53 years ago. In 1954, the U.S. Army sent a letter to Boody's mother, informing her that her son had been awarded the medal and telling her it would arrive soon. But the medal never came, despite repeated efforts by family members to obtain it over the past 53 years, Boody’s niece Stacey Brewer said at a private ceremony in Des Moines Nov. 5.

"My grandmother never gave up the hope that he would come home someday, because for her, the death was never final,” Brewer said at the ceremony attended by Richardson and 200 other guests in Des Moines. “She just couldn't get her arms around the fact that one of her kids didn't come home. There was no body. There was no goodbye."

In honor of Cpl. Clem Boody, the flag will fly half-staff at the Iowa State Capitol Tuesday, Dec. 4

Originally posted on "Iowa Independent"

State Buildings Fail to Comply with Gov. Culver’s First Executive Order

Gov. Culver’s intentions may have been in the right place when he signed his first executive order as Iowa’s commander-in-chief, a directive that calls for flying flags half-staff to honor Iowa’s newly fallen soldiers. But the question still remains whether the governor intends to put his foot down and enforce its compliance. Although the flags on the State Capitol grounds were flying half-staff on Saturday under a directive signed by Culver, two buildings flanking the capitol, the Iowa Workforce Development (pictured to left) and Iowa Department of Public Safety buildings (pictured below the fold), failed to comply.

Culver’s first executive order in office, signed Jan. 27, recognizes and honors all of Iowa’s soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Culver’s order stipulates that Iowa’s state flag and the flag of the United States of America are to be flown at half-staff on all properties under the state’s jurisdiction when:

1. A member of the Iowa National Guard is killed in the line of duty.
2. A member of the Iowa Air National Guard is killed in the line of duty.
3. An Iowa resident serving as a member of the United States Armed Forces is killed in the line of duty.

On Saturday, all flags in the state were supposed to be flown half-staff in honor of Army Sgt. Adrian Hike of Sac City, who died while serving in Afghanistan on Nov. 12. Hike, who was awarded a Purple Heart after sustaining injuries while serving in Iraq in 2005, was killed in Afghanistan when insurgents set off an improvised explosive device next to his vehicle during a combat patrol in Bermel. His funeral was in Carroll on Saturday.

Noncompliant flags fly full-staff in Iowa Deptartment of Public Safety, which is located just southwest of State Capitol

The governor’s executive order also encouraged individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions to fly the flag at half staff on Saturday as well as a sign of respect for the fallen soldier. This recommendation presents a problem, however: How does the governor’s office effectively communicate this directive to the aforementioned entities?
This communication gap was highlighted in an August column by Des Moines Register columnist John Carlson, who related the incident of a “borderline disgusted” caller, who was upset by the number of flags that were not at half-staff in honor of Marine Sgt. Jon Bonnell, Jr., 22, of Fort Dodge, who was killed in Iraq on August 6, 2007.

P.J. Sesker Green, the aunt of Sgt. Daniel Sesker, an Iowa National Guard soldier killed last year, wondered why a number of businesses were not flying their flags at half-staff on the day of Bonnell's funeral. So Sesker-Green stopped at a few places and asked questions. "I told them the governor asked everybody to do it on the day of a funeral as a sign of respect," she told Carlson over the phone. "Some people told me they'd never heard such a thing. Some told me they didn't know anything about the Marine being buried that day. I think all of them were embarrassed."

To help address this communication gap, the governor’s office added a new feature to its refurbished web site, which allows people to sign up for e-mail updates regarding flag notifications. The e-mails are a start, but on Saturday, the majority of Des Moines’ businesses’ flags were not lowered in recognition of Hick’s sacrifice. While patrolling the downtown area in my car, the only businesses and institutions I observed flying their flags at half-staff were the Principal Financial Building, WOI television station, and Central Campus.

Granted, it was Saturday, a day when most government buildings shut down for the weekend holiday. Unfortunately, for those government employees serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war does not take a holiday.

U.S. flag flies half-staff Nov. 24 2007 in honor of Sgt. Adrian Hike, who was killed while serving in Afghanistan

Originally posted on "Iowa Independent"

Hooverfest Pays Tribute to 57 Iowa Sons and Daughters Killed in Iraq

More than 200 family members of the 57 Iowa soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in Iraq gathered Saturday at the gravesite of Herbert Hoover (see pic) for a ceremony honoring their service.

“This is a long overdue salute to our fallen Iowa heroes and to you the families, who have given so much in this war as it continues at this moment,” said Ron Steele, veteran KWWL news anchor and emcee of the event.

The ceremony culminated this year’s annual Hooverfest in West Branch, which played host to a day filled with Hooverball, rain, live music, more rain, food and sunshine. Hooverfest grew from residents of Herbert Hoover’s birthplace to celebrate the 31st president of the United States by keeping the flame of Hoover’s humanitarian spirit alive.

This motif manifested throughout the evening’s ceremony as political dignitaries including Culver, former Iowa Gov. Bob Ray and Belgian Ambassador Dominique Struye de Swieland made the connection between the humanitarian and military call to service. “No group better exemplifies the Hoover spirit of service than those Iowans in the armed forces and the Iowa National Guard,” said Culver while addressing the families of the fallen.

Accompanied by bagpipe music, the ceremony that drew the fallen soldiers’ families and honored guests began at the Herbert Hoover Museum and Presidential Library and made its way toward Hoover’s gravesite atop the hill (see pic above). Onlookers stood along the procession and paid tribute to the families by clapping, while some veterans executed a military salute.

The ceremony showcased the Tipton boys’ choir singing the national anthem, a flyover by a CH7 Chinook (see pic left) from Davenport Company B 2nd Battalion 211 General Support Aviation and speeches by Ron Steele, Belgian Ambassador Dominique Struye de Swieland, and Iowa’s Commander-in-Chief Chet Culver. A tribute film honoring the fallen soldiers and fireworks accompanied by contemporary patriotic music followed the speeches.

With the graves of former President Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou Henri, as the backdrop, Culver delivered the keynote address to the families. “Here in front of Hoover’s final resting place, we remember and celebrate the lives of 57 other great Iowans, those who have died since the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.”

Tapping into Hoover’s legacy, Culver connected his service to those of Iowans. “Being an Iowan means many things to many people,” Culver said. “However, I believe there is one common bond that unites everyone who has lived in our state, and that’s a never-ending commitment to serving our fellow Iowans. The idea of giving something back to our community still matters in Iowa.” At the apex of his speech, Culver, on behalf of the soldiers killed in Iraq, specifically addressed those left behind in their wake. “As their commander in chief, I would like to say a few words to their families,” Culver said. “Words cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices that your sons or daughters or niece or nephew or aunt, uncle or husband or wife or mother or father have made on behalf of our state.”

“Though you will never to be able to fill the hole in your heart, I want you to know that every Iowan is ready to assist today and in the future in any way possible,” Culver said. “You are a part of the Iowa community, and when we lose somebody too young and so full of life, everyone grieves, too.”

After a moment of silence, Culver made a vow and oral contract with the families that he will do anything in his power to help them through suffering and struggles brought on by their losses. Culver said how proud he was that his first executive order as governor was to lower flags half-staff to honor Iowa’s fallen soldiers. “This simple act makes visible the sacrifice made by these soldiers.”

At the end of his speech, he reiterated Iowans' call to service by quoting another former president, John F. Kennedy, who once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by those words.”

“These 57 eternal patriots that we honor here tonight are the ultimate embodiment of Iowa’s spirit of service and we must honor our own lives in honor of their sacrifice. We must dedicate our lives to the same spirit of service they did. We owe it to them,” Culver said. “Let us work together in our communities and to give our children every opportunity of success, so they may pass this spirit of service down to future generations of Iowans. By doing so, we will make our state better by making the lives around us better, thus paying a lasting tribute to these soldiers on behalf of all of us.”

West Branch’s Hooverfest to Honor Iowa’s 57 Fallen Soldiers

Gov. Chet Culver’s first executive order as Iowa’s commander-in-chief called for all flags on state grounds to be flown at half-staff to honor fallen soldiers. Since Culver signed the directive Jan. 27, eight Iowa soldiers have been killed in the line of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. On May 28, the Iowa Independent asked: “So what about the 49 fallen Iowa soldiers who were killed in the line of duty before Gov. Culver was sworn into office and issued his first executive order? Maybe one day in Iowa, flags will be flown half-staff in their honor.”

West Branch, the birthplace of Herbert Hoover, has responded by planning to honor all of Iowa’s fallen soldiers at the annual Hooverfest. A private reception will be held for the fallen service members’ families on Saturday, which will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. procession to the nearby Hoover grave site for the public ceremony.

Accompanied by bagpipe music, a procession that includes families representing 57 Iowans killed in Iraq will hear Culver and Belgian Ambassador Dominique Struye de Swieland each give an address. A wreath sent from the White House will be placed on the grave-site monument, and Iowa Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Jodi Tymeson will read a letter sent by President Bush. There will also be a tribute film honoring the fallen soldiers, music by the Tipton High School Boys’ Choir and a surprise by the Iowa National Guard. The evening will end with fireworks scored by patriotic music.

The occasion will mark the first time Culver will address the soldiers of the 133rd Infantry Battalion and their families since their return to Iowa. Although Culver greeted the soldiers upon their return to American soil at Volk Field in Wisconsin, he did not attend last week’s homecoming at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo. Culver’s absence did not go unnoticed by some of the attendees as John Carlson notes in the Des Moines Register:

There was some "where's the governor?" grumbling among relatives who gathered to celebrate and honor the battalion that spent nearly two years on active duty,
including 15-plus months in Iraq. The Iowans served longer continuously in Iraq
than any other military unit since the war started more than four years ago.

Some - Richard Elliott of Carson, for instance - wondered why Culver didn't show. "These are his boys," said Elliott, who was there to greet his son-in-law. "He should have been there…It's about respecting these soldiers…This is his state. He should have been there. Everybody sitting around me thought the
same thing."

Brad Anderson, communications director for the governor, responded to the Des Moines Register that:

"Culver went to Volk Field in Wisconsin to greet the soldiers when they arrivedthere a week before they came to the Waterloo event. He was there on the tarmacto greet them as they got off the plane," Anderson said. "It was a more intimatesetting and more meaningful than giving a speech when all the family members
wanted to do was greet their soldiers."

Anderson said Culver discussed all this with Maj. Gen. Ron Dardis, the top-ranking Guard officer in Iowa, and they agreed the governor should be in Wisconsin.

"The governor and General Dardis both thought that being the first to greet them was the best way for the governor to welcome them home," Anderson said. "The governor believes they are true heroes. He had a great visit with them and was able to talk with them on a one-on-one, intimate level."

Flag Flying Half-Staff for Iowa’s Fallen Soldiers

On the day after Memorial Day, all flags in the state of Iowa will continue to be flown at half-staff in honor of Tipton native, Specialist David Behrle, who was killed by a roadside bomb on May 19th of this year. Behrle is Tipton’s, second Iraq casualty, will be buried in Tipton on Tuesday, where he joins Sgt. Aaron J. Sissel, who was killed on Nov. 29th, 2003, in Iraq when his vehicle was hit by enemy fire.

Spc. Behrle will be the sixth fallen Iowa soldier to be honored by a state-wide directive by Governor Culver, whose first executive order in office called for flags to be flown at half staff to honor fallen Iowa soldiers. Last Thursday, Culver ordered that all flags in the state be flown at half staff on Tuesday, May 29th:

The Governor's directive applies to all U.S. and state flags under the control of the state. Flags will be at half staff on the state Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex, and upon all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state until sunset Tuesday, May 29th, 2007. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties, and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

“Once the governor learns the date of the funeral, he will issue an order that the flags will be flown at half staff on the day of the respective soldier’s funeral,” said Brad Anderson, Culver’s press secretary.

Other directives have been issued by Culver for fallen Iowa soldiers who have died in the line of duty since the executive order was signed on Jan. 27, 2007. These include Iowa Army National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, 46, of Polk City, Jan. 20; Army Reserve Cpl. Stephen D. Shannon, 21, of Guttenberg, Jan. 31; Army Reserve Pfc. Brian A. Botello, 19, of Alta, April 29; Army Pfc. Katie Soenksen, 19, of Davenport, May 2; Army Spc. David Behrle, 20, of Tipton, May 19.

At the federal level, the flag is displayed at half-staff on Memorial Day, in mourning for the death of designated principal government leaders and the death of the current or former President of the United States, or when directed by the President. There is no directive or code that honors individual American soldiers killed in the line of duty. Although, in the wake of President Bush’s recent order that all American flags be flown at half-staff for one week in honor of the 32 students killed at Virginia Tech, Army Sgt. Jim Wilt questioned Bush’s decision. Sgt. Wilt, who was stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan at the time, was upset by the irony of having to fly the flag half-staff for the 32 Virginia Tech students, yet the same honor was not bestowed upon Sgt. Alexander Van Aalten, a member of the his task force, who was killed in Hemland province during the same week.

"Individual states have taken it upon themselves to raise their flags to half-mast when one of their children dies. I think it is sad that we do not raise the bases’ flag to half-staff when a member of our own task force dies… If the flags on our FOBs were lowered for just one day after the death of a servicemember, it would show the people who knew the person that society cared, the American people care."

So what about the 49 fallen Iowa soldiers who were killed in the line of duty before Governor Culver was sworn into office and issued his first executive order? Maybe one day in Iowa, flags will be flown half-staff in their honor. Until then, the sacrifices of our native sons and daughters will not be forgotten.

In Memory of…

Killed in Iraq 2003: Marine reservist Sgt. Bradley Korthaus, 28, of Davenport, March 24; Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeff Bohr, 39, of Ossian, April 10; Army Pvt. Kenneth A. Nalley, 19, of Hamburg, May 26; Army Pvt. Michael Deutsch, 21, of Dubuque, July 31; Army National Guard Pfc. David Kirchhoff, 31, of Anamosa, Aug. 14; Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer Bruce A. Smith, 41, of West Liberty, Nov. 2; Army National Guard Sgt. Paul Fisher, 39, of Cedar Rapids, Nov. 6; Army Pvt. Kurt Frosheiser, 22, of Des Moines, Nov. 8; Army National Guard Sgt. Aaron Sissel, 22, of Tipton, Nov. 29.

Killed in Iraq 2004: Army National Guard Spc. Joshua Knowles, 23, of Sheffield, Feb. 5; Marine Lance Cpl. Benjamin Carman, 20, of Jefferson, April 6; Marine Cpl. Michael R. Speer, 24, of Davenport, April 9; Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Trace W. Dossett, 37, of Orlando, Fla., formerly of Wapello, May 2; Marine Pfc. Brandon Sturdy, 19, of Urbandale, May 13; Marine Pfc. Nick Skinner, 20, of Davenport, Aug. 26; Marine Cpl. Jarrod Maher, 21, of Imogene, Nov. 12; Army Spc. Daryl Davis, 20, of Spencer, Nov. 29.

Killed in Iraq 2005: Marine Sgt. Thomas Houser, 22, of Council Bluffs, Jan. 3; Marine Cpl. Nathan Schubert, 22, of Cherokee, Jan. 26; Army Spc. Dakotah L. Gooding, 21, of Des Moines, Feb. 13; Army Sgt. Eric Steffeney, 28, of Waterloo, Feb. 23; Iowa Army National Guard 2nd Lt. Richard B. ‘‘Brian’’ Gienau, 29, of Peoria, Ill., formerly of Tripoli, Feb. 27; Iowa Army National Guard Sgt.Seth Garceau, 22, of Oelwein, March 4; Army Sgt. Donald Griffin, Jr., 29, of Fort Lewis, Wash., family from Mechanicsville, March 11; Iowa Army National Guard Spc. John W. Miller, 21, of West Burlington, April 12; Robert J. ‘‘Jason’’ Gore, 23, of Nevada, April 21 (inactive National Guardsman working as private security officer); Army Spc. David Lee Rice, 22, of Sioux City, April 26; Army reservist Sgt. Casey Byers, 22, of Schleswig, June 11; Urbandale native Army Pfc. Eric Paul Woods, 26, of Omaha, July 9; Keven Dagit, 42, of Jefferson, Sept. 20; Cedar Rapids native Army Pvt. 2nd Class Dustin Allen Yancey, 22, of Goose Creek, S.C., Nov. 4; Iowa Army National Guard Sgt.Gregory Tull, 20, of Pocahontas, Nov. 25.

Killed in Iraq 2006: Army Reservist Maj. Stuart Anderson, 44, of Peosta, Jan. 7; Army Sgt. Nathan Field, 23, of Lehigh, Jan. 7; Iowa Army National Guard Sgt. Daniel Sesker, 22, of Ogden, March 20. 36. Des Moines native Army Spc. Antoine McKinzie, 25, of Indianapolis, March 21; Iowa Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Mark Wall, 27, of Alden, April 27; Marine Lance Cpl. William Leusink, 21, of Maurice, May 22; Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaime Jaenke, 29, of Iowa Falls, June 5; Army Pfc. William ‘‘Willy’’ Thorne, 26, of Hospers, Aug. 24; Iowa National Guard Staff Sgt. Scott E. Nisely, 48, of Marshalltown, Sept. 30; Iowa National Guard Sgt. Kampha B. Sourivong, 20, of Iowa City, Sept. 30; Army Lt. Col. Paul Finken, 40, of Earling, Nov. 2; Army Sgt. James Musack, 23, of Riverside, Nov. 21; Marine Lance Cpl. Clinton Jon ‘‘C.J.’’ Miller, 23, of Greenfield, Dec. 11; Army Cpl. Jonathan Schiller, 20, of Ottumwa, Dec. 31.

Killed in Afghanistan: Iowa Army National Guard Spc. James C. Kearney III, 22, of Emerson, Nov. 1, 2004; Army Staff Sgt. Shane Koele, 25, of Hartley, March 16, 2005; Remsen native Army reserve 1st Sgt. Tobias Meister, 30, of Jenks, Okla., Dec. 28, 2005; Army Spc. Travis Vaughn, 26, of Cedar Falls, Feb. 18, 2007.