Brenda Wade Schmidt
Enterprise
Veterans will be honored Monday at three events in the county.

Colman program
The Veteran’s Day program will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Colman-Egan school.
A free breakfast for veterans, spouses and guests will be served before the program at 9 a.m.
Call the school at 534-3534 by Friday to reserve a spot for breakfast.

Flandreau day program
The Flandreau Veteran’s Day program will include remarks from Captain Andrew Gassman, a 2008 Flandreau High School graduate. The program will begin at 8 am with juice, coffee and rolls for veterans at 8 a.m. The program begins at 9 a.m. in the high school gym.
Pastor David Lillebridge of the Big Sioux Baptist Church will offer the invocation and benediction. Voice of Democracy essay winners from Flandreau High School will read their essays and the FHS band will play.
Gassman’s schedule prevents him from appearing in person so his mother, Marietta Gassman, will read his remarks.

Flandreau evening program
The Veteran’s Day potluck and program will include a 6 p.m. dinner followed by a program. It will be held at the William J. Janklow Community Center.
Gassman’s service
After graduating from Flandreau, Gassman graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2012 with a degree in finance. He commissioned in the United States Army on May 19, 2012, from the Notre Dame ROTC program.
In 2013, Gassman, then a 2nd Lieutenant, attended the Armor Basic Officer Leadership Course and Army Reconnaissance Course at Fort Benning, Ga. That fall, he was assigned to 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas. While there, he served as a tank platoon leader, was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, and served as the battalion’s lead planner for his unit’s regional alignment to Africa.
In 2015, he was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment in the same Brigade as a tank troop executive officer. During that time, his crew won the 1st Armored Division best tank crew competition and competed in the Sullivan Cup at Fort Benning.
Then in 2016 he deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. While deployed his unit prepared for large scale combat operations and conducted partner training with the Kuwaiti, Emerati, and Omani armies. Additionally, he traveled to Lebanon to share techniques and procedures with their armored forces.
In 2017, Gassman attended the Maneuver Captains Career Course and Cavalry Leader Course at Fort Benning. After graduation, he moved to Fort Campbell, Ky., and was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Rakkasans”, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). He served as the assistant operations officer for nine months and took command of Apache Troop, 1-33 CAV, in June 2019. The troop specializes in light mounted reconnaissance ahead of the brigade’s infantry battalions.
Gassman’s awards and decorations include three Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, Ranger Tab, Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge.