The gymnasium was nearly full for the Flandreau Public School’s Veterans Day ceremonies last Friday. Students and staff at the school lined both sides of the gym, the high school band sat on the main stage, and veterans, their families, friends and other visitors along with local law enforcement filled the seating throughout the center of the floor and lined the back wall.
Master of Ceremonies, Marietta Gassman, welcomed the crowd and gracefully walked them through the significance of the day, celebrating and recognizing so many in the Moody County community who have served our country and continue to do so, along with the reason for the empty table and place setting in the middle of the floor.

“The sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice,” Gassman told the crowd, reminding them that some never make it back home.  
To further remind the crowd of that reality, Bill Ellingson, the featured speaker, talked about the Korean War and of one local family in particular, who lost a husband and father. Ellingson detailed the story of 2nd Lt. Robert K. Thompson, who was killed in action in 1951. He recently wrote the soldier’s story in a book with the help of Thompson’s daughter.
Nearly 45 minutes into the program, even the youngest of attendees remained captivated by the stories Ellingson told — of the letters written to his wife back home, and of the battles and tough conditions Thompson faced prior to dying in combat in one of the worst losses of U.S. Troops in that war.
The book is available through the Moody County Historical Society and Museum.