Veterans Day 2024: ‘Duty called, you answered’

“Duty called, you answered.” That was one of the themes of a Veterans Day celebration Friday morning, Nov. 8, at John Deere Headquarters in Moline. More than 100 people attended the celebration to hear words of praise, bagpipe music, stories of military service as well as eat birthday cake and share a few gifts to […]

“Duty called, you answered.” That was one of the themes of a Veterans Day celebration Friday morning, Nov. 8, at John Deere Headquarters in Moline. More than 100 people attended the celebration to hear words of praise, bagpipe music, stories of military service as well as eat birthday cake and share a few gifts to honor veterans.

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Much of that praise was reserved for two guests – World War II veterans Henry Wood of Taylor Ridge, Illinois, and Henry Langrehr of Clinton, Iowa. Mr. Wood was severely injured in a bomb explosion during the war. After he recovered, he came home to run the family farm. Mr. Langrehr parachuted behind enemy lines the night before the D-Day invasion. The Clinton man told his stories of those war days in his recent book “Whatever It Took,” co-written by Jim DeFelice. (Mr. DeFelice is a best-selling author, also known for the top-selling book “American Sniper” he wrote with Chris Kyle.) In addition to being honored for his war service, Friday’s crowd recognized Mr. Langrehr for his 100th birthday, which was Monday, Nov. 4. Attendees sang “Happy Birthday” and cake was served. “Thank you for being here today and for inspiring us,” said Lt. Gen. Mark H. Landes, commanding general of the U.S. First Army at Rock Island Arsenal, and Friday’s keynote speaker. In addition to honoring the World War II vets, the keynote speaker spent much of Friday’s ceremony making comparisons between military service and John Deere. Some of them included they both wear a lot of green, spend much of their time in the field and do tough jobs many other people will not do. But others comparisons were more profound, such as only about 1% of the population in the U.S. farms, and less than 1% have served in the military. “We get dirtier. We take the risks so others don’t have to,” Lt. Gen. Landes said. Friday’s events were also a time to call attention to the work of the Military Employer Resource Group (MERG) at John Deere. That group has been called a one-stop shop that helps with everything from helping vets get acclimated into a new job to connecting with fellow veterans. Mike Gathercole, a Marine Corps vet and business unit leader at Deere, praised the company in helping veterans over the years. “Deere does a lot of good work in supporting us,” he added. During Friday’s program, several Deere employees and veterans talked about how MERG has helped them, and how the group continues to support and honor veterans. MERG’s key theme for the Friday program was: “Duty called, you answered.” The program also featured gifts and music. Much of that music was provided by bagpiper Derek Grant, representing the Durant, Iowa, American Legion post. “I served in the Army and just wanted to add a little bit to the program today with my bagpipe tunes,” said Mr. Grant, after playing several songs on the bagpipes. Veterans were also presented with specially designed military challenge coins. Those coins are created to honor various achievements. The coin presented Friday, which was designed by a student from Dubuque, Iowa, has the “Duty called, you answered” theme on one side, and the image of a green farm field with an old John Deere plow on the other, surrounded by the words “John Deere” and “Military Employee Resource Group.” But for many people at Friday's ceremony, the stars of the show were World War II vets Mr. Wood and Mr. Langrehr. Both were men of few words and Friday, but said they were honored for being recognized at the Veterans Day celebration. Mr. Gathercole said he was especially happy to meet the two vets because it gave him a chance to reconnect with men from that generation. He added that his grandfather was a World War II vet, but died when he was 10 years old, so he didn't have a good opportunity to get to know him. Other people at the ceremony said meeting the two vets was a great inspiration. “We stand on the shoulders of giants, and those two men are giants,” said Command Sergeant Major Christopher Prosser of the First Army, and one of the guests at the ceremony.