HOLSTEIN, Iowa (AP) – Veterans of service in Iraq and Afghanistan are being asked to serve in a different way. The Sioux City Journal reports that membership in groups such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, is shrinking as World War II and Korean War veterans age and die. That leaves the groups with fewer members to carry on basic functions such as providing color guards at veterans’ funerals.

The groups have met varying degrees of success as they try to attract younger veterans. In the American Legion’s northwest Iowa district, 18 of 89 posts have met their 2016 membership goals ahead of the June 30 deadline.

Of Post 225’s membership of 130 in Holstein, nearly a third served in what’s termed the Persian Gulf era.

The Iowa Department of Corrections reports a man was placed on escape status Sunday, after he failed to return from an authorized furlough to the Marshalltown Work Release Facility. Authorities are searching for 29-year old Michael Alan Compston, who was serving a 10-year sentence for 2nd Degree Robbery out of Cerro Gordo County. His sentence began on April 4th, 2006.

Compston was transferred to the Marshalltown WRF after being granted a work release February 5th, by the Iowa Board of Parole. Work Release is a minimum security setting which allows offenders an opportunity to gradually adjust to the transition between prison, and the community.

Compston

Compston is a white male, 6-feet tall, weighs 175-pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes. He also has a tattoo on his neck, piercings in both ears and left eyebrow. Anyone with knowledge of his location should call the Marshalltown Police Department or Marshal County Sheriff’s Office.

On this Memorial Day, activities are set for several area communities. Among them, services in Atlantic take place at the Field of Glory in the Atlantic Cemetery, beginning 10-a.m.. The service will be broadcast on KJAN and videocast on our video channel.

In Adair, a program will begin at 10-a.m., at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier at the Sunnyhill Cemetery.

In Anita, the events get underway at 10:30 in the Anita Evergreen Cemetery (In the event of rain the event takes place in the CAM High School Commons). The Cumberland First Baptist Church will host their annual Memorial Day Service at the Cumberland Community Building, beginning at 10:30-a.m.

In Casey,  the Casey United Methodist Church is the site for refreshments from 9:30-until 10-a.m., followed by services.

In Griswold, the day includes a ceremony at the Griswold Cemetery Circle of Flags beginning at 11-a.m. There’s also a luncheon at the Griswold American Legion, at 11:30.

Join the Lewis Town & Country Boosters and the Pancake Man on May 30th for a breakfast of pancakes & sausages, juice and coffee. They’ll be serving from 7:30-10:30 am at the Lewis Community Center for a free will donation.

In Massena, a program will be held at the CAM Middle School Commons, beginning at 10:30-a.m. hosted by American Legion Post #693.

Grant Community Preservationists (GCP) will hold an 11-a.m. service to honor lost veterans at the Grant Cemetery. The service will include music, readings, and an honor roll. Small individual flags will be available for families of veterans to place on their graves; GCP will be responsible for collecting them after the holiday. Following the cemetery service, Grant United Methodist Church will hold its annual Memorial Day Dinner from 11:30 am-to 1 pm for a free-will offering.

Memorial Day Services in Audubon County will be held on May 30th at 10:00  in Audubon at the Arlington Cemetery, 10:00 am in Brayton, 10:00 am and 9:30 am in Exira at the Exira Cemetery (Rain location the Exira Rec Center). Exira Lions Memorial Breakfast will be held on May 30th at the Lions Community Center in Exira.  They will be serving pancakes, sausage, biscuits and gravy, French toast, juice and coffee from 8 am to 1 pm for a free will offering. From 11 am to 1 pm they’ll be serving Rueben sandwiches with chips and drink to be served for $6.50.

The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum is featuring a new exhibit about World War One on this Memorial Day weekend. Bob Holliday is chairman of the museum’s board of directors. “One of the missions of this museum is to honor and recognize any Iowan who’s ever worn a uniform. There’s no distinction made between branch of service or rank. We don’t care if you’re a two-star general or a brand new buck private,” Holliday says. “If you’re an Iowan, we want to recognize you and honor you.”

About 114-thousand Iowans served during what was called “The Great War” and more than 35-hundred of them died. Holliday says today is set aside to honor the war dead. “Memorial Day was born shortly after the Civil War. It was indeed first called Decoration Day,” Holliday says. “It’s a day set aside to remember those who have given their very lives to protect our freedoms and our very way of life. You have to stop and think what these people gave up so we can live the way we do today.”

The museum’s new exhibit focuses on “life in the trenches” in France during World War One. The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum opens today (Monday) at 5 a.m. and closes a 1 p.m. It is located at Camp Dodge in Johnston, the home base for the Iowa National Guard. Holliday says the museum has grown from modest beginnings. “It started with a mandate from the Iowa Legislature in 1986,” Holliday says. “It was located in the basement of the base chapel, a very small room.”

The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum is now a free-standing building that covers 28-thousand square feet.

(Radio Iowa)

Four dogs from the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Iowa are living with prison inmates at the Clarinda Correctional Facility as part of a program that will ultimately benefit veterans. The program was launched on May 11 and involves inmates who train the dogs, so they can eventually become well-mannered pets for veterans. The A-R-L’s Mick McAuliffe says the dogs will live with the offenders, in their cell, for six weeks.

“It’s to get these dogs more adoptable…to sit calmly. Our end goal, we’d like to pair these dogs up with…veterans in need. These aren’t service dogs. They are purely trained shelter dogs for companionship and comfort,” McAuliffe says. Eight prisoners were selected for the program — four are primary handlers and four are backup handlers. McAuliffe says the dogs are not aggressive, but do need some intense training.

“These guys are rough and rowdy,” McAuliffe says. “They’re jumping, pushy, they may mouth you when playing, and they pull extremely hard on leash.” McAuliffe says the ARL has seen the benefit of having offenders work with animals through previous partnerships with the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville and the North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City. The program is funded entirely by private donations.

(Radio Iowa)