That wasn’t the only thing that got the attention of a large observance crowd on a warm, sunny day.

Guest speaker Robert “Bob” Sharp of Albert Lea, formerly of Sleepy Eye and Lake Crystal, talked about his Vietnam War service in great detail. To say the least, he’s a man who has worn many hats.

Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1963, he became a helicopter mechanic before going to Vietnam, serving double duty as a Huey helicopter crew chief and (M-60 machine gun) door gunner, racking up hundreds of combat flight time hours and receiving many Army air medals.

“Besides soldiers, we hauled supplies, ammunition, firewood, food, ducks, pigs, chickens and families in and out of ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) outposts, only accessible by air,” Sharp said. “Under heavy fire often, we hauled the wounded and dead out of isolated places and hauled in replacement troops any time of day. My first aircraft had 17 bullet holes before it fell to the ground.”

Staff photo by Fritz Busch The Concord Singers of New Ulm sing “God Bless America, Let There Be Peace and The National Anthem” at the Memorial Day observance Monday.

Sharp said more than 58,000 U.S. troops died and more than 150,000 were wounded in the Vietnam War. He said many more would have died if not for quick helicopter battlefield recovery efforts.

“Many crew members and more than 5,000 helicopters were lost recovering troops. Many infantry soldiers told me we were crazy flying around in tin cans,” he said. “I always told them, ‘I wouldn’t trade it for your job either, buddy.’ It was funny how I always felt safer as soon as we lifted off — like I was meant to be in the air.”

Sharp described being in a helicopter crash in Vietnam.

“We were shot down, hit a rice paddy and slid into the mud and knee-deep water. We grabbed our weapons and ran out to our sister helicopter that landed to pick us up under heavy gunfire,” he said. “Even after the crashes, I would jump in the first aircraft I could and be gone again. I believe we all felt that way. It was our job and our life. By the Huey and God’s grace, we survived.

“Now we need to remember all the men and women that did not survive and come home. Many are lost daily to suicide and the effects of Agent Orange, (a herbicide and defoliant with dioxin, linked to severe long-term health problems). The trauma and suffering continue for all of us,” said Sharp. “The affects on our military personnel are no different from the Civil War, World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Iraq or Afghanistan. War is terrible and life changing.”

Sharp said he never felt like a hero, but his hero is his uncle, Comfrey soldier Garland Grunig, who served in World War II, including campaigns in North Africa, the Battle of the Bulge and the Argonne Forest in Germany.

“My uncle, a platoon sergeant, took action, exposing himself to heavy fire many times, firing a hand-held machine gun to allow his men to move forward,” said Sharp. “After his buddy was hit bad, he took a round in the eye that came out the back of his head behind his ear. My uncle refused to leave him, picked him up and fought his way to safety. He received a Silver Star for his efforts, later looked for him, learned he survived and went to Remer to visit him, where he became a bank president.”

Logan Klawitter, a 2026 Cathedral High School graduate, read the Gettysburg Address, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863 at the dedication of the Soldier’s National Cemetery, Gettysburg, Penn.

In just two minutes, Lincoln honored the fallen soldiers, redefined the Civil War as a struggle for equality and the survival of democracy and called for a “new birth of freedom” to ensure that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Henry Albrecht, a 2026 New Ulm High School graduate gave the memorial address.

“As President Obama said, ‘Our nation owes a debt to it’s war veterans that will never be repaid,’ he said. “Memorial Day is our day to remember and honor those who sacrificed their lives for us. First, it is important to understand the origins and sacrifices of war and honor those who passed.”

Albrecht said Decoration Day is the original name for the U.S. federal holiday now known as Memorial Day. Established in 1868, it was a dedicated time for the nation to honor fallen Civil War soldiers by decorating graves with blooming flowers and flags.

After World War I, the day was expanded to honor American military personnel who died in all wars, not just the Civil War.

In 1971, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, establishing Memorial Day as a federal holiday observed on the last Monday in May.