Brown County Veterans Council adopts 125th

Soldiers, families

will be assisted

during active duty,

training periods

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The Brown County Veterans Council adopted Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery Brigade Saturday during an awards ceremony at the New Ulm Armory.

Jerry Bentz, Veterans Council Adjutant, presented a Certificate of Adoption to military personnel. The Council has an interest in supporting military personnel serving to defend the State of Minnesota and United States of America.

The certificate read that the adoption took place since U.S. military reserve components are playing an ever-increasing role in the defense of the country during periods of armed conflict and homeland security.

The Council will support Battery soldiers during periods of state or federal active duty and maintain contact with the unit on a regular basis during routine training periods.

The organization will also make every effort to assist families of soldiers during active duty and ensure their right of employment rights when active duty is completed.

"How great it is to be an American!," Bentz wrote in a letter regarding the adoption. "Our young men and women in the military stand in awe before this country as again they bring freedom to another nation that has been oppressed for decades."

Council officers include Bentz, Commander Vern Pederson of Comfrey Legion Post 244, 1st Vice Commander Wil Burdorf of New Ulm Legion Post 132, Finance Officer Florian Wersal, Ex-POW of Springfield, Trustees Herb Fromm of New Ulm, Harold Fischer of Sleepy Eye VFW Post 800, Honorary Trustee Paul Wojahn of New Ulm.

After the presentation, the group met to discuss co-sponsoring and co-hosting a family picnic for troops and their families on Aug. 9. Earlier discussions were held with battery leadership and vendors and facilities for the event that could be a cooperative effort between the Council, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), Battery representatives and support groups.

The 125th's battalion mission is to be mobile and rapidly deploy to a theater of operations in a Northern environment to provide armor and regular field artillery fires in support of a mechanized infantry division.

It's state mission is to activate and provide support as directed by the Minnesota Adjutant General.

Until recently, the battalion was part of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Composite Force. Along with forces from Norway and Germany, it was to defend Norway.

The 125th has M109A5 self-propelled Howitzer armored vehicles to provide combat support, M577 command tracks and the IFSAS tactical computer.

Lineage of the 125th traces to the 3rd Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry organized April 15, 1887.

The unit was mustered to federal service for the Spanish American War and World War I when it defended France.

During World War II, it fired more than 250,000 rounds of artillery ammunition in 480 days of combat, more than any other battalion. The Battalion was ordered into federal service Jan. 16, 1951 for the Korean conflict and served at Camp Rucker, Ala. until Dec. 2, 1954. Many of its soldiers saw action in Korea as replacement troops.

In March of 1990, the Battalion deployed to Korea to participate in Team Spirit 90 as part of I Corps. That was the first overseas deployment of a battalion-sized element from Minnesota since WWII.

While in Korea, the Battalion received a fully-trained status in very evaluated category.