Good News Friday: Knapp honors its veterans with a memorial

KNAPP, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – A small Dunn County village recently celebrated a huge milestone, while paying tribute to those who served this nation. First News at Nine's Daniel Gomez has that story for Feel Good Friday.

150 years of a small Dunn County village, a mix of community members and neighbors, line up the street. The small parade makes its way to commemorate the big occasion. "A good number of years ago, a fella that was a part of our community got this vision to have a memorial."

But before celebrating, there was a lot of remembering to do. "We have 125 names on there."

These two boards list the veterans honored for their service. "There's people from other places, but they're all associated with Knapp one way or another."

A big show of gratitude in dedicating this memorial to veterans. "Those boys came back and went to work. And asked for nothing."

For a big sacrifice, they made when called to serve. "I feel great about it."

Gilbert Rice knows that sacrifice all too well. "I don't really like to talk much about it. We went through a lot. A lot of people don't realize what a veteran goes through."

The 95-year-old served in the Korean War. "I'm thankful I got back. There's a lot of them that didn't get back. I think of them too."

"Every village of this size needs to have a Veteran's Memorial. Just as a daily reminder of our gratitude."

In Knapp, Daniel Gomez, First News at Nine.

The memorial will also have stones with the names of the 125 service members inscribed. Those are expected to arrive by Veterans Day in November.