Wisconsin’s 10th annual K-9 Veterans Day observance will be held Sunday, March 10, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the American Legion Banquet Center, 201 S. Water St., E., Fort Atkinson, according to a recent news release.
Jerry Witt, veteran Vietnam K-9 handler is this year’s speaker.
Additionally, “Iro,” a K-9 working with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department, who was shot in the line of duty, will receive special recognition, along with his handler Deputy Blaine Evans.
All veteran and working K-9 handlers in attendance during the observance will be recognized and fallen working dogs will be honored, the release noted.
The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.
The full observance will include a wreath-laying ceremony which will be held in McCoy Park at 12:30 p.m.
The event will be held at the site of the K-9 Veterans Memorial and in honor of K-9 “Seato” and his handler Marine Lance Corporal Terry Beck, both of whom were killed in action in December 1967.
Following the ceremony in McCoy park, participants will move to the observance at the American Legion building.
As noted in the release, the annual K-9 Veterans Day observance is sponsored by The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson. The statewide observance was initiated after a campaign, culminating in 2015, successfully inspired the Wisconsin Legislature to proclaim March 13 as K-9 Veterans Day.
The proclamation officially designated the date as one during which Wisconsin’s residents would remember and honor military working dogs, police dogs, customs dogs, search and rescue dogs, border patrol dogs, arson dogs and secret service dogs that help to protect and serve the nation, the release noted.
As reported last year by Fort Atkinson Online, Witt was a contributor to the K-9 Veterans Day event in Wisconsin. During last year’s observance he helped conduct the 2023 wreath-laying ceremony in McCoy Park.
Additionally, last year, Witt was presented with a commemorative plaque and was recognized as the speaker at the first K-9 Veterans Day observance held in 2015.
A story and photo album from last year’s event is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/k-9-teams-guests-fill-forts-american-legion-banquet-hall-in-honor-of-k-9-veterans-day/.
Sergeant Major Viridiana Lavalle, who served as keynote speaker at the Wisconsin K-9 Veterans Day observance last year, at left, presents Vietnam veteran and K-9 handler Jerry Witt with a commemorative plaque. Witt was the speaker at the first K-9 Veterans Day observance held in Wisconsin in 2015. He will once again serve in that role this year. Lavalle is the U.S. Army Military Working Dog program manager. File photo/Kim McDarison.
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