Correctionville, IA Little Sioux Park and Campground Ð Aug. 4th, 2007 Ð National Guard members from the former Mapleton, Ida Grove and Denison units participated in the first reunion of their units since the closing of the Ida Grove unit in 1983 and the Mapleton unit in 2004. The Denison Unit is still actively open and has several of its soldiers currently on deployment.
Fifty-six former guardsmen representing all three units, along with 42 family members, attended the event. A few of those attending where Bernard Farber of Onawa, Leonard Burgess of Onawa, Lyle Clayton of Battle Creek, and J.P. Cook of Mapleton who represent some of Mapleton’s original fifty-five enlistee’s from 1948. Many good stories and memories where shared by all those attending the reunion. Former 1st Sgt J.P. Cook of Mapleton, who served from 1949 -1990, remarked how great it was to see everyone and that “it would be hard to find a better bunch of guys than those here today.”
Randy Archer of Sioux City, who served from 1976 to 1997 in Mapleton, stated that “it was time to have a reunion and that more soldiers should come to meet old friends. This is how you get caught up on old stories and see what other people and their families have been doing over the years."
On Friday evening, August 3rd, a fireside barbecue was held to welcome early arrivers as members came to camp and reconnect with old friends. Events throughout the day on Saturday were held at the park lodge and consisted of a noon potluck dinner, horseshoe tournament, poker tournament, and displays of various private collections of memorabilia and Army souvenirs. Many awards and commendations were earned by the unit over the years. In 1988, the Mapleton unit won the National Phillip A. Conneley award, which is an annual cooking contest sponsored by the International Food Service Executive Association. Retired Food Service Sgt Gene Belknap says “I feed these guys for 25 years; now they are feeding me.”
Winners of the horseshoe tournament were Neal Seuntjens of Mapleton as Champion. Neal was enlisted from 1963-1969 as Chaplain and is an American Legion and VFW Life member. Runner-Up in the horseshoe competition was Murral Burton of Danbury. Murral served from 1963 Ð 1969 and is an American Legion and VFW Life member.
Winners of the poker tournament were Champion Dennis Pranschke of Storm Lake who served from 1980 to 1989 in the Mapleton Unit and Runner-Up Jaymie Bral of Storm Lake who served from 1984 to 1996 in the Mapleton Unit.
Three flags were raffled and included two specially designed reunion flags and one American flag. The reunion flag displays the two emblems, a Vikings helmet for the 47th INF and the Red Bull for the 34th INF, that were representative of the Mapleton Guard units active status from 1948 to 2004. Hank Funderman of Sloan and Walt Kern of LeMars won the designed reunion flags along with Luly Kern of LeMars winning the American Flag.
Planning committee members for the event included Rod Eneboe of Soldier, Randy Swanson of Sloan, Randy Archer of Sioux City, Terry Kline of Schleswig, Craig Phillips of Sioux City, and Steve Phillips of Ida Grove.
“Due to the success of this reunion and the wonderful time that everyone had, we are hoping to have another reunion in 2009,” said Randy Archer. "Anyone interested in information for future reunions please contact a committee member or email mapleton133rd@yahoo.com.
About the unit: The Mapleton unit opened in February, 1948 as Battery B, 194th FA BN. It was the first Iowa unit to reach full strength following WWII. It also holds the distinct honor of being the only Guard unit called to duty for both the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. Three members of the Mapleton unit were killed in action in Vietnam from a total of twelve for the Battalion along with 63 Purple Hearts. In May of 1959, after a reorganization, the Mapleton unit was attached to the 133rd Inf. located in Sioux City. In March of 1988, the unit was again reorganized and, upon its closing in September of 2004, was known as Det. 1 Co. D, 1-168th Inf.
Photos provided by Randy and Angie Archer. Thanks, guys!