Shiner Veterans War Memorial gets new additions

  • New bronze insignias representing the six branches of the US Armed Forces: US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, US Air Force, US Space Force and US Coast Guard.
    New bronze insignias representing the six branches of the US Armed Forces: US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, US Air Force, US Space Force and US Coast Guard.
  • Members of American Legion Post 201 and VFW Post 6209 prepare the memorial for installation of the bronze insignias. Pictured are, left to right, Jimmy Strait, Reggie Guertin and Ronnie Leck.
    Members of American Legion Post 201 and VFW Post 6209 prepare the memorial for installation of the bronze insignias. Pictured are, left to right, Jimmy Strait, Reggie Guertin and Ronnie Leck.
  • Members of American Legion Post 201 and VFW Post 6209 gather at the Veterans War Memorial after the Memorial Day Ceremony, left to right, John Schroeder Jr., Reggie Guertin, Tony Spann, Ronnie Leck, Harvey Dlouhy, Johnny Loos, David Muehlstein, Jimmy Strait, Ron Renken, Tony Fikac, Rudy Janik, Jeannie Koch, Dennis Muehlstein, John Koch and Jeff Pesek.
    Members of American Legion Post 201 and VFW Post 6209 gather at the Veterans War Memorial after the Memorial Day Ceremony, left to right, John Schroeder Jr., Reggie Guertin, Tony Spann, Ronnie Leck, Harvey Dlouhy, Johnny Loos, David Muehlstein, Jimmy Strait, Ron Renken, Tony Fikac, Rudy Janik, Jeannie Koch, Dennis Muehlstein, John Koch and Jeff Pesek.

    Members of the American Legion Post 201, Shiner VFW Post 6209 and the City of Shiner have made some new additions and amendments to the Shiner Veterans War Memorial at Green-Dickson Park. They added new bronze insignias representing the six branches of the US Armed Forces.
    “My endeavor was to update the Memorial so that the Coast Guard could be added to the list of services that were on there because the Coast Guard was omitted when it originally was dedicated in 1995,” United States Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer and VFW Post Commander Anthony Fikac said. “Since 1995, the United States have also added the Space Force as well.”
    The Space Force was founded on Dec. 20, 2019. Prior to these changes, the American Legion and Shiner VFW were on the plaque next to the Navy, Airforce, and Marines. The US Coast Guard and the Space Force were instead added in place of the American Legion and Shiner VFW. 
    “Everybody was in support of this, and we’ve had some positive comments,” Fikac said. “The US Coast Guard is usually forgotten because it’s a smaller service. We fall under the Homeland Security and not the Department of Defense. A lot of times, people forget that we’re armed service.”
    The order that the plaque now reads is the Army, Marines, Navy, Airforce, Space Force, and Coast Guard.
    “That’s the proper order that the six Armed Services go in,” Fikac said. “This is a great way to honor our fallen heroes as well as those that have served.”
    The American Legion and Shiner VFW each funded half of these changes. They also donated the manpower and resources to install it. Ronnie Leck, Jimmy Strait, Reggie Guertin and Fikac helped with that. 
    This was set in place on May 20 right before the annual Shiner Memorial Day Service. Fikac extends a large thank you to the City Council, American Legion, the VFW, and the City of Shiner. 
    “I’ve always been proud of Shiner,” Fikac said. “Shiner is a small community and a very patriotic community. I couldn’t ask for a better place to grow up in and even though I travel all over the world, it’s nice to come back to Shiner.”