Operation Honor Bound News

After nearly a year and a half of work, the Baraboo Veterans Honor Roll was rededicated on Saturday June 29th, 2024.  The rededication ceremony drew a crowd of nearly 300 people consisting of Veterans, family members, and community members. Highlighting the ceremony included speeches by George Stopper (Committee President and CSM, R) and Steve Argo (Committee Vice President). Members of several local Veterans Organizations were in attendance, including the VFW, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, and Disabled Veterans of America. 

Members of the community were, for the first time, able to view memorial pavers they had purchased to remember or commemorate the military service of family, friends, neighbors and fellow community members. 

For the last 18 months, the Baraboo Veterans memorial committee has been working in conjunction with the City of Baraboo, contractors, and donors to update and revitalize the Honor Roll. Featured updates included:

* Three new flagpoles 

* Metal roofing 

* Extensive concrete work

* New Veteran nameplates 

* Updated glass and trim

* A new "360* Memorial" around the back of the original memorial

Be sure to check out pictures from the rededication ceremony in the Media Gallery section of our site.

On March 5th, Baraboo resident and World War II Navy Veteran Mr. Allen Paschen celebrated his 97th birthday!

To help commemorate this momentous milestone, Operation Honor Bound partnered with schools from the Baraboo School District to help make Mr. Paschen's day a little more special. Students in grades from 4K though High School seniors all chipped in to send Allen 385 handmade birthday cards and one incredible video message (see media gallery, "Mr. Allen Paschen Celebrates 97th Birthday", for images). Allen, his wife Mona, and family present for the birthday festivities were incredibly touched by the students kind, thoughtful, supportive, and sometimes funny, birthday messages. 

When asked how he felt about turning 97, Mr. Paschen responded with a smile on his face, "Just wait until next year!"

Thank you to the following schools for supporting this important mission: 

- Baraboo Early Learning Cooperative (BELC) / District 4K

- Al Behrman Elementary

- East Elementary

- Gordon L. Wilson Elementary

- North Freedom Elementary

- Baraboo High School

The holiday season is once again upon us and so is Hope for the Holidays. For the fourth year in a row, Operation Honor Bound has partnered with local child care centers and their little artists . This year, over 250 unique pieces of Christmas art and cards will be sent to Wisconsin Veterans who are residing in state VA Hospitals to let them know they are being thought of this holiday season. The artwork sent to area Veterans is created by young children aged 6-months old up to 10-years old. It is our goal to bring good cheer and the holiday spirit to those residing in VA Hospitals across the state.

To view a larger selection of the artwork created by these wonderful young artists, please visit the "Hope for the Holidays 2023" gallery in our the Media section of our website.

A special thank you to the Tommy Bartlett Children's Center in Baraboo and Walker Family Daycare in Reedsburg. 

From the Operation Honor Bound family to you and yours - Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

In partnership with the Baraboo Veterans Memorial Committee, Operation Honor Bound will be assisting in efforts to provide two Baraboo Veterans memorials with some long overdue maintenance and upgrades. The memorials in question are:

- The Honor Roll on the front lawn of the Civic Center

- The Beryl Newman Memorial located at the admission gate of the Baraboo High School football field

In addition to repairs needed for both memorials, another of the project's goals is to add a list of Baraboo Service Members who were killed in World War I and II to the Civic Center memorial. Estimated cost of both projects is approximately $32,000. 

More information will be available in the near future regarding fundraising efforts. 

Being in the midst of the most wonderful time of the year, it is sometimes easy to forget not all are fortunate enough to be surrounded by loved ones at holiday gatherings and other festivities. 

To do our part in ensuring that no Service Member who resides in a VA hospital or care facility feels forgotten this holiday season, Operation Honor Bound has partnered with local daycare facilities and families to send holiday artwork to Veterans in the care of the VA. For the third year in a row, original holiday artwork created by children aged 6-months up to 10-years old is being sent to VA hospitals across the state. It is our most sincere wish that this artwork will bring a smile to those who receive it.

To view a handful of the over 115 pieces of holiday artwork, please visit our Media section. 

A very special thanks to Walker Family Daycare, Tommy Bartlett Children's Center, the Fenelon family, and the Red Pine Community.

On Friday November 11th, schools across the Baraboo School District invited local current and former Service Members to participate in events to commemorate Veterans Day. While Jack Young Middle School and Baraboo High School hosted Veteran guest speakers at special ceremonies, district elementary schools found a unique way to honor Veterans.

At North Freedom,  Veteran family members participated in a "Veterans Parade" where Veterans and their student took a lap around the school and received recognition for their service by students and staff. Veterans were then invited to stay for a special Veterans Day lunch.

Similar events were held at East Elementary and Gordon L. Wilson schools. A special thank you to the Baraboo School District staff and administration for taking the time to recognize Service Members in our community on this special holiday. 

More pictures in our Media Gallery!

 Partnering with Team Rubicon and Baraboo 21, Operation Honor Bound co-hosted a fundraiser aimed at assisting refugees of the war in Ukraine. Held at the Al Ringling Brewery in downtown Baraboo, the event was attended by Representative Dave Considine, Baraboo Mayor Rob Nelson, area neighbors with direct ties to Ukraine, and almost 100 community members.
Braving the less than ideal weather, almost 60 attendees walked around the square in downtown Baraboo in a show of solidarity with the citizens of Ukraine.
The event successfully raised over $5,000, with the Al Ringling Brewery donating 10% of its sales for the day to the cause. Thank you to everyone who made the event possible and for those who showed up to support such a worthy cause.

Look for the story live on 27 News! 

On Thursday November 25th, Operation Honor Bound received an incredible gift in the mail. The organizers of the Reedsburg VetFest generously donated $500 to our organization. With the Thanksgiving holiday, the timing of this amazing gift could not have been more symbolic. We here at Operation Honor Bound have so much to be grateful for.  We are honored to have received this donation from a well-respected Sauk County Veterans organization. Thank you to the team at VetFest! Happy Thanksgiving to all. 

Saturday September 11th, 2021 marked the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. To memorialize the event, Operation Honor Bound invited members of area first responders to participate in a memorial stair climb held at the Baraboo High School football field. Members of the Baraboo Fire Department, Police Department and EMS attended, with each individual climbing 4,142 stairs, the combined number of stairs in both towers of the Trade Center. The fire fighters in attendance went as far to climb all the stairs in full gear, honoring their brothers and sisters who served bravely 20 years ago. Thank you to all who attended.