| East Bethel resident honored for his service to military unit |
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| Wednesday, 09 September 2009 | ||
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Staff writer East Bethel resident Ken Langmade was recently recognized for his service to a military psychological unit out of Arden Hills and to the wives of men serving in the military.
Langmade received this medal, a certificate and an American flag that had flown in Iraq during an Aug. 22 ceremony at the Mall of America. Langmade never knew this honor was going to be bestowed to him when he and his wife Janette were invited to the 13th Psyop’s dinner, so he was understandably shocked when he heard his name called to stand up on the stage in front of 200 people by the side of the five other recipients. “I was shaking like a leaf,” Langmade said. Bland said the special medallion for excellence is given to an individual that has done great things above and beyond what others have done. Many soldiers receive this medal, but the 13th Psyop has never given this medal to somebody serving in a local VFW, he said. Langmade was commander of the Kraus Hartig VFW Post 6587 in Spring Lake Park when the state commander in 2003 asked him if he would get involved with the 13th Psyop. The VFW adopted families of those serving in Afghanistan or Iraq in the National Guard and Reserve. Langmade spent time with the wives of men serving overseas. “Most of the young ladies I meet are like daughters to me,” Langmade said. He helped organize holiday parties and deployment and welcome home ceremonies. His wife Janette and he furnished families with cookies. Langmade frequently receives donations that he would give to the families. He led Operation Uplink Phone Cards to give families a way to keep in touch with their loved ones. He has coordinated with schools to facilitate students making greeting cards for the deployed soldiers. According to Bland, the Kraus Hartig VFW provided the 13th Psyop with meeting space. It hosted spaghetti dinner fund-raisers. Langmade also spoke to returning veterans about joining their local VFW post. “He was always our go-to-guy,” Bland said. The 13th Psyop Battalion has three different companies, according to Bland. The family readiness coordinator works with families of men and women serving overseas. Angie Frassel holds this position and the work she and Langmade did helped her also get recognized for the work they have done. In 2004, Langmade was one of eight people who were recognized as Community Heroes by the Creating Communities organization. From 1944 to 1946, Langmade served with the 52nd Naval Construction Battalion as a seaman first class. He was in the South Pacific building air landing strips and repairing roads on the islands American forces took on their march toward Japan. Besides his involvement in the 13th Psyop, Langmade has chaired the statewide Adopt a Unit, which assist National Guard and Reserve families Langmade is on the East Bethel Park Commission. Eric Hagen is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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