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The Board of Veterans Affairs recognizes the lifetime achievement of a living Wisconsin veteran at each Board meeting with the presentation of a Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes living Wisconsin veterans who are state residents and who have compiled a record of exemplary service as a military service member, a veteran, and a citizen during the veteran’s lifetime. The award is part of the Board’s ongoing efforts to underscore the Board’s commitment to taking veterans affairs issues out to where veterans live, work, and enjoy the freedoms of our great country and to encourage greater veteran participation in Board of Veterans Affairs meetings. |
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Latest Award Recipient
WISCONSIN BOARD OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
VETERAN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Herbert F. Helgerson was born in rural Gays Mills, Crawford County, WI on July 26, 1922. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 6, 1943 in Milwaukee, WI and completed basic training at Camp Swift, TX in April 1943; and
WHEREAS, he was assigned as a Section Leader to the 553rd Heavy Pontoon Battalion at Camp Swift and participated in pontoon bridge construction exercises on the Sabine River along the Louisiana border. In the fall of 1943, he volunteered to join the soon-to-be deployed 291st Combat Engineer Battalion at Camp Swift and served continuously with Company B of the 291st throughout the war, initially as a Heavy Truck Driver and then as a Construction (Bulldozer) Operator. With his unit, he moved to Camp Miles Standish, MS for pre-deployment processing and departed Boston Harbor on October 9, 1943 aboard the South American pleasure cruise ship Santa Elena for England with 5,000 troops on board. After a rough nine-day northern route crossing, his unit arrived in Liverpool, and was initially stationed at Camp Taunton, England, and, with his unit, he moved to Marston Bigot, Somerset to help construct a base camp complex before deploying to Highnam Court, Gloucester for four months of “Big Show” training and participation in “DUCK I,” a pre-invasion exercise. On June 18, 1944, his unit was ordered to move to South Hampton to load their heavy equipment onto the USS Amos G. Throop, where it waited aboard ship in the storm-tossed harbor for three days before being dispatched across the English Channel. On June 23, 1943, he drove a truck, with his trailer-mounted bulldozer in tow, off of an LST into the shallows of Utah Beach; and
WHEREAS, with his unit, he helped construct a bypass road off of Utah Beach, stabilized the much-shelled Tucker Bridge, and performed maintenance and mine clearance on the road between Carentan and St. Mère Église. From July to September 1944 his unit performed road maintenance and mine clearance along the main supply route, driving by night to keep up with the front. His unit arrived in Mortain, France just before the German’s December counter-offensive, now known as the Battle of the Bulge. During that battle, his unit was assigned defensive perimeter duty at Malmédy and he was awarded the Bronze Star for clearing snow-covered roads with his bulldozer while under constant machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire. In March 1945, en route to Walheim, Germany with his unit, he drove his bulldozer across the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, under enemy fire, to prepare approaches for a pontoon bridge. After VE Day his unit was assigned debris-clearance duty in Frankfurt, Nuremberg, and Munich. During his time with the 291st Engineer Battalion, he served in General Omar Bradley’s 1st Army and General George Patton’s 3rd Army, saw duty in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, and won battle stars for the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe Campaigns. In August 1945 he was sent to Camp Lucky Strike, France for rotation to the U.S. and subsequent re-deployment to the Asian Theatre of Operations, but on VJ Day, he was rescheduled for rotation and discharge. In October he departed Le Harve, France aboard the St. Albans Victory, arriving at New York Harbor eight days later; and he was discharged on October 16, 1945 at Camp McCoy, WI with the rank of Tech 5 - Construction Operator. His decorations include the Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with Five Battle Stars, the Distinguished Unit Citation, the Presidential Unit Citation, a Letter of Commendation, and Four Overseas Bars; and
WHEREAS, after the war, he borrowed $100 on a hand-shake as a down-payment on a saw mill located in Soldiers Grove, WI and began his career as an entrepreneur. Over the next 42 years he operated Helgerson Forest Products, which bought, harvested, milled, and sold locally harvested hardwoods such as oak, maple, and elm; and he provided for his growing family and gave employment to numerous mill-hands over the years; and
WHEREAS, he is a Life Member of the American Legion and a 65-year member of William Schoville Post 220 in Soldiers Grove. He has served as Post Vice Commander, Post Finance Officer, and on a myriad of committees and project teams; and
WHEREAS, he is a past member of the Soldiers Grove Village Board, the Soldiers Grove Fire Department, and the Kickapoo Valley Association Development Council. He has actively supported Kickapoo Area Girl Scout and Boy Scout endeavors, is a past member of the Soldiers Grove High School Band Parent Association, and takes food to other elderly members of the community. He is a 60-year member of the St. Philips Catholic Church, serving on the Parish Council as Finance Chair and he is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He and his wife of 60 years, Anita, raised six children to become responsible, productive, and patriotic citizens. He has been the primary health care provider for his wife for the past five years.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Daniel J. Naylor, Chair of the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs, proclaim HERBERT F. HELGERSON as the recipient of the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award on this 15th day of April, 2011.
DANIEL J. NAYLOR, Board Chair
Upcoming Awards
| Date of Board Award | Location | Region | Nomination Receipt Deadline |
| February 11, 2011 | Madison | Statewide | January 15, 2011 |
| April 15, 2011 | Madison | Statewide | March 15, 2011 |
| June 17, 2011 | King | Northeast | May 15, 2011 |
| August 19, 2011 | Chippewa Falls or Eau Claire | Northwest | July 15, 2011 |
| October 21, 2011 | Platteville or Prairie du Chien | Southwest | September 15, 2011 |
| December 9, 2011 | Union Grove | Southeast | November 15, 2011 |
Nomination for the Award
There are up to six (6) Veteran Lifetime Achievement Awards annually.
- Four (4) honor a veteran in each of the four regions in which the Board meets.
- Two (2) are statewide awards honoring a veteran from anywhere in Wisconsin.
A Board of Veterans Affairs subcommittee consisting of three Board members, appointed by the Board Chair, selects the recipients. The selection criteria focus on the nominee’s lifetime achievements in the military, in veterans’ affairs, and as a citizen in service to his/her hometown, the State of Wisconsin and the United States of America.
The award is an engraved plaque, supported by a proclamation signed by the Board Chair.
Nominations are accepted from any Wisconsin resident and the Board especially encourages submissions from Wisconsin veterans, Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs), County Veterans Service Officers (CVSOs) and other veterans groups.
The nominations may be submitted at any time during the year for any of the six annual awards.
Completed nomination forms must be received by the 15th of the month preceding the month of the Board meeting at which the presentation is to be made (for example, a receipt deadline of May 15th would apply for a June Board meeting presentation). The forms must be submitted in writing and the narrative explaining why the veteran is being nominated for the award may not exceed 500 words in length. Nominations that are not selected for a Board of Veterans Affairs Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award may be retained for future award consideration at the discretion of the award selection working group.
Nomination forms are available online, by calling toll-free 1-800-WIS-VETS (947-8387), or by mail at Board of Veterans Affairs Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award, Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, P.O. Box 7843, Madison, WI 53707-7843.
Regions
One of the six annual Board of Veterans Affairs Veteran Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to a Wisconsin resident from each of the following four Wisconsin regions, consisting of the designated counties:
Northeast: Brown, Door, Florence, Forest, Kewaunee, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, Vilas, Waupaca, Wood
Northwest: Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Iron, Jackson, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Price, Rusk, St. Croix, Sawyer, Taylor, Trempealeau, Washburn
Southeast: Calumet, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Jefferson, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Sheboygan, Washington, Walworth, Waukesha, Winnebago
Southwest: Adams, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, Juneau, Lafayette, LaCrosse, Marquette, Monroe, Richland, Sauk, Vernon, Waushara
Past Award Recipients
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Herbert F. Helgerson | Soldiers Grove | April 2011 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Raymond E. Zastrow | Rhinelander | February 2011 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Chester A. Caine | Lowell | December 2010 | AWARD/CITATION |
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John F. Weindorfer, Sr. | Milwaukee | October 2010 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Gordon R. Starck | Milwaukee | August 2010 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Warren K. Wilber | Keshena | June 2010 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Ralph W. Beck | Oshkosh | April 2010 | AWARD/CITATION |
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James O. Peterson | Middleton | February 2010 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Clayton N. Chipman | Brookfield | December 2009 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Herbert "Herb" T. Zimmer | Rice Lake | October 2009 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Harry W. Eichman | Trempealeau | August 2009 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Joseph F. Klein | Green Bay | June 2009 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Akira Toki | Madison | April 2009 | AWARD/CITATION |
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John F. Rogan | Middleton | February 2009 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Naomi Horwitz | Milwaukee | December 2008 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Gary L. Mader | Appleton | October 2008 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Mark A. Schaitel | Sparta | August 2008 | AWARD/CITATION |
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John J. Mauer | Racine | June 2008 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Dr. James C. Allen | Madison | February 2008 | AWARD/CITATION |
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Eugene P. Moran | Soldiers Grove | October 2007 | AWARD/CITATION |
