The Rotary Clubs of Eagan, Eagan Rotary and Kick-Start Rotary, recognized three local veterans who shared stories of the challenge and honor of their military experience. Selected from community interviews, Ben Coons (Navy- USS Essex and USS Randolph), Russel Adams (Marine- Vietnam), and Neil Constine (Marine- Africa, Middle East, and Japan) reflected on their experience. Presentation of the colors, invocation from a military chaplain and rotary member, and patriotic songs from the Eagan Men’s Chorus set the stage for the event.
“It has been an honor to hear these military stories,” said Bryan Frandrup of BankCherokee, Eagan Rotary member, and emcee for the 19th Veterans Recognition Luncheon. “Today our young men and women are also trained to work as a team, master sophisticated equipment and act in challenging situations. Then and now, they are a credit to our country.”
Each selected veteran gave a 15-minute reflection, received a plaque, and announced the charity to receive their $250 Rotary honorarium.
Three honored Veterans, from left, Neil Constine (Marine), Ben Coons (Navy), Russell Adamson (Marine), shared their military experience with the Eagan Rotary clubs and 150 guests in Veterans Day Recognition 2022. |
The Rotary Clubs of Eagan, Eagan Rotary and Kick-Start Rotary, recognized three local veterans who shared stories of the challenge and honor of their military experience. Selected from community interviews, Ben Coons (Navy- USS Essex and USS Randolph), Russel Adams (Marine- Vietnam), and Neil Constine (Marine- Africa, Middle East, and Japan) reflected on their experience. Presentation of the colors, invocation from a military chaplain and rotary member, and patriotic songs from the Eagan Men’s Chorus set the stage for the event.
“It has been an honor to hear these military stories,” said Bryan Frandrup of BankCherokee, Eagan Rotary member, and emcee for the 19th Veterans Recognition Luncheon. “Today our young men and women are also trained to work as a team, master sophisticated equipment and act in challenging situations. Then and now, they are a credit to our country.”
Each selected veteran gave a 15-minute reflection, received a plaque, and announced the charity to receive their $250 Rotary honorarium.
Ben Coons was stationed at Quonset Point Naval station and trained as a navy pilot on USS Essex and USS Randolph. He was one of a four-person crew for the Grumman S-2 tracker, a plane specifically built to track submarines. The plane was essential in deterring the 1962 buildup of the Soviet submarines fleet around Cuba. Its detection technology could identify the exact equipment and operation of each submarine by flying 100 to 300 feet above water. Coons said about his flying experience, “I have never done anything as exciting, before or since, as being catapulted from 0 to 150 miles per hour as fast as you can snap your fingers.” After the military, he launched his career as an air traffic controller. His charity selection was the Wounded Warrior Project.
Russell Adamson served as a Marine in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. He began his presentation by saying, “My story isn’t one of fame and glory, but I believe it is one that should be told.” The enlistees in his platoon got a grand send-off from the Minnesota Twins on game day and were named the “Twins Platoon.” Within months of arriving in Vietnam, the platoon faced the joined forces of 85,000 North Vietnamese and Communist fighters at Hue that became known at the Tet Offensive. Adamson’s unit had 147 dead and he was one of the 857 wounded. That military operation, one of the largest battles, became a turning point in the war. Adamson was operated on in the MASH unit in Da Nang and had several additional surgeries before getting to the Navy hospital in Texas. Over 9 months, Adamson went through 17 surgeries and had to learn how to walk again. He reported that war had ravaged his body and took over his mind with PTSD. Upon returning in a wheelchair, he was spat upon by protestors. With the growing public opinion against the war, Veterans were advised to put away their medals and uniforms and forget about their Vietnam experiences. He credits the loving care of his family and a health assessment program in which he and his wife traveled to help returning Iraq veterans for his recovery. In that program he was encouraged to talk about his experiences and be proud again of his service. One Veteran remarked that the country had to learn how to value those in the military because of how the Vietnam veterans were treated. In 2011, the Minnesota Twins gave a celebration for that Twins Platoon and honored another 24 men and women entering the service. Adamson requested his honorarium be given to the Salvation Army. Adamson was given a standing ovation for his service.
Neil Constine was a US Marine serving from 1995 to 2020 as military police in three locations around the world. Stating that he is a “glass is half full” person, he thanked the audience and the military for giving him many valuable experiences in his 25 years of service. Constine said, “I am not the person you see today without those experiences.” He told of how he valued each location where he was stationed and explored what that setting had to offer. At 19, he swam in the Pacific and had the thrill of driving a Humvee in the Mojave Desert when stationed at Camp Pendleton. When assigned to Japan and Kenya, Constine and his family had the opportunity to be part of the uniqueness of those cultures. The only time he had to use his weapon was on base in Africa when he intervened in a suicide attempt by a soldier whose emotional trauma had gone unnoticed. His military police training calmed the situation, and three lives were saved.
Accompanying Constine to receive this honor were the 14 student members of the St. Thomas Academy Crack Drill Team, Commandant Kelly Woodward, and Colonel Neil Heatherington of the Academy. The program appropriately concluded with “Taps” played by Owen Constine, son of the honoree. Constine asked that his honorarium be given to the Navy Marine Corps Relief Fund.
Also honored were local organizations that support Veterans, Eagan Men’s Chorus, Commons on Marice, Rotary Club of Eagan, Eagan Kick Start Club, and Rotary Club of Minnesota Veterans.
The Rotary Club of Eagan was founded in 1987 and is affiliated with Rotary International. The club has 64 members. The Rotary Kick-Start club was founded in 2015 and has 37 members. The Rotary motto is “Service Above Self” and guided by the Rotary Four Way Test. See eaganrotary.org or eagankick-startrotary.org.