Well-known Wanamingo resident and area businessman, Wilfred “Bill” Hermann was honored on September 15th for his military service. The We Honor Veterans pinning ceremony is a joint program of the Hiawatha Valley Family Beyond the Yellow Ribbon community and Mayo Clinic Hospice. The recognition program was held at Bill’s Goodhue Living apartment where he has lived since June.
Bill grew up in Zumbro Falls and married Jeanne on September 5, 1952. When the Army sent Bill to serve in Germany, Jeanne said, “I’m going too”. The couple lived there from 1954 to 1955 when they came back to Minnesota and moved to Lake City. In 1959 they relocated to Wanamingo and founded Hermann Implement, the John Deere dealership which they ran for the next 36 years.
Bill was a member of the Wanamingo Fire Department and Lion’s Club and he and Jeanne were active members of Trinity Lutheran Church. Their son, Wayne (Bonnie) was born in Germany, followed by daughters, Debra (Gregg) Erickson and Lori (Todd) Greseth when they returned to Minnesota. The family now includes 9 grandchildren and 13 greatgrandchildren, although Jeanne passed away in 2009.
Three members of the Red Wing American Legion and the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon organization, and Pam Roe, a social worker with Mayo Hospice, joined Wayne, Bonnie, Debra and Gregg at Bill’s apartment to present him with a special military recognition certificate and other gifts.
Roe began by saying, “It’s our honor to gather today to present Bill with this certificate of appreciation from the United States Army. It says, ‘We pay special tribute to you for your military service to America and for advancing the universal hope of freedom and liberty for all.’”
An Army veteran placed a special pin with the Army and American flags on Bill’s collar and said, “Looks good!”
Roe continued the presentation saying, “Thank you for your service to our nation, thank you for the sacrifices you made, and your willingness to serve our country. You endured hardships and were willing to risk your life to maintain our freedoms and on behalf of the Mayo Clinic staff and volunteers, the Veterans Administration, Beyond the Yellow Ribbon and our local legion, we want to thank you, and please accept our sincere gratitude. When you see that pin, know that your service to the nation is deeply appreciated and we thank you.”
With each presentation, Bill responded with a quiet, mystified but thankful, “Oh boy”. He later made sure that the certificate was displayed prominently in his room for everyone to see.
In addition to the certificate and pin, Roe and the veterans gifted Bill some commemorative coins. “This is called an honor coin,” Roe began. “The Mayo brothers were actually service members, so our appreciation from the Mayo Clinic goes right from the very roots of our organization. So this is a special coin that says, ‘Dedicated to the American soldier by William and Charles H. Mayo’”. A coin given by the servicemen shows the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon logo with all the military branches on the back, including the Space Force. Another one says, “Thank you for your service”.
The last gift Roe handed Bill was a red, white and blue pillow case from the Evening Star Quilting Guild of Red Wing. They included a note saying they are, “honored to present this pillow case to thank you for all you have done to protect our freedom. Gratitude and appreciation have been sewn into every stitch”.
Bill, a bit emotional, acknowledged his gifts and visitors saying, “I appreciate you. That was quite a time. Shooting people, I just didn’t believe in that.” He may not have agreed with the tactics, but he served his country proudly.
Bill shared stories of his time in the service. “I still remember the day my two brothers took me down to Wabasha to get into the Army. One thing they said was, ‘anytime there’s an officer around, salute him.’ I thought, ‘Well, why is he so much better?’ I found out in a hurry!” He described the vaccination process for going overseas as walking through a line and taking a painful shot in each arm, “But, I lived”.
Bill spoke of his job in the military. “I wanted to be a mechanic, I thought that would be good.” Then he was told, “You excelled in math in the test that you took and we have a better job for you … with that job, you’ll always be at least 20 miles behind where they’re firing and you’ll always be in where it’s warm because you’ll be in a van or something and it will be clean.” “I said, ‘I’ll take that job!’”
Before leaving, the servicemen declared, “We want to give you a salute”. The gesture was returned by Bill and the group sang a verse of My Country ‘Tis of Thee.
Roe again thanked Bill for his service and he responded by saying, “It was good, I guess. I came back alive. Here I am!”
