Retired United States Navy Commander and current Le Sueur County Veterans Service Officer Mark Roemhildt (above) will present the address at the Cleveland Memorial Day program, which will be held on Monday at 10 a.m. at Calvary Cemetery, just south of Cleveland on Scotch Lake.
In his 25 years in the Navy before retiring in 2016, Roemhildt completed multiple deployments around the world while conducting a variety of missions.
He worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to intercept illegal narcotics bound for the United States. He was involved in the initial naval response while stationed in the Middle East following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and he was at the forefront of efforts to provide humanitarian aid to heavily damaged areas in Indonesia and Thailand following the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia.
Roemhildt worked closely with the Korean Navy to plan for the defense of the Korean Peninsula, and he held a variety of positions with Military Sealift Command, which oversees the maritime movement of logistical materials globally.
Also at the Memorial Day program, Jim Beckel will give the invocation and benediction. The Cleveland Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will post and retire the colors, Andy Queen will lead the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Junior High Band, under the direction of Erik Hermanson, will provide music. Seventh grader August Keltgen will play taps.