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Patriot Day bus trip set for Sept. 11

Tour will visit Gold Star Museum, Iowa Veterans Cemetery

SAC CITY — A bus trip from Sac City on Sept. 11 offers a chance to see two of Iowa’s best attractions. The trip includes a tour of the Gold Star Museum at Camp Dodge in Johnston and a visit to the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter. The trip is being organized by Peggy Dettmann, of Sac City.

The bus will leave the parking area of the Courthouse South Annex, Sac City, at 7:30 a.m. with a 7:50 a.m. stop at Sparky’s One Stop, located on Highway 20 between Sac City and Fort Dodge.

At the Gold Star Museum, you will learn about Iowans’ contributions to the defense of the state and nation. Artifacts such as uniforms, flags, trench art, scale models, howitzers and cannons, a vintage Jeep, antitank weapons, a UH-1 “Huey” helicopter, an M-274 “Mule” cargo vehicle and the F-84F fighter plane are examples of the exhibits in the 30,000-square-foot exhibit hall. The museum features the largest military weapons collection in Iowa. One of the newer exhibits include a diorama of Iowa soldiers at the Civil War battle of Shiloh. The Vietnam War exhibit depicts the environments encountered by U.S. ground forces serving in South Vietnam. From there, the group will stop by the Machine Shed in Urbandale for lunch.

The bus will then take the group to the Iowa Veterans Cemetery at Van Meter. The cemetery is the first federally funded construction of a state-owned and -operated veterans cemetery in the state of Iowa. You will tour the administration and maintenance complex, the committal service shelter, the Columbaria Plaza Walls, and the Memorial Walk, which includes several monuments erected by various service organizations. More than 4,200 veterans, spouses and dependents are interred at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery. The return to Sparky’s and Sac City is estimated between 6 and 6:30 p.m.

Seats are limited to 52 and must be reserved by Aug. 28, two weeks prior to the trip. Cost is $60 per person, which covers all expenses of the day. For additional information, call Dettmann at 712-660-1006 or email to prdettmann@gmail.com.

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