“When I took the job here, I noticed that there’s not a lot of stuff for the veterans to do to get together,” Frisbey said. He had come from the Waterloo area, where there were often veterans social events around the area.

Then one day while driving to work, he had an idea — host a barbecue at a local park and invite some veterans to come. Initially, he thought it would be something small, with maybe 20 or 30 veterans in a park shelter.

Instead, Saturday’s barbecue welcomed dozens of area veterans and their families for lunch, a resource fair and a rededication of Veterans Memorial Park out at Badger Lake.

“There’s a lot of resources in the community that these veterans don’t know about and that they need to get connected to,” Frisbey said.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert Fort Dodge Fire Rescue Capt. Steve Teske volunteers to serve lunch to veterans and their families during a barbecue at Terry Moehnke Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday.

Bringing so many area veterans together also had another purpose — camaraderie. Veterans from all branches of the military and who served in different generations were able to connect with people who have been through what they’ve been through and understand what it means to be a veteran.

“We see veterans in need all over the state and we take the stance that they’re important and we want to make sure that we are connecting veterans, wherever they may live, to the resources that are in the community, helping them find employment or helping them find those resources,” said Faith Miller, operations manager for IowaWorks. “As they come back from service, we’re making sure they are supported in the best way possible.”

Both Frisbey and Miller said they plan for this veterans barbecue to be an annual tradition.

Two employees from CJ Bio America came to volunteer at the barbecue. June 25 is a significant date for South Koreans — it marks the anniversary of the North Korean army invading South Korea, setting off the Korean War. Sahngho Lee, purchasing manager at CJ Bio America, said he feels a lot of appreciation for American veterans.

“We’re here because of those veterans,” he said.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert Sahngho Lee, center, and Kyle Lim, right, serve coleslaw to Rory Moehnke, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, during the Veterans Barbecue at the newly-renamed Terry Moehnke Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday. Lee and Lim were volunteering with CJ Bio America.

Lee said that though most South Koreans today don’t have many first-hand memories of the Korean War, they do recall experiencing the growth that the country experienced in the decades following the war.

“We’ve seen that growth and we have to remember how it started,” he said. “It’s from those veterans in the U.S. Army and the United Nations.”

Lee said the staff at CJ Bio America look forward to continuing to find ways to show support and appreciation to veterans.