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Manson area veterans honored at MNW Tuesday

Program features highlights of WW II veteran Don Haupts’ career

By Deanna Meyer 4 min read

MANSON -- Of the approximately 49,000 World War II veterans still living in the U.S., including the 288 still living in Iowa, one is a 1944 graduate of Manson High School.

That veteran is Don Haupts, of Manson.

His son, Bob Haupts, introduced his father during the Veterans Day program for students, staff and community members Tuesday at Manson Northwest Webster Junior/Senior High School.

Out of the class of 1944, Bob Haupts said 18 joined the armed forces -- one enlisted in the Army, while the other 17 (including his father) enlisted in the Navy.

Brian Haupts, also a son of Don Haupts, shared the highlights of a recent interview with his father.

In 1944, Don Haupts was among a group of four high school farm boys who decided to enlist in the Navy together. After completing boot camp in Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois, Haupts served as a medic in hospitals in Oregon and Idaho during World War II.

"The hospitals were full of casualties, so there was very little time off," Brian Haupts said.

Though Don Haupts was never shot at, his son recounted one of the more intense moments of his father's Navy career.

One time, a C-54 plane loaded with wounded men from Okinawa was trying to land, but the landing gear wouldn't come down. The plane circled and circled the airport until it was nearly out of gas. Forced to land, the pilot kept the plane's nose up and managed to land with all aboard -- including Don Haupts -- safe and intact.

"They were smoking cigarettes one after the other in a very intense moment," Brian Haupts said.

His father also commented on the food, saying, "The food wasn't anything like home, but you ate it because you were hungry."

While in the service, his father remembered finally getting to eat his first salad in months -- but only after he first removed and killed the cockroach hiding in his greens.

At the end of the war, Don Haupts received his discharge papers, but before he could leave, the Navy changed its mind and asked him to serve another three months.

When he was finally discharged, Haupts was given $235 to pay for his transportation home.

But Haupts had a better idea. Instead, he pocketed the cash, hitch-hiked his way back to Iowa, and, upon returning, used the money to buy himself a car.

Out of the 18 members of his class who joined the service, all returned home safely.

"It makes me sad there are only three of us left," Don Haupts told his son.

Brian Haupts said his father never wanted to be made out as a war hero, but told the audience gathered Tuesday that his father's service alone made him a legend for the next generation.

All Manson area veterans were honored at Tuesday's program, with each asked to state their name and when and where they served.

The MNW High School choir sang the national anthem, while the band played "Salute to America's Finest," featuring the official songs of each branch of the armed services, with veterans standing as their branch's song was played.

MNW Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members organized Tuesday's program.

Colby Bacon, FCCLA vice president, read the poem, "What is a Veteran," saying a veteran is someone who "went away one person and came back another."

Bacon continued, "He sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs."

Bianca Aquino, an MNW senior, recounted her interview with Manson Army veteran John Jacobs. She said, according to Jacobs, a veteran is someone who leads by example.

In Jacobs' words, Aquino said, "We don't know how much a thank you means to veterans."

She concluded by encouraging everyone to say thank you to a veteran.

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