Veterans

The graves of 35 Union soldiers were honored with headstones after more than a century of laying unmarked.

After witnessing the collapse of the two towers on Sept. 11, an Ottumwa native ran to ground zero and has been working to memorialize it since.

Brent Westemeyer, Sergeant First Class Sean Everette and Joy Tumilson McMeekan join Ben Kieffer to remember the sacrifices made by Iowa veterans Harold "Pie" Keller of Brooklyn, William Tucker of Bedford and Jon Tumilson of Rockford.

The oldest Latino advocacy organization in Iowa has launched a campaign to restore a mural painted by a Vietnam War veteran who recently died. It’s a project to preserve American history and Hispanic culture.

Jeannette Gray, Sergeant First Class Sean Everette and Eldon Maxwell join Ben Kieffer to discuss the life of Army Corporal Eldert Beek, whose remains were finally returned to Iowa nearly 70 years after he was killed in action during the war in Korea. Later, Russ Lovell discusses three Iowa Supreme Court cases you've probably never heard of.

John Paluska had just arrived in New York City to start his freshman year of college in September, 2001. Soon after watching the World Trade Centers collapse, Paluska volunteered to search for survivors, clear debris and recover human remains. Paluska would go on to serve ten years in the U.S Army as a Green Beret, earning a Purple Heart. He is also a co-founder of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Visionary Network.

John Paluska of Ottumwa was an 18-year-old freshman at Fordham University in New York City on September 11, 2001. He watched the south tower of the World Trade Center collapse from the roof of his dormitory. Paluska then volunteered to search for survivors, clear debris and recover human remains at ground zero. Soon after, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and became a Green Beret.

Ben Kieffer speaks to retired U.S. Navy Admiral Michael Franken and retired Army officer and military aviator Brian O’Keefe of Des Moines, IA.

Ben Kieffer speaks with specialists and pork producers regarding the state of California's Proposition 12 law that goes into affect on January 1. Then Iowan Shawn Vodenik shares his experiences from his deployment in the Middle East as part of our Leaving Afghanistan series.

As part of our Leaving Afghanistan series, host Ben Kieffer remembers the life of Navy Seal Jon Tumilson with Tumilson's sister Joy Tumilson McMeekan. Tumilson's helicopter was shot down while serving in Afghanistan. He was one of 30 Americans killed on August 6, 2011.