Bremer County's veteran history includes Captain Milius, who was declared Missing In Action, later presumed killed in action, and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross after his OP-2E observation aircraft was hit repeatedly by 37-mm. anti-aircraft artillery fire during an armed reconnaissance mission over Laos; with the aircraft in flames, crewmen injured, and the fuselage filled with dense smoke and fumes, he remained at the controls to keep the aircraft stable and ordered his crew to bail out, helping save seven of the nine crewmen, though rescue flights could not locate him. It also includes Sergeant Lester Diekmann of Headquarters Battery, 52nd Field Artillery Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, who earned the Bronze Star at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, then continued his military career, was sent to Korea, was taken prisoner of war on July 5, 1950, forced on the Tiger Death March to North Korea, and died as a prisoner at Hanjang-ni, North Korea, at the end of 1950. Another was Arlin Wittenburg, stationed on the USS Oklahoma, who survived the attack of December 7, 1941, by only moments and afterward used a cutting torch atop the capsized hull to try to free trapped shipmates; in all, 429 sailors from the Oklahoma's crew of 1,100 were killed, including 28 Iowans. The memorial also features an eagle clutching a ribbon with the words, "By land sea & air they stand in the unbroken line of patriots who've dared to die that freedom may live," flying over a Normandy-like cemetery, while Old Glory stands for all veterans and all Americans.