‘Let No Veteran Be Forgotten’
Vietnam Vet gives back through Honor Guard
By Jillian Kellerman
Vietnam veteran Richard Schlosser of Miltona, Minn., volunteered for the draft and served in the Army from 1967 through 1969. Stationed in Long Binh, Vietnam, he worked for the 100th Engr. Float Bridge Co. as a mechanic fixing trucks for his unit that assembled bridges. Despite his unit command, it wasn’t until a picture surfaced 50 years later at a remembrance service for his brother-in-law who was killed in action that he actually saw what one of these bridges looked like.
“It was so close, but yet so far. I never did see one. I’ve seen them all tore apart and in a bridge yard. I kept the trucks going, that’s what I did,” he said.
Schlosser spoke of his memories in Vietnam – good and bad. He reflected on the smell of sewage and burning human waste, warfare and death… and being attacked by rockets.
“I was watching the John Wayne movie The Green Berets and it got real… literally,” he said. “All of a sudden, here’s booming and banging on the film and then it wasn’t booming and banging anymore. It was outside. We basically had to crawl out of there and run to the bunkers.”
They lost two people in their company while serving in Vietnam – one who drowned in the muddy water while building bridges and another who Schlosser said was in the wrong place at the wrong time, walking back to the barracks when they were rocket attacked. To this day, Schlosser has never finished watching The Green Berets movie.
“You tell the story, but people still don’t know what it’s about because they never experienced it. It’s different,” he said.
Schlosser remembered the good points too – servicing a CIA Jeep to escort First Lady Pat Nixon, visiting Sydney, Australia, seeing the opera house, and his very best memory... coming home.
In September of 2024, Schlosser had the privilege to attend the Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN trip to Washington D.C. He expressed that “a veteran has more connection with a veteran,” making a trip like this even more special.
“The camaraderie with the other veterans, seeing the monuments with everybody, and listening to their in-service stories or just life stories… It’s a trip of a lifetime,” he said.
Today, Schlosser has a new story to tell. He’s continuing his service and building a legacy to ensure no veteran is forgotten.
Schlosser is a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), and was on their rifle squad. The VVA began to see a risk of potentially dissolving, slowly losing members to health issues or death, as the generation continues to age out. About three years ago, Schlosser took action with the help of four other veterans who saw the same need. As of January, 2025, Veterans Memorial Honor Guard carries on the tradition of honoring veterans and their families.
“We do it for all veterans in all branches of the military. Our motto is ‘Let No Veteran Be Forgotten,’” Schlosser said.
The organization performs honor ceremonies for military funerals, color guard services, educational presentations, and other patriotic holiday celebrations. Color guard services are provided for sporting events, school programs, parades, and other public events.
“You have the American flag, branch of service, and POW flag are usually the flags we take with to do our presentations,” he said.
For funerals, flag detail can be provided if held outside. They also do the rifle salute at funerals – three volleys, which they call a farewell, Schlosser said. He clarified that it’s not a formal 21-gun salute, as that’s just for the President of the United States, Generals, and other high dignitaries.
“I present the spent shell casings to the family. And that part is where it touches your heart. You find out that grieving is all over the board,” he added.
The Veterans Memorial Honor Guard was organized to carry these traditions forward and sustain the duty to honor those who served. The veteran and civilian members who perform these duties are united by this mission. They have a heart for service and a desire to recognize our heroes.
“For a full squad, you need 12 people. The rifle squad you need eight – or I should say nine, ‘cause you gotta have a bugler,” he said.
Training meetings are held every month for those who are able to attend. The reason, Schlosser said, is to keep everybody updated. They also train members to fold the flag to be given to the family of the deceased veteran.
“Your branch of service comes out on a deceased veteran. That’s when they’re called upon,” Schlosser said. “We’ve had events where they can’t come, so we’re training our group to be able to fold the flag into the triangle. It takes a little bit of art to do it.”
Last year, the Veterans Memorial Honor Guard participated in 75 events in Douglas County, 54 of them were funerals.
“It’s quite an honor to do this. It’s really been good healing for myself,” he said.
The organization has five board members. Schlosser is the chairman. They also have a treasurer, secretary, chaplain, and coordinator. The coordinator is the one to contact for all events.
“We run two squads – squad one and squad two. We lean on both squads because we realized people have lives. You know, even at my age, they have other activities or commitments, such as family things. We hope members will do at least 15 events a year, if possible,” he said.
As mentioned, Veterans Memorial Honor Guard is for all branches of service in the military, but you do NOT have to be a veteran to join.
“We have seven non-veterans right now. Four of them are buglers,” Schlosser said. “We opened it up to non-veterans for the fact that, I’m the last generation of the draft, who’s gonna do it when my generation’s gone? You want future generations to continue to support deceased veterans and their families. And by opening it up to non-veterans, that’s the goal. It has really been a blessing to be able to get these non-veterans involved, and they’re really involved.”
In this way, non-veterans and family members of veterans are now given the opportunity to participate in this duty to honor the deceased with the respect they earned through serving our country. As veterans age and find it more difficult to participate, it is up to the younger generations to carry on this honor.
“I want to make sure no veteran is forgotten,” Schlosser said.
The Veterans Memorial Honor Guard is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information or to join their mission in Douglas County, visit veteranshonorguardalex.org or email vmhg56308@gmail.com.
To learn more about opportunities to help Honor Guards in your area, contact your nearest Veterans Service Organization (American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, etc) or contact your County Veterans Service Officer.
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