Memorial Day 2025
Monday, May 26, 2025 - 8:30am


Fort Snelling National Cemetery,  
​Special Operations Monument,  All Airborne Circle
7601 34th St. Minneapolis, MN 
​
8:30am - Breif Cerimoney at the SOG Monument - Photo opertunity
​
9:30am - March to Main Event Parade 



Memorial Day Address by Ron Lachelts,
​ Special Forces Assoc. President Chapter 20

Special tribute to Bob Pike, Vietnam War Veteran and Canadian Volunteer.
(More about Bob Pike can be found in President Lachelts Memorial Day address below.)
​Original Airborne Veterans who founded & developed 
All Airborne Circle
​Temporary Plaque with added units unveiled at All Airborne Circle, SOG Monument
Memorial Day Address , May 26, 2025

     My name is Ron Lachelt, I am the President of the Special Forces Association Chapter XX here in Minnesota. On behalf of: The Special Forces Association, Special Operations and Airborne Forces, Chapter 15 of the 173rd Airborne Association,  and  Scott Walker and the Coalition of Allied Afghan and Vietnam War Veterans and all our Allied partners. 
​
     I want to thank you for being here today.  You represent the best our countries have to offer.

     We are gathered here today at the Airborne Circle and the Special Operations monument to remember those that cannot be with us today and comrades we lost when we were soldiers once, and young.    

     Special Operations are performed in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and require covert, clandestine, or low visibility capabilities. They may be performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military forces.

     This means that you are the Special soldiers that were needed to perform the most important, dangerous and difficult missions. Be very proud of your service! 

     For many Americans, the last Monday in May marks the unofficial start of summer—a long weekend with a family barbecue, a trip to the cabin, or a gathering with friends. 

     But for those of us who served in the military, Memorial Day holds a greater significance, today we remember and honor the brave men and women who wrote out the Blank Check to our government and sacrificed and lost their lives defending their comrades and their countries.

     Duty, honor, and country—they lived for it. And they died for it. As individuals, we must remind ourselves of the future and what our fellow soldiers fought for and to honor them we need to do our best to live up to those values in the days ahead.

Today’s  Memorial Day began by:

      The Honoring of our Fallen Day in America was first observed in 1866 in Waterloo, NY.  
      ln 1868, it was renamed "Decoration Day" and was designated to place flowers or otherwise decorate the gravesites of the fallen from our Civil War.  
     In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday act which renamed established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May.

     The holiday’s name may have changed over the years, but its ideals and intention have not.

     At the core of military service lie the unique themes of: the selfless desire to serve and the willingness to sacrifice our lives to defend our countries and our fellow soldiers.

     I would like to take time to remember and honor a member of our group that passed away suddenly a couple of months ago. Bob Pike was a Canadian paratrooper that joined the American Army during the Vietnam War.  He served as a helicopter crew chief and was shot down 3 times during Lam Son 719. He later became Special Forces qualified.  Upon leaving the military, he served with the Selous Scouts in Rhodesia.  Bob wrote a few books about the military. He enjoyed restoring cars. He helped Scott Walker with SE Asian legislation at the state capitol and registering SE Asian veterans for benefits. Bob was always available to help with the Chapter XX activities.  He will be missed. De Oppresso Liber Bob!  

     No matter where the battlefield was: the mountains of Afghanistan, the deserts of Iraq or Syria, the skies over Europe, the islands of the Pacific, the frozen terrain of Korea,  or the jungles and mountains of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, or elsewhere—the stories of our fallen are important and need to be remembered and shared.

                 We must always Remember: 

                          "All of us gave some, but some gave all."

    Since our organizations are primarily made of veterans of the Vietnam War -we are pleased to have been joined by many Afghan Interpreters who have immigrated to the United States.  Their knowledge, expertise, and training provided critical lifesaving information for our teams, while risking their lives and their family’s safety to ensure our troops could accomplish their missions. 
     We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for their sacrifices on behalf of the soldiers and citizens of both of our countries. 

     We have been conducting this service at the Airborne Circle for the past several years under some of the most challenging conditions. In 2019 we held this service under 90 plus degree heat only to be followed the next year and last year with 4 hours of steady rain. Our training and dedication to our fellow Veterans has sustained our determination to honor their memories.   
     Today we have been blessed with a fine temperate day and we look forward to enjoying our time together.

     The respect and admiration we give our fallen pays tribute to their memory and the lives they lived. We do so by visiting their gravesites or placing flags, wreaths, or other mementos at memorials in our communities

    Take a moment and look all around you.       <PAUSE>

    You will see the final resting place and monuments honoring over two hundred thousand of our brother and sister soldiers.  And all the graves have an American flag to commemorate their service. 

     But for many of you the resting places of your fallen fellow soldiers are many miles away, a long time ago, and across the oceans and in your homelands. 

     In remembrance for all our comrades, I’d like to share part of a poem called “The Ode” 


                                  " They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old;
                            Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
                            At the going down of the sun and in the morning
                            We shall remember them .................................
                                                We shall remember them."


         We hope that today will provide you and your loved one’s great honor and provide a time for remembrance. 

         Please join us as we pass proudly in review at the viewing stand at the main Fort Snelling Memorial Day Event.
Ron Lachelt
May 26, 2025

Special Tribute To Bob Pike

Temporary Special Operations Group Plaque Unvailed
​With Additional Unites Added
More about thr Monument visit this page:

Additional Photos of Memorial Day 2025
More about All Airborne Circle and the Special Operations Group Monument 

Memorial Day 2024 - Photo Memories

​Honoring a Veteran


All attendees are asked to bring a 8 1/2" x 11' photo of a deceased veteran to honor a remember this Memorial Day.
​
Flower bouquets and wreaths are welcome as well.
​
Additional Information please call:

Scott Walker | Special Projects Dir. of the CAVWV 
Ron Lachelts | President of Special Forces Assoc. Mpls
Nelson Pao Hang | President Special Guerrilla Units USA
Sotheary Duong | Khmer Veteran Representative 
Ananh Saenvilay | President of the Lao Airborne Veterans of MN 
Hoc Nguyễn | President of the ARVN Veterans 
Naser Mohammadi | Afghan Interpreter Representative 
​Hoeun Hach | POW Representative 

The Coalition of Allied Vietnam War Veterans is a former 501(c)3 non profit which ceased operating under that IRS status at the end of 2025 which was the 50th anniversary year of the ending of the Vietnam War.
It now operates as a Veteran Fellowship located in the State of Minnesota