By Ed Shannon, staff writer

Tomorrow&8217;s observance of Memorial Day, plus the dedication of the Freeborn County Veterans Memorial, will involve the participation of two uniformed groups representing the area&8217;s veterans.

One group, wearing dark blue uniforms, is the honor guard from Leo Carey Post 56 of the American Legion.

The second group, wearing brown uniforms, is the color guard from Freemond Madson Post 447 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Bill Christenson is the leader of the Legion&8217;s honor guard unit. He&8217;s a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War and was originally a member of the VFW unit. Christenson started working at the Legion Clubroom in 1962, became a part of the honor guard, and still works part time for this veteran&8217;s organization.

Duane Hatleli, a U.S Army veteran of the Korean War and Post 447 commander, and Eldon Schmitt, a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, are leaders of the VFW color guard.

&8220;All the members of both groups are volunteers,&8221; Christenson said.

&8220;The Legion group has 22 members now and we&8217;ll be up to 24 soon,&8221; he added.

These two groups march together to lead the parade on Memorial Day, Veterans

Day, Albert Lea&8217;s July 3 observance and Festival of Bands event, and add a patriotic salute on other occasions.

Christenson explains that the Legion group also participates in district and state Legion conventions and appears for special events and dedications. One of the special events he mentioned is posting the colors for the annual meeting of the Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home.

However, the one consistent activity for both groups is participating in the funeral

rites for all veterans in Freeborn County. Christenson said they were involved with 85 funerals during 2006. Besides Albert Lea, the units cooperate with Legion posts in Alden, Emmons, Freeborn, Glenville and Hartland.

The usual Legion squad for a funeral consists of nine members. Seven members are riflemen who fire three volleys as a final salute. One person is the squad leader, and one member, either Ed Nelson or Bob Miller, is the bugler.

Color and honor guards for special occasions stated in the late 1800s with the city&8217;s first veterans organization, Robson Post No. 5 of the Grand Army of the Republic. This post consisted of Union (Northern) veterans of the Civil War.

In the early 1920s, veterans of World War I and members of Albert Lea&8217;s new American Legion and VFW posts took over the color and honor guard duties and this has continued on to the present time with veterans of more recent conflicts.

Christenson said the Legion&8217;s honor guard uniforms are 20 to 30 years old and have been hand-me-downs among members. This situation is due for a change in the future thanks to the Worth County Development Authority (WCDA).

&8220;We applied last year for money to buy new uniforms. We lost out so we tried again and were lucky the second time, &8220; Christenson explained.

&8220;We&8217;re the only ones in Minnesota to get funds (from WCDA),&8221; he added.

Christenson commented that the $11,025.78 received from the WCDA is about three-fourths of what&8217;s needed to purchase the uniforms.

&8220;There could be fish fry and sweet corn feeds in the future to raise the rest of those funds, &8221; he said.