By Ed Shannon, staff writer

LAKE MILLS, Iowa &8212; There are three distinct segments that have evolved into the present Lake Mills Area Veterans Monument in Arlington Park to the north of

this community&8217;s post office.

One part is the black marble monument that lists the area veterans who have died during the nation&8217;s wars. One name on the side facing North Mill Street is for a Civil War casualty, three names are for World War I, 18 names are for World War II, and there&8217;s one name each for the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

One of the names on the World War II list is that of Glaydon Iverson of Emmons, who died on Dec. 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor. He was Freeborn County&8217;s first casualty of this war. Albert Lea&8217;s Disabled American Veterans Chapter 16 is named in his honor.

On the other side of this monument are the photos of 21 of those men that were available and have been etched into the stone.

In the center of the park are four separate concrete walls. According to Leon Christianson, a prime promoter of this addition to the park, a total of 1,170 names of area veterans of all the wars have been etched into individual bricks. These bricks were purchased during a 2003 campaign to provide a second addition to a memorial that already existed in Arlington Park.

The four walls and the black marble monument were dedicated during a special ceremony on July 10, 2004.

For 45 years a U.S. Army M4A3 Sherman tank has been in Arlington Park as a special salute to the memory of the veterans of all wars. The tank also salutes the contributions made to the nation by its designer &8212; Brig. Gen. Joseph Milton Colby.

He was born in Lake Mills on March 27, 1904, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Colby and graduated from Lake Mills High School in 1922. Colby also attended Virginia Military Institute and the University of Iowa. He became a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1925 and graduated in 1929.

Lt. Colby served in the horse cavalry at Fort Bliss, Texas, for two years, then transferred to the Ordnance Department of the U.S. Army, where he spent the rest of his military career. Colby received a master of science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., and graduated from the Army&8217;s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Colby gained fame as the designer of various tank-automotive vehicles. He was responsible for the design and development of the Walker, Sherman, Pershing and Patton tanks, plus other military vehicles and self-propelled artillery weapons.

During his military career Colby served several overseas tours in Europe, North Africa, the Near East and in Asia on various assignments. He became a brigadier general during World War II. He earned several American military decorations, plus honors from Great Britain, France and Greece.

Brig. Gen. Colby retired from active duty in 1959 and became associated with the Rockwell Corp. as an executive until his final retirement in 1969.

Colby was in Lake Mills on Aug. 19, 1962, as the city&8217;s guest of honor for the dedication of the tank memorial.

He died on Oct. 18, 1974, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and is buried at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

In 2003 in Lake Mills the Sherman tank was renovated, repainted and moved to its present location in the park.

Adding a special touch to the Lake Mills Area Veterans Monument are 124 American flags, which Christianson said are placed in and around Arlington Park on patriotic holidays.

The Veterans Day program on Monday in Lake Mills will feature a meal from 5 to 6:45 p.m. at the Lake Mills Community School and is open to the public. Veterans are welcome to eat at no charge.

The traditional program will start at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium.