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JOHN MOISAN, SR.

BRANCH OF SERVICE:

Army

TIMEFRAME SERVED:

1968 - 2009

MILITARY RANK:

Lieutenant

SUMMARY OF SERVICE:

A native of Watertown, SD, John Moisan, Sr., joined the Army and became a Lieutenant through the ROTC Program at the University of South Dakota in May 1968. During his first assignment at Fort Carson, CO, Moisan received orders for Gelnhausen, West Germany, assigned to the 1st Battalion 33 Armor, 3rd Armor Division. His duty assignment was Battalion Communications Officer stationed about 30 kilometers from the East German Border.

Before retiring in 2009, he worked for the State of South Dakota and was Events Coordinator for the war memorials, attended by about 80,000 Veterans and families. Moisan was instrumental in the construction of the Fighting Stallions Memorial, dedicated to South Dakota Governor Mickelson and seven other businessmen who died in a plane crash in April 1993. He also diligently worked on the WWII, Korean and Vietnam War memorials and celebrations to pay tribute to our Veterans of those wars. The Vietnam Memorial was the largest public event ever sponsored by the State of South Dakota.

Moisan was a leader in the creation and collaboration of the WWII celebration in September 2001, which was held just days after 9/11. This event was attended by over 20,000 WWII veterans and families, who witnessed the unveiling of six bronze statues created by sculptors Lee Leuning and Sherri Treeby. This celebration was heartfelt and highly supported. Per capita, South Dakota had the highest enlistment in WWII of any state in the U.S. Many of the enlistees were boys who were not legally old enough to join - but they did anyway. Many parents eagerly signed a government release for boys under 16 to enlist in military service.

Moisan is a dedicated Veteran who worked endlessly on the Korean War dedication in 2004 and Vietnam celebration in 2006. People from across the country and around the world came to the events with 21,000 and 40,000 attending respectively.

The Veteran is a father of five children, an eight-year pancreatic cancer survivor, caregiver for his wife and retiree after 35 years of service to State Government. Living in Fort Pierre, Moisan also owns a ranch in Tripp County and is a strong advocate for land and wildlife conservation.

These submissions were provided by the Veteran, their family and/or friends and are based on their research and memories. The historical facts and recollections are derived from the submitter and not necessarily from the SGA owner or staff. SGA cannot guarantee the accuracy of the submissions.

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