SSTC opened the Veterans’ celebration with a special flag raising in front of the theater. SSTC recently erected a new flag pole at the site and held a special dedication ceremony with the Post 132 Color Guard.

SSTC board president Lisa Besemer said the theater portion of the building was constructed in 1938 with funds from a Works Progress Administration (WPA) and for many years a flag pole was on the site. She believed the theater’s flag was a testament to resilience and recovery to recovery from World Wars.

“Today it is only fitting that State Street honors the legacy of the building,” she said.

The Veterans featured performances from the 204th Army Band Ceremonial Ensemble from Fort Snelling. The Army Band opened the program with a medley of songs representing each branch of the military.

: State Street Theater held a special flag raising and dedication ceremony before their Veterans Day program.

The keynote speaker for SSTC program was Bill Strusinski, a former Vietnam combat medic and author of the book “Care Under Fire.”

Strusinski began by reciting things heard spoken by soldiers in the jungles of Vietnam. “I hate snakes.” “How long will it rain.” “Will mom and dad be proud of me?” “Will it hurt to be shot?” “Remember to pull the pin before throwing the grenade.”

He said these lines summarized his time as a combat medic.

Strusinski was drafted in 1967 and served in the 1st Infantry Division as part of the Blue Spaders. He would serve as a combat medic. He was in the field with soldiers and was the first line of medical aid for injured or wounded soldiers. Strusinski received 10 weeks of training as a combat veteran but said it was not enough.

“How could it?” he said.

As a combat veteran, he was forced to make difficult decisions that could mean life or death for wounded soldiers. Often his job was only to stabilize a soldier until a helicopter could evacuate them to a field hospital. Often Strusinski never knew what happened to his patients afterwards.

In one year he treated bites from snakes, scorpion stings, jungle rot, punji sticks wounds, bullet wounds, shrapnel wounds, broken bones, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Strusinski said he was sometimes called a “jungle therapist” because his fellow soldiers would rather tell their medic how they were feeling than a commanding officer.

“In war there are no unwounded soldiers,” Strusinski said.

Some scars are not physical and the memories never go away.

The 204th Army Band Ceremonial Ensemble performs at State Street Theater on Sunday for a Veterans program. The band played marches and military themes from history as well as some modern selections.

“I was drafted in 1967. I was told I must give them two years but I have been remembering it every day since.”

Strusinski said it was fine to hope for a world without war, where everyone gets along but knew soldiers would always be needed to preserve freedom and the next generation will always need to be taught to respect veterans.