What could be more appropriate than the Shawano VFW Post opening its new clubhouse on Veterans Day?
How about a bald eagle flying overhead minutes before veterans cut the ribbon to open their new home?
“We are gathered here not only to open a new chapter for our veterans but to do so on Veterans Day, a day our entire nation pauses to honor service, sacrifice and duty,” post member Jesse Rankin said at the ribbon-cutting celebration.
Veterans gathered in May to break ground for the building at 810 Olson St., which replaces the facility at 202 W. Lieg Ave. that had been used the past 70-plus years.
“We looked at a patch of dirt and saw a promise, a promise of a new, modern, accessible home for members, their families and our community,” Rankin said. “Through the months that followed, we watched the vision take shape.”
Nick Van Lanen, project executive with Bayland Buildings, which served as general contractor for the project, praised VFW members Tom Hoffman, Phil Nelson, Rankin and Jeremy Buenning for the help with the project.
“If it wasn’t for these four, this project wouldn’t have went as good as it did,” he said. “It was flawless. It was fun. I feel like we were just out here yesterday breaking ground.”
The new building is 4,000 square feet, almost 50% larger than the former one.
“The story of this building is only part of the much larger story,” Rankin said. “This year, in 2025, has been significant for our post and for our all of Shawano.”
The post is named after Shawano resident Herbert E. McLaughlin, who was killed in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Until 2024, McLaughlin’s remains were buried with no name. But, through modern DNA analysis and other technologies, he was identified, and his remains were returned to Shawano, where he was buried Aug. 9 at Woodlawn Cemetery.
“For over seven decades, our namesake, Airman Corps Pvt. Herbert E. McLaughlin was a hero without a final resting place,” Rankin said. “Killed at Hickman Field during the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was laid to rest as an unknown, thousands of miles from the home he defended. Just this past August, a promise to bring him home was finally kept.”
McLaughlin was buried with full military honors.
“His journey home reminded us of our most sacred duty – to leave no one behind, to never, ever forget,” Rankin said.
Rankin said the new building is more than just a building.
“This is more than bricks and mortar,” he said. “This is a building and sanctuary. It’s a gathering place, and it’s a living memorial to everybody involved.”
He said the building is a home to veterans who need camaraderie, a home to families who need support, and a home to the memory of McLaughlin and all those who paid the ultimate price.
“Today as we cut the ribbon, we are not just opening a building, we are rededicating ourselves to our mission – to foster camaraderie among United States veterans of overseas conflicts, to serve our veterans, the military and the communities,” Rankin said. “Welcome to our new home.”
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
