Dawg Days of Summer

Argonne Post 32, Adrian, Minnesota Announces the first “Dawg Days of Summer” Veteran’s Summit

The mission of the Dawg Days of Summer is to bring together some of the people working hard to

enhance the living conditions of some of our most important heroes; veterans. Centered on a mobile memorial, the Dawg Days of Summer will include those that work on county, state and federal levels along

with many people, veterans and civilians alike, who work on their own time to help those in need. We welcome all that are interested to come out and not only see an incredible memorial,

but also to talk to those who are involved in continuing their service.

Main Honored Guest, Kevin Sonka, Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project Kevin is a Gold Star Father whose son, Corporal David M. Sonka and his MPC K-9 “Flex”, were killed while

serving in Afghanistan on May 4th, 2013. In the wake of this tragedy, Kevin started the Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project, which works with the “Feed the Dawgs Project”, which was launched in 2008. Those in the Military Working Dog

community have an alternative spelling of “Dawgs”, but understand that it has meaning in the history of their special career field. Along with the work of the Dawgs Project, in late 2015 Kevin rolled out a mobile memorial to

all of the Military Working Dog handlers that have been killed in the War on Terror. That memorial will be shown at the Luverne, Minnesota Veteran’s Home from 9:00 a.m. till 11:00 a.m. At approximately 10:30 a.m. local Adrian veteran,

Gary Reker will meet up with Kevin and the American Legion Riders to escort the memorial to Adrian. The memorial will be shown in Adrian, in the area of Argonne Post 32 adjacent to Maine Street.

The Post 32, “Dawg Days of Summer” Veteran’s Summit Guests When the memorial sets up in Adrian, several other guests will be available to the public inside of the

Adrian Legion Post. The attendees include:

1.) David Peters, Operation: 23 to Zero who is dedicated to fighting the massive rates of veteran and military suicide through awareness and providing a network of fellow veterans willing to step up to help.2.) Kirk Mansfield, Faribault American Legion Post 43, active in the Ruck Marches, to bring awareness to the issue of veteran suicide and also bringing the 80% scale Vietnam traveling wall to Faribault in September of 2016.3.) Tyler and Patrick Skluzacek from “My Bivy“ will be on hand to explain a smart watch app that Tyler, developed to fight night terrors associated with PTSD. Patrick has used this app successfully and is a great example of what can be accomplished when problems are faced head on and dealt with. The “My Bivy” app is in the process of being released after early tests have shown it to be a success.4.) Rita Marquez from the St. Paul Vet’s Center, tasked with the mission to seek out veterans struggling with readjustment after their combat experiences or those that suffered sexual assault/harassment while on active duty.5.) Janelle Christensen, Suicide Prevention Coordinator, from the Sioux Falls, SD VA.6.) Bill Brockberg, Nobles County Veteran’s Service Officer.7.) Kris Schneeberg, a member of the Legion Riders, a branch of the American Legion Family will provide information on the mission of the Legion Riders and how they work to serve our veterans.

Also Represented but not present1.) Jon Hemp, Co-Founder, “The Dawgs Project”, who provides steak barbeque dinners to America’s Front Line Defenders, preserves the heritage that is “K9”, and supports the Military Working Dog community at home and off shore.2.) Mike MacDonald, “A Warrior’s Reintegration”, Mike uses extremely powerful photography to raise awareness of the issues that veteran’s are left to deal with after they leave the service. The photos will speak for themselves.

The Argonne Post 32, “Dawg Days of Summer” Veteran’s Summit is being organized to honor the service of our nation’s heroes while learning what we can to do to help those during their reintegration into civilian life

or those who are in crisis. There is no admission fee to attend the day’s activities, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will be serving grilled hot dogs. The American Legion Auxiliary and the Sons of the

American Legion will be serving refreshments and other snacks.The members of Post 32 and all of those involved would like to see you on Saturday, July 2nd.

Saturday, July 2nd, 2016 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. at Adrian Legion

Argonne Post 32Dawg Days of Summer