The Free Press
NORTH MANKATO — American Legion Post 518 will fly a flag in August in honor of Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Ferdinand Stecker.
At 10 a.m. Aug. 2, members will gather at Wheeler Park in lower North Mankato to begin the monthlong tribute.
Stecker was born in 1920 in Tetonka, Iowa. He made his living in farming, drove a fuel truck and transported trailer homes. He joined the Army Air Corps Oct. 16, 1942, and took his basic training as Camp Dodge, Iowa. He served as a light truck driver and was stationed in the U.S. and Australia. He was discharged Jan. 26, 1946.
Stecker’s awards include the Driver/Medic Badge, Marksman Badge, Good Conduct Medal, WWII Victory Medal and the American Theater Ribbon.
He died Jan. 27, 1965, in Swea City, Iowa. He is buried at Good Hope Lutheran Cemetery in Titonka.