STURGIS, S.D. – Honoring those who have served in the United States Armed Forces is an important part of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. For that reason, Tuesday, Aug. 8, was designated as Military Appreciation Day at the City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
During today’s ceremony, two Sturgis veterans were honored for their service. They were Boyd “Pug” Daane and Kristi Ortiz.
South Dakota National Guard Col. Martin Yoast honored the two veterans.
Daane was drafted into the Army on Sept. 24, 1952, during the Korean War, completing basic training at Fort Knox as a tank mechanic, later working on Jeeps and tracks. Daane achieved the rank of Sergeant, and was awarded the Korean Service Medal, the Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, United Nations Service Medal Korea and the National Defense Service Medal.
Ortiz enlisted as a private in the South Dakota National Guard on March 5, 1983, while she was a senior at Kimball High School. Ortiz has served with the 854th Engineer Company, the HHD, 137th Engineer Battalion, Det.1, 730th Medical Company, the 842nd Engineer Company and in 1996 she transferred to 1st Battalion, 196th Regiment as an Operations NCO and a Quality Assurance NCO retiring on Aug. 5, 2022, as a First Sergeant.
Danne and Ortiz at Tuesday’s Ceremony.
At today’s ceremony, the South Dakota National Guard Color Guard presented the colors and Paul Hight sang the National Anthem.
Other speakers at the ceremony included South Dakota Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, Ellsworth Air Force Base 28th Bomb Wing Commander Col. Derek C. Oakley and Veterans of Foreign Wars Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief Carol Whitmore.
A B-1 flyover highlighted today’s ceremony.
