County of Meade

Mr. Robert Regan:

Service years: 1942-1946

Mr. Regan joined the Army Air Force during WWII in 1942 from Fort Meade.  

He joined the military during high school and attended basic training testing well enough to get into the pilot program. Mr. Regan began flight school and college at Wofford, South Carolina. His primary aircraft was the Douglas DC 2. 

He was not just a pilot, but also radio operator in the control tower. He loved to fly but he was diagnosed with spinal meningitis which put him into the hospital for 10 months. After regaining his health, Mr. Regan continued his military career.

Duty Stations:

• Santa Anna, CA
• Miami Beach, FL
• South Carolina 
• Nashville, TN
• Sioux Falls, SD
• Saint Louis, MO
• Sheppard AFB, TX
• Kansas 
• Ellsworth AFB

He has been awarded the:

• American Service Medal
• Good Conduct Medal 
• World War II Victory Medal

Post Wartime:

After the military Mr. Regan and his father owned a service station on Lazelle for 17 years. Mr. Regan was a busy man - working for the government as well as many years spent in Deadwood managing the Bodega, supervising at Gold Dust. He too played a part of history in Sturgis with Phil Town. 

Mr. Regan is the longest standing member of the Legion here in Sturgis of 70 years. His hobbies include watching sports and for years playing cards with the same 3 friends .  

In 1944 he married his wife Mary and together they have 4 children, “many grandchildren, and even more great grandchildren”

Mr. Ralph Thayer

Service years: 1942-1946

Mr. Thayer joined the Army Air Force during WWII in 1942.  After basic training he went to technical training for truck driving.  When it was time to deploy, he was loaded into a truck to New York, and from there he boarded a ship to England.   His career field was shifted to a shortage career within the Supply Field. He worked as a supply clerk until 1946.

Mr. Thayer has been awarded the:

• European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
• Good Conduct Medal
• World War II Victory Medal

During his time in England, Mr. Thayer was asked by his friend to take out a girl because his friend had guard duty and wasn’t able to. That girl ended up being the love of his live and, eventually, his bride. They were married March 1947. Upon separating out of the military after the war, he and his wife returned to Sacramento, CA.

Mr. Thayer spent the next few years working different jobs (for example, he was a cannery worker, carpenter, and worked with the Railroad Express). He eventually found steady work as an airplane carburetor mechanic at McClellan AFB, CA. After a few years, he and his family moved to Live Oak- the small farm he grew up on, where he would commute 100 miles round-trip to the base as well as working on the family farm.  After five years of travel, Mr. Thayer found a position closer to home as a postal carrier for the town, a position in which he served until his retirement.

He is active in the Black Hawk Community Church.  His hobbies include eating out and trying new foods, and also participating in car shows. Mr. Thayer is the proud owner of a 1926 Model T Ford that he drove in high school and also a 1965 Ford Mustang.

We, the Meade County Commission and the people of Meade County, would like to recognize and give a heartfelt thanks to Mr. Ralph Thayer for his service to his country during WWII.

Mr. Dustin Williams from Sturgis, SD 

Service years: 1998-2013

Mr. Williams has been awarded the:

• Bronze Star Medal x2

• Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal

• Iraqi Campaign Medal

• Afghan Campaign Medal

• Kosovo Campaign Medal

• Order of Saint Maurice (Centurion)

Post Military Career:

Upon his retirement in 2013, Dustin enrolled at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and is currently working toward a degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering. He is a member of the SDSM&T Veterans Club, and volunteers on the board for the Sturgis Little League. He enjoys spending his time fishing, hunting, hiking and watching football and baseball.

Mr. Preston Williams from Sturgis, SD 

Service years: 2006-2014

Mr. Dennis Milek

 Service years: 1970-1971

 Mr. Dennis Milek was drafted into the Army in 1970. After basic training, Dennis was sent to Ft Lewis, WA for many weeks of infantry training.

Mr. Molek's first tour of duty was with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam for one year. While stationed in Vietnam he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal for notorious service. He separated honorably from the Army at Fort Riley, Kansas in 1971.

Mr Milek has been awarded the

• National Defense Service Medal
• Vietnam Campaign Medal w/1960 dvc
• Vietnam Service Medal
• Two Overseas Bars
• Air Medal 
• Bronze Star Medal 

 Sharpshooter & Expert (M-16 & M-60) 

Post Military Career: 

After discharge from the service, Dennis obtained a Bachelor of Arts from South Dakota State University. He majored in Psychology and Sociology with a minor in Social Work. 

After college Dennis was employed at the Homestake Mining Company in Lead, South Dakota. a year later, Dennis sought employment where he could utilize his degree. Mr. Milek worked 6 years as a social worker.  

 In 1977 Dennis took over the family ranch operations in (location?) due to the retirement of his father. In his spare time he played in a local bands around the area. In 1997 Dennis married his wife Cindy.  Mr Milek has three daughters, Emily, Sarah, & Krista currently ages 30, 18 and 15.  

In 2008 while checking cattle with his dog, Dennis had an accident on a dirt bike. He had suffered a serious head injury. His dog was the one to go and notify his brother that something had happened. This accident has had a profound effect on his life. Dennis had to relearn how to walk and has experienced memory loss, but yet still considers himself very lucky.

We, the Meade County Commission and the people of Meade County, would like to recognize and give a heartfelt thanks to Mr. Dennis Milek for his service to his country during Vietnam War. 

Meade County Veteran of the Month for July

(Black Hawk)

Mr. William Buckley:

Service years: 1967-1969

Mr Buckley volunteered to join the Army in 1967.

First, he was sent to basic training at Fort Bliss, TX, then to Fort Gordon, GA, for infantry jungle training in preparation for Vietnam and finally to Fort Benning, GA, for paratrooper school.

Mr. Buckley had been in Vietnam a mere two and a half months when a mission went awry. The mission was a night pathfinder mission to get a bag that was left behind after a bridge had been destroyed by the Vietcong (VC). Once the bag was picked up and they had taken off in chinook helicopters, Vietcong soldiers were waiting for them and had multiple people shooting at that bag. The bag had been a set-up and the VC had filled it with explosives. When the bag exploded, Mr. Buckley distinctly remembers looking in-between the pilot and co pilot and seeing all of the gauges that were lit in red. The next thing he remembers was waking up on the ground with all of his clothes burned off. He had sustained 3rd degree burns on his back and back of his head. He had other burns on 60% of his body. He scrambled to a nearby ditch and hid in the shrubs out of fear that the VC would be coming back. Fortunately, the two gun ships that accompanied their helicopter were able to secure their exfiltration. Mr. Buckley eventually was flown to the burn clinic to Japan for about 7 weeks. 200 stitches, multiple skin grafts, and shrapnel/broken ankle he was then he was flown to Fitzsimmons Hospital in Colorado. After a period of time recovering, Mr. Buckley requested to go back to Vietnam, but was denied due to his injuries. He was then sent to Fort Bragg where he was honorably discharged in 1969.

He has been awarded the

• National Defense Service Medal
• Parachute Badge
• Vietnam Service Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star
• Purple Heart
• Republic OF Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation Badge
• Meritorious Unit Commendation
• Army Good Conduct Media
• Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with the 1960 device

Post Wartime:

After the military Mr. Buckley went to school to become a coach, but soon realized he had a passion for construction. He wound up working 40 years in the construction field before finally retiring. Since retiring, Mr. Buckley has found that hunting and fishing are his passions. Mr Buckley has a 21 year old son.

Meade County Veteran of the Month for August

(Sturgis)

Mr. Salvador Valades:

Service years: 1944-1946

At the age of 18, while still attending Edgemont High School, Mr. Salvador Valades was drafted into the Army in 1944. His two older brothers were also drafted into the military. He reported to the induction center in Fort Snelling, MN, then underwent 16 weeks of basic training at Camp Roberts, California. Mr. Valades says he remembers how they often marched double-time with a full field pack and a rifle on their backs in 110 degree heat. “It was surprising how much the body could endure when required to do so,” he remarked. Basic training was cut short three weeks to send the troops to Europe.

The Battle of the Bulge in Germany was incurring heavy casualties, and recruits were being shipped out as quickly as they could to supplement forces. Mr. Valades was assigned to the 94th Infantry Division attached to the 3rd Army “Old Blood and Guts Outfit” headed by General George Patton in England. It took a week by ship make it to Liverpool, England, and it was there that they crossed the English Channel to land in La Havre, France. From there, they traveled in cattle cars across France to arrive in Metz, Germany. Their job was to clear the way for the last push to the Rhine River for the end of the Battle of the Bulge.

In this area they were to attempt to capture a concrete fortification in Germany on top of a hill that Germans had heavily fortified. On March 13th, 1945, Mr. Valades was working his way up the hill with a radio, following his lieutenant. There was only minimal protection on the ascent up the hill, and Allied forces were taking heavy casualties. Mr. Valades remembers at one point they came upon a small dugout, where fellow troops had taken cover. They knew they wouldn’t be safe until the hill was taken, so Mr. Valades and his lieutenant continued up the hill to an area with some tree cover.

Mr. Valades recalls what happened next, saying “Another burst of fire was heard and I had been hit with a single bullet in the chest area over my heart.” The bullet actually hit a bandoleer of ammunition he was carrying around his neck and chest, and it severed the crucifix from the rosary that he was wearing. The rosary deflected the trajectory of the bullet away from his heart and instead became lodged in his liver. Thankfully, Mr. Valades was able to be safely escorted to a nearby field hospital, where the bullet was successfully removed.

Mr. Valades was treated in England until he could return to the US for further treatment in Spokane, WA. After treatment he finished out his military time in Fort Logan, CO as a clerk and as a supervisor to the German prisoners who were tasked with repairing typewriters.

Post Military Career:

After he was honorably discharged, Mr. Valades returned home, where he married his wife Darlene and they had three children. He attended the National School of Business in Rapid City. After graduating, he worked out at Fort Meade for 36 years, eventually retiring in 1988 as an assistant chief of medical administration service. After retirement, he was an active Catholic eucharistic minister for the homebound. Nowadays, Mr. Valades enjoys the finer things in life: exercise, fishing, going to church, taking care of his home, and spending time with his children and grandchildren.

We, the Meade County Commission and the people of Meade County, would like to recognize and give a heartfelt thanks to Mr. Salvador Valades for his service to his country during the WWII.