Bemidji gathers to honor veterans

'You will not be forgotten'

BEMIDJI - At age 17, Howard Lewis Dreyer enlisted in the U.S. Army while a senior at Bemidji High School.

In August of 1949, Dreyer began his military service, spending time at numerous Army training camps across the country.

He was a member of the 187th Airborne Infantry Regimental Combat Squad, the equivalent of the Army Rangers.

The Army sent Dreyer to Korea in 1950, where the Bemidji man would distinguish himself with battlefield heroics.

Col. Scotty Allison, the Beltrami County veterans' service officer, shared Dreyer's heroism with hundreds who showed up Monday for a Memorial Day service at Bemidji's Greenwood Cemetery.

An Army citation describes Dreyer's brave actions before his death June 1, 1951:

"During this attack the gunner manning a light machine gun was killed instantly, leaving Private Dreyer, automatic rifleman, with the only automatic weapon in operation. Realizing the immediate need for automatic fire, Private Dreyer exposed himself to the enemy and delivered a devastating volume of fire into the hostile ranks, temporarily halting their attack and giving his comrades time to put the light machine gun in operation."

Dreyer's bravery didn't end there.

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