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Guidance, support and stability for America’s military veterans

Published: November 09, 2022

This Nov. 11, spotlight shines on Duluth’s 148th Fighter Wing and their families as UMD Bulldogs take on Mavericks

When the arena spotlight shone on Mark Sertich at a University of Minnesota–Duluth men’s hockey game in 2018, the crowd cheering on the Bulldogs rose in applause.

At 97 years old, Sertich was known as the world’s oldest hockey player. He had started playing in 1931—and, after 88 years, was still a regular on the ice in his home of Duluth.

But Sertich’s lifelong love of hockey wasn’t what drew the crowd to its feet.

“What most people didn't know is that he was also a World War II veteran,” explains Dan Williams, executive director of the American Red Cross division supporting Northern Minnesota.

After fighting in the historic Battle of the Bulge and helping capture Linz, Austria, Sertich and his squad of fewer than 30 soldiers liberated the Mauthausen concentration camp—the last concentration camp liberated by the Allies.

Most people didn’t know that side of Sertich’s story, remembers Williams. It was why the American Red Cross, partnering with University of Minnesota-Duluth athletics, chose to honor him at that year’s Military Appreciation game, traditionally held during a Bulldogs men’s hockey game on or around Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

Learning the story of someone like Sertich “changes people’s perceptions about who the people we’re honouring are,” Williams explains.

“It reminds us of how each of us have many layers. When we recognize these layers, we can support all parts of our service members and veterans, helping them have a safe deployment and then integrate back into society in a successful way.”

This year, on Nov. 11, the Bulldogs take on the Omaha Mavericks for the Military Appreciation game at 7 p.m. At the moment of honor, the spotlight will shine on the 148th Fighter Wing group, welcoming the Duluth-based air squad home from their months-long deployment to the Middle East.

For the first time, the spotlight will also shine on the family and support networks of the 148th—the people who wrap around each person who serves, providing emotional support and stability to help them be successful.

“Every military unit will tell you that if there’s not a successful support mechanism behind that service member, they can’t effectively do their mission when they deploy,” Williams says. “This is one way of very explicitly recognizing that we couldn’t have people successfully and safely deploying without their family or support group behind them.”

Williams anticipates the 6,800-seat Amsoil Arena will be nearly full on Friday night. The Bulldogs always draw a crowd, having won three NCAA Division I hockey championships since 2011 and most recently winning back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019—the year Sertich was recognized, one year before his death at age 99 in 2020.

Among the fans will be local service members and their families—attending free of charge thanks to a Fueling Futures donation from Enbridge, which purchased 150 tickets to the game and made them available through the 148th and the Red Cross.

Our Enbridge employees will also host a letter-writing booth in the arena concourse, with game spectators encouraged to write a note of thanks to deployed service men and women from the region.

When game play stops on Nov. 11, hockey players, coaches, spectators, veterans, and military members and their families will pause to watch a one-minute video telling the story of the 148th Fighter Wing's deployments over the past year. The spotlight will shine in the sections where the Airmen and women are sitting with their loved ones. The crowd will pause in appreciation, then rush to its feet, American flags waving and cheers echoing through the rink.

“For the audience to physically express their thankfulness and gratitude is something we think is good for everyone, including the people giving the gratitude,” Williams says.

Moments like this transcend sport and competition, bringing community together in our shared humanity. In moments like this, everyone wins.

(TOP PHOTO: Airmen and women from 148th Fighter Wing are welcomed home to Duluth.)

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