Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs
Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award

Past Award Recipient
December 2010

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, Chester A. Caine was born January 8, 1930 in Lowell, WI and was raised in rural Lowell. He was drafted and entered the United States Army on May 15, 1951 in Milwaukee, WI; and he took basic training and advanced Infantry training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO; and

WHEREAS, he completed combat engineer and leadership courses, taught small arms fire distribution, prepared demolitions for Infiltration Course training and was promoted to Corporal at Fort Leonard Wood. In early spring of 1952, he shipped-out to Korea with 6,000 other military members aboard the USS General Brewster. He arrived at Inchon, Korea during Easter in April 1952; and

WHEREAS, he was assigned as an Infantryman to Company B, 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division in Komwa Valley, a part of the Iron Triangle. After a couple of months on-line as an Infantryman, he was reassigned to Headquarters Company as a Parts Specialist, Truck Driver, and Disabled Vehicle Retriever and he routinely made vehicle recoveries from unsecured areas of the battlefield, including Heartbreak Ridge. He received ten months combat pay during his twelve month tour of duty and in April 1953 he was shipped home with 6,000 others, including a large contingent of Canadian Military. He was discharged from active duty on May 1, 1953 at Camp Carson, CO with the rank of Corporal (Technical), and returned to Wisconsin as an Army Reservist, receiving his final discharge on October 16, 1956. His military decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Syngman Rhee Meritorious Unit Citation, and he is authorized to wear two Overseas Bars; and

WHEREAS, after the war, he bought a new truck with his combat pay savings and continued Caine Transfer, the trucking business he started at age seventeen. He subsequently opened Caine Petroleum & Equipment and Reeseville Agri Center, acquired the Reeseville Canning Company, and started Caine Warehousing. His enterprises currently employ over one hundred people and have a continuing positive impact on the economy of Dodge County; and he continues to be an active driver with Caine Transfer; and

WHEREAS, he is a Life Member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, a member of the Combat Infantryman's Association, and a member of the Disabled American Veterans Association. As a member of Lowell VFW Post 9392 he played a prominent role in acquiring the Post Headquarters building and, also, in the establishment of its military museum by purchasing, restoring, and donating twelve military vehicles from World War II through the current era, which are used in local parades and to promote veterans events. He also serves the VFW Post as its Drill Squad and Funeral Honors Team Commander, participating in four to five parades and twenty funerals annually. He is President of the 160th Military Regiment Association and serves on the Leadership Council of the 40th Infantry Division Association of Korean War veterans, participates annually in the 40th Infantry Division Reunion, and attended the dedication of the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the 40th Division Memorial at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. He is the current Chair and twenty-two year member of the Dodge County Veterans Service Commission; and

WHEREAS, he has served as a member of the Lowell Village Board for 47 years and donates his Board pay to the Fire Department. He is a 24-year member of the Dodge County Board of Supervisors, currently serving as Vice Chair of the County Highway Committee. He is the past President of the Lowell/Reeseville First Responders and a past member of the Lowell Fire Department. He is a Life Member of the National Rifle Association; and

WHEREAS, he is a member of the Holy Family Catholic Church and a Life Member of the Knights of Columbus. He and his wife, Barbara, have six sons, one daughter, and twenty-four grandchildren. He and Barbara reside in the same home they purchased early in their marriage fifty-seven years ago.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Daniel J. Naylor, Chair of the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs, proclaim CHESTER A. CAINE. the recipient of the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award on this 15th day of December 2010.

DANIEL J. NAYLOR, Board Chair