Walt Adams isn't the only veteran in the world.

Even Walt makes that clear.

The Stacyville, Iowa man is just one of those unforgettable characters a reporter meets. A man pulled from comfortable obscurity to front page news.

Others do the things he does, but not all of them get the attention a reporter gives.

This guy is irresistible and I'm not talking about his good looks.

He just has so many stories to tell, opinions to share, observations to make. Any reporter would recognize a story waiting to happen when shaking hands with Walt.

During my last visit to Stacyville, Iowa, Walt told me a feature story I wrote about his patriotic lawn displays and thoughts on America. The attention was earning him "too much fame."

I promised him the last time we met I would never write about him again.

Wait 'till he sees Sunday's paper. It's supposed to be about Stacyville, Iowa history, forgotten veterans like Hale Penney Fuller, the hard-working members of American Legion Post No. 569 who do all the time for their community and, of course, Memorial Day.

But there's an awful lot of Walt Adams in it, too.

If that don't make him mad, this will. Here's another Walt Adams story told by someone who knows him well:

"Way back in the dark ages of 1951, a young man of 20 showed up at my parents' home in Chicago on his way to Army boot camp. I was only 10 years old. He was worried because for the first time in his life, he was away from his small town in Iowa. He spent several days with us and then we put him on the train to boot camp. He promised to write.

"Over the next two years, we received many letters from the soldier in Korea. Each letter told the story of the building of a man, buddies who died alongside him and battles: Finger Ridge, Old Baldy, Bloody Ridge, Hill 409 and Heartbreak Ridge.

"We worried that he might not come back home, but those feelings disappeared with a phone call to pick him up at the train station.

"He was coming home.

"He spent several days with us and I can still see him in my mind: hands shaking and the fear in his face at every loud noise. He said it was the first good night sleep he had in two years and that he was glad to be going home to Iowa.

"That young man is my cousin: Walt Adams. One of the reasons he paints all those patriotic lawn displays goes all the way back to Korea.

"When soldiers are overseas, they like to sign their tanks and guns as well as paint signs pointing to hometowns thousands of miles away in the United States.

"Walt had done lots of painting with his father, Ernie. He wrote to my father, also a painting contractor, and asked for old brushes. Dad sent some brushes, paints and mixing colors and a book on sign painting and show card writing.

"In the time he was overseas, fighting in the Korean War, Walt taught himself how to letter and do art work. The rest is history. He started his own business when he got home to Stacyville and many examples of his work are all over the area.

"His commitment to his community, his family and the world in which we live is well-known. The young man served his country well and asked for nothing in return."

The man, who feels so strongly about Walt Adams is Mike Adams, a retired Chicago firefighter and owner of the Ice Haus bed and breakfast at Elkton.

Let's remember all the veterans, living and dead, on Memorial Day.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com