Watertown bridge named after Vietnam veteran killed in duty
The Big Sioux River bridge on U.S. Highway 212 was dedicated to Sgt. James Haider during a bridge-naming ceremony Saturday in Watertown.
On June 9, 1969, Haider was serving his draft for the U.S. Army in Vietnam when his unit came under an intense enemy mortar attack near the village of Nuoc Dang (approximately 32 miles south of Quang Ngai City in Quang Ngai Province, Republic of South Vietnam). Haider was struck by a mortar shell fragment that killed him instantly.
Haider’s wife, Katie, and their unborn daughter were waiting for his return home.
“I knew he was not coming back. Once I found out I was pregnant, I knew,” Katie “Haider” Mack told the Public Opinion.
On July 8, 1969, what would have been the couple’s second anniversary, their daughter Lynelle “Haider” Schramm was born. She would never get to meet her father in person.
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Katie remarried in 1975 to Leonard (Lenny) Mack, who helped raise Lynelle and went on to have another daughter, Michelle.
Lenny signed up to serve in the Navy after he graduated high school. He was honorably discharged in 1970.
When Lenny was diagnosed with Stage 5 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), he started to find ways he could leave remembrance and love for his family before he passed away. Being a veteran, Lenny wanted to do something special to honor a fallen soldier and the father of the stepdaughter he loved and raised as one of his own.
“Lenny had heard that they were looking to name the new 212 bridge, and he thought Jim deserved it. Jim never got a chance to know his daughter. He realized Lynelle needed something to honor her father with,” said Katie.
While living out the rest of his years battling sickness, Lenny got to work getting the paperwork and things in place for the bridge naming. Lenny died in the comforts of his home from COPD on Sept. 24, 2021, and was not able to witness the naming ceremony that he set into motion.
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Sgt. James Haider received many medals and citations for his service, including the Silver Star Medal, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.
The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs will hosted the state bridge dedication ceremony on Saturday to honor Haider. Naming bridges in honor of our combat veterans who died while serving their country is an initiative of Governor Kristi Noem and the South Dakota Departments of Military, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Big Sioux River Bridge dedicated to late Sgt. James Haider
