Minnesota State University Moorhead athletics has had a storied history of individuals who served in the military, dating all the way back to the career of the legendary Alex (Sliv) Nemzek. That includes several who were involved with Dragon football program. With Veterans Day coming up it's a time for all to remember those who served.

When MSU Moorhead hosts St. Cloud State in its regular-season football finale on Saturday, all veterans will be admitted free with military ID as Dragon athletics seeks to thank those who served our nation. Veterans will also receive free admittance to the Dragon men's basketball games on Friday and Saturday with their military ID.

Here are portions of the article sports information emeritus Larry Scott wrote in 2014, titled "Dragons Always There to Answer the Call" :
 
Intercollegiate athletics began to gain some real traction at Moorhead Normal when Nemzek was hired as head football coach in 1919. A star at nearby North Dakota AC, his classy portfolio was enough to land a job at Moorhead State Teachers College where he taught Physical Education and Mathematics, in addition to his coaching duties.
 
After one year Nemzek returned to the AC to rejoin the Bison football program as an assistant coach and complete his degree. Wallace "Litz" Rusness, a football and baseball captain at MSTC and a captain in the U.S. Army Field Artillery in World War I, was summoned by his alma mater to serve as head coach for two seasons.
 
Nemzek returned in 1923 and would become the gold standard against which future Moorhead State coaches would be measured. Nemzek spent 19 seasons as head coach at MSTC, and while football was his first priority, he remained deeply committed to his military calling as well, setting a rich precedence for Dragon coaches who would follow in his wake.
 
Clearly, there was something special about Nemzek. He inherited his nickname from "Sliver," a traveling circus clown who once made a stop in his hometown of Moorhead. Nemzek was fiercely patriotic and left the Red River Valley to serve with the North Dakota National Guard 164th regiment in the Mexican border battle with Pancho Villa. He served in World War I as a sergeant major and later received a commission as a lieutenant in France.

A company commander of the Moorhead National Guard and later Company F of the Coast Artillery, he left for Camp Haan in California in February of 1941 with a company of men that included 28 Dragon lettermen. Nemzek rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was in line for another promotion before he suffered a heart attack while on duty at Camp Edwards in Massachusetts. With his military duties fulfilled, Nemzek returned to Moorhead and later served as mayor before he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1958.
 
The list of those former and future Dragon who willingly joined the cause is lengthy for sure, including some special Dragons who successfully faced the challenges and later returned to the Red River Valley for a lifetime of service.

A member of the Dragon Hall of Fame, Norm Felde landed at Normandy shortly after D-Day and spent four years in the Army.  When the war ended he enrolled at Moorhead State and won 10 letters in football, baseball, basketball and track. Felde played three seasons of semiprofessional baseball with the Minot Mallards and was a baseball, basketball and football official for 20 years.

Sadly, all the veterans did not all return. Tony Malfeo, a former football captain, was killed at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines while Vincent Yatchak, one of many imports from the Upper Peninsula to dot Dragon athletic rosters before the war was, killed at Okinawa. Legend has he was killed shortly after the war by a sniper unaware the war had officially ended. The Dragons' football MVP trophy still carries his name.

 
The next generation of Dragon coaches and athletes also continued to serve with honor. Former football coach Dwaine Hoberg was a commander in the Naval Reserve, former basketball coach Marv Skaar was an Army Reserve officer, wrestling coach Bill Garland and track coach and football assistant Ron Masanz served tours of duty with the Marines.

Ross Fortier, the Dragon football program's all-time wins leader and a member of the MSUM Athletics Hall of Fame, had a long military career with the National Guard.  In 1993, after stepping down as Dragon football coach, Fortier was promoted to Brigadier General in the Minnesota Army National Guard. He retired after 35 years of service in the guard in 1996.

The most recent Dragon football player to serve in the military was Steve Schutz, who played defensive line for the Dragons from 2012-2015.  A native of Kimball, Minn., Schutz served six years in the United States Air Force and joined the Dragon football program after completing a six-year military obligation with the Air Force. Schutz was an honorable mention All-NSIC North selection in 2015.  The former staff sergeant was attracted to MSUM because of the reputation of the Construction Management program. He remains a contributor to Dragon football, donating money for each blocked kick during the season.