FAIRBURY - Fairbury mayor and Korean War veteran Homer Ward was honored as the Jefferson County Veteran of the Month at the county commissioner's meeting Tuesday morning.

Ward, 87, and his wife, Maxine, were present at the Jefferson County Courthouse Tuesday for the ceremony, in which the county commissioners honor a Veteran of the Month on the first Tuesday of every month - something they've done for almost two years now.

Ward said he was humbled by the honor.

"The community and the people must have a lot of respect for what I've been able to do," he said. "I hope that is true, because I've done a lot of different things - both in the community and the city."

Ward graduated high school in 1950 and wanted to enlist in the U. S. Air Force, but was unable. His father would not give his permission due to their farming business.

Ward was eventually drafted and called for a physical in February 1952. He was first stationed at Breckenridge, KY for 16 weeks of Basic Training. Fourteen weeks in, Ward was asked if he would go to Basic Leadership School for eight weeks.

His Basic Training Unit went to Germany and Ward eventually ended up being sent to Korea. While waiting for a ship at Fort Lewis, WA in Sept. 1953, Ward encountered a friend from Daykin High School, and gave his friend a haircut with some electric clippers he carried in his duffle bag.

Once the First Sergeant found out that Ward could cut hair, he was pressed into haircut duty for about 20 more men. His unit then went to San Francisco to fill out their ship load of soldiers bound for Korea.

The First Sergeant had Ward cutting hair all the way to Japan aboard ship. This extra haircut income was sent home and used to purchase a new vehicle once he got out of the Army.

While stationed in northern South Korea, a Second Lieutenant from Bozeman, MT took an interest in Ward, and asked him to take over the Troop Information and Education Section. Ward did an outstanding job, and was rewarded with a 10-day R&R 7th Fleet Flagship flight to Japan.

After returning from Japan, Ward had a new unit commander. Ward quickly pointed out to the new commander that his ETS (Expiration Term of Service) was just a few days away.

Ward was promptly placed on a chopper to Incheon, Korea, and was flown to Japan. Several flights later, Ward was at Travis AFB in California. After a 24-hour train ride to Colorado, Corporal Ward was mustered out of the Army in late Feb. 1955. Another train ride took him to Lincoln, where his parents welcomed him home.

While on active duty, Ward received the Korean Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, United States Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.

Upon his return home, Ward promptly found an apartment in Fairbury and attended Fairbury Junior College, majoring in Pre-engineering.

While in college, he worked for the City of Fairbury, doing drafting work. One of his duties was laying out an addition in northern Fairbury around the north 'G' street area. Fairbury did not have a copy machine at the time, so he frequently went to the Rock Island Railroad office to copy items.

Ward's association with the Rock Island Railroad eventually turned into a three-year position with their engineering department.

From 1965-1995, Ward worked as a teller, loan officer and eventually became Executive Vice President at the Fairbury State Bank until the bank was sold.

Ward later purchased the land where Union Bank is, and worked at that bank until 2004, until he once again retired.

Later, Ward wanted to see some changes for Fairbury. He ran for mayor and won the race in 2008. He's now been mayor for 11 years, and is currently serving in a third, four-year term. Ward says it'll likely be his last.

"I have 2020 yet to go," he said. "At this point, I don't feel like I could probably provide the leadership that needs to be done."

A partial list of Ward's other civic contributions include memberships in the Chamber of Commerce, Airport Authority and Hospital Board. He was also also Chairman for Assisted Living, President of Nebraska Diplomats, Diplomat of the Year when Kay Orr was governor (1987-1991) and was manager of the ¼ mile Jefferson County Speedway.

Ward has also been active in his church and is the current Finance Chairman. He's also a member of the American Legion Post 24 and a member of the VFW Post 3113.