Hometown Heroes: Robert Lace of Neenah selected as grand marshal for nation's oldest Flag Day parade
NEENAH, Wis. (WFRV) – Even at 83 years old, Robert Lace of Neenah's biggest honor has yet to come.
Growing up, Lace had a mischievous childhood that he said didn't seem like it would lead to a successful career with the United States Marine Corps, but that's exactly why Lace decided to join them in 1960.
Manitowoc Hometown Hero thanks community for support
'I did not have any direction when I left high school,' said Lace. 'People don't think about Vietnam until it gets hot.'
In the Vietnam War era, Lace rose to be second in his platoon, serving four years in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea, working in communications, directing planes, and acting as a teletype operator.
'All of us that were in communications had top-secret clearance, so we knew what was going on,' added Lace.
One of those things that Marines didn't know at the time was just how frigid the Cold War really became.
'We didn't know until 45 years later how close we came to World War III,' said Lace. 'We were 15 minutes away from World War III.'
Instead, the Marines had a rather mundane stay in the mountains of eastern Asia.
'To stay out of trouble, I took up judo, because it was kind of a boring situation over there,' explained Lace.
He eventually became a black belt recognized by both Japan and China, and took his knowledge of judo back to northeast Wisconsin in 1963, where he gave kids the direction he once didn't have.
'I wound up teaching in Appleton, Neenah, Green Bay,' said Lace.
Along with a successful career in sales, neither rival the notoriety Lace has received from holding his flags in the same spot on the corner of College and Drew in Appleton on two of the city's most patriotic days of the year.
'For the past 20 years or so, I was a one-man honor guard, for the Appleton parade and the Memorial Day parade,' added Lace.
In 2025, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, Lace has been chosen to be the grand marshal of the nation's oldest Flag Day parade.
'I thought, 'that's an honor,' because then I realized what it meant,' said Lace.
What it means is that out of all the veterans in the country the parade planners could've brought in, they admired Lace's patriotism the most. He won't be on his usual street corner, but Lace will be just as recognizable.
Hometown Hero Alicia Grube of Appleton handled classified information in the DMZ
'My grandkids will say, 'That's my grandpa!'' concluded Lace.
Be sure to catch Robert Lace in Local 5's Flag Day Broadcast on June 14 along with the rest of those featured in the parade.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Through a translation app, the man warns us not to touch anything — some might still be live. Upstairs, a single wooden desk and chair have been placed near a panoramic window facing the airstrip. I sit down, imagining General Vang Pao and CIA officers in this very spot, directing B-52 bombing runs on communist strongholds. The war — so vast, so devastating — had largely been coordinated from this small, simple room. It was almost impossible to reconcile the scale of the conflict with the modesty of this setting. We climb up to the roof. From there, the view stretches across the old airstrip and into the mountains that once shielded Long Tieng from attack. Today, the village is quiet. A few people walk slowly down the main road. Stray dogs nap in the sun. It's hard to believe that tens of thousands of people once lived here. Today, the impacts of the intense US bombing campaign on Laos are still being felt. Of the 270 million sub-munitions dropped on the country, an estimated 30% did not detonate, according to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG). These unexploded ordnances continue to kill, injure and hinder development across the country, according to MAG. Around the hills of Long Tieng, villagers still rarely venture off established roads and trails to avoid unexploded munitions. Full US-Laos relations were restored in 1992 and since 1995, the US has invested more than $390 million in a Conventional Weapons Destruction program aimed at addressing the legacy of the war. However, questions remain about future US funding of explosive ordinance clearance in Southeast Asia following the Trump administration's widespread suspension of foreign aid. 'I fell in love with Laos,' says Hansen. 'I look back on my time as exciting and a place where I could immerse myself in the culture. I was fulfilling a purpose where I knew I was accomplishing something that was needed.' Back in Long Tieng, children riding scooters zoom past my friend and me, their tires bumping over the broken concrete that once launched warplanes into the sky. I now understand why the community gravitates toward the airstrip whenever they can: it's one of the few open spaces cleared of unexploded ordnance. A rare place where children can play without fear of becoming another casualty of a war that ended 50 years ago. The legacy of a secret conflict — barely remembered back in the United States.
