Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Critical overwatch focuses on helping veterans, raising awareness about suicide November 9, 2025

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My father, Elvern Kletscher, on the left with two of his soldier buddies in Korea. (Photo from Elvern Kletscher’s collection)

WHEN I CONSIDER THE TRAUMA of war, I think of my dad. A combat veteran of the Korean War, he struggled with undiagnosed depression and post traumatic stress disorder. Not until the later years of his life did he find support among other veterans. They met to share their stories, trauma and struggles. Therein he found empathy and compassion. As a child and young adult, I admittedly and sadly failed to understand the emotional pain my dad experienced. If only I had, I would have listened, given him the compassion he deserved.

Memorable photos from the Vietnam Memorial traveling wall while in Faribault. The words on the soldier’s helmet reminded me of my dad. He brought home a souvenir patch from Korea which read “RETURNED FROM HELL 1952 KOREA 1953” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2016)

Today I get it. I recognize that Dad’s time on the front lines in the mountains of Korea, where he killed the enemy and was wounded by shrapnel that would later earn him the Purple Heart, were life-changing. He returned to the farm fields of Minnesota a completely different young man than the one who sailed across the ocean to war.

A scene from the 2023 Critical Overwatch at the Rice County Veterans Memorial. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo November 2023)

Thankfully, the passing of time has brought positive change and much-needed help for our veterans, plus increased awareness. In my community, that awareness includes an “Operation: 23 to Zero Critical Overwatch” vigil at the Rice County Veterans Memorial beginning at noon on Monday, November 10, and continuing for 23 hours until Tuesday, November 11. The vigil concludes with an 11 a.m. Veterans Day program followed by a noon luncheon for veterans at American Legion Post 43 in Faribault.

Boots for Damian Wilson at the 2024 Critical Overwatch vigil. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo November 2024)

I’ve attended this vigil, now in its ninth year, multiple times. Verbs like honor, cherish, reflect, help, support and encourage come to mind when I consider this event aiming to curb veteran and military suicides. That’s the core premise of this visually-impactful overwatch. Every hour at the bottom of the hour, a pair of boots is placed on the veterans memorial plaza. Those boots represent a veteran lost to suicide. Attached to the boots are names, photos and dates of the deceased. Personal. Powerful. Emotional. Each set of boots represents a soldier from the area or connected to someone from the area.

The number 23 is also intentional, reflecting the number of veterans who daily commit suicide. One active military member also does the same each day.

This sign was posted at the vigil in 2024. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2024)

It’s sobering to see all those boots ringing the veterans plaza. But it’s also heartening to see the support at this vigil—to know that veterans are standing by, literally, to listen, encourage and provide resources and help to anyone who needs it. I’ve seen and felt the compassion. Overheard the conversations.

We need to keep talking. I’m grateful to the Operation: 23 to Zero Southern Minnesota Chapter for their ongoing efforts to raise awareness about suicide and to work toward suicide prevention. They listen. They care. They stand at the ready to serve those who’ve served.

FYI: If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, immediate help is available via the Suicide and Crisis Hotline at 988. Text or call that number. Or call 911. Please also seek additional professional help.

NOTE: Faribault Harley Davidson, 2704 West Airport Drive, is hosting a post Veterans Day Chili Cook Off on Saturday, November 15, with all proceeds benefiting Operation: 23 to Zero. Chili tasting costs $10 and runs from 11 am-2 pm. Prizes awarded. For more information, click here.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Operation: 23 to Zero, a closer look November 14, 2023

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Following the Veterans Day program, attendees view the Operation: 23 to Zero display. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

HEARTBREAKING, POWERFUL, IMPACTFUL. Those three words fit my reaction to the 23 boots ringing the central plaza at the Rice County Veterans Memorial in Faribault on Veterans Day. Each set of boots represented a service man or woman who committed suicide. Each boot held a name, and often a photo, personalizing this Operation: 23 to Zero display.

A bumper sticker on a truck parked by the courthouse on Saturday. Shoulder to Shoulder identifies a support group in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

The nonprofit, according to an informational brochure, “is an effort to curb the massive suicide rates of veteran and military suicide through awareness and providing a network of fellow military members to connect with for help and support.” Twenty-two veterans and one active military member die by suicide daily on average.

Honoring Cole J. Lutz, 35, of Grantsburg, Wisconsin. The red rose shows love for the surviving families while teal or purple carnations are the colors of suicide awareness. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

Those statistics are heartbreaking. And when a face, a name, are connected to the numbers, the depth of this loss becomes all too real. The circle of boots in Faribault, placed their during a 23-hour Critical Overwatch on November 10-11, presented a strong visual defining this loss of life.

Honoring Nicole A. Burnham. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

Among those were several Minnesotans, including Joel B. Costa, 32, of Duluth, formerly of Stillwater, and Nicole A. Burnham, 21, of Andover. As I looked at their individual boots, I read loving messages, studied a photo of Nicole, a young woman with an engaging smile that reached her eyes. And I wondered about the mental anguish the two soldiers endured.

Veterans Day service attendees stand on the Veterans Memorial plaza near the circle of boots. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

Nicole’s story is one of multiple sexual assaults and harassment while serving in the military. Local and national media covered her story following her January 2018 death by suicide. What she experienced is horrible, unfathomable, traumatic.

Loving messages written on boots honoring Joel Costa. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

I don’t know Joel’s story. But I do know this. Like Nicole, he was deeply loved. “Love you more than life” reads one message written in black marker on his boots. An “in loving memory” tag encourages: “No act of kindness is ever wasted. Pass it on.” His online obituary directs mourners to donate to Operation: 23 to Zero.

Those who participated in the Critical Overwatch event and those who donated flowers, beverages and snacks were showing they care. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

A tag on Nicole’s boots leaves a similar message: “Leave footprints of love and kindness wherever you go.” And “Stop the stigma. It’s OK to ask for help.” Help is available via texting or calling 988, the Suicide and Crisis Line, staffed 24/7.

A powerful message… (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

At the Critical Overwatch event/Veterans Day ceremony in Faribault, a sign propped near the circle of boots made it clear that all are loved. “If you are looking for a sign NOT to kill yourself today—This is it. You are loved. You do belong. You are worthy.” I expect someone in the crowd gathered outside the courthouse read that message and felt a sense of hope, of purpose.

Honoring Asia Graham of North Carolina. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

That poster reinforces the message printed in a brochure I got a while ago from Kirk Mansfield, a Navy veteran from Faribault who works tirelessly to help local veterans, primarily through Operation: 23 to Zero. Here’s the printed directive: “Call or visit your Veteran/military family and friends. Check in with them on a regular basis, especially if you know they are struggling with issues. Do not put if off until another day. For those who live on the edge of life, for those who suffer in silence, they cannot wait a moment longer. Become educated. Help where you are able. Make the call.”

You are worthy. They were worthy. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

Time, plus care, plus listening, plus loving, plus supporting can help. Nicole mattered. Joel mattered. And so did the 21 other service men and women represented in that circle of boots staged at the Rice County Veterans Memorial in Faribault. My heart breaks…

© Copyright 2023 Audrey Kletscher Helbling