The 23rd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Sunday, March 12, 2023
Capitol Square, Madison, Wisconsin

Sunday, March 12, 2023
Capitol Square, Madison, Wisconsin


Happy birthday, Lincoln! Behind him, Madison VFP members Larry, Phil, Steve, Daryl, John, and Tom. Photo credit, Sandy Franzen.


Lincoln during the war. We were all so young during our wars. Some are forever young.

Joan and Lincoln Grahlfs
Veterans of US Atomic Age Deserve Compensation (militarytimes.com)

Lincoln and President Joe Biden Summer 2022

Lincoln’s ship putting out fires on one of the expendable ships that was anchored near ground zero of an atomic bomb test.
“The United States conducted nearly 200 atmospheric nuclear weapons development tests between 1945 and 1962 spreading radiation across several Western states and the South Pacific. All the while, the Atomic Energy Commission insisted to surrounding residents: “There is no danger.”
‘Downwinders’ ignored despite radiation fallout from US nuke tests – Responsible Statecraft

“Floating on a U.S. Navy tugboat in the Pacific Ocean nearly a year after the end of World War II, Lincoln Grahlfs and his shipmates could hear a countdown over a radio, signaling their mission would soon begin.
The sailors were told to cover their eyes with their hands before the countdown hit zero. Four hours later and wearing no protective gear, Grahlfs and his ship traveled 11 miles through Bikini Atoll to ground zero of where the United Stated military had tested a nuclear weapon.
The crew was tasked with putting out fires on empty ships used as targets and towing those that hadn’t sunk to shallower waters for examination. More than 75 years after cleaning up the aftermath of two atomic tests in the central Pacific, the Madison resident has used his personal experience to advocate for ridding the world of nuclear weapons and on behalf of fellow veterans exposed to dangerous radiation…”
Wisconsin State Journal

Transcript of conversation with VFP national executive director Garett Reppenhagen Sunday May 29, 2022 with CHapter 25 Madison Members
Transcript Garett Reppenhagen May 29 VFP edited