By Hub City Times staff

MARSHFIELD – Baseball fans in Marshfield got an added bonus on June 26. A UH-60 Blackhawk medical helicopter landed at Reeths Field, at the Steven J. Miller baseball complex, before the start of the Marshfield Chaparrals’ amateur baseball game against Waupaca, as part of Military Appreciation Night at the ballpark.

Ellie Kraus, Marshfield, gets a look inside the UH-60 Blackhawk medical helicopter. Hub City Times photo.

Sara Spencer took her granddaughter Ellie Kraus to see the helicopter.

Marshfield native Tom Rogers and several other crew members brought the Blackhawk to Marshfield. Rogers is a 32-year veteran with the Army National Guard, and uses the helicopter to train members of the 238th medical company based in West Bend. Garrett Whitehead of Howard’s Grove just got out of flight school in February, and joined last night’s crew for the training exercise.

Marissa Derks, 14, whose grandfather is a Vietnam veteran, saw the helicopter for the first time last night, and thought the military display was a great educational opportunity for the community.

The local Disabled American Veterans chapter helped organize last night’s event, which the D-A-V used as an awareness campaign for the organization, which is very active in serving vets and their families, providing services like free transportation to appointments and assistance with benefit claims. The Marshfield Police Department had its armored vehicle on display as well.

The Blackhawk and its crew members flew over Hackman Field during the National Anthem, then landed at the adjacent Reeths Field, giving people a chance to climb inside and take photos and talk to the crew members. The visit was the third in three years.