WAUPUN, WI (WTAQ) – Officials with the Wisconsin National Guard have renamed the drill hall at their Waupun armory for two fallen soldiers.
The Wallace-Wendling Memorial Drill Hall is named for Sgt. Andrew Wallace and Spc. Michael Wendling. Both soldiers were killed on September 26, 2005 when an improvised explosive device blew up near their Humvee during a convoy operation in Iraq, according to the National Guard.
“We must never forget the way they lived their lives, the volunteer spirit of our country, to know that a 9-11 deployment into a combat zone was a sure thing and still stand there and serve and go and take that risk,” Maj. Gen. Don Dunbar, Wisconsin adjutant general and commander of the Wisconsin National Guard, said.
Wallace worked as a physical education teacher in Oshkosh and was an assistant wrestling coach at Oshkosh North High School. He graduated from Ripon High School and UW-Oshkosh.
Wendling was a student at UW-Milwaukee before being called to active duty in 2005. He’s a graduate of Mayville High School.
The Waupun Armory is home to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry.
