KCCI Honors Iowa Veterans in Veterans Day Special
A 30-minute KCCI special spotlights Iowa veterans' stories, from a Vietnam-era helicopter to a neighborhood flag-raising tradition.
Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Military
KCCI aired a 30-minute Veterans Day 2026 special honoring Iowa veterans, anchored by Ben Kaplan, when it first aired at 6:30 p.m. on November 11, 2026. The program features veterans' personal histories and community ties across the state.
Why it matters
The special highlights the oral histories of Iowa veterans, preserving their personal accounts for public access. It draws attention to local service members and the state's wartime and peacetime contributions.
More than 1,700 Iowa veterans from 70 counties have contributed oral histories to the "Voices of Iowa" archive at the Sullivan Brothers Museum. The archive's full scope beyond the featured subjects has not been detailed.
The players
KCCI
KCCI is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, serving the central Iowa market.
Ben Kaplan
Ben Kaplan is a KCCI journalist who anchored the Veterans Day special.
Carol Whitmore
Carol Whitmore was the first Iowan and first woman elected national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in its 126-year history.
The details
Veterans appeared in front of the camera and face-to-face with students to share their oral histories. Featured stories include retired Marine pilot Nick Turner, who keeps a Vietnam-era helicopter once flown by his father, and Urbandale neighbors Robert Abram and Michael Cayer, both former Marines, who raise the American flag together on Veterans Day despite Abram's Parkinson's disease.
Timeline
November 11, 2026, 6:30 p.m.: The special first aired on KCCI.
Military Heritage
The special draws on the "Voices of Iowa" oral history archive at the Sullivan Brothers Museum, which has collected firsthand accounts from more than 1,700 Iowa veterans. Broadcasting selected interviews extends that archive's reach beyond museum visitors to statewide television viewers.
Iowa residents can watch the special to learn about veterans from their state and their community histories. The program offers a direct way to hear the personal accounts of local service members.
The takeaway
Veterans' personal stories carry lessons that formal records cannot fully capture, and archives like "Voices of Iowa" keep those accounts accessible to future generations. Viewers can seek out local veteran oral histories to learn more about the service of people in their own communities.
Further reading
Explore more coverage of Military in Iowa to see how the state honors and supports its service members.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KCCI.
