MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Army National Guard Hall of Honor inducted three recipients during a formal ceremony May 7 at Joint Forces Headquarters in Madison.

Joining the ranks of the 60 members of the Hall of Honor were Command Sgt. Maj. George E. Stopper, Col. Darrel D. “AJ” Feucht and Brig. Gen. Scott D. Legwold.

Brig. Gen. Mark Anderson, Wisconsin’s deputy adjutant general for Army and the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s top officer, said of the inductees, “We could not be more blessed as the Wisconsin Army National Guard to have had three phenomenal Soldiers to have served in our ranks in leadership positions and the legacy that they established as leaders continues to serve across the state of Wisconsin.”

Lt. Col. Gary Thompson, who emceed the ceremony, said that Hall of Honor program “recognizes Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers, and others, who have distinguished themselves through exceptional achievement and devotion to duty. They have exemplified the core values of military service in the Army. Moreover, their exceptional service over many years brought great credit to the state of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Army National Guard. Their legacies to the Wisconsin National Guard are enduring.”

Maj. Gen. Don Dunbar, Wisconsin’s adjutant general and commander of the Wisconsin National Guard, spoke of the recipients within the context of the long history of Wisconsin National Guard.

“Soldiers have been serving this state and this nation in an unbroken line since 1839 in places like Antietam, Gettysburg, Europe in World War I, the Pacific in World War II with exceptional bravery and performance,” Dunbar said, “and this latest generation of who our three inductees today are members of, have answered the call multiple times in ways no one ever thought the National Guard could do. That is the context of today’s induction ceremony.”

Stopper joined the Wisconsin Army National Guard in 1979 as a cavalry scout. He was as a first sergeant and senior operations sergeant before becoming a sergeant major in 2001 with 2nd Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment where he served during that unit’s 2005-2006 deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon his return, he became the command sergeant major of the 64th Troop Command. He became, in 2007, the sixth state command sergeant major of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, where he was instrumental in improving programs that contributed to leadership development, efficiency and overall readiness of the enlisted force in Wisconsin. He retired from the Wisconsin Army National Guard in 2013 after 34 years of military service.

Stopper, whose office while the state command sergeant major was next to the Hall of Honor, remarked, “I’ve walked down that Hall of Honor thousands of times and I stopped and read every single plaque numerous times. Just to be included in that group of inductees is absolutely humbling.”

Feucht earned a Reserve Forces Duty scholarship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983 and early in his career was a company commander in the 84th Division of the Army Reserve. He took command in 2001 of the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 64th Rear Operations Center and led that unit during a stateside deployment in North Carolina with the XVIII Airborne Corps. He next served as the commander of the 64th Troop Command for 40 months and successfully deployed and redeployed all but one of the units under his command. He 2011, he was selected to form, train and lead the first ever Wisconsin Agribusiness Development Team, which deployed in 2012 to Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. He retired from the Wisconsin Army National Guard in 2013 with 30 years of service.

Fuecht recognized the many friends, families, colleagues and Soldiers in the audience who supported him during his career.

“All the people who are here today are a tiny fragment of what was forged in this metal that became this plaque and I am the fortunate person who happens to have my picture on it, for that I am very thankful to you all.”

Legwold enlisted in the Wisconsin Army National Guard in 1981 and briefly served as an air defense crewman before commissioning as a second lieutenant in 1982. He was the lead project officer during 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment’s 1986 REFORGER deployment to Germany and commanded that battalion’s Company C during a rotation at the National Training Center. He directed the Wisconsin Military Academy during its move from Camp Williams to Fort McCoy and during its reorganization into the 426th Regiment. He was selected in 2003 as the first chief of staff of the Joint Staff where he organized a new staff responsible for planning domestic response operations in Wisconsin. He completed a deployment to Afghanistan with Combined Forces Command before his promotion to brigadier general and selection as the director of the Joint Staff. He retired from the Wisconsin Army National Guard in 2013 with 32 years of service.

Legwold, who is currently working out of the country, had his daughter Brittany deliver his remarks.

“It is truly most humbling to be inducted into the Wisconsin Army National Guard Hall of Honor and one that I will cherish and hold close indefinitely.”