MONROE — A club that began among a group of friends simply because of where life led them decades ago is left to its final member. 

Alvin Riese joined the Navy in 1945. Now at age 97, he didn’t expect to truly be the ‘last man’ when he joined the Last Man’s Club, the third of its kind in Green County, back in 1967. 

“I never thought I would be the last one,” Riese said.

The group of 12 friends in the group were members of the Cecil Jones Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2312 in Monroe and formed the group based on friendship, camaraderie and fellowship. Six of the 12 members are past VFW Commanders and three were part of the color guard.

They didn’t have a great purpose other than to gather annually, share stories, commemorate Veterans Day and simply, to laugh, after all they had been through. Riese still laughs while recalling a story often shared around the circle years ago by Robert Augsburger, a prisoner of war camp guard who happened upon another Monroe resident in 1940. 

The friendships and sharing those stories are what he truly misses. 

“We all thought it was a good idea,” Riese said of the group’s creation.  

The group congregated at different places through the years; in the beginning, it was often at the VFW where their wives would prepare a meal. Later, they would meet at other places, often accommodating a vet who was more immobile or couldn’t travel as much. 

At its inception, the men decided to all contribute $2 to a fund each time they got together and the money was put into the bank. They also chose a bottle of liquor and inscribed their name on it, sharing a drink in honor of the men as members began to pass away. 

“We didn’t want to lose any (members),” Riese said. “But we did.”

They decided the last man living would collect the money, which is less than $1,000. 

Walter Marty was still living until February of this year. Before Marty died, his grandson, Todd Hasse, pitched the idea to the men to use the money to create a bench to honor the veterans. They agreed. A memorial bench is being built. A dedication will be planned in the fall. 

Riese’s story

Riese was born in Attica, in Green County, and raised on a farm before moving to Footville west of Janesville. He recalls growing up in the Great Depression era and was the fifth among nine siblings. He said he was expected to help on the farm as much as he could despite his asthma. 

He volunteered for the Navy and joined Feb. 8, 1945, before heading into seven weeks of basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Station in north Chicago. The worn tattoo on Riese’s forearm, now smudged from decades of farm and cheese factory work that honors his time in the Navy, “seemed like a good idea at the time” before he got orders for Washington State with orders to the USS Enterprise, the most decorated ship in the Navy’s history. He became a Seaman First Class, swabbing decks and working as a helmsman. 

In an essay Riese wrote about his time there. 

“I liked the Navy. Always had clean sheets and plenty of food. I can remember one guy jumping up and down on deck shouting ‘The war’s over! The war’s over!’ That’s how we heard the war had ended.”

He then became part of Operation Magic Carpet, where he spent time crossing back and forth between the United States and Europe bringing the troops home.

He was discharged from the Navy in New York after serving a year and a half and deciding not to reenlist. He worked at a few farms before landing a job at Wyss Cheese Factory north of Monroe, making Swiss, American, limburger and brick. He worked in several factories for more than a decade. He spent the last 25 years of his career working in automotive, owning a couple of full service stations before he was put out of business. He then worked for Napa Auto Parts, and after retirement, worked at a livestock auction barn until he was 82. 

He married a little later in life at age 42, and said he “inherited” his family. He met his wife, Dorothy, at Roy’s Dairy, a butter maker. The couple married in 1968. Riese became a stepfather to her three sons and daughter. He’s proud that two boys were in the service; one served in Vietnam, and his stepdaughter married a cheesemaker.

Dorothy passed away about 18 years ago, but he has fond memories of keeping track of the grandchildren, bowling and going out to eat with her. He also enjoyed hunting through the years.

Riese still lives in the home he shared with Dorothy in the middle of town and is happy that much of his family lives in the general area. He used to walk several days a week but has stopped in recent years. On Memorial Day, for years he would help put up flags in local cemeteries.

In 2012, Riese went on an Honor Flight, taking his daughter-in-law to see the war monuments. Upon his return, his 14 grandchildren and their families welcomed him home. It was a day to remember, he said.