Current Residence: Springfield
Family: Wife, Debbie; sons Brett and Bryan; two grandchildren, Grace and Grayson
Career after the military: Auto worker at International Harvester (now known as Navistar)
Hobbies: Coach high school volleyball; officiate high school volleyball and softball; and play golf
Branch of Service: United States Army
Did you join the military or were you drafted? Drafted
Dates of Service: June 1967 to June 1969
Deployments/Bases: Vietnam, 5th Infantry Division, Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
Total time that you served? Two years
What did you do in the service: Infantry Squad Leader – Land Navigation Instructor
What did you gain from serving in the military? I found out that I was a much stronger person than I ever thought I could be.
What do you remember most about your service or what stands out as something memorable? I remember most the day I was wounded. A member of my squad was shot seven times in his chest, right in front of my eyes! He died right at that moment. He was 19 years old. I received a leg wound that was bad enough to send me back to the states.
What would you like readers to know about your military experience? That I served when my country called and that I am very proud of how I served. I would also like the readers to know that it means so much to a veteran when you just say, “Thank you.” It validates the veteran and their service.
Anything else you want people to know? I am a standing member of Chapter 620 Military Order of the Purple Heart and currently serving as the chapter’s Senior Vice-Commander. Everyone in our chapter feels that after serving our country, it is now time to serve our community and that is what we endeavor to do.
Hometown Heroes is a weekly feature profiling Clark and Champaign County veterans compiled with the assistance of local Vietnam veteran Randy Ark. To nominate a veteran, e-mail samantha.sommer@coxinc.com or randyark48@gmail.com or call 937-328-0363. Any veteran of any military branch, years of service and age is eligible to be profiled.
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