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A Sound Publishing Monthly Magazine October 2013 www.kitsapveteranslife.com

Kitsap Veterans Life, September 27, 2013

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September 27, 2013 edition of the Kitsap Veterans Life

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LifeVeteransA Sound Publishing Monthly Magazine October 2013

www.kitsapveteranslife.com

2 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3

The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, marked a day that affected many. For Jared Barela, then a young boy, the footage of Marines evacuating people out of Saigon marked the moment he wanted to become a Marine.

“I enlisted at 19, but I knew I wanted to be a Marine way back when,” said Barela. He specifically recalls seeing ‘Marines’ on the tail of the helicopter.

At the beginning of the 1960s the Marines num-bered 175,571. The popula-tion of active duty Marines ballooned to 309,771 at the end of the decade and the early 1970s, tapering back down to 185,250 at the end of the 1970’s.

Barela enlisted with the Marines in Houston in 1987 as a rifleman.

“I had three choices,” Barela said. “I could work in artillery, amphibious trac-

tors and tanks or infantry. I chose infantry, started as a rifleman and ended up as a small unit leader of 03-69.”

Barela has served at Camp Lejuene, North Carolina; Parris Island, South Carolina; Quantico, Virginia and locally at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. He’s had numer-ous deployments, too. Barela has traveled to ports in the Mediterranean Sea; Okinawa, Japan; Korea; Panama; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Iraq; Kuwait and the United Kingdom.

His first deployment was to Okinawa, Japan.

“I can honestly say that I have never had a bad duty station. Each one of them brought their hardships and challenges but at the end of the day you are still happy to be working with the Marines, American and NATO forces,” Barela said. “My favorite duty station would have to be when I was assigned as a drill instructor

both at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Officer Candidates School at Quantico.”

At Parris Island, Barela was put through the rig-ors of transforming and instructing other Marines. Drill Instructor School was formally established in October 1952. The course lasted an initial four weeks but now has grown to encompass an 11-week span.

“It is so rewarding,” Barela said. “When the commandant puts you in charge of making future Marines there is no greater honor. It gives you such a sense of accomplishment when you take the young men and women and put them through a test like no other. When you see them don the Eagle Globe and Anchor and walk across the parade deck, they are taking a part of you with them,” Barela said.

Barela still holds his own drill instructors in high

esteem from his early days as a Marine.

“They (Staff Sergeants Trevino, Fisher, Ferdin and Gonzalez) were just super guys. I thought just being a Marine was cool but these guys were way cooler,” Barela said with a laugh.

He held the staff ser-geants in the highest regard. “It was just ‘yes sir,’ ‘no sir’. I did what they told me to do and that’s that.”

Barela retired as a Master Sergeant in 2010. His last duty station was at Naval Base Kitasp-Bangor.

Barela works part-time for Kitsap Repair Service and makes the most of his leisure time, spending it with his family and friends. He’s a drummer for the local band SpunkMonkey, who played at Whaling Days in Silverdale in July. He has been married to Teresa Jean Myers for 22 years and they have two children, Jesse Barela, who lives and works in Houston and Ariana Barela, who is majoring in music perfor-mance at Washington State University.

Despite the fact that he’s a retired Marine, he still incorporates military order and discipline into his daily life.

“You could probably ask any veteran, no matter if they were in for two years to 30, and they will tell you that each of us has military discipline for the rest of our lives,” he said. “I like to ensure I’m always 15 min-utes early for work. That is what time (while in the Marines) you should be in formation ready to go. Also, I love checklists; it makes for an orderly day and a sense of accomplishment.”

VETERAN PROFILE

By Jessica Ginet

Jared Barela

Contributed photo

As a young Marine in 1988, Jared Barela served as a rifleman and later became a drill instructor, teaching other Marines the ways of military service.

Contributed photo

Jared Barela plays the drums with his band SpunkMonkey.

Contributed photo

Jared Barela, right, takes part in a Veteran’s Day event.

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15092

Veterans Life is published monthly by Sound Publishing Inc.; Corporate Headquarters: 19351 8th Avenue, Suite 106, Poulsbo, WA 98370. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $24/year via USPS. Copyright 2013 Sound Publishing Inc

3888 NW Randall Way, Suite 100, Silverdale, WA 98383www.kitsapveteranslife.com

LifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLife

This month we have a special opportunity to get to know Clayton Kuhles who is the force behind MIA Recoveries, a nonprofit that seeks to find U.S. service members who went missing during World War II.

You may recall the story last month in Veterans Life about a local man, James C. Mohn, from Tacoma, who went missing on June 6, 1943, when his plane went down over the Himalayan Mountains. It was Kuhles who found the wreckage of that plane during a November 2010 expedition in the country of Bhutan.

That adventure was one of 10 that Kuhles had made. He’s discovered wreckage of 17 U.S. planes and helped account for 193 people.

In this edition, Kuhles tells us what brought him to do this work and what it means to him to be a part of helping the families of those missing in action to find closure.

Also in this month’s Veterans Life, travel back to the times of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. It’s a day that affected many including Jared Barela. As a young boy, the footage of Marines evacuating people out of Saigon marked the moment he wanted to become a Marine. Reporter Jessica Ginet tells his story and how he now enjoys being a musician.

Reporter Chris Chancellor brings us up to date with the expansion of American Lake Veterans Golf Course. Golfing great Jack Nicklaus and his design firm have helped plan a nine-hole addition at the course for military veterans and their friends and family.

The “Nicklaus Nine,” new holes are aimed to serve able-bodied and disabled veterans along with those recovering from physical and psychological issues.

And then meet Larry Cleman who knows that you’re never too old to learn something new. Which could explain why the 57-year-old veteran is going back to school for his master’s degree. Reporter Seraine Page tells us how the Navy vet who spent 26 years traveling the world is still learning new things.

This month we introduce a new feature. The “Last Look” will be found at the back of Veterans Life each month and is a military-affiliated photograph — just something to make you laugh, think, remember or smile. Readers are encouraged to send us photos from their time in service to our country for publication in the “Last Look.” Email photos in jpeg high resolution format to [email protected].

Once again, we want your ideas. We’d love to have you share your thoughts and recollections. Let us know what’s important to you as veterans. Please feel free to mail us at the email listed above.

On the inside

Painting the warLocal artist Wallace Nelson’s interest in art began with sketches he

made while on assignment during World War II. 14KitsaP Veterans adVisory Board

At a recent meeting, veterans honored those who took part in this year’s “Run to Tahoma.”9

Mia recoVeriesAs a mountaineer, Clayton Kuhles has spent much of the past 10

years searching for planes that went missing during World War II.

inside

4

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on the coVer: Clayton Kuhles poses with the nose panel wreckage of a U.S. World War II plane he located in October 2007 near Arunachal Pradesh, India.

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To call Clayton Kuhles an adventurer is an understatement.

That’s because Kuhles is an adventurer with a purpose — to answer questions about where military personnel from World War II went miss-ing.

Kuhles, a self-made entrepreneur who made his money in the recy-cling and waste man-agement business, has taken a number of treks through the mountains in China and Burma to locate the wreckage of U.S. planes that went down during World War II.

In fact, Kuhles was the person who discovered the wreckage of the plane that carried Pfc. James C. Mohn. Mohn’s memo-rial by the VFW post in Tacoma was featured in Veterans Life last month.

Kuhles knew from an early age that he was meant to be an explorer. He was raised in the Chicago area and con-siders himself a “profes-sional explorer.”

“I’ve been a mountain-eer forever,” he said. “I’ve climbed mountains on every continent.”

In the 1990s, he had an opportunity to climb in Nepal and Tibet. He found the locals fascinat-ing and as he became a trusted friend he was told about a crash site by one of his guides. In 2002, he took a trek to the area the

guide described south-west of the Burma-Tibet boarder and three days later, he found the crash site.

“I wasn’t prepared at that time to do anything but take notes about the site,” he said. “But later I met with U.S. embassy officials in the area and with their permission, decided to return the next year.”

When he returned, he carried GPS with him and other equipment needed to correctly plot the wreck and report it to the government.

Historically, during WWII, the U.S. lost hundreds of aircraft and thousands of men at the China-Burma-India the-ater of operations, Kuhles said. Hostile fire from Japan forced some planes down, while weather accounted for some crashes and still mechan-ical failure and naviga-tional error was the cause of other downed planes.

The area was known as the “hump,” a major military supply route that took U.S. f liers over the Himalayans mountains.

After the war ended, Operation Bodylift was undertaken by the 1305 AAF Base Unit at Dum Dum airport near Calcutta. Many trips were f lown into the area to recover all the U.S. war dead. Two C-47 air-craft were permanently assigned to this duty. The f lights were dif-ficult due to the smells of decomposing bodies.

Fliers kept the doors of the planes open and wore handkerchiefs dipped in wintergreen oil over their mouths to fight the odors.

By December of 1945, 890 bodies were collected. A U.S. cemetery was established near Calcutta where those who were not returned to the U.S. were buried. The work by an all volunteer crew continued through 1948, after which the theater was closed and troops returned home.

As Kuhles studied the history, he learned that more than 700 aircraft went missing in the area during this time. The government knew of 1,200 crew members who were reported Missing in Action there, and with the recoveries made after the war, is it esti-mated that there are 416 Americans still missing. That’s what keeps Kuhles

4 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3

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Explorer dedicates his work to the missing

Contributed photo

On a previous mission, Clayton Kuhles rests in a Tibetan hut in northern Burma with several locals.

Contributed photo

Clayton Kuhles poses while on a climbing expedition where he searches for downed U.S. planes from World War II.

going back to the area.“My father was of this

generation,” he said. “I heard his stories and his friends stories of war time. When I found out how many Americans are still missing, the adven-turer in me had to go.”

Too many who climb mountains do so just to say they did it, he said. He sees this identification work as adding a purpose to his climbing.

“Climbers tend to be people who are climbing to prove something to themselves,” he said. “It’s a vain sport that doesn’t help anybody. I want my work to have a deeper purpose.”

In all, Kuhles has made 10 expeditions in the China-Burma-India theater of World War II. He’s located 25 sites and made positive identifica-tion of 17 U.S. planes. He’s helped account for 193 personnel missing or Killed in Action. When he began the work, he would pack out human remains, parts of air-crafts, f light jackets — anything that was proof of the crash site.

But it wasn’t always the best idea, he found out.

“As a private indi-vidual, it’s against the law to transport human remains,” he said. “Working with JPAC, (Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command) I’ve learned that I should just take field notes, look for the serial numbers of the construction num-bers on the wreckage and, if possible, place any human remains in plastic bags and and leave them at the site.”

Early on, he had an experience with Burmese Intelligence Agents who held him for a time when he carried f light jackets and boots back from a site before he knew to leave them behind.

Now, he works the sites and takes notes so that crash sites and remains are documented and he gives that information to JPAC.

In order to undertake his expeditions, Kuhles has to get permits from the governments of the countries where he’ll be. He also has to find locals who will make the trek with him.

“Everything hinges on that,” he said. “Many times, I’m the first American they’ve ever met. They’re very friendly people but most are illit-

erate. Communication is difficult.”

He said guides are paid a fair wage to go explor-ing with him and he sup-plies them with the gear that they’ll need.

His trips usually take place in late November or early December. Summers in the area are from June to September and it’s too wet to go then, he said.

“We’re going 14,000 feet into the mountains across a pass in high snow,” he said. “Some of the locals worry about the snow. They won’t go any later in the season.”

Because of funding, Kuhles wasn’t able to make a trip last year. He hopes to go yet this year, but he’s $9,000 short in his fundraising. Each trip costs about $11,000 and can run up to $20,000 to $30,000 depending on how long he stays on site. He’s spent nearly $100,000 of his own money so far.

His hope is that he can get JPAC to contract with him to do the recovery for the U.S. government and actually be able to bring back artifacts and remains. Because of politics, governments in China and India aren’t keen on having U.S. troops do the work, Kuhles said.

“China doesn’t really want the U.S. there because they consider it sovereign territory,” he said. “JPAC wants to do the recoveries, but there’s boarder disputes between the Indian government and China and it’s just not possible.”

The Prescott, Arizona man, who is an Army veteran, often thinks about an experience that he had when he helped a missing World War II f lier come home. In 2003, he found the crash site

of plane and the remains of three Americans who were eventually identi-fied by DNA. One was Mervyn Earl Sims.

Sims, a 23-year-old Army private, died with four other crewmen aboard a military cargo plane that crashed high in the Himalayas on April 24, 1943. Remains were given to JPAC and the identifications were made in Hawaii by the U.S. Government.

“His family invited me to attend the memorial in Petaluma, California,” he

said. “I met two elderly ladies who had gone to school with (Sims) and they talked about what he was like when he was young. It was a very emo-tional experience for me.”

The family asked him to be a part of the service, to talk about his work, and to then place dirt over the man’s ashes as they were buried.

“When I think about that day, it reminds me why I do this, “ he said.

To learn more or to donate go to www.miarecoveries.org.

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | 5

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With some local guides, Clayton Kuhles stops at the Burma - India border near where he has searched for mising American military members. He’s made 10 expeditions to locate MIAs.

6 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3

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“Coming from a fam-ily of veterans, I know how important it is to honor the service of our brave men and women in the Armed Forces by making sure they have the support and resources they need,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

“This new resource guide is an example of how the Attorney General’s Office can work with other organi-zations to help veterans and military personnel access the unique rights and protections available to them under the law.”

Flanked by veterans’ advocates and military officials on Sept. 10, Ferguson announced that the new resource guide for veterans and military personnel is part of a broader ini-tiative in the Attorney General’s Office to focus on enhancing the office’s efforts to assist veterans and military personnel.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs works hard to connect veterans with resources and ben-efits they have earned,” said Washington Department of Veterans Affairs Director Alfie Alvarado-Ramos.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Attorney General’s Office to help fulfill our mission of serving those who served.”

“Our active duty and reservists make impor-

tant sacrifices for our coun-try and they deserve our support,” said Col. Malinda Beggs of the Washington Air National Guard and Commander of the Joint Services Support Unit at Camp

Murray. “Getting called to

active duty or deployed overseas can create chal-lenges for service mem-bers and their families.

“I appreciate the attention the Attorney General is giving to the issues facing our state’s military personnel and families.”

The Attorney General’s new military and veteran initiative focuses on:

• Engaging veterans and members of the mil-itary through enhanced outreach efforts;

• Educating veterans and military personnel about the legal rights and protections available to them because of their service;

• Enforcing the laws within the agency’s authority, such as the Consumer Protection Act, to protect Washington’s veterans and military personnel from unfair and decep-tive business practices; and

• Encouraging the development of policies that advance the inter-ests of Washington’s veterans and military personnel.

The resource guide is a central part of the Attorney General’s new initiative.

The guide is available online and will be dis-tributed throughout the state.

“Washington’s veter-ans and military person-

nel served or are serving to defend our rights, and they should know that the Attorney General’s Office is working to defend their rights as well,” said Ferguson.

Standing with the state’s veterans, military service members and their families is a top priority for the Attorney General.

In the first six months since taking office, Ferguson has:

• Appointed a veter-ans’ outreach specialist;

• Created a new Web site, featuring legal resources for veter-ans, military and their families in the areas of business and commerce, housing, employment and the law;

• Cracked down on schemes targeting veter-ans with the promise of untapped benefits;

• Signed the Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve; and

• Convened the Military and Veterans Assistance Team — an internal team of attor-neys and legal staff dedicated to improving services for veterans, military and their fami-lies in Washington.

With approximately 640,000 veteran resi-dents, Washington State has the 12th largest vet-eran population in the United States.

Washington is also home to a number of major military instal-lations, such as Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Fairchild Air Force Base, Naval Base Kitsap, and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Between active duty military personnel and members of the National Guard and Reserve, there are about 62,000 service members in Washington.

Taken together, vet-erans and military personnel account for more than 10 percent of Washington’s total population.

Attorney General unveils new resource for veterans and military personnelGuide helps veterans with their legal rights and protections

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson

Larry Cleman knows that you’re never too old to learn something new.

Which could explain why the 57-year-old veteran is going back to school for his master’s degree in January. He currently works as the program coordinator for the Veteran and Military Support Center, which he says is the best job he’s ever had. That’s saying a lot con-sidering how many different jobs the Navy veteran had over his career.

“I believe in life-long learning,” Cleman says of continuing his education.

As a Navy vet who spent 26 years traveling the world, switching rates and discover-ing new interests, it is easy to see Cleman is a man excited by life. At 18 he joined. He turned 19 in boot camp. After a four year tour, he got out and went to nursing school. A four year nursing stint changed his mind, and he decided that the Navy was a better choice. While in, he worked as an electronics tech, non-designated striker, interior communications electrician and then as a cryptologist. At one point, he also worked as a recruiter, telling people “what an honest day in the Navy was.” From 1983 up until his retirement, he worked in anti-terrorism and intel-ligence realm for the rest of his career.

“My favorite part (of the Navy) was working with the people,” he says. “Really smart people.”

His travels have taken him from Washington to Japan, and to places as warm as Florida and as cold as Connecticut. His wife, Dru, a former Marine, also has joined her husband in pur-suit of higher education. Dru Cleman’s father — a three-war veteran — retired from the military and went back to school to be a teacher, which proved to her the importance of education.

“Education is the way to get knowledge,” says the for-mer Marine. “You gotta keep your brain sharp. It’s never too late to go back or get a second degree or whatever you want to do.”

The couple is also known

as “overachievers” on cam-pus when it comes to class work and dedications, she says.

When Larry Cleman retired in August 2005, he found that he kept some of the same routines he had when he was in the military. At first, he found himself running six miles a day and doing “all the fun stuff” that had been drilled into his mindset. He took a “hiatus” and did some work in Idaho before settling back into the Pacific Northwest where he started on an online degree in college administration and leadership.

After interning at Olympic College for his bachelor’s degree requirements, he was hired on to work with veter-ans on a daily basis. Much of his routines at the center are built around schedules he set for himself in the military. On a typical morn-ing, Cleman walks into the center before any other staff members do.

“I come in bright and early ‘cause I’m military,” he says with a hint of pride.

He gets the coffee brew-ing, and by 7:30 a.m., his first work-study student

comes in for some academic help. The center — where American flags and splashes of red, white and blue fill the room — is a kind of sanctu-ary for veterans looking to relax or study.

The center also has tutors on site to assist in math and English, Cleman says. It also acts as a hub for activities to bring diverse groups togeth-er to experience fellowship, like potlucks. The veteran gatherings are good for the students, says Cleman, because some aren’t used to being socialized in a setting other than the military. Yet, Cleman has also reached out into the depths of society to homeless veterans to encour-age college enrollment.

“We’ve had several success stories,” he says of home-less vets making it through school. Cleman offers infor-mation at the Retsil Veterans Home to homeless vets interested in going back to school. He tells them how to enroll, shows them how to apply for financial aid and what benefits they have as former military members.

Cleman realizes how hard it is for homeless students to make it through school. He’s

seen some sleep in cars right on campus. The vets will shower in the gym, and then they come into the Veteran and Military Support Center for a hot cup of coffee and some goodies brought in by staff or fellow students.

“It’s sad, but they know it’s a chance to get away from that,” he says.

As a way to give a helping hand up, Cleman utilizes his knowledge of computers and electronics to refurbish desk-top computers to give to vets in need. Family and friends donate their old computers to Cleman who in turn fixes the hard drives and updates the computer to be “fully functional.”

The pieces of computers won’t be found inside the

center, but take up an entire room in the Cleman house-hold.

“I have a room my wife hates,” he says with a laugh.

It is his generosity and dedication to students that landed him a job with the college in the first place, reasons Dianna Larsen, dean of enrollment services and registrar at Olympic College. Larsen has seen the differ-ence her employee has made in the lives of students on campus.

“I’m extremely grateful (for him),” says Larsen. “The students that need technol-ogy and having it in their home makes a big differ-ence in their educational opportunities. They can take online classes which they

couldn’t do if they didn’t have a computer.”

Larsen, a Navy brat, understands the commit-ment Cleman has made inside the military, and sees that same commitment in his interactions with stu-dents.

“He’s been in the military; he’s helped sailors in the past and he’s continuing (on that) that level. We have so many vets and active military attending this institution,” she says. “I don’t think we could have selected a better person for this particular position. He has the wisdom of being a student and know-ing what that kind of study takes. He applies that to the students and their everyday life.”

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | 7

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Larry Cleman sits at his desk at Olympic College. Cleman, a Navy vet, is a program coordi-nator who helps veterans find their way through college courses.

Inspiration comes in many forms, and for Darcy Bockman-Wright, her inspiration is daugh-ter Megan, who is about to begin high school. Bockman-Wright has lost 170 pounds, and in September returned to college to finish her bach-elor’s degree at Brandman University.

“My goal is to gradu-ate from college with my bachelor’s degree in organi-zational leadership before my daughter graduates from high school,” said Bockman-Wright. “And, I didn’t want to be that mom whose weight embarrasses my kids.”

Bockman-Wright’s story is one of hardship and per-severance, but with clear goals now in her reach.

She moved to Germany after her mother died in a car crash, and after living with her father and step-mother for several months, went to live in an all girls’ home at age 12. “It’s like Germany’s version of foster care, but it was amazing,” she said. “I was the first American in an all girls’

home, and I got to travel and see a lot of Europe with girls who came from all around the world.”

Bockman-Wright joined the U.S. Army in Frankfurt in 1993, serv-ing until 2002 as an eye

specialist, a combat medic and a truck driver. Finally leaving a relationship she describes as “abusive,” she ended up in Seattle at the YMCA Women’s Shelter with her young daughter, starting her life over from “scratch.” She found a job at a local bank, and “not learning my lesson the first time,” found herself in another bad relationship.

She left when she realized that wasn’t the example she wanted to set for her daughter. Again on her own as a single parent, Bockman-Wright took a job with an eye doctor, and joined a church. She didn’t date for more than a year.

When she met the man who would eventu-ally become her husband, Bockman-Wright says she weighed about 200 pounds.

She became pregnant with her son, Brennan, and her weight ballooned to 280. And then it got worse.

Back and knee injuries kept her from exercising, and her weight reached a high of 345 pounds. “I wanted to be happy,” said Bockman-Wright. “But every day I would look in the mirror and see a reflec-tion of what I couldn’t do, and I felt like a failure.”

Last year, Bockman-Wright, who currently works at Madigan Army Medical Center in Ophthalmology at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, decided to take back con-trol of her weight and her life.

Last September, she had gastric bypass surgery. Even though she says it hasn’t been easy, with the support of her husband and children, she’s now down to 180 pounds.

“Since I’ve had the sur-gery, I walk with my head held high,” said Bockman-Wright.

With the dramatic weight loss comes more confidence, and the drive to finish her college degree.

“College is empower-

ing me even more,” said Bockman-Wright. “And I don’t think I’ll stop at my bachelor’s.

“Long-term, I know I can finish my master’s in orga-nizational leadership.

“I want to be a leader on base, whether it’s at Madigan, the VA or a unit attached to JBLM.”

Bockman-Wright says she’s been through a lot in her life, but she wouldn’t change a thing. “I went through all the things in my life to get where I am,” she said. “Don’t let anyone tell you ‘you can’t,’ because you can.”

With daughter Megan starting high school and Bockman-Wright going back to college, she says she feels as if they’re both start-ing new chapters in their lives.

In addition to being a role model for her daugh-ter, she hopes her story will prove to be inspirational to others.

“If I can change one person’s mind about losing weight or going to school, and if I can inspire just one person to get off the couch and take back con-trol of their life, then it’s all worthwhile.”

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Daughter inspires U.S. Army veteran’s dramatic weight loss, return to college

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Darcy Bockman-Wright took on the challenge of los-ing weight and getting her degree to help herself and her daughter.

Eight groups that support veterans were honored this month at a meeting of the Kitsap County Veterans Advisory Board for their participation in the “2013 The Unforgotten: Run to Tahoma.”

Board Chairman Mark Lowe said these groups made it possible for the event to happen. It is an annual motorcycle escort from the Kitsap County Coroner’s office to the Tahoma Cemetery where the remains of unclaimed veterans are given a proper burial.

“This year 400 motor-cycles escorted the remains of 25 deceased veterans,” he said. “We took our brothers home the right way.”

Honored were: the American Legion Post 245, Combat Veterans International Chapter 11, Disabled American Veterans Chapters 5 and 22, Fleet Reserve Branch 29, Marine Corps League Detachment 531, the Suquamish Warriors, Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts 2669 and 4992 and the Vietnam Veterans/Legacy Veterans group.

Each received ribbons for the years that they participated and each ribbon was embroidered with their names and years of work. Some groups received up to four ribbons because the board hadn’t passed them out for four years, Lowe said.

One veteran, who goes by the name “Roofer” from the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Group, was given special recog-nition for hand making all the urns in which the remains are buried.

Combat Veterans International Chapter 11 spokesman “Mud” summed up the day:

“It was one Hell of a day,” he said. “We appre-

ciate all of you for show-ing up.”

The groups plan to do the annual run again on Memorial Day weekend in May 2014.

In other work, the board heard a presenta-tion by Washington State Sen. Christine Rolfs, (D-23rd) who updated the veterans on legisla-

tion she expects to see in the 2014 session.

State Sen. Nathan Schlicher (D-26th) also spoke.

Rolfs outlined a num-ber of bills that had passed last session that helped veterans and said she she expects a bill that will allow waivers for in state tuition for active military serving elsewhere to pass this year.

The board asked her to push for a state driv-ers license that signi-fies that the holder is a veteran, citing that two other states have it.

Members said that would help to identify veterans at their time of death.

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | 9

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Veterans advisory board honors “Run” participants

Leslie Kelly /Staff photos

Above: Veterans from local groups honor participants in the “Run to Tahoma” with ribbons. Right: Sen. Nathan Schlicher speaks to veterans about upcoming legislation.

“This year 400 motorcycles escorted the remains of 25 deceased veterans. We took our brothers home the right way.” – Board Chairman Mark Lowe

American Legion Post 245 Service Office Assisting veterans Open every Thursday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 19068 Jensen Way, Suite 3A Downtown Poulsbo 360-779-5456

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Veterans resources

At its September meeting, the Kitsap County Veterans Assistance Program released statistics about the help it gave out to area veterans dur-ing the month of August.

More than $16,000 was dispersed to veterans in need. Among that amount, $7,218 was given in rent assistance. Another $3,278 was given to help veterans with their Puget Sound Energy bills and another $265 was given to pay natural gas bills.

Water bill help amounted to $241 and sewer bills were paid to the tune of $384. Another $251 went for help with bills to Waste Management.

In all, $1,101 was paid in August for help with medical care and $785 was paid for help with dental care. About $300 was spent to help veter-ans with clothing needs.

Another $924 helped vets with their automobile repairs. Gasoline help accounted for $295 and more than $1,853 went for help with food.

The total number of vet-erans helped was 39, and of those 15 were new clients. There were only two appli-cants that were denied due to their income being over the necessary income levels. They were, however, referred to other organizations for help.

Year-to-date, 308 applica-tions have been received and 289 veterans have been helped. Of those, 141 are new to the program this year.

In all, more than $100,600 has been paid out to help vet-erans in Kitsap County.

In August, of those who asked for help, 14 were heads of households and their aver-age age was 42. The majority were single men although there were three single men with children and one single female head of household. The highest monthly income of applicants served was $2,673 and the average was $791.

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Kitsap to host stand down

The fall 2013 Stand Down for Veterans will be Oct. 5 at the Sheridan Park Community Center, 680 Lebo Blvd., in east Bremerton.

The Kitsap County Veterans Program will sponsor the event along with the city of Bremerton and the Kitsap Area Veterans Alliance.

The event is for veterans and their families and will offer hot meals, hygiene items, clothing, groceries, haircuts, sleeping bags and camping gear, and information about programs helping veterans.

Veterans can learn more about legal assistance, employment, housing options, enrollment in federal programs, getting drivers licenses, getting free voicemail and help with VA claims. Participants should bring copies of their DD214 discharge papers, military or retired military identification.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 2 p.m.

Green Crew helps trail

Have you heard of the BLUE CREW, or the GOLD CREW? Well, this is the GREEN CREW.

On August 8, Submarine Operations Detachments Bravo and Kilo, from NOSC KITSAP, teamed together with local community members from the Clear Creek Task Force (CCTF) to perform maintenance, and cleaning of the trail in Silverdale. The “GREEN CREW” provided 40 man-hours of support, with potential support activities

planned for next Spring. The CCTF is an alliance

of Kitsap County citizens, businesses, groups and service organizations. It’s mission is to create and maintain a community wide network to mobilize support, educate and focus actions to preserve, protect and restore the Clear Creek ecosystem. Members and supporters envision a future with Clear Creek as a healthy stream ecosystem with clean water, a healthy salmon run, native plants and animal habitat, providing quiet enjoyment and evoking sensitivity and respect for the stream, a part of our natural heritage.

Military friendly sChool nearby

Western Washington University has been selected as a “Military Friendly School” for 2014, placing Western in the top 20 percent of all higher education institutions nationwide. This is the fourth year in a row for the honor.

Based on a survey of more than 10,000 colleges and universities, Western is one of the schools to receive recognition for doing the most to assist America’s military service members and veterans as students.

“We feel it is very important to welcome and to help veterans transition as much as possible to university life, providing as much support as we can,” said Western Registrar David Brunnemer.

Western offers a range of Veterans Services through the Registrar’s Office. The Associated Students have a very active Veterans Outreach

Center.The Military Friendly

Schools® website, found at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com, features the list, interactive tools and search functionality to help military students find the best school to suit their unique needs and preferences. The 1,868 schools on this year’s list exhibit leading practices in the recruitment and retention of students with military experience.

Veterans Job fair sept. 28

More than 50 agencies will be present at the Sept. 28 job fair at Jackson Park Community Center. The event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and offers veterans a chance to meet with federal human resources, defense contractors, recruiters and other national and international businesses. Veterans are encouraged to bring their resume as resume review workshops will be available in half hour sessions from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on site. The event will be at 90 Olding Road in Bremerton.

briefly......The Veterans Administration

plans on spending billions to increase the availability of health care for veterans.

The new initiative, Patient Centered Community Care (PC3), will be implemented in phases across the county over the next six months.

...Small Business Association lenders have pledged to provide veterans with reduced fees on SBA loans and offer lower interest rates to veteran owned businesses.

ChatterTalk about veterans from around the web

Compatriot John Druse (Bud) Hawk was recently added to the John Paul Jones Chapter of the Washington State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

As the chapter’s f lag chairman, I met John D. (Bud) Hawk while canvassing for f lag cer-tificates.

On April 15, JPJ President Doug Nelson and I presented “Bud” his certificate for f lying his f lag 24/7. During this visit it was discovered that he was from a long lineage of patriots serv-ing this country.

His father served in WWI, grandfather in Spanish American War, great-grandfathers served in the Civil War, great-great grandfa-ther served in the War of 1812 and his patriot ancestor Isaac Lawrence served as a Corporal in Captain John Hartwell’s Company, Colonel Dike’s Regiment. In this regi-ment he participated in the Battle for Bunker Hill.

You may ask why we are bringing this Compatriot to the recog-nition of all; well here is the history behind this man:

Sixty-nine years ago,

Hawk’s heroic actions led to him being award-ed the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest mili-tary honor. On Aug. 20, 1944, armed with only a light machine gun, Hawk helped hold back sur-rounded German forces attempting to breakout from their encirclement near Chambois, France. Artillery fire injured Hawk’s leg and damaged his weapon.

Despite his injury, he managed to locate another weapon and exposed himself to enemy forces in order to direct anti-aircraft fire onto the German’s posi-tion due to the distance and noise, the American firing team was unable to hear Hawk’s firing corrections.

According to his Medal of Honor Citation, Hawk ran back to the firing team “through a concentration of bullets and shrapnel” to give corrected ranges to fire. After giving this report, Hawk once again ran back to his posi-tion which, once again, exposed himself to enemy fire. He remained to direct fire until the German forces surren-dered.

While serving in Europe he would also receive the Distinguished Conduct Medal from the

United Kingdom. The DCM was the second-highest British award for valor given to enlisted men during WWII. By the time Hawk ended his Army career he was awarded four Purple Hearts to go along with a Bronze Star and the Medal of Honor.

President Harry S. Truman traveled to Olympia to present the Medal of Honor to Hawk on the state capitol steps. John D. “Bud” Hawk will explain that he didn’t “win” the Medal of Honor because it wasn’t a contest and there were many other people who are equally deserving of the award and that he is the recipient of it for all his fellow soldiers.

In 1945, the City of Bremerton hosted a parade on Armed Forces

Day with Hawk as the Grand Marshall. He would participate in the parade for many years until his health pre-vented him from doing so starting in 2011. The Armed Forces Parade still continues and is the largest Armed Forces and longest continu-ally running parade for Armed Forces.

After his war ser-vice Hawk returned to the University of Washington and gradu-ated with a bachelor’s degree in biology. For more than 30 years he worked as a teacher and principal in the Central Kitsap School District.

On April 5, 2008, Hawk received the (new) Medal of Honor Flag in the Capitol Rotunda in Olympia. On Feb. 26, 2010, he was honored by

the rededication of the Rolling Bay Post Office as the “John “Bud” Hawk Post Office” near where he grew up as a child. In 2011, Joint Base Lewis/McCord also honored him with their newest

education center dedi-cated to him. The “John “Bud” Hawk Education Center” is a 31,000 square-foot education center with nine class-rooms and an audito-rium.

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Well-known local WWII veteran is now a Son of the American Revolution

Contributed photos

John Hawk is sworn into the Washington State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, John Paul Jones Chapter in Bremerton on Aug. 22. He was presented his Membership Medal, War Service Medal and a World War II Certificate of Patriotism by John Paul Jones Chapter President Ken Roberts.

By CHRIS CHANCELLOR

LAKEWOOD — Many golf courses throughout the country struggled to maintain participa-tion levels through the Great Recession. But perhaps because of its uniqueness, American Lake Veterans Golf Course has proven to be an excep-tion. The result will be the lat-est — and most dra-matic — upgrade to the course when it expands from 9 to 18 holes.

Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus and his design firm have helped plan a nine-hole addition at the course for military veterans and their friends and family. Known as the “Nicklaus Nine,” the new holes are aimed to serve able-bodied and disabled veterans along with those recovering from physical and psychological issues.

Roger Gatts, American Lake Veterans Golf Course assistant manager, said Nicklaus’ involve-ment stemmed from when Fircrest resident Ken Still, who volunteers at the course, and oth-ers on the “Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course,” the facil-ity’s nonprofit arm, discussed expanding the links. Still, a Professional Golf Association member since 1953 and winner of three Tour tourna-ments, was a teammate of Nicklaus during the 1969 Ryder Cup. The two have remained friends, and Still called Nicklaus to discuss the idea.

Nicklaus immediately agreed to help and volun-teered to send his design team — at no charge —

to the course. The official groundbreaking on what eventually will be the 10th hole was Aug. 31.

The course, which is located at the VA Hospital in Lakewood, is the only one in the country that is completely accessible to wounded and disabled veterans. Manager Bruce McKenty

said 33,000 golfers played last year at American Lake Veterans Golf Course.

“For what these guys have

given and contributed, there’s nothing too good for them as far as we’re concerned,” Gatts said. “We’re trying to create a great, friendly atmo-sphere here. They can come out and just enjoy the day.”

Similar to many projects, Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course has made improvements to the course in three phases.

The first, Gatts said, was a new irrigation system. In 2010, an 8,400-square-foot club-house was constructed. The project, which cost more than $1.4 million, was completed through donations. Among the clubhouse features is a side room that offers instruction to blind and paralyzed veterans. American Lake Veterans Golf Course has carts, such as ParaGolfer and SoloRider, that arrived designed for individuals with mobility-impair-ments. Unlike many carts, Gatts said those are capable to moving on sand traps.

He estimates that at least 1,200 veterans have received playing

instruction in that room. Among them are Froilan “Chico” Marin, who served from 1970-91 in the Air Force.

Marin suffered a stroke several years ago that rendered him legally blind. He said the twice-weekly lessons he takes at American Lake Veterans Golf Course, along with a workout regimen, helped him through the struggles that plagued him after he lost his eyesight.

“If it wasn’t for this place, I would be at home looking at four walls and probably wouldn’t be able to walk,” Marin said.

Gatts said veterans that come to the golf course have a variety of issues.

“Lots of guys come in with some mental issues — PTSD and traumatic brain injuries,” he said. “A lot of them come here and think their life is over because they’re missing limbs or what-ever the case may be. We change that attitude and give them purpose.”

Everyone who works at the course is a volunteer with positions ranging from mowing the grass to managing the facil-ity. Gatts, who served in the Army, was medically

retired in 1985. He notes that some volunteers at the course are more than 90 years old and many are at least 70.

“I need this place as much as it needs me,” Gatts said. “It keeps me going. It keeps all of us going.”

Without employee overhead expenses, he said the course is able to keep rates low. Hours change with the season — they are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through October —

but fees remain steady. Veterans pay an all-day

rate of $12 and are able to bring a friend who did not serve in the mili-tary for $20. Carts are $9, while a large bucket of balls for the driv-ing range is $4 with the smaller one running half that price.

Gatts said the late Dr. David Tatum was the impetus behind the course being construct-ed. He said when Tatum, a psychiatrist who was

hired to run the VA Hospital in Lakewood, moved to the area from Alabama, he noticed the undeveloped plot of land. Tatum previously worked at a VA Hospital with a nearby golf course.

“He knew that it was good therapy for these guys to go out and play golf,” Gatts said.

With a $25,000 budget and scores of volunteers, American Lake Veterans Golf Course opened in 1955.

American Lake Veterans Golf Course preparing for latest upgrade

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | 1 3

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“If it wasn’t for this place, I would be at home looking at four walls and probably wouldn’t be able to walk” – Froilan Marin

By KEVAN MOORE

After enlisting fresh out of high school, a bad bout of blood poisoning nearly killed Wallace Nelson at Marine Corps boot camp.

It also probably saved his life.

Following his ill-ness, Nelson was forced to repeat boot camp. Seventy percent of his original platoon, mean-while, were among the more than 1,000 Marines killed at the Battle of Tarawa in 1943.

“Out of the archives, (my wife, Kathleen) pulled the old platoon pictures,” Nelson, now 90, said. “Here I am, a blond kid way up on the top in the back row, and the whole platoon was wiped out. Everybody.”

Nelson went on to become a gunner and radioman during the war. He also was one of the few guys, at that time, who had gone to radar school.

“Right then, that was a new, secret thing,” he said.

Nelson recalled how a tiny little box in the in the rear cockpit had a small screen that was connected to a small antenna on the wing. That antenna could be directed by the operator who was trained to tell the difference, friend or foe, represented by the tiny blips.

It was also during this time that Nelson’s bur-geoning interest in art began to emerge.

“When I got back from a f light and was waiting for the next f light, I’d lean against a palm tree or a tire at the airport and sketch,” Nelson said. “I had a sketch book and would do these pencil sketches. So, the guys say, ‘Oh, there’s an artist. We need a guy in the paint shop to paint airplanes.’ ”

That’s how Neslon ended up in the paint shop putting logos and and other emblems on warplanes.

“All he had was a little packet of color pencils and whatever scrap he could find,” his wife, Kathy, recalled. “When he went to write letters home, he would draw pictures on the letters and the mailman got to where he just couldn’t wait for those letters to come home.”

When he got back from the war, Nelson enrolled at the Chicago Art Institute.

“All they were trying to teach me was just the wild stuff,” he said. “So, I left that behind.”

After nearly being killed in a car wreck in which three young drunk kids hit the vehi-cle Nelson was a front-seat passenger in, he made his way to Bradley University. He went through the windshield during the wreck and his injuries included a fractured skull, severe damage to his face and a broken femur.

“My plastic surgeon at Mercy Hospital out of Chicago, get this, his name was Wayne B. Slaughter,” Nelson said.

Facing multiple sur-geries and months and months of recovery, Nelson enrolled at Bradley University and

rode the then newly built Peoria Express train line to com-mute between school in Peoria and medical treatment in Chicago.

“I’d grab the train to go back to school and my whole face was wrapped up like Frankenstein,” he said. “I’d go back to school, wrapped like a mummy and could only see out of one eye to see the blackboards. Some of these operations didn’t take long, but some of them took hours. Little by little, they kept building me back up.”

Nelson’s early and lasting inf lu-ences include Wyeth, Hopper, Monet and Homer, among others. Whenever these art-ists were exhibited in Chicago, Nelson was right there to see it.

“I think they wanted to throw me out because they saw me there all week,” Nelson said of

the various exhibitors. “I’d sit on the bench and I’d study. I’d keep want-ing to get closer and the

guards kept push-ing me back. I said, ‘Why don’t you just stand there and hold my coat tail and if I get too close, just give me a yank?’ “

Nelson was study-ing the artists’ techniques and every-thing else he could by visiting

the paintings in person. He says he learned more through this, and buy-ing books featuring the paintings he liked, than he did at school.

“Then I got into acryl-ics because with oils you have to wait two or three days,” he said. “If you wanna put some-thing over something else, you gotta wait for it to dry. Acrylics, I learned to paint with those because by the next morning it’s all dry

and you can put what’s called glazing, another color, over that.

“Acrylic was a new thing, but you can’t really tell the differ-ence.”

Nelson went to work in Chicago studios designing displays for America’s top retail-ers followed by decades with Boeing execut-ing graphic design and displays for the Paris and London airships and other international exhibits.

All the while, he painted, often using Kathy’s skills as a pho-tographer on the back roads of the Pacific Northwest, Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and Hawaii to inspire his work.

“She’s got an eye for beauty,” Nelson said of his wife’s photographs. “Most of these pictures are a composite of things that we saw and lived with.”

The couple now lives in Tracyton and a wide range of Mr. Nelson’s work is on dis-play at ChocMo Bistro in Poulsbo through October.

1 4 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3

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Kathleen and Wallace Nelson, who served on United States Marine Corps bombers during World War II, stand in front of one his paintings on display at the ChocMo Bistro in Poulsbo. The exhibit is set to run through the month of October.

Locally renowned artist’s talent emerged during WW II

“I’d grab the train to go back to school and my whole face was wrapped up like Frankenstein. I’d go back to school, wrapped like a mummy and could only see out of one eye to see the blackboards. Some of these operations didn’t take long, but some of them took hours. Little by little, they kept building me back up.”

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | 1 5

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LeeAnn Choates who is fighting cancer was surprised by her friends with a picnic and fundraising event.

Friends support longtime auxiliary memberBy DANNIE OLIVEAUX

A longtime Veteran of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary member and volunteer found out this sum-mer she is suffering with cancer.

But friends of the South Kitsap woman gathered together recently to raised more than $550 during an All-American Picnic Dinner at the Fred Needham Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 2669.

LeeAnn Choates, 58, made her way to the VFW, only to be sur-prised about the event.

“This was so wonderful,” Choates said. “This was a total surprise to me.”

VFW bartender Johanna Gifford, a close friend of Choates, was instrumental in putting on the fundraiser, along with Ladies Auxiliary president Mallory Jackson and Patty Weatherill, can-teen manager and past president of the Ladies Auxiliary.

Choates hired Gifford while working at the VFW in Bremerton. Gifford came to work at the Port Orchard VFW in 2004.

“She is a wonderful, wonderful lady,” Gifford said of Choates, who has been involved with the auxil-

iary for more than 20 years.Patrons enjoyed all beef hot dogs

with all the extras, large selections of salads and homemade pies with ice cream.

Jackson praised the work of the Ladies Auxiliary members.

“The food was great and every-one had a great time,” Jackson said.

Jackson said more donations continue to come in after the din-ner.

Choates said the cancer was discovered July 1 after she went to a hospital emergency room after suffering for a seizure. That’s when doctors discovered the cancer.

“I had a seizure and was taken to the hospital,” she said. “An MRI revealed a tumor pressing on my spine and sciatic nerve. That’s what caused my seizure and the cancer was already in Stage 4.”

Before being taken to the hospi-tal, Choates said she hadn’t been “feeling well” and didn’t know why. Doctors also found cancer in her brain, liver and lung.

Since being diagnosed with cancer, Choates has undergone 10 radiation treatments at a Gig

Harbor medical clinic. For the past month, she has been taking a chemotherapy drug which shrinks tumors.

“There is only a small percent-age of people who can take the drug,” Choates said. “You have to have the right genes and cer-tain type on cancer. They want to shrink the cancer back to normal. They can’t cure it, but they can contain it.”

She now sees the doctor every three weeks, instead of once a week.

“I feel better and I can tell the difference,” Choates said.

Choates was born and raised in Long Beach, Calif., where she met her husband, Bob. The couple moved to South Kitsap in 1993.

While her husband contin-ued his service in the U.S. Navy, Choates raised four children and in 2000 she became the bar man-ager at the VFW in Bremerton.

Jackson said individuals who would like to donate to Choates can send their donations to the VFW, 736 Bay Street, Port Orchard, WA, 98366.

1 6 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3

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My brother Mike, a Navy veteran, and myself, an Army veteran, were thinking the other day about souve-nirs we saved to remember our mili-tary service; the ones we kept, and the ones we lost and wished we still had.

Mike was moaning about the loss of a pair of Arctic shooting gloves he once had because, obviously, they were something he needed in his everyday life as a hunter/outdoors-man.

They were like big mittens, but with a trigger finger.

We both still had plenty of stuff from our tours in the military. Boxes of old uniforms, a pair of jungle boots, a few ammo cans; the sort of stuff that’s useful in filling up empty spots in a garage or storage unit.

Nothing really useful, I thought when I was searching for something truly useful in the kitchen drawer — my old P-38, the little can-opener that came inside each box of C-rations.

The list of things you want to keep from your military service is quite different than the things that actually come home with you.

I had an Army folding cot in the garage for years — it might still be in there — and I can’t recall now what I was thinking when I threw it in with all the other worldly possessions a 22-year-old had when my hitch ended and the civilian movers came to my barracks room to box up my stuff and send it home. Maybe I’ll use it camp-ing, I must have thought back then, though the thing must have weighed close to 50 pounds and it wasn’t much more comfortable than just sleeping on the ground.

One of the things I wish I still had from my Army stint was the group photo that was taken during basic training. At about the halfway point, after a day at the range shooting at pop-up tar-gets with our M16s, we were marched over to a set of bleachers, put on our soft caps, and had our group photo taken.

Full-color copies, the photographer said, would be available the week before graduation at the special military discount rate of $20 each. Cash only, please pay now. Twenty dollars? That’s probably why they took our rif les away from us before the photo was taken.

Of course, I coughed up the $20. Though I was only 18 at the time, I could imagine the day many years from then, when I would be a gen-eral or a top executive with the Ford Motor Company, and the basic train-ing group photo would be hanging on my office wall, next to a framed box of medals I would surely earn in later exploits.

The names of my fellow basic train-ing soldiers I would forget, but I would remember them in some way, anyway, with a photo.

There’s the guy who got us all in trouble after he mooned a drill ser-geant from another company from the top-f loor window of our barracks and we spent the whole night doing push-ups on the parade ground.

There’s the guy whose grandfather drew “Dennis the Menace.” There’s the guy who had to apologize to a rock for 15 minutes after the drill ser-geant saw him trip over one.

Of all the memories I have of mili-tary service, some of the funniest and the oddest ones were from the first weeks of basic training.

It started from the very begin-ning, before our buzz cuts or the first obscenity-filled shouts of the drill

sergeants. When the bus pulled inside the gates of the main post, we were pulled off as a sergeant pointed out the “Amnesty Box.”

You got a knife, a gun? Put it in the Amnesty Box, he said, no questions asked.

“People brought their own weapons to basic?” I wondered. “I thought they were going to give us those.”

Also that first week, the recruits were lined up for “police call.” “Wow.” I thought. “Someone’s going to get arrested!”

We then spent the next 20 minutes picking up small bits of paper, ciga-rette butts and other litter. I didn’t see a policeman anywhere. And so it went, until that last week at the end of basic that was a breeze. The drill sergeants had pretty much stopped

screaming at us. We cleaned the barracks or practiced marching for the graduation ceremony.

A box arrived with the large envelopes holding the group photos, and they were passed out to the sentimentalists among us. A few min-utes later, we heard the doom-filled shout from our drill sergeant, who was sitting in his little office at one end of the barracks.

“Bravo Company!” he screamed. “You have two minutes to give me one of those photos!”

Two soldiers, myself and another guy, grudgingly ran to the end of the building, photos in hand. We went through the door at the same time and almost did a Three Stooges pile-up in the doorway. Arms extended, we both held out our big white envelopes.

The drill sergeant snatched the one out of my hand.

He sat back in his chair, opened one end of the envelope, and pulled out the photo. He stared at it silently for a minute that lasted forever.Then he leaned forward and set it on his desk. He grabbed a magic marker and blackened out the face of a soldier in the front row who had washed out of boot camp.

He tacked the photo on his office wall, then spun around to see two sol-diers still standing there, slack-jawed.

“You don’t cut the mustard, you don’t go on the sandwich,” he said.

Brian Kelly is an Army veteran who served with the 1st Infantry Division overseas and with units in the Army’s Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Kelly is editor of the Bainbridge Island Review.

The Bond

The souvenirs you keepBy Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3 | V E T E R A N S L I F E | 1 7O C T O B E R , 2 0 1 3 | V E T E R A N S L I F E I 1 7

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Right: A soldier with the 1st Infantry Division enjoys a stogie while his armored person-nel carrier moves through a forest in southern Germany during a field train-ing exercise in the early 1980s. (Photo by Brian Kelly)

Have a photo from your time in the service you want to share? We’d love to publish it for our readers to see. Email a high resolution jpeg photo to [email protected] with descrip-tion of what’s going on in the photo.

Last Look:

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