We asked our employees which of them have served in the military and were delighted to read their responses. Below are those who had a story to tell...
Brian Pepin
Branch: Navy Submarine Service
Brian was in the Navy Submarine Service for 5 years, he traveled all over the Pacific Ocean and up to the North Pole underwater.
Melissa Luetjen
Branch: Army
Melissa was in the army for six years, she had one tour in Iraq as a combat medic in 2007 through 2008 and one tour in Haiti after the earthquake in 2010.
Wayne Bloss
Branch: Army
“I entered the Army between junior and senior year of high school June-July 1986 for basic training. I came back to school and finished my senior year of high school then went to Ft. Sam Houston for my medical training in 1987. I was then off to Europe for 2.5 years where I was stationed at Aschaffenburg, Germany at a Field Artillery unit. Then, I came back to the states for more medical training, became a nurse, then went back to Europe in 1991 and stayed there until 1994. I was stationed at a Medical Clinic in Grafenwöhr, Germany. in 1994 I came back to the states an entered the reserves where I was stationed in St. Louis, Seattle, WA, Austin, TX, Phoenix, AZ and last unit of my career was in Boston, MA. I was part of the 1st Gulf War where I trained incoming reservist to be medics and also took care of POW's and wounded soldiers. I retired after 15 years of service.”
Nicholas Bell
Branch: Army
“I served 2005-2013 as an Intelligence Analyst for the Army National Guard. I was deployed in 2008 to Camp Bearing, Kuwait and ran daily convoys with my unit as far north as Baghdad, Iraq.”
Lee Holmes
Branch: Us Army
Lee served for 3 years active and 6 years National Guard/Reserve. He served as an Intelligence Analyst, Telecommunication Operator, and Counter Intelligence Specialist.
Tommy Canfield
Branch: Army
“I was a paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne as a combat medic for 4 years, then a combat training NCO in South Carolina for 3 years, then completed 3 years here in Missouri full time with the Army National Guard as a Health Director for the state.”
Tim Williams
Branch: Air Force
“I was in the ground radio career field. We supported Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi Mississippi. We weren’t too popular with the locals. Some places had signs like 'run over an airman clean up Biloxi.' In their defense we were kind of a rowdy bunch. An airman friend of mine fell asleep on the beach and got severely sun burned. He was charged with destruction of government property, which was kind of funny at the time.”
Gary Myers
Branch: Navy Illinois National Guard
“I was a parachute rigger station at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego. Part of my time there I packed parachutes next to the hangar that Top Gun was based out of. I did a world cruise on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. It was an honor to serve my country.”
David Roberts
Branch: Army National Gard
“Being in the Infantry for eight years gave me the opportunity to experience many things that I would have never had the chance to do if I hadn’t joined, and I have made lifetime friends.”
John Schleipman
Branch: U.S Army
For three and a half years John was stationed at Ft. Bliss Texas as an infantryman and had one deployment to Africa.
Terry Bolton
Branch: Navy
“I served from 1983-1989 in the Persian Gulf operations pre-desert storm. Crossed the Line Of Death during Libya operation. 2 very sensitive political port visits to Romania and Mozambique. All honor should go to those still on eternal patrol or sustained permanent injuries.”
Nelson Mogollon
Branch: United States Marine Corps
Nelson served four years and was light
armor mechanic.