Meet a Veteran/Obstacle Course

We had some amazing veterans stop by the library and talk to our teens about their service.  We had:

Doug: Infantry during the Vietnam War
     Doug earned the Purple Heart during his service.  He is one of the most decorated soldiers in our area. Doug was drafted back in the 1960s and he was part of a recon unit, consisting of 5 guys, that would attempt to locate enemy supply areas.  They would then radio the location in for the Air Force to come take care of the job.  Doug mentions that it never happened that all 5 guys returned to base.

Mike: Navy during the Vietnam War
     Mike enlisted for the Army, and was assigned to the Navy to work in communications on board a minesweeper in the Pacific.  His job was to use Morse code to transfer messages to and from base.  The ship he was on would drop cables into the water to literally "sweep" the mines up before detonating and destroying American ships.

Drew: Air Force...everywhere
     Drew served in the Air Force and found himself all over the globe, from Somalia, to Yugoslavia, to Russia, to Iceland.  He met then president, Ronald Reagan during his tour overseas.

Aaron: Army Reserve & National Guard Medical Unit
     Aaron was our youngest Veteran, only 27.  He was trained in the medical field and served in the National Guard.  He worked in the hospitals to nurse soldiers back to health.  His training led him overseas to West Africa where he helped bring medical aid to civilians with Ebola.

Our Veterans had some great things to say, and I had a whopping 25 teens, and 7 parents/siblings! Below are pictures from our speakers and the obstacle course that took place, for fun, afterward!