This Memorial Day we once again focus on those who have sacrificed by serving our country. But why do they serve?
My six year-old great-nephew provoked this question in me with his drawing of a submarine. He told his mother that he was at the controls. And Uncle Roger, a former cold war submariner, was shooting the torpedoes. Will wants to join the Navy. A practical child, he even suggested he could re-use his uncle’s uniforms (they might fit at that point).
The reasons for joining the military are as varied as the people. Everyone has a different motivation.
Nina Petru was definitely not your average enlistee. She joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve at age 27, and served 24 years as a medic. At age 49, she volunteered for active duty following September 11.
Now a retired reservist, Nina has been active in Naperville’s Judd Kendall VFW post serving from blood-drive chairman all the way to post commander.
It is easy to believe that Nina influenced her daughter Kelly. Kelly served nine years in the United States Air Force, both active duty and reserve as a crew-member on C-130 aircraft. As a reservist she was assigned to the 440th Airlift Wing in Milwaukee and was the first female flight engineer in the unit.
For Bill Krissoff, his was volunteering for Afghanistan at age 60 after losing a son in combat.
There are other reasons to join — to escape a bad urban neighborhood or a depressed rural area, for the GI Bill educational benefit, to support a family, a sense of duty to country, family tradition. Once in service, it’s all focus on the mission; and for those in combat, it’s your survival and your buddies’.
Whatever their reasons, honor them by cheering when they march in Naperville’s Memorial Day Parade. It can be a gratifying emotional high for them.
