Newton Rotary Club had a meeting dedicated to our Veterans on November 12. Some members invited Veterans as guests. Pictured are Fred Kessler (left) guest of Rotarian Ken Albrecht, Larry McCrillis (center) guest of Rotarian Tom Clark, and the day’s main speaker, Alan Bogardus (right). Not pictured is Carl Kemper, guest and Father of Rotarian Kenny Kemper. Rotary member Louis Ochs is also a military Veteran.
Each Veteran spoke briefly about his own experience of military service, with Bogardus describing his 24 years of service in the U.S. Navy. He worked as a Hull Technician, repairing the metal hulls of ships and submarines, but like many in the Navy, was also a trained firefighter.
He spoke of the misery of Boot Camp, and how only later did he realize the important lessons he was taught there, especially how the military makes you an equal member of a team, and differences among people seem to matter less, making it a more cohesive group. Bogardus got to visit other parts of the world, starting out in Scotland and being stationed in far-away places like Guam. Eventually reaching the rank of E9, he came full circle by becoming a Senior Drill Instructor in Boot Camp himself, winding up a very satisfying career. Bogardus mentioned feeling especially honored to have been the guest speaker at the Veteran’s Day program on The Square in Newton a few years ago, and enjoys the opportunity to talk about military service.
