TORRINGTON – No veteran should ever be overlooked or underappreciated.

Although we often talk about honoring our veterans and hopefully everyone wishes one a happy Veteran’s Day this week, we need to dig just a little bit deeper on what it means.

That being said, merely wishing a veteran a good day really isn’t enough. To sincerely show your appreciation for someone who had the honor and courage to serve in the United States Military, it behooves all of us to sit down and actually have a conversation with one, or even several.

No words will ever be able to truly describe the sacrifice our Veterans have made for us, nor will we ever be able to sincerely understand what they went through during their years of service.

Air Force Veteran, Louis Russ, along with close friend and fellow Navy Veteran, John Temple sat down with the Telegram recently to share thoughts on the past, as well as some feeling about the future.

Although both Torrington VFW members made enormous sacrifice for the betterment of an entire nation, neither has any regret about their service.

“Would I do it again?” Temple began. “Absolutely yes. Would I trade it for anything? Absolutely not. I lost friends over there [in Vietnam]. I would do it again in a heartbeat if asked to. Or I would join up if they didn’t ask me. A band of brothers? Absolutely yes.”

Both Temple and Russ acknowledge that despite serving in different military branches during their time, the bond and respect between the two is stronger than ever.

“That’s not taking anything away from you,” Temple kidded towards Russ. “We are each a little different, but we served the same organization.”

Originally from Alliance, Nebraska, Temple joined the U.S. Military on January 1, 1963. When asked why he chose that particular branch, the Torrington Vet beamed over at his old Air Force buddy and mentioned old family values being a factor.

“My grandfather spent 14 years in the Swedish Navy,” Temple said. “I figured, what the heck. So, in 1963 in San Diego I joined the Navy. I went to Great Lakes in Chicago for diesel mechanics school, and from there I went where everything was top secret. I went to an experimental cruiser where they tested nuclear near-miss missiles. I asked what that meant by near-miss. The guy looked me in the eye and said, ‘Son you think too much.’”

As the years progressed, Temple’s time in the Navy proved to be filled with building life-long relationships with fellow sailors as well other military serviceman. 

Serviceman such as Russ.

According to Temple, some days working on a warship proved to be more interesting than others.

“By rank or trade, I was a machinist mate,” Temple continued. “I ran evaporators onboard the ship, and I made fresh water out of saltwater and potable water. Then they threw me on a boat to Vietnam and said, ‘You’re an engineer.’ I worked on a Mike-8 boat with four 671 diesel engines. Those were my babies, and you learn fast. They tied us off and started testing underwater explosions to check the integrity of the hull. When you work beneath the water line, it gets exciting. I was an engineer at the time running a steam generator, then I was on an experimental cruiser where we tested the equivalent of a near-miss on a few occasions.”

Russ, a Wyoming native who received an Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Airforce in 1996 after over 20 years of service. Russ generously shared his own experiences of military service with amazing highs, and in time climbing up the ranks.

“I graduated from Torrington in ’68, and then went to EWC and graduated from there in ’70,” Russ said. “Then I went to UW and graduated in ’73 and taught for three years before I joined the Air Force. I spent three and a half years as an avionics technician, and then got selected for Officer Training School. Then I spent 16 and a half years in aircraft maintenance, then spent another three years as the Chief of Staff Air Force Maintenance Officer.”

A long-time Wyoming resident, Russ recalled several memorable experiences while being stationed in the south Pacific, while also being able to see a rare and extended view of the entire world in one very short period of time.

“I was stationed at the Kunsan Air Force Base in Korea near the Yellow Sea. At about 2 a.m. one night I heard gunfire. So I jumped out of my bed, hit the floor and waited. Then it got silent. We never had an alarm go off. I got up the next morning and called the Armed Forces radio network and six North Koreans were ‘disposed of.’ They were trying to infiltrate the South Korean Kunsan Air Base.

“Then there was a time when I was with my Chief of Staff, and we flew around the world in 12 days. At that time in 1990 they were still experimenting with GPS, and our aircraft was also an experimental bird aircraft. We flew from Andres, to Hawaii, to Indonesia, to India, to Israel, to Turkey to Madrid, to the Azores and back to Andrews. The GPS followed us all around the world. Our General had to give speeches at all these Air Force academies, and the other missions were to see if the synchronized satellite would follow us all around the world, and it did.”

When we think of challenges in the military, of course we tend to think of something dangerous or intense which can be very true. When asked of the biggest challenges he faced during his time serving in the Air Force, Russ recalled one very disappointing moment that revolved around a sanctified American sporting event.

“In Korea the biggest challenge was keeping the morale up when we had an exercise on Super Bowl Sunday,” Russ laughed. “Our commander, who later became the Pacific Air Forces commander, called and said there was an operational readiness inspection at 4 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday. We were waiting for it to come on, and were then told we had exercise.”

Understandably enough, having to miss out on Super Bowl Sunday at the very last second would indeed have been a tough pill to swallow.

Sometimes it’s those little things prove how big of a sacrifice our own friends, family and neighbors are making for us. Not only must they go wherever they are ordered to go, and do whatever they are ordered to do, but they have to say farewell to all the simple things that we at home get to enjoy every day.

Then they are forced to sometimes handles things in the long run that not everyone would be able to handle. 

“I got out and I didn’t talk about any of it, nothing,” Temple said. “In order to maintain my sanity, I had to replace the blood in my veins with ice. I had no feelings. If I saw someone laying there shot or wounded I would think, ‘Not a big deal.’ My wife passed away after 25 years, and with her passing all the ice melted.”

Temple then playfully laughed and poked at Russ.

“He and I seem to take turns,” Temple laughed. “I’ve had a good friend listen to all my bologna and get it out of my system. I get to pound on him a bit now since he was an officer. It’s been an honor and a privilege to be a member of this VFW post. I love our guys and gals.”

Despite over twenty years of military service and with one sacrifice made after another, Russ noted the entire time was one enormous learning experience that has made both him and his family very tolerant, and compassionate of others.

Russ also noted perhaps due to his extensive military service and having to move his family around frequently, it has also made them incredibly strong and productive citizens.

“It has made my family closer, and my kids are more respectful for other people’s feelings,” Russ said. “On average we moved either from civilian housing to military housing, or to a new base every two years. They didn’t get bullied, but my kids did get teased for being the new kids on the block all the time. One of my daughters lives in Phoenix, and she runs a Homeowner’s Association as an administrator. Then I have one in Sterling who is the Information Technology Director at a hospital, and one in Rapid City who just became the president of a bank in Spearfish. They’ve all done well, have learned to be tolerant of other people and to not bully people. I don’t have to be told that you are black, Mexican, or Asian. I see that, but I don’t judge you because of a color. I judge you on your character, and most of Veterans and active military are the same way.”

If you are interested in knowing more about the Torrington VFW Post 2918, or have further questions feel free to call 307-532-4996.