By Paula Pyzik Scott

Holidays are steeped in tradition and, sometimes, predictability.The Veterans Day assembly held by Bluffton American Legion Post 382 on November 11 at Bluffton High School broke the mold to both quantify of the presence of veterans across the nation and give a slice of local veterans’ experiences.

A speech was provided by Jennifer Hawkes, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. Hawkes introduced herself as a first-generation American and the caretaker of a new Little Free Library on S. Main St. She served in the Marines for 22 years, working in Public Affairs. She provided an overview of the many military actions during which today’s veterans have served and noted that there are over 60 million U.S. veterans. One in every 15 Americans is a veteran, Hawkes explained; and therefore, it is likely someone living on your block is a veteran.

Hawkes noted that the American Legion is the largest veterans service organization in the country, with about 2 million members. Eleven Bluffton Legion members participated in the assembly, while others met with Bluffton Elementary and Middle School students. The Commander of Post 382 is Kurt Emans, who discussed the opportunity for high schoo ljuniors  to participate in the Legion’s Buckeye Boys State and Buckeye Girls State summer leadership programs.

The high school students also watched a slide show during the speech with images of local Legion members from when they were in the military. At the beginning of a Q&A session, the following members introduced themselves:

• Ed Amstutz, U.S. Marine Corps, served 3 years in Vietnam
• Chad Cupples, Sergeant, U.S. Army Police Corps, 1997-2005
• Jerry Cupples, Staff Sergeant, Ohio National Guard, 1970-1977
• Gary Dipnarine, Sergeant, U.S. Army Aviation, 1994-2002
• Kurt Emans, Air Traffic Controller, U.S. Air Force, Lebanon and Grenada era
• Tom Harvey, Sergeant, U.S. Marines, 1966-1969
• Jennifer Hawkes, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps and Reserves, 1991-2014 
• Fred Rodabaugh, U.S. Air Force Aviation, 1966-1970
• Robert Schroeder, Sergeant serving in Germany and Vietnam, drafted in 1969
• Joe Sprunger, Indiana National Guard, 1959-1964

What was something unexpected about your time serving in the military? Gary Diparnine said that it was meeting people from so many different walks of life, from farm communities and inner cities and even from other countries, who didn’t know English. “We all pulled together with what we knew… to get what we had to do, done. We were able to put our personal differences aside for the success of the mission.”

What was different from your expectations? Fred Rodabaugh recalled how, being qualified to work in electronics, he received orders to teach English. “It wasn’t what I expected, but it was a good experience.” Ed Amstutz told the students that he was two months out of high school when he went to Marine boot camp. During the check-in process on arriving in Vietnam, he was asked, do you want your Purple Heart now or later? “He was not joking and I ended up with one.”

How did you get past language barriers? Chad Cupples talked about learning a little bit of many languages including Arabic and Spanish. “You learn from each other. It’s amazing when you bring people of different cultures together, you kind of meld.”

What’s a core memory that you have? Robert Schroeder recalled that, while serving in Vietnam, making a clearing every few days so a helicopter could land with supplies. One day, after he had served about 10 months, the unit received slips of paper requiring them to check a box: do you want to stay or want to leave? “They were good to their word. Three days later, I was standing in an airport in Seattle, Washington.”

What was it like adapting to civilian life? Fred Rodabaugh said the biggest change was driving. “I spent two years when the fastest you moved was 20-35 miles per hour. They drop you off in California and suddenly you’re going over 70.”

Any funny stories? Jennifer Hawkes recalled being stationed in Santa Anna and meeting actor Will Smith prior to the making of the film Independence Day. She went in to work that day despite having just had three wisdom teeth pulled, and so she had to give him a tour with her mouth full of cotton.

Bluffton American Legion Post 382 meets at 7:30 p.m. on first and third Mondays of the month at the Depot at Buckeye Park, a.k.a. the Bluffton Sportsmen’s Club.