Two local veterans shared their military stories in the Hernando Sun. Julius Ricks, writing as a proud veteran, described joining the Air Force as a young man who had never traveled more than 20 miles from his hometown in Ohio. He flew to Texas for the first time, then took a train through much of the country before reaching Washington, D.C. Ricks toured the White House, monuments and statues there, and stood before Queen Elizabeth, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and three U.S. presidents. His assignments took him to Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, the Philippines, Vietnam, England and Libya. Eighteen years later, he was assigned to Ohio, about 40 miles from home.
Gary Bogard, of Spring Hill, Florida, wrote about his own path from crisis to faith. In 1970, selective service notices arrived, and he soon entered the Army. About three months later, he was sent to Vietnam. He wrote that his first contact with the enemy made him realize how fragile human life is. He said the experience was the first major crisis of his life and led him to deep inward reflection for the first time.
Originally reported by Hernando Sun
