Profiling veterans led to personal discoveries, unforgettable stories

I’ve never felt particularly patriotic. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I always longed to travel the world and perhaps even find another country that fit me better -- somewhere more eclectic and cultured and less sterile. Never did I think, come age 23, I’d savor my own nationality more than I ever have.

A summer of interviewing and profiling veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces is what got me there.

At first I couldn’t understand where their drive to serve their country came from. I always asked that question, until I realized that to many, it’s innate. It’s who they are and it feels right.

Each and every one of the veterans I featured of course had their journey to serving, but a common thread emerged that focused on service to show their appreciation of the privileges we have as Americans.

Granted, I don’t necessarily view America as the supreme nation in the world. I traveled to Italy, France, the Netherlands, South Africa and India during my college years and appreciate each nation for its individual beauty and functionality. However, recognizing the opportunities you’ve had throughout your life because of your nationality is tremendously enlightening -- especially when you realize those privileges come at a price.

Unfortunately, many of us are disconnected from those who are sacrificing for our benefit.

I began the series profiling Jonathan Bittner, 24, of Souderton, who returned from Afghanistan in December 2008 and was hos- pitalized for PTSD three times since returning home. Bittner acted as the bodyguard to Army chaplain Major Dale Pepper for a full year. Bittner witnessed the final moments of the lives of many soldiers and also those reeling from what they’d seen and done in name of the United States.

Both a Marine, 23, and a Navy medic, 24, shared their stories of how their time serving abroad contributed to divorce. Both of these young men were tremendously compassionate, driven and structured individuals who were left speechless when their significant others ended things out of the blue while they were still overseas serving our country.

Then, I met Gregory Nyce, a Perkasie resident and young father at age 27, who joined the Army Reserves in honor of a friend who was killed in Iraq. Nyce, a volunteer firefighter for Perkasie since age 16, told me he had service in his blood -- even as he got teary-eyed when he told me about missing his son Jamison’s first words and steps.

Not only is the battle abroad, but I learned from many of these soldiers and Marines that it continues after they return home.

I admired Jess Clymer, 24, a female Marine, for her overwhelming sense of service. Still a Marine and anticipating another tour in Afghanistan, Clymer gets up every day at 5:30 a.m. to volunteer at Plumsteadville Fire Company’s bistro and espresso bar, Embers. Clymer, like Bittner is having a hard time adjusting to “normal” life back in America.

Clymer cites what she perceives as ignorance all around us. I briefly touched on this in my article, as not to be alienating, but Clymer has a point. How much do you know about our Armed Forces abroad? What do you know about their lifestyles? Do you have prefixed predilections about who they are as people? Where they come from? I did.

The reason I wanted to do this series and learn about this community within our nation was because I was so anti-troops previously. I believe in peace and often question our ability to ever achieve it if we always have people training to “kill.” But within the stories of service and blood and tragedy, these soldiers and Marines focused on stories of compassion. Clymer and Navy medic Steven Chychota connected with children in the villages they were stationed in. Bittner became friends with an Afghani barber on his base.

And in all of the conversations I had, these soldiers expressed no judgments about the Iraqi and Afghani people. Rather, they presented an open mind about their respective cultures and hoped that they had helped in at least the slightest way.

lne of my last interviews was with an Army nurse who served toward the end of Wiorld War II. Her story dealt with the cultural taboos of her day since she enlisted in 1945 at the height of segregation and the second-class status of black Americans. The most compassionate moment of her interview was when she spoke about caring for a sick black U.S. soldier, 18 years old at the time, who said she reminded him of his “mother.”

With that said, I encourage you to delve into the series that ran this summer in our newspaper, which is now neatly packaged on our website at www.montgomerynews.com, and meet these soldiers that touched my heart, broadened my horizons and helped me appreciate my freedom.

I have newfound and strong respect for members of our Armed Forces serving at home and abroad. Your sacrifices are not unnoticed and to each of you who spoke to me during this series, I will never forget your names or your stories.

Follow staff writer Jennifer Connor on Twitter @Journalist_Jen.