First, they served our country in the military. Now they serve again in the classrooms and around the campus of SJHHS.

It turns out we have four veterans on staff. The oldest, Bob Nietzel, served in the Korean conflict between 1950 and 1953. Later, he accepted the Medal of Honor on behalf of his cousin, who died in the Normandy invasion. Nietzel was his next-of-kin and so received the Medal of Honor from former president Obama in 2014.

“I was drafted during the Korean war into the Army where I served as a Morse Code radio operator. The experience taught me how to take orders from a superior officer in command. The greatest challenge I faced was just staying alive. I want students to know just how great this country is, despite the shortcomings of some individuals,” said Nietzel.

Math teacher, Rich LaRue, served as a Marine an officer in the Marines as a CH-46 helicopter pilot. He flew in multiple combat operations in the 1991 Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait. He attained the rank of Captain and served between 1983 and 1991 because, “Marines are the best!”

“It raised expectations of myself, but the family separations were difficult,” said LaRue. “Don’t put limits on what you think you can accomplish,” he added.

Physics teacher, Mark Groothuis, attended the United States Naval Academy and at service selection chose to be an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

“My uncle was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines, so I had a family history of service that I wished to emulate,” he said.

“I served primarily as a pilot in the CH-46E helicopter.  I was stationed on the west coast, but was deployed to the middle east in the first Iraq war, Somalia, and participated in rescuing US civilians from Rawanda during the Hutu/Tutsi civil war.”

“It made me realize how fortunate we are in the United States. The famine, poverty and, sometimes, brutal nature of life in other parts of the world was shocking.”

He said the greatest challenge was always being away from friends, family and loved ones.

“When you leave on a deployment that lasts six or more months, it puts a strain on relationships,” said Groothuis. “Students should know that their access to education opportunities here in the United States is something they should be not taken for granted. Children in other parts of the world do not always have the same access as they do. The military service members, past and present, are the people that ensure that access.”

Custodian David Moreno said he enlisted in the Marine Corps for the challenge.

“Only a few could be called a Marine,” he said.

“My job was supply and longshoremen. The experience changed my life in that it taught me hard work, discipline, and being responsible. The greatest challenge I faced was leaving home my family that I knew growing up and starting a new life. What I learned that would value to any student is no challenge is too great if you set your mind to it.”