ADVERTISEMENT

Thank You, Veterans

I'm Gene Ott PSU 66 and 67. Navy veteran of 30 years retired Captain. Been on this board since 2005, enjoy you guys a lot. A Vietnam vet in country and very proud to have served there. While in grad school was making some money as a campus cop and during the game we stood behind the team, not a great view but I mention it because it was Joe Paterno's first season as head coach. I am an avid wrestling fan like all of you. Had the privilege of coaching middle school wresting at Fork Union Military Academy, and I can tell you there are not many things better than that. Looking forward to tonight and this season.
 
I'm Gene Ott PSU 66 and 67. Navy veteran of 30 years retired Captain. Been on this board since 2005, enjoy you guys a lot. A Vietnam vet in country and very proud to have served there. While in grad school was making some money as a campus cop and during the game we stood behind the team, not a great view but I mention it because it was Joe Paterno's first season as head coach. I am an avid wrestling fan like all of you. Had the privilege of coaching middle school wresting at Fork Union Military Academy, and I can tell you there are not many things better than that. Looking forward to tonight and this season.

For those of you who are unaware, Captain is navy-talk for O-6/Colonel.

I generally use ranks for precedence when addressing people in emails; made the mistake of writing, “LTC Smith, MAJ Jones, CPT Williams” a few times. Not realizing that CPT Williams was in fact the most senior officer in the group. Particularly when dealing with relatively small or hard to look up organizations.

I did 5 years active duty in the Army. Typical infantry officer experience; OCS, infantry basic officer leaders course, Ranger, airborne. Stationed at Fort Benning, Fort Drum, deployment to RC-E in Afghanistan, and Fort Carson. Left active duty and went to grad school. In the reserve now, and likely transferring to the Air Force reserve soon, where I will likely be the only AF reservist MAJ with a CIB, Ranger Tab, Airborne wings and Space badge in the country.
 
Last edited:
Thanks to all our veterans, even ones that aren't wrestling fans, or even worse, Hawkeye fans! Just kidding on the even worse part... ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: pawrestlersintn
I also want to sincerely thank all of our Veterans for their service. My 32 years in law enforcement gave me a small insight but great appreciation for the sacrifices our service members experience, especially being away from their families for long stretches at a time. And for Mr. Ott, I just want to say that the way some of our Vietnam Veterans were treated during and after the war was shameful and I hope the gratitude of myself and millions of others might in some small way make up for it. Thank you!
 
I'm Gene Ott PSU 66 and 67. Navy veteran of 30 years retired Captain. Been on this board since 2005, enjoy you guys a lot. A Vietnam vet in country and very proud to have served there. While in grad school was making some money as a campus cop and during the game we stood behind the team, not a great view but I mention it because it was Joe Paterno's first season as head coach. I am an avid wrestling fan like all of you. Had the privilege of coaching middle school wresting at Fork Union Military Academy, and I can tell you there are not many things better than that. Looking forward to tonight and this season.
This is reason enough to be on this forum ... even though it's not about wrestling (other than a shared fanship).

Gene, thank you for your service. In fact, thanks to all that have or are serving. So many freedoms we, at times, take for granted.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ski and Psalm 1 guy
Shout out to a veteran, young man, team mate of my son’s on their College swim team. Currently SF sergeant, and his missions are never talked about, as know he has been involved with mixed units with other operators including SAS Brit’s…God Bless all of those who served’
 
When I think of vets; I think of my great uncle Steve., now gone 21+ years. He was a Marine in World War II. Among the places he was at was Tarawa November 20–2 3 1943. He was the only survivor of his unit there. His final duty stop was Hiroshima Sep-Oct 1945.

Honorably discharged, he came home, got married and soon after thought his return to normalcy was complete when he expected to become a father. His daughter was born with the official diagnosis of spina bifida; and she died within a year. You have to wonder of course if trodding that hot ground had something to do with it.

He didn't talk much about the war, and his experience at Tarawa gave him survivor's guilt. His older sister, my grandmother called him about a history channel special about Tarawa about a year before he died and all he said was "thanks Helen I appreciate you calling, but going through that once was enough".

Even into his 70's he could command the respect of everybody in the room without saying a word. As a little kid I only saw him infrequently, as he lived in Bridgeport CT working at Remington Arms. After retirement he moved back to NEPA and I saw him more frequently.

Likewise my Dad's oldest brother Ed. He was in the Army and at the Battle of the Bulge, where he had a nasty case of frostbite. He used to send money home to my grandmother with a note "Mom buy something for the kids", he came home and had three children, working as an auto mechanic-he may have worked on military vehicles as a spring board.

It's not just their time in the military I appreciate; but the quiet dignity they exhibited after the horrors of war.
 
Last edited:
52 years ago on March 3rd I was inducted and began boot camp at Ft. Dix. Draft lottery # was 10!
I remember sitting in what is now the Phyrst during the first draft lottery. On TV they pulled out numbers representing the day of the year. My draft lottery # was 13. I moved over to the quiet side of the bar near the pool tables. Those with low numbers took ample advantage of free drinks. As the evening wore on, those whose birth dates not yet pulled chugged in unison and celebrated their good fortune. By 9:30 or so, both sides of the bar joined in a mass holding each other upright and faced their fate with abandon. Within the week I signed up with the USMC (0311) not wanting to take my chances with the Army. 2 days after graduation . . . it was off to Paris Island.
 
I’d also like to take a moment recognize my uncle Al. Son of illegal migrants, joined up during Vietnam (see: volunteered), later commissioned during the same war.

Came home to SoCal, finished his education, and became a teacher and later principal and baseball coach in the same underserved community he grew up in. In addition to raising two wonderful girls who now have families of their own, he and my aunt have adopted their niece.
 
Last edited:
I remember sitting in what is now the Phyrst during the first draft lottery. On TV they pulled out numbers representing the day of the year. My draft lottery # was 13. I moved over to the quiet side of the bar near the pool tables. Those with low numbers took ample advantage of free drinks. As the evening wore on, those whose birth dates not yet pulled chugged in unison and celebrated their good fortune. By 9:30 or so, both sides of the bar joined in a mass holding each other upright and faced their fate with abandon. Within the week I signed up with the USMC (0311) not wanting to take my chances with the Army. 2 days after graduation . . . it was off to Paris Island.
I was deer hunting with my dad in Potter county that evening. I decided to let the Army draft me for a 2 year stint rather than enlist for 3 or 4 years. I was working in commercial printing in Lititz. The army sent me to Colorado to run a printing press. Got a 4 month early out and used the GI bill benefits to cover my 4 years while living in Stuart Hall in East Halls! I had coach Lorenzo for my wrestling class. And yes, we played dodge ball frequently!
 
I would like to recognize my Great Uncle, he was in Patton’s Army during WW2 and then when the war was over and he was ready to come home he lost his life in a truck accident in Germany. It always takes me back a bit to think he survived the war and died trying to ship home.
 
Drop out of college in the summer of 68. Did not want to go school anymore. Enlisted that year and left for basic training March. Went to AIT. Received orders for Vietnam left December 69. Was placed in a combat engineer unit. I ended up serving 22 months in Vietnam and got a 5 months early out. Funny my brother served in the marines and we joke around that we passed each other one coming home and the other going over. Poor mom what she went though. I am now 100 percent disabled from agent orange symptoms but hanging in gald to be a Vietnam veteran.
 
Dear Monk. This is Gene Ott and I am happy that you also are glad to be a Vietnam vet. The South Vietnamese were not fighters but were a gentle and kind people. I was at Tan Son Nhut airbase outside Saigon. We had two large rocket attacks but the rest was quiet. We lost 12 people, one American and rest Vietnamese. I was there at the end of the war and left the same day John McCain few out of Vietnam. I had a good friend who flew B-52's that dropped agent orange and it got him and sadly he is gone. I wish you the very best and I can't imagine a 22 month tour. You are such a warrior.
 
ADVERTISEMENT