Young recruit: This was Jerry Steimle of Port Charlotte, Fla. when he joined the Air Force at 18 in 1967. He served 25 years in the service, much of it as a crew chief in the Air National Guard. Photo provided
Former Staff Sgt. Jerry Steimle of Port Charlotte, Fla. was a crew chief on an Air Force transport plane, refueling plane and helicopter who has been involved in many of the United States of America’s civilian and military adventures during the past forty years.
John Arens is pictured in his Merchant Marine captain’s dress uniform in the 1970s when he was attached to the U.S. Navy. Note the Combat Infantryman’s Badge on his chest and his jump wings from his service in the Rangers during the Korean War. Photo provided by John Arens
John Arens served as a teenage Merchant Mariner in World War II, become an Airborne Ranger in the Korean War, graduated from diving school in the 1960s, spent 11 years as a Navy SCUBA diver in the Arctic before skippering a Navy spy ship during the Cold War and completed his 40-year military career as the captain of a fast transport ship during “Operation Desert Storm” in 1991.
