The Good Life – July-August 2020

CELEBRATING 7 YEARS OF THE GOOD LIFE
Dear readers,
It doesn’t seem long ago that we (Dawn and Darren)
took the risk and created the first issue of The Good Life
Men’s Magazine. We noticed a need for a publication
dedicated to the good work being done by great men in
our community. We wanted to encourage and inspire other
men by showcasing these accomplishments. What we
didn’t realize is how far it would personally take us.
Through this magazine and our business, Urban Toad
Media, we’ve had the privilege of meeting some of the
most incredible people. It’s been such a reward to become
their friends. Learning more about who they are, what
they do and how they impact the lives of others has stirred
our souls, and we couldn’t be more excited to share their
stories.
Over the years, there have also been a number of
surprising opportunities. We’ve had beer with the bishop,
seen service dogs in action, spent time with Matt Cullen
and ate donuts from the Stanley Cup, flown in the Sanford
helicopter, been a SWAT team’s fake hostage, met Santa
Claus and famous musicians (not simultaneously), toured
haunted houses and funeral homes—the list goes on (and
on). We’ve been allowed to have behind-the-scenes access
to events and professions that have given us a perspective
most people don’t get to see.
It’s a little overwhelming to think of how much has
happened in 7 years and how much we’ve grown, both
personally and as a business. There is no doubt we’re
incredibly fortunate. It started out as a mission to give
something good to our community, and our community
has given us so much in return.
As many of you know, our writers ask each of our
interviewees what living the good life means to them.
When we asked ourselves the same question, we realized
we’re already living it.
For us, living the good life is enjoying the freedom to have
our own business and run things as we see fit. It’s being
able to experience the unique opportunities and adventures
we’re given through our work with the magazine. It’s
receiving love and support from our family and friends and
meeting new friends along the way. And there is no good
life without the good people in our community.
We are blessed and grateful to be able to do what we love,
which is why we want to say thank you.
Thank you to our talented, award-winning writers whose
individual personalities shine through the stories they
craft for every issue. Your people skills and respect for
2 / THE GOOD LIFE

CELEBRATING 7 YEARS OF THE GOOD LIFE
others and their life experiences always leave a positive
impression on us and your subjects.
Thank you to our advertisers for believing in the
effectiveness of our publication. Aside from the incredible
exposure your business receives both in print and online,
you’re supporting the positive messages included in each
issue of The Good Life.
Thank you to our readers for picking up an issue and
spreading awareness about our publication. Whether you
have been with us from the very beginning or just grabbed
your first magazine, thank you for encouraging us with
your kind comments and for supporting us as a local
business.
7 years a blessing, an honor and a humbling experience.
Thank you.
We would like to dedicate this special issue to our veterans
and military heroes. In our “Local Heroes” feature, we’ve
included many military men. This issue is all about
honoring them as we share their remarkable stories once
more. We are forever grateful to those who have sacrificed
so much for our freedoms. •
Dawn and Darren
Thank you to our interviewees for being willing and brave
enough to share your personal story with the world. You’re
the entire reason we started this magazine, and we’re so
thankful for all the work you do to make our community a
better place. You inspire us to live better lives and remind
us that living “the good life” is all about helping others and
making the world a better place.
Whichever category you fall into, please know that you
have made The Good Life possible. You have made the past
Dawn Siewert
Darren Losee
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 3

CONTENTS
JULY-AUGUST 2020
Volume 8 • Issue 1
2
6
10
14
18
22
28
34
38
42
48
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
THANK YOU TO OUR READERS
ERIC MARTS
ARMY MASTER SERGEANT
BRYAN KUTTER
MN NATIONAL GUARD STAFF SERGEANT
ART WILLIAMS
ARMY VETERAN
BRIAN RICHTER
SERGEANT FIRST CLASS
WILBERT SCHEFFLER
ARMY CORPORAL
JOE WALLEVAND
ARMY SPECIAL FORCES GREEN BERET
SHANE TIBIATOWSKI
NAVY VETERAN
JASON HICKS
ARMY VETERAN
MIKE GRUCHALLA
VIETNAM MEDIC
WAYNE CASEBEER
MARINE CORPS VETERAN
HONORING OUR MILITARY HEROES
4 / THE GOOD LIFE

PUBLISHED BY
Urban Toad Media LLP
www.urbantoadmedia.com
OWNER / PHOTOGRAPHER
Darren Losee
darren@urbantoadmedia.com
OWNER / GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Dawn Siewert
dawn@urbantoadmedia.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Soo Asheim
Meghan Feir
Alexandra Floersch
Brittney Goodman
Danette Nicoloff
Wanda Perkins
Alexis Swenson
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES
Darren Losee
darren@urbantoadmedia.com
READ A PAST ISSUE
yumpu.com/user/thegoodlife
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@urbantoadmedia
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM
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The Good Life Men’s Magazine is distributed six times
a year by Urban Toad Media LLP. Material may not be
reproduced without permission. The Good Life Men’s
Magazine accepts no liability for reader dissatisfaction
arising from content in this publication. The opinions
expressed, or advice given, are the views of individual
writers or advertisers and do not necessarily represent
the views or policies of The Good Life Men’s Magazine.
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 5

LOCAL HERO | ERIC MARTS
Original publish date:
July-August 2013
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY: BOBBIE MARTS
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
Retired Army Master
Sergeant Eric Marts has
lived a lot of life since
his story was published
in July-August 2013.
Through Home for
Our Troops, Marts and
his wife were gifted a
beautiful, mortgagefree
smart home. The
increased space and incredible technology
have proven life-changing for Marts.
Marts and Corporal Deacon were invited
to the 2014 State of the Union Address
followed by several more trips to the White
House to advocate on behalf of veterans.
Marts strives to show that despite being
hurt, he (and other veterans) can accomplish
challenging endeavors. As such, he’s kayaked
the Yellowstone River, downhill skied, and
completed elements of the Mountain Phase of
training for U.S. Army Rangers which includes
repelling down waterfalls and tackling a sheer,
granite-faced mountain (Mt. Yonah).
Furthermore, Marts and his wife have
established the Sergeant’s Time Foundation
to host retreats in Park Rapids, MN where they
envision veterans and non-veterans gathering
to help one another through difficult times.
Corporal Deacon has since passed away
though he left an imprint on individuals on
Capitol Hill and beyond. Marts is excited to be
working with Meadow, his new seeing-eye
dog.
ERIC MARTS
A Hero of the Heartland
WRITTEN BY: DANETTE NICOLOFF
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Persevering to Help Others
“On your feet … at ease.” This is how retired Army Master
Sergeant Eric Marts opens his radio show every Saturday
morning on 970 WDAY AM. During the hour-long program called
“Heroes of the Heartland,” Marts features area service men and
women so they can tell their stories. He wants people to know
what soldiers overcome and conquer when they serve. He said
most who serve, “Are busy telling other people that they are
heroes, but won’t accept the title themselves.” That’s especially
true for Marts himself.
His Story
Marts spent 20 years in the Army, 16 of which were spent active
duty. He was a Gulf War veteran and went back again with the
34th Infantry Division when the United States invaded Iraq after
9-11. In May of 2006 his unit was near Fallujah, Iraq when he
and his men encountered a roadside bomb. Although he was
several yards away, the explosion was so powerful it knocked
him on his back. He got up, shook it off, and went back to work.
6 / THE GOOD LIFE

ARMY MASTER SERGEANT
A few days later, he noticed the sight in
his right eye seemed fuzzy, so he had
it checked out by an Army doctor. He
was told he would be sent to Germany
for treatment. Marts refused. Not only
did he refuse treatment but he talked
his way back into combat. He told
the doctor that regulations permitted
him to stay if he had 50 percent of his
vision. Marts said, “I had people to take
care of. You don’t leave your men.”
Over the next several months, Marts
encountered eight more explosions.
Each time he got up and brushed
himself off. He said, “You just don’t
complain about getting knocked around
when your buddy loses his legs.” What
he didn’t realize, is that he had suffered
many concussions that were damaging
his optic nerves beyond repair.
“You just don’t complain
about getting knocked
around when your buddy
loses his legs.”
By the fall of 2008 he had lost all vision
in both eyes. He spent nine months in
a rehab center for the blind in Illinois,
where he learned to adapt to his new
life. He was even elected the unofficial
mayor of the facility. He said, “I act like
it hasn’t affected my life. The more I act
like it hasn’t affected my life the closer
I am to normality.”
“I act like it hasn’t affected
my life. The more I act like
it hasn’t affected my life the
closer I am to normality.”
His Unlikely Career Path
Marts was career Army and wanted to
achieve the rank of Sergeant Major. His
goals were cut short when he lost his
sight. He was forced to retire and found
himself sitting on the couch feeling
useless. He didn’t want to retire. He
loved serving his country and felt an
obligation to take care of soldiers.
One day while listening to the Jay
Thomas show on 970 WDAY AM, Marts
heard an interview with a veteran.
Corporal Deacon
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 7

LOCAL HERO | ERIC MARTS
When asked what the
good life means to him,
he said, "I'm living it."
Thomas ended the conversation by saying he could talk
to veterans all day. Marts knew a lot of veterans and
thought if Thomas wanted people to interview he could
hook him up. So he emailed Thomas letting him know
just that. He had no idea that one email would change
his life forever. Thomas called Marts and told him that
he liked the idea of doing a show about veterans, and
invited Marts to the station to pitch the idea. The next
thing he knew he was a radio talk show host.
On his first show his guest didn’t show up. The rough
start didn’t stop him from continuing on with his new
career. With his trusty seeing eye dog Deacon or as he
calls him “The Corporal” sitting next to him, Marts takes
command of the microphone like he took command of
his men while serving in Iraq. He uses the airwaves to
tell the stories of those who served. He said, “There’s so
much history out there that will never be known. The
show isn’t about me it’s about them.” He also wants to
set an example for the men and women who come back
from war, “You are still viable. Move forward for the
guys who didn’t come back.”
Adapt And Overcome
“Adapt and overcome” is a saying Marts uses, but they
are also words he lives by. He has never lost his sense
of humor. He heard his dog snoring and joked, “Just like
a soldier. Give him 10 minutes and he will fall asleep.”
He laughed as he told the story about when he was
brought up to the stage at a function and was turning
his head towards a voice asking him questions. He later
found out the announcer was behind him and he was
talking to a speaker.
Marts lives with no regrets. His wife Bobbie and their
five children may disagree with his decision to stay and
serve out his tour, but he said he would do it all again.
He simply said, “It’s where I needed to be.” •
8 / THE GOOD LIFE

ARMY MASTER SERGEANT
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY: BOBBIE MARTS
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 9

LOCAL HERO | BRYAN KUTTER
Original publish date:
March-April 2014
BRYAN KUTTER
Sniper Cuts Military Career Short
WRITTEN BY: SOO ASHEIM • PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: BRYAN KUTTER
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
MN National Guard Staff
Sergeant Bryan Kutter’s
story first ran in the March-
April 2014 edition of The
Good Life.
Since then, Kutter has
transitioned roles to Director
of Construction at Designer
Homes where he manages
field operations and home
building projects. Kutter
has continued to stay active
with the Wounded Warrior
Project through which he
and his family were invited
to attend a St. Cloud State
University / University of
North Dakota hockey game
where he was honored as
Veteran of the Game.
Other highlights over the
past six years include lots
of family time. Most notable
were several family cruises
with his family to Alaska, the
Caribbean, and Mexico. With
both of their kids heavily
involved in hockey, Kutter
and his wife spend much
of their time traveling to
games and practices as well
as attending as many Fargo
Force, UND Fighting Hawks,
and MN Wild hockey games
as possible.
10 / THE GOOD LIFE
In 1996 Bryan Kutter was
still in high school when he
made the career decision that
ten years later placed him
in the sites of a sniper. One
bullet changed Staff Sergeant
Bryan Kutter physically for
the remainder of his life and
ultimately determined the
end of a long planned and
hoped for twenty-year career.
With a waiver approved and
signed by his parents, Bryan
joined the Minnesota Army
National Guard when he
was going into his senior
year of high school. Joining
his company for weekend
training and drills, Bryan
graduated from Fergus Falls
High in 1997 and for the
next several years between
continuous training with the
Army National Guard and
deployments to Bosnia and
Kosovo in 2002-2003 he
worked for Menards, where
he met a pretty co-worker
named Amanda who became
his wife in 2005, three weeks
prior to shipping out for a sixmonth
training in Mississippi
followed by what he expected to be a sixteen-month
deployment to Iraq.
As a gunner on a Bradly Vehicle, Staff Sergeant
Kutter was with his battalion in Iraq only seventyfive
days into their mission of clearing areas of
IED’s and securing a village from insurgents when
he was taking the place of Commander Eric Marts
seat up-top, purveying the area behind what the
military refers to as the “Pope Glass.” Call it bad
timing or just bad luck, but as he stood behind
the Pope Glass with his arms folded, watching
the action and movement below he heard and
recognized the sound as the sniper’s bullet rang
out from inside a Mosque hitting SSG Kutter in
the left elbow, traveled up and through his arm into
his neck and finally exiting inside the collar of his
body armour. Suddenly the excruciating agony of
being hit combined with the gush of blood bursting
from his arm hit within nanoseconds.

MN NATIONAL GUARD STAFF SERGEANT
Kutter’s screams of torment brought his driver up from
the second tier of the Bradley and within seconds Gunner
Mike Felt pulled Kutter down into the bottom tier while
attempting to stop the profuse bleeding with pressure and
tourniquets as he called the Medevac’s for more help. One
tourniquet broke, but Gunner Felt managed to apply the
second tourniquet, then their Bradley driver drove to an
outpost about a mile away. Amazingly with unimaginable
proficiency, SSG Kutter was lifted aboard a helicopter
within 14 minutes to fly him to Camp Taqaddum, Iraq,
where his medical team attached an external fixator (metal
bar) in order to keep Kutter’s arm stable. From Taqaddum
he went on to Balad (Iraq) then into Germany where he
stayed for three nights and two days.
Staff Sergeant Bryan Kutter’s long journey of pain,
surgeries, physical and occupational therapies for the next
several months were just beginning. After Germany, Kutter
was flown to Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.,
then on to Augusta, Georgia’s Ft. Gordon’s Eisenhower
Army Medical Center to face more surgeries and months
of therapy.
DEAR, GUESS WHAT HAPPENED?
Not wanting to frighten Amanda any more than necessary,
Kutter practiced how to ‘understate’ his condition yet let
her know he needed her with him. There is a seven hour
difference between Minnesota and where SSG Kutter
was able to call Amanda from and knowing that he would
awaken her at that hour of the morning, SSG Kutter tried to
sound as “upbeat as possible” in order to not send Amanda
into a frantic worrying frenzy. Amanda was happy to hear
the voice of her far away groom as she shook off her sleepy
fog. As Kutter calmly said, “Well, there’s good news and
some bad news.”
“Well, there's good news
and some bad news.”
PHOTO BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Now fully awake, Amanda asked for the bad news first. “I’ve
been shot” Kutter said still trying not to alarm Amanda
any more than he knew she already would be. Amanda sat
listening then finally asked “what’s the good news?” And
just as Kutter began to tell her “I’m coming home,” the
phones went dead on both ends. While it was only a matter
of minutes before their satellite feed was re-engaged and
they were able to hear one another again, for Amanda it
seemed an eternity! Once back on the line Bryan was able
to finish his sentence and said “I’m coming home.”
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 11

LOCAL HERO | BRYAN KUTTER
Amanda Kutter, Bryan’s mother (Tamrie Kohoutek of Detroit Lakes, MN.,)
and Bryan’s father, (Keith Kutter of Breckenridge, MN.,) all flew to Ft.
Gordon to be with Bryan. Amanda was the first to arrive very late the same
night that Kutter was flown to Eisenhower Medical at Ft. Gordon. It was
after the surgery two days later that Bryan’s parents arrived. As an only
child not being with him was extremely stressful coupled with Kutter’s
medical team still were not able to determine definitively whether they
would be able to save his arm or not. At this point, all anyone could tell
them was that they were doing all they could. And after the first surgery at
Ft. Gordon, the doctors inserted two plates, one pin and some 25 screws
into his arm.
As the second surgery required more blood to be transfused into Kutter,
he started to feel the worst he had felt since the beginning when he had
been shot. At one point Kutter said “for the first time I thought I just might
die.” As the medical experts prepared Kutter for his second surgery, this
one to graft skin from his leg to the gaping wound on his bi-cep, Kutter was
getting the last of five extra pints of blood needed for the surgery. He began
to react violently with jerks and gasps. The medical team began checking
all the lines hooked to Kutter one by one. Whatever was going on inside
him was not getting better, only worse. Finally after several questions and
checks with rechecks were going on a doctor in the surgical room simply
said “when all else fails, return to the original path.” And with that the
doctor grabbed the blood transfusion line being pumped into Kutter and
unplugged it. Within mere minutes, Bryan Kutter felt his life had been
saved yet again. They found the blood Kutter was having pumped into him
for the surgery had bacteria in it that was causing him to basically shut
down.
their very first wedding anniversary
together when Amanda flew back to
Ft. Gordon to be with Bryan.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE
HOME
In November of 2006, Bryan was
able to transfer home through the
Army Community Based Health
Care Initiative. During his continued
rehab, Bryan went through Merit
Care in Fargo (aka Sanford). Kutter’s
Some five months later, after being in an active-duty rehab unit at the Augusta
Veterans Hospital and also in an out-patient wing at Eisenhower, Kutter
was sent back home, to Minnesota. In August, Bryan and Amanda spent
12 / THE GOOD LIFE

MN NATIONAL GUARD STAFF SERGEANT
PHOTO BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
last surgery was in 2007. Bryan was awarded the Purple
Heart for and Bronze Star Medal for his service in
combat.
Today Brian Kutter is retired from the Army with an
Honorable Medical Disability and while he would never
want to go through any of his ordeals ever again, when
asked if he misses the Army, he doesn’t hesitate to
answer “Yes. I miss my friends in the service and I think
the mission we were on had merit.” When asked about
the injuries he sustained and how they have affected
him, Bryan says due to the limitations and obvious
disability of his left arm he’s not as physical as he once
was. Basketball, a sport he played often and loved he is
not able to push to the competitive level he once could.
Golf is another sport he enjoyed but he rarely plays
anymore nor does he go hunting as he did prior to the
deployment to Iraq.
Yet, even with his disability, Bryan understands that he
escaped what could have been a much worse fate in Iraq
and has learned to appreciate a much calmer and sane
lifestyle.
Living the good life for Bryan today is enjoying the
extra time he has to spend with Amanda and their two
children, Avery and Madison. •
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 13

LOCAL HERO | ART WILLIAMS
Original publish date:
November-December
2014
ART WILLIAMS
Has Learned to Love The Good Life
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
Army Veteran Art Williams
was the Local Hero in the
November-December 2014
issue of The Good Life.
In the span of six years,
Williams spent two years
doing mission work with
his wife in the Pacific
Islands through the Church
of Jesus Christ Latter-day
Saints, has recovered from
knee replacement and
shoulder reconstruction
surgeries due to injuries
attributed to his time in the
service, and has continued
to maintain involvement
with United Patriot Bodies
(collection of all local
veterans organizations).
WRITTEN BY: SOO ASHEIM • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
No one is ever promised life will be
easy. Or, that when we make decisions,
we may want to consider the over-all
cinemascope of our life. And not hastily
decide a life-long changing decision
when it is based on a few of our past
performances. Or, during a time that
might not have been our brightest or
best moments in life.
For better or worse, often many of us do
make decisions that eventually will affect
us for all eternity. When we look back,
usually many years later, we eventually
recognize what led to that one all-time
and life-altering choice shaking our head
as we wonder what in the world was I
thinking?
The Best Intentions
Art Williams was a Math major at
Central State College in Ohio when
he graduated in 1964. Art joined the
ROTC while he attended college, so
when he graduated and decided to join
the Army, he knew that decision was
one of the “right” choices he made as a
young African-American man about to
join the thousands of other young and
eager college grads in the mid-1960s
who believed in righting the wrongs of
the world; where good always would win
over evil and when necessary, fight for
the idealistic causes of the day. Believing
with every fiber in their bodies to what
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy said:
“ask not what your country can do for
He recently started working
with the Honor Guard to
honor individuals at the
Fargo National Cemetery.
Currently, Williams is in
the process of joining back
up with StarForce MEPS
Transportation Service
where one of his duties
will be to drive new recruits
to various locations for
fitness and other required
testing.
14 / THE GOOD LIFE

ARMY VETERAN
you, but ask what I can do for my country.”
Like a pied piper, President Kennedy
convinced an entire nation that “giving and
volunteering” was the noblest and most
patriotic ideal any generation of collegeage
people could ever offer to do and pay
forward in the name of democracy, apple
pie and all that is wholesome in the world.
It was if some new brainwashing gimmick
befell an entire generation of young
people. Some slightly over 18-year-olds
or barely over twenty-one year olds and
just out of college graduates could be
found standing in long lines at malls and
in neighborhood parks began signing up
to join President Kennedy’s newly formed
American Peace Corps. A naïve and
very young diplomatic core of volunteers
offered their many talents and skills to
cross southern borders into other lands as
far away as Chile and Peru or fly across
the seas and oceans in an effort to “reach
out” to the masses of sick and often dying
children, parents and elderly people.
With only the very best intention and
usually with back breaking effort to teach
foreigners how to farm, grow gardens,
develop and build infrastructures within
their villages and tiny towns.
Within a year, thousands had boarded
buses and trains, drove in car pools or
hitch-hiked to the nearest Peace Corps
recruitment office to sign up for as long as
three and four year “tours of volunteering”
abroad. Many went to countries and
cities they had never heard of before to
lend their raw labor, talents and often
minimal skills to the poorest of the poor
who lived in filthy squalor, rampant with
contagious diseases, drinking and cooking
with polluted water. The infrastructure
consisted of dirty, dusty streets half
the year during dry periods and muddy
pits when it rained. The Peace Corps
volunteers worked tirelessly attempting to
teach and train their host countries people
how to function in a modern world so they
too, might live beyond the age of forty-five.
During the same time frame, Vietnam
was growing far beyond a mere political
conflict. By the end of 1964 and into
1965, Vietnam was a hotbed of blown up
villages and under-ground tunnels with a
neverending cycle of North Vietnamese
soldiers holding one single focus: take over
the land growing the main food supply for the southern hemisphere,
rice, while simultaneously enslaving civilian women and children.
Those Who Defend Go
After graduation from Ohio’s Central State College, as a Distinguished
Military Graduate, both the Air Force and the Army wanted to claim
Arthur Williams among their bravest and brightest. And while it wasn’t
a split second decision for Art to make, because Art’s dad was who he
was and Art wanted to be sure whatever he became it would be because
he earned it himself. Art opted to stay “Army All The Way.” Life was
complicated enough in those days for a black or multi-ethnic person.
Art recalls with bittersweet irony why he opted to take his ROTC Army
Commission after he graduated from college and explains it this way:
“My father was a well-known and respected Air Force Colonel who was
a Tuskegee Airman” during World War II. I needed to be sure whatever I
did, I would have earned it and it wasn’t given to me because of who my
dad was. If I had joined the Air Force, especially before my father retired,
I’m not sure I would have been totally certain something didn’t come my
way because of who my dad was.” Art felt he could do well in the Army
and he did.
For those who are not familiar with WW II history, Art Williams's father
(also known as “Art”) was among an elite group of Officers from World
War II. As a Tuskegee Airman, Colonel Williams went beyond his comfort
zone to become a Logistician and advisor within the US Government
and to other governments at the request of our government.”
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 15

LOCAL HERO | ART WILLIAMS
The Tuskegee Pilots were the only
African-American pilots in World War
II. Afterward the Tuskegee Squadron
disbanded in 1949 and those who
stayed with the Air force were shipped
over to Europe and elsewhere around
the world. After the Second World
War was over, Colonel Williams was
stationed in Germany. The Colonel,
Art, his mother and siblings lived in
Germany from 1949 until 1952. From
1954 until 1958 they lived in France,
where Art attended a French School as
the only American private boys school,
until 1958 when another move was
made. This time the move was back
to the United States capital city where
Art graduated from a Washington, D.C.
high school in 1960.
Ohio Coeds and Co-mingling
Art moved with his family when his
father was transferred to Wright
Patterson Air Force Base after Art
graduated from High School. Four
years later, Art finished college at
Central State and joined the Army.
Colonel Williams, Art’s mother and
siblings moved to Taiwan.
Art said, “I’ve been called a survivor”
due to having “bounced around so
much as a kid and as an adult,” while
explaining as to how he views himself
as well as life.
Art explained what he thinks by
saying, “What I found is that many
of us who have traveled and moved
away from friends and family tend to
become very flexible or wind up really
broken. I learned to become kind of
flexible.” Thinking about Art as an only
son of a higher ranking military man,
graduating with a degree in Math and
then becoming a twelve-year military
person himself, one might presume
that Art might have a much higher
tendency to be a bit ‘rigid.’ Art is a
Mathematician. Generally speaking
often there is no flexibility when
computing the numbers end of
anything. The answer is either correct
or it’s wrong! Yet in interviewing this
soft-spoken man, I never got a vibe
that he is someone who is incapable of
looking beyond or outside the scope of
“procedure and protocol” so to speak.
16 / THE GOOD LIFE
Flexibility means having the ability to
reach an alternative plan that yields
the conclusion hoped for.
Three Tours Into Hell
After his college days at Central State
College in Ohio, Art spent twelve years
in a soldier’s suit. During those twelve
years, Art spent three years in Vietnam.
He volunteered to go with the Ninth
Infantry Division into Vietnam his first
time and second tours; from 1966 until
1968. Art said, “as a Commissioned
Field Artillery Officer, he needed to
see it and experience what the troops
experienced in order to understand
what the soldiers he was commanding
were going through and how they
dealt with what they had to endure.” It
was his way of learning how he could
become a better Field Commander.
His second tour was during the Tet
Offensive, known for having the “worst
fighting.” As the Battery Commander
in the Mekong Delta, his Division
was Staff Headquarters during the
planning of the invasion into Cambodia.
When his tour was completed after
the second tour, he was shipped back
stateside to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma to train
for the Officers Advance Course.
Fourteen months later, Art decided to
go back once more. The Invasion of
Cambodia was during his third tour
as he served with the Cavalry Division-
Airmobile. Art described it as the team
that “does everything by air; helicopters
primarily. The simple answer is to
watch the movie Apocalypse Now.”
“After my third tour I served as
an Assistant Professor of Military
Science at Virginia State College
where I completed requirements for
a Masters of Education degree. I was
then assigned to Germany where I
Commanded a Nuclear Capable Field
Artillery battery.”
At the end of his third tour, Art decided
it was time to leave active duty to
return to civilian life. Art liked many
of the places he adopted and made his
home. One of them happens to be a
suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul where
Art and Marie, his wife of the last
twenty-nine years met. Art also liked
Denver during most of the fourteen
years he, Marie and their two children
lived there. By the time they left, Art
said he was definitely ready to move
away. Too many people had moved into
his little mountain town where he did
more IT Tech and consulting work for
many companies around the country.
Art and Marie moved to Fargo
approximately four years ago. Art’s last
gig was with Corelink Administrative
Solutions as a Project Manager in
2010.
When I asked Art “so have you found
where or which area or city you liked
the most?” He smiled from ear to ear
and said, “FARGO! It’s just the best
place!” According to Art the West
Fargo, Fargo and Moorhead people are
“A-number One’s” in his opinion.
Art Williams is a Vietnam Vet and
because of his experiences in Vietnam
as well as the PTSD he’s suffered
with, he feels for anyone who has
the misfortune to have so much
trauma in their lives regardless of
when it happened. Art also visits and

ARMY VETERAN
volunteers at the Fargo Veterans Hospital as often as
he can because he understands why some of the men
he has helped get into counseling have waited for so
many years. More often than not he believes many of
the soldiers returning from conflicts and wars need to
deal with their disorders immediately. Especially PTSD;
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Knowing what he went
through, Art believes this is a disease that will never
completely leave someone and it most certainly can be
fatal.
Art and Marie Williams are also members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Art, a grandson
of a Presbyterian Minister and who was brought up in
the Catholic Church, I wondered how such a radical
“switch” occurred. Art’s simple answer was that for
nearly 41 years he wandered around asking “why?”
and feeling he was missing something. Then, during a
job interview with the Vice President of a company in
Minnesota, who happened to be a devoted member of
the (Morman) Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints.
Art and the VP began conversing about how they felt
and what was important in life for each of them. After a
very long conversation, Art decided he wanted to at least
go to a service and hear what they do. Art realized when
the service was over the first time, he felt more at peace
than he could ever remember. That was thirty years ago.
Art believes what many people feel; God just wants us to
be as good as we can be and to treat one another with as
much kindness and understanding as possible.
Art Williams believes he has found the good life. A
military veteran who not only believes in his faith but
lives it by the good deeds he does for others. Now he and
Marie are living in a place Art says is the BEST EVER. •
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 17

LOCAL HERO | BRIAN RICHTER
Original publish date:
May-June 2015
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
Sergeant First Class
Brian Richter’s story was
originally published in the
May-June 2015 issue of
The Good Life.
In 2019, Richter married
his wife, Tina. They first
met one another in Junior
High and had reconnected
in 2016 after losing touch
around 1993. Tina’s three
kids and Richter’s two
sons remain in the Fargo
area finishing high school,
attending college, or
working.
Currently, Richter is serving
as the Company First
Sergeant (1SG) for C Co
834th on a deployment to
Iraq supporting the 34th
Combat Aviation Brigade.
Upon his return, he’ll
continue working full time
for the MN Army National
Guard as the Readiness
NCO for C Company 834th
Aviation Support Battalion.
18 / THE GOOD LIFE
BRIAN RICHTER
A LOCAL MILITARY HERO SHARES ABOUT HIS DEDICATION
TO HIS FAMILY, COMMUNITY AND COUNTRY
WRITTEN BY: WANDA PERKINS
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Most of us have the luxury of awakening
refreshed after a peaceful sleep in a
comfortable bed. We sip our favorite cup of
morning brew, listen to the morning’s news
and enjoy a warm shower before beginning
the day. Amidst the usual morning traffic
frustrations and lengthy lists of errands,
overloaded schedules and appointments,
we sometimes take for granted the daily
freedoms we enjoy and the great sacrifices
our dedicated military heroes make each
day.
Born in Fargo, SSG Brian Richter grew up
in Hunter, N.D. and attended Dakota High
School. Just two days after graduation, he
left for Basic Training. “I decided early in my
junior year of high school that I wanted to go
into the Army,” SSG Richter recalled. “My
first thought was to become a police officer
and this would give me experience. I first
I LOVE SERVING MY
COUNTRY. I HAVE BEEN
THROUGH MANY THINGS,
SOME GOOD AND SOME
BAD. MOST OF THE BAD
THINGS YOU FORGET.
I’VE TRAVELED AROUND
THE WORLD, SPENT MY
21ST BIRTHDAY ON A
BEACH IN HONDURAS AND
SNORKELED IN PANAMA.
I WOULDN’T TRADE ANY
OF THE EXPERIENCES
THAT I HAVE HAD.
BRIAN RICHTER

SERGEANT FIRST CLASS
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: BRIAN RICHTER
served in a Combat Support Unit instead
of a Garrison Unit that normally performs
regular police work on post.”
The training and schooling SSG Richter
has received is extensive beginning with
Military Police School in 1989. In 1992,
he was no longer on active Army duty.
He attended Combat Engineer School in
April 1993 and also served in the North
Dakota Army National Guard for one
year and then in the Minnesota National
Guard in 1996. Following completion of
the National Guard Small Arms Instructor
Range Operations Course in May 2000, he
attended Infantry Training in November
2002. He clarified he went through Sniper
School twice. The first time was in March
2010, when he sustained an injury to his
knee.
“ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF
SNIPER TRAINING IS CARRYING
A 75-POUND BACKPACK, ALONG
WITH YOUR WEAPON, WHILE
RUNNING OVER UNEVEN GROUND
ON THE RANGE,” – RICHTER
“Unfortunately, I blew out my left knee
and had to wait until September 2011 to
complete the course.”
Additionally, SSG Richter began training
for deployment to Iraq in Louisiana,
where he learned how to drive the Heavy
Equipment Transport (HET) in September
2004. The day after Thanksgiving, he
was deployed to Iraq. “My mission with
the 778th Transportation Company was
transporting vehicles or equipment into
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 19

LOCAL HERO | BRIAN RICHTER
and out of Iraq,” he recalled. “I spent about half of my time
in the HET and half in a HMMWV gun truck doing security
for our convoys.”
He sensed the imminent danger of driving a slow-moving
vehicle across dusty roads where roadside bombs were
always a possible threat. While serving in Iraq, he received
an urgent message from The Red Cross notifying him of
a family medical emergency back home. The next day he
boarded a civilian flight back to the states after serving eight
months.
In 2005, SSG Richter was working as the rear detachment
Readiness and Training (NCO) in Moorhead, MN and had
the opportunity to speak with wives of military personnel.
He answered difficult questions about why their spouses
chose not to return home.
“ONE OF THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTIONS AND
DIFFICULTIES THE MILITARY FACE IS THAT
SOMETIMES OUR FAMILIES BACK HOME THINK
WE DON’T CARE, WHICH IS NOT THE CASE.
THERE IS A COMRADERY IN THE MILITARY
WHERE EACH BRANCH STEPS UP BESIDE YOU.
THERE’S ALSO AN UNQUESTIONABLE SAFETY
RESPONSIBILITY AND LOYALTY TOWARDS
YOUR FELLOW MEN AND WOMEN THAT YOU
SERVE WITH.”
Other than his Iraq deployment with the Minnesota
National Guard, he was stationed at Fort Davis Panama
following Basic Training and Military Police training. Then
in October 1989, he was assigned to the 549th Military
20 / THE GOOD LIFE
Police Company (MP) and later in December participated
in Operation Just Cause.
“For this mission, my duties were spread over several
different areas which included securing buildings or roads,
clearing buildings and doing raids in areas of town while
looking for weapons and drugs,” SSG Richter noted. “While
Panama was under martial law, we operated as the police
force breaking up civil disturbances and riots in the jail in
Colon until a new police force was established.”
One of the most rewarding aspects of military service for
SSG Richter is the comradery. He confessed he wasn’t a
good student in high school and didn’t have much discipline,
despite all the efforts attempted by his parents. His advice
to young men and women considering a possible military
career is dependent upon on what career choice is desired
and what an individual wants to accomplish. He added, “A
military career will be hard, but it will be rewarding.”
SSG Richter diligently served our community during two
floods. He said that one of the aspects that makes our
community strong is the fact that everyone joins together
when the need is greatest. “It is a sign of strength when
families and friends come together to offer help. This is
certainly not characteristic of all communities, where some
simply wait for help to arrive,” he explained.
In addition to his dedicated service to his community and
country, SSG Richter has yet another challenging role as a
single parent to two sons, Austin, age 16, and Cody, age 12.
“I am fortunate to have a command that understands my
personal situation and works with me to make sure that I
have the time to take my children to their appointments and
to attend their school functions,” he noted. Although he said

SERGEANT FIRST CLASS
it is a sacrifice to be away from his family one that requires
significant coordinating he knows his sons’ needs will be
taken care of.
“There are many challenges to face during deployment.
These differ for each person,” SSG Richter stated. “When
you have kids at home, like when I went to Iraq, you always
try to get a little time to run over to the Morale Welfare and
Recreation (MWR) tent. Everyone waits in line for computer
time to video chat with family. I tried not to think too much
about what was going on back at home so I could focus on
my responsibilities there.”
HIS SONS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE
IN HIS LIFE, AND HE ENJOYS SPENDING
AS MUCH FAMILY TIME WITH THEM AS HE
CAN.
SSG Richter also described his personal reflection of what
he considers a hero. Without wavering, he named Chris
Kyle, the trained Navy SEAL who wrote the best-selling
novel American Sniper. The book was later released on film
in December 2013. Kyle was shot and killed at a shooting
range in Texas.
“I love serving my country,” he admitted. “I have been
through many things, some good and some bad. Most of the
bad things you forget. I’ve traveled around the world, spent
my 21st birthday on a beach in Honduras and snorkeled in
Panama. I wouldn’t trade any of the experiences that I have
had.”
Since 2002, SSG Richter has worked with the Army
National Guard in Operations. His main responsibilities
include reviewing training, scheduling equipment and
resources, reviewing travel or pay orders and working with
IT issues for his battalion for both full time staff and the
regular National Guard side as well.
In December 2014, he completed Electromagnetic
Spectrum Manager School (ESM) and is currently one of
three trained ESMs in the Minnesota National Guard. This
is specialized training that de-conflicts any interference and
works closely with electronic communication and electronic
warfare.
Even when our busy lives are packed with trivial daily
annoyances, these inconveniences pale in comparison to
the dedication and sacrifices our military personnel provide
every day. For these true heroes that risk their lives to
protect and defend us all, we owe a great debt of heartfelt
appreciation and respect.
When asked what the good life means to him, local hero
SSG Richter smiled and thoughtfully answered, “My idea
of the good life would be cruising down a curvy road on my
motorcycle while listening to Johnny Lang.” •

LOCAL HERO | WILBERT SCHEFFLER
Original publish date:
March-April 2017
WILBERT SCHEFFLER
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
The Good Life featured
Army Corporal Wilbert
Scheffler as the Local Hero
in the March-April 2017
magazine issue.
Throughout the last three
years, Scheffler has been
busy working through his
personal home library
of books, continuing to
eat blueberries for good
measure, and celebrating
his 90th birthday. For
Scheffler, the highlight of
the party was celebrating
with nearly 100 of his
friends and family. Local
accordion player Albert
Mikesh, whom Scheffler
considers a personal
hero, played music at the
party including Scheffler’s
favorite waltz.
WRITTEN BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
87-year-old Barnesville native, Corporal Wilbert Scheffler
of the US Army 7th Infantry during the Korean War, is
a local hero worth getting to know. This reflective and
grateful farmer and television repairman’s life was greatly
influenced by his time in service in Korea.
Wilbert is the recipient of many honors for his time in
service, including the Bronze Star, Korean Service
Medal, Good Conduct Medal, United Nations Service
Medal, Combat Infantry Badge and the National Defense
Service Medal.
He entered Basic Training in 1952 at Camp Breckenridge,
Kentucky. Wilbert described his fellow soldiers as “all
farm kids, all the same people like I am.” After basic
training, Wilbert said that where the soldier was assigned
was “alphabetical”: “If your last name began near the
beginning, you went to Germany. Mine was later, so I
went to Korea. That’s that.”
During his time in Korea, one of his duties was guarding
a prisoner of war camp. Wilbert explained, “We spent two
years guarding prisoners. Years later we learned it was
a leper colony.” He did not end up with leprosy. Wilbert
was also struck by the poverty of the Korean people,
especially the children: “What really got me over there
were those little orphan kids — they were starving. How
they survived I don’t know. Many soldiers threw crackers
to them and they fought over them.”
22 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

ARMY CORPORAL
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 23

LOCAL HERO | WILBERT SCHEFFLER
He recalled one time early in the time in Korea: “I was
so lucky … I was on the north side of Arsenal Hill – I
moved out in the open so that I could see and I no more
than moved and a mortar round came. I was buried
under the rubble and dirt and I was protected. I was on
guard duty all by myself. I was all alone and it was a bad
place. But I was protected.”
Wilbert was dismayed by the lack of attention paid to
the veterans coming back from the Korean War. With
emotion, he said, “When I came back from Korea, nobody
gave a darn.” But something happened in October 2016
that brought tears of joy to his eyes – he was one of the
24 / THE GOOD LIFE

ARMY CORPORAL
veterans selected to travel to Washington DC on the
WDAY Honor Flight. Wilbert exclaimed, “The Honor
Flight was like living in another world! People were
so nice. And after the flight, returning home, seeing
all those people at the airport when we came back,
it got to me.”
During the Honor Flight, Wilbert met many people and saw
much. He described being kindly wheeled around in his
wheelchair by Mike McFeely who took him to the Franklin
Roosevelt Memorial. Wilbert enjoyed his time with Tracy
Briggs, Forum Communications and founder of the Honor
Flight back in 2007: “We got along really well. I could say
anything to her and she understood. She wheeled me to the
Vietnam Wall, the Korean War monument, and the Lincoln
Monument.” Wilbert then got up to get something from
another room and returned to proudly show me the thank
you note he received from Briggs, smiled, and said: “She’s a
nice lady.”
When I asked Wilbert about the movie “Pork Chop Hill” he
said, “It was a good movie. Gregory Peck is very good in it.
But nothing can accurately show what we went through.”
Wilbert says that circumstances and people saved his life while
in Korea. Wilbert asserted, “Other people stepped in and saved
me. I didn’t ask for any favors.”
One of those that stepped in was his best friend at war,
Jim Cunningham, who assigned Wilbert to the Commo
(Communications) Unit because of his knowledge of working
with radios and other devices. Wilbert always had a radio: “I
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 25

LOCAL HERO | WILBERT SCHEFFLER
kept the
radio going,
guys loved the
music. It helped us all.
I carried the radio on my
backpack. I made a case
big enough for six flashlight
batteries and made it go 24
hours a day so that the guys had
music. Music was just a lifesaver.”
One time Wilbert left his radio at the
prison camp he was guarding. When
he got back to his unit, it was gone, and
he figured it was lost forever. Then Jim
Cunningham said, “Did you know they
shipped your radio, it’s in supply?” Wilbert
explained, “Getting that radio back was a
lifesaver for me. It was a Zenith. It was high
quality.”
Another person whose intervention perhaps saved
Wilbert’s life was the officer who decided to send
him to the rear of the line during the Pork Chop
Hill battle. Wilbert emotionally explained, "My best
friend in the Army, Jim Cunningham, died on that hill.
Somebody was looking out for me."
He described the battle: “The last battle – out of the clear
blue sky – I had about 40 points and I was supposed to go
home. The guys with that many points went back in the
rear. The Chinese hit Pork Chop and they were bound to
take it, they just swarmed into battle. And then, us guys in
the rear, we heard that we were going to counter-attack.
They lined us up. So many guys were so afraid, they just
collapsed. They did not even have enough officers to make
a company. We went to Hill 200, and they had decided to
abandon Pork Chop.”
way to say ‘stay another day?’ He was kind of like Alan
Alda from M.A.S.H., a young guy. I don’t know his name. I
think he saved my life.”
Coming back from the war, he lived his life as a farmer
and a television repairman on the side: “Back in the stone
age, I fixed everyone’s television.”
Wilbert misses Jim Cunningham and communicates with
a relative of Jim’s via email and letters. After the war, he
became friends with fellow veteran, Dick Mosca, who was
an officer in the Navy and a Minnesota highway patrolman
who died a week before the October 2016 WDAY Honor
Flight: “He accepted me for what I was. We would go to
veteran’s funerals together. I really miss him.” A major
reason Wilbert went on the Honor Flight was to honor
Dick.
Wilbert has been married to Mary Ann since 1976.
They have two children. Their son, Bill, works in the IT
department at MSUM and who Wilbert encouraged with
computers. His daughter, Peggy, lives in Carrington.
She has given him two grandchildren. Evidence of his
pride in his children and grandchildren are in the many
photos in their Barnesville home. Mary Ann and Wilbert
are active in the Barnesville VFW chapter, where he is a
Quartermaster.
Wilbert’s son, Bill said this of his dad: “I think the war
affected him in some pretty profound ways. He values
all life and living and, consequently, none of our family
members are hunters, which is unusual for this area. He
often feels guilty eating meat. We grew up on a farm with
pet cats, dogs, a pet chicken that lived in the house for a
while, even a pet calf that roamed our farm yard at one
point that he had to bottle feed to keep alive. He values
home and hearth above all else and was never much for
travel or similar excitement that most people crave after
And finally, there was a doctor at the M.A.S.H unit where he
was recovering from a very bad fever. Wilbert remembered
that the doctor asserted, “Stay another day. It’s really bad
out there.” Wilbert thinks his chances of survival were
greatly increased by that kind doctor: “My company went
into it. It was really bad, but I stayed another day or two,
and was saved.” He asked, “Why did a doctor go out of his
26 / THE GOOD LIFE

ARMY CORPORAL
he returned home. I don’t think any of us who weren’t
there with him can ever fully understand what he saw
and what he went through… As a listener to his stories,
it is hard to process it all, I couldn’t imagine living
through and surviving it. All he wanted was to be home
and ever since he returned home, it’s where he wants to
be and where he is happiest - surrounded by everyone
and everything he values most.”
Bill continued: “We did not have a lot growing up but
he’d still go the extra mile for friends and people in the
local community by helping them with their TVs and
electronics much like he did maintaining radio for
friends back in Korea. Without realizing it at the time,
I followed in his footsteps by continuing the tradition
and helping people in my community with computers
and still do even today in my free time.”
Bill credits Wilbert for his career in computing after
his dad brought a very early Apple II Plus computer
home one day for Bill: “I hooked it to one of the many
televisions in my bedroom (one of the perks of having
a dad who fixed TVs!) and it was love at first sight for
me when I realized I could program it to do whatever
I wanted.”
When asked about how he keeps all of these memories
clear, Wilbert said, “I eat a lot of blueberries. It keeps
your mind sharp.” He is proud that the only pill he takes
is for high blood pressure.
When asked what he considered “the good life,” Wilbert
thought a bit and said, “I don’t know ... After I got back
from the war and I owned a farm and I was helping
people with their machinery and television... That to
me was a good life. All that I went through in the war
and I was not wounded and I am alive. That is a good
life.” •
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 27

LOCAL HERO | JOE WALLEVAND
Original publish date:
May-June 2017
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
Army Special Forces Green
Beret Joe Wallevand’s story
was published in the May-June
2017 issue of The Good Life.
Wallevand remains a musician
as he continues to learn
and play classical music on
the piano as well as sing
the National Anthem on
occasion. He recently joined
the Fargo National Cemetery
Honor Guard, participating in
gun salutes to honor fellow
veterans.
Wallevand is grateful for
how he’s been able to better
manage his PTSD through
group counseling sessions
at the Fargo Vet Center and a
few one-on-one sessions of a
counseling technique termed
Eye Movement Desensitization
and Reprocessing (EMDR). He
encourages fellow veterans
to use the Vet Center as it has
helped him so much and urges
anyone who has experienced
trauma to seek counseling.
Overall, Wallevand believes
that it can be fun getting to
know yourself better. Since
life is too short, it needs to be
good.
JOE WALLEVAND
TEACHER, SCIENTIST, POET, SOLDIER
WRITTEN BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
US Army Special Forces (Green Beret) veteran, Joe Wallevand served in the
military for 21 years, taught in public schools for 19 years, and was a chemist for
American Crystal Sugar for 24 years. In the Army Special Forces Wallevand served
as a medic and also a trainer. When asked about any medical experience prior to
the Army, he said: “I was a Boy Scout.”
Wallevand has three years of active duty and then served 18 years in the North
Dakota Army National Guard in three different companies: the 191st Military Police
Guard Company, 634th Service Company at Hillsboro-Mayville, and the 815th
Medical Clearing Company Fargo-Bismarck, eventually attaining the rank of first
sergeant for that medical company. He achieved the E-8 level before retirement.
28 / THE GOOD LIFE

ARMY SPECIAL FORCES GREEN BERET
Wallevand was drafted, then enlisted in
the Army in April of 1965, completed basic
training and then entered Special Forces
Training, beginning with jump school in
Oct of 1965 in Fort Benning, Georgia after
completing his basic and engineering
Advanced Individual Training.
In his youth, Wallevand described himself as
an “egg-head” with high skills in math and
a long-held fascination with parachuting,
the military, and guerrilla warfare. Thus,
the Special Forces seemed a good fit for his
talents and interests.
Becoming a medic was a decision Wallevand
made, at least partially, because of being
involved in an auto accident prior to the
service, which left him with guilt about “not
being able to give proper medical attention
to the elderly gentleman who died later.” He
underwent 47 weeks of training, including 16
at the Fort Sam Houston medical school, nine
of on-the job-training at an Army hospital, 16
at the advanced medical lab in Fort Bragg
and six weeks of Special Forces tactics and
techniques.
Wallevand explained that his Special Forces
training involved map reading, irregular
“guerrilla” warfare, infiltration, methods
of instruction, defensive measures, land
navigation, patrolling, raids and ambushes,
sabotage, civic action projects, escape and
evasion, and then the special skills training
that Wallevand asserted that, “if I told you
about that, I’d…,” which is a standard joke
among service people.
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 29

LOCAL HERO | JOE WALLEVAND
Wallevand got his orders to go to Vietnam
on Valentine’s Day, 1967 and arrived in
Vietnam March 31. He was assigned to
the 5th Special Forces Group.
In Vietnam, Wallevand was initially a
junior A-team medic. He recalled being
in Hà Tiên near the Gulf of Siam. He was
told “don’t go too far down that road or
else you will be in Cambodia and it will be
an international incident.” One of his jobs
was also to “go out to our airfield, toward
Cambodia, and deliver any personnel or
supplies back to our camp.”
Wallevand was to train some Montagnard
people whom he described as “some
of the first inhabitants of Vietnam” and
fairly primitive, with large piercings and
some with “bones in their noses”. He was
called upon to jumpmaster a training
jump for them. Wallevand explained that
jumpmasters normally jump last from the
plane. However, due to the Asians’ lack
of training and language, he had to jump
first as an example. Wallevand recalled,
right before he jumped, looking back at
the Montagnard people: “Their eyes are
normally almond-shaped. But when I
turned around all of their eyes were as big
and as round as mine. They were scared.
It made me remember my first jump at
Fort Benning, which was the first time I
had flown in a plane.”
As part of a civic action, Wallevand handed
out manual tools to the Vietnamese
people – shovels, picks, and spades, to
be used in the rice patties. He explained
that “winning the hearts and the minds
of the people” was one of the goals of the
war. He remembered that the Vietnamese
said, “Thank you, doctor.” To them, he
was considered a doctor because of his
medical training. Later, however, during
the Tet Offensive, they had taken these
same implements and built bunkers inside
their huts.
Wallevand explained the “most
successful” operation of his A-team,
a month and a half before he was
to return home: “We went into
an area (restricted to us) to raid
a small group of Viet Cong.”
His team collected a number
of documents, weapons, and
propaganda. Wallevand said
30 / THE GOOD LIFE

ARMY SPECIAL FORCES GREEN BERET
Wallevand still has the Viet
Cong flag that he retrieved.
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 31

LOCAL HERO | JOE WALLEVAND
An advertisement
that intrigued
Wallevand into
joining the military.
“we did not lose anybody and killed
eleven VC.” Wallevand retrieved and
still has a Viet Cong flag and some
propaganda.
Wallevand returned home from
Vietnam in 1968: “I did not get spit on
when I came back. A lot of my friends
had very bad encounters.” Several
years later, a colleague called him
“a baby killer.” Wallevand explained:
“At the time, I didn’t like hearing that
and feel the same now. It is coming
on my 50 year anniversary of going to
Vietnam.”
Wallevand has been married for 47
years to fellow teacher, and fellow
Concordia graduate, Linda. They are proud of their
successful, creative children. Mike works for Thompson-
Reuters Find Law; Steve for Media Productions; Deb for
Old Hat Creative managing promotions for NCAA sports
teams.
Linda described her husband as “a real renaissance man”
with talents in music, writing, arts, science and teaching.
They are both musicians. Linda has been a piano teacher
for 40 years, while Wallevand sings in the local Master
Chorale. Wallevand has an uncanny ability to figure things
out: “In our little school system – he was the first computer
teacher,” and Wallevand chimed in: “They just dropped a
computer in front of me one day, and I just figured it out. I
used to describe myself as a full service science teacher.”
Linda described their first date, while at Concordia: “It
was in January and it was 20 below. We were walking
on campus and I was freezing. Joe was pointing out
the constellations for me.” Wallevand is an amateur
astronomer and the couple has travelled to Canada to
witness and celebrate two solar eclipses and they will
soon be going to their third event.
Wallevand currently does public speaking of many types
and is active in talking with local students.
When asked, “What does ‘the good life’ mean to you,’
Wallevand responded: “The good life means peace and
being with the people you love.”
Wallevand is reluctant to accept the title of “hero”: “You
want to talk about heroes? My big brother was my hero.
But there are guys who aren’t here anymore - their names
are on the Wall. There are the guys who came back from
the war with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who
don’t know what to do with their lives so they end them.
Then there are the Agent Orange victims.” He goes on to
describe local Vietnam War Medal of Honor winner, Loren
D. Hagen, whom the new West Fargo American Legion
is named after, a member of a special unit of Special
Forces called the MACV-SOG. These soldiers engaged in
32 / THE GOOD LIFE

ARMY SPECIAL FORCES GREEN BERET
extremely dangerous missions without any identification
– no dog tags. Loren died serving his country on one such
mission.
Wallevand explained: “I’m sure I have PTSD. I don’t know
if you could go through and see all the things I have, that
anyone could, and not have it.”
A common problem for veterans of wars is “survivor guilt”
- a term Wallevand described as “the feeling of not doing
your part, of not giving, as Lincoln said in ‘The Gettysburg
Address,’ the ‘last full measure of devotion’” – that gnawing
question of “why did you make it while others did not?”
Wallevand continues: “If people want to call me a hero,
I guess that’s fine. I did put myself in harm’s way for a
greater good. But when you think of those guys on the
Vietnam Memorial Wall, for the rest of us – the survivors –
it is almost embarrassing to be called a hero.” •
To reflect on survivor guilt, Wallevand wrote a poem
based upon Percy Bysshe Shelley’s 1818 “Ozymandias.”
He wrote it after returning from a visit to the Vietnam
Memorial Wall. He read it as part of his 2016 Memorial
Day speech at our local Veteran’s Memorial Bridge:
“Survivor Guilt”
by: Joe Wallevand 2016
Along a watery pathway,
Meeting in the middle:
Two bold, black blocks of granite
Stretch long upon the green, grassy earth.
And upon them written names —
Seemingly endless list of names —
Many the names I know —
Chiseled in solemn relief.
I look for my name;
I search the span of when I served.
I am not on the Wall —
Where is my name?
Surely my name is in the mix;
I was there, as were they,
But surely as we all were there,
My name surely should be here.
Had there been a million names
Without mine on it;
Had there been a wall with no names at all;
Mine could have been on it.
What did they do to deserve to be listed?
What did I do to deserve being left off?
But my name IS written… written deep within me…
Just not on the Wall.
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 33

LOCAL HERO | SHANE TIBIATOWSKI
Original publish date:
July-August 2017
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
Navy Veteran Shane
Tibiatowski’s story originally
ran in the July-August 2017
issue of The Good Life.
In the last three years,
Tibiatowski has worked to
maintain relationships with
friends and Navy buddies
whom he served with.
He has also transitioned to
a new company, Peoples
Home Equity Mortgage
Lending, continuing to serve
people through mortgage
work. Tibiatowski takes
great pride in giving back to
those who give back and is
especially thrilled that the
company has expanded
who they give back to and
what they give back for.
He remains honored to
be involved in the Homes
for Heroes program and
passionate about helping
fellow veterans.
WRITTEN BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Shane Tibiatowski, U.S. Navy veteran,
has experienced the excitement of
traveling the world on three different
battle tours and even apprehended
several drug running ships. However, for
the last seventeen years, he has served
a somewhat quieter, but satisfying role
as a mortgage lending officer focusing
on helping other veterans.
Tibiatowski is an award-winning
specialist helping veterans own homes.
For 2016, Tibiatowski was sixth in the
nation among lending specialists in the
“Homes for Heroes” program. Through
the home loans he facilitated, he gave
back $164,000 to veterans during
2016. And he proudly displays the big
crystal trophy.
Graduating from West Fargo High
School in 1990, seven days later he was
in boot camp for the Navy in Orlando,
FL. He said, “It sounds like a vacation
spot, but it was not.” After ten weeks of
boot camp during a very hot summer,
he went to A School in Meridian,
Mississippi, a place that he said “was
even hotter than Florida. There was no
cool breeze.”
34 / THE GOOD LIFE

NAVY VETERAN
In addition to serving as a damage controlman doing firefighting and ship
preservation, Tibiatowski was also part of the security force, working closely
with the Coast Guard. “We would go out into international waters near Mexico
and Panama and board ships that were carrying drugs. There were yachts with
helicopters on top of them dropping drugs. We had boats trying to outrun us and
even to ram us. We were a strong steel ship, so trying to ram us just wasn’t going
to happen. I experienced some interesting situations, some of which I can’t talk
about.”
Tibiatowski describes boarding a yacht near Mexico: “They were trying to outrun
us and throwing drugs in the water when we finally stopped them. We pointed
all of our weapons at them. We watched the Coast Guard board their vessel. The
smugglers’ hands were zip tied. They were brought aboard our ship and spent a
few hours in a blocked off passageway as we did not have a brig on board. They
were eventually picked up by the Mexican police.”
Tibiatowski then went to San Diego:
“I chose to stay stateside and to be
on the USS Chandler DDG 996 – a
guided missile destroyer. I selected the
Navy because I wanted to travel and,
honestly, it paid the most.” He added,
“Did you know that USS stands for
United States Ship? Many people don’t
know that.”
Tibiatowski said that one of “the scariest moments” of his service was when an
Iraqi aircraft was within 26 miles of his ship and enemy aircraft are not allowed
to get within 32 miles of a USS: “We had this Iraqi aircraft coming straight
towards us and we were literally seconds from letting our missiles go. Usually
when you are out at sea you don’t have something like that happen. But when you
have someone coming at you, it is different.”
Stationed out of San Diego,
Tibiatowski went on several Western
Pacific deployments (WESTPACs)
from 1990-1994 on the USS Chandler
and stopped at many ports all over
the world, including Iraq, Iran, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and
more. He added, “In addition to the
work, we did also get to have some
necessary stress relief and fun on the
way, stopping in Guam, the Philippines
and Hawaii.”
His first WESTPAC was during
Operation Desert Storm from January-
July 1991 and the second was from
June 1993 - January 1994. During
that time he was part of the Battle
of Mogadishu – Operation Gothic
Serpent.
“Because of my time in the service, I am more focused.
I treat my everyday life with focus. My kids may say
that some days I act like a drill sergeant. Discipline is
still a big thing for me.” – Tibiatowski
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 35

LOCAL HERO | SHANE TIBIATOWSKI
Off the coast of Iraq, Tibiatowski was on watch duty looking for mines in the
water using night vision goggles: “There are different kinds of mines; some
of them are chained to the bottom. There are mines with chemical heads
floating in the water. The Iraqi men would throw dead sheep and goats in the
water and they would eventually bloat. They would turn upside down and all
four legs would stick up. So you would not know what that was in the water.
Is it a mine? Mine watch was …. interesting.”
He remembered a naval recruiter who was “hot after me to sign up. He went
to my sporting events. He really pushed. And 90 percent of what he told me
about what to expect was, quite frankly, crap. But he was good. Well, on my
last trip to the Persian Gulf, guess who I ran into sitting at a bar? Yes, my
recruiter. I sat next to him and told him, ‘Sir, you are one hell of a good liar.’”
Tibiatowski saw much of the world: “By the time I was 22 years old, I had
been to Hawaii five times, and also been to Guam, Sri Lanka, India, Diego
Garcia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, up
and down the coast of Mexico and all over the UAE.”
But the travel weighed on this family man. His first daughter, Morgan, came
after his second WESTPAC. Tibiatowski said, “Although I loved the Navy and
wanted to stay, being away from my family that much was hard on me. I was at
sea every holiday for one reason or another.” Tibiatowski’s desire to be there
for his family drove him to leave the service, retiring with a rank of E4. He
was up for E5 but said, “I knew I was leaving and decided to make room for
someone else.”
Tibiatowski has four daughters and four sons, ranging from ages 6 to 23. Two
of his children are considering military service, but he says, “It is up to them.
I would not sway them.”
Part of his service included humanitarian work in third world countries
involving construction. Tibiatowski asserted: “It is important to give back. I
show my kids that humanitarianism is important.”
“We had boats trying to
outrun us and even to
ram us. We were a strong
steel ship, so trying to ram
us just wasn’t going to
happen. I experienced some
interesting situations,
some of which I can’t talk
about.” – Tibiatowski
Tibiatowski has gained perspective: “I look back at my time on the ship, and
everything was arranged and done so strategically. Our young, naïve crew
was trained well and we discovered just how important every single role on
the ship was. As I sit back and look at it 27 years later, there were so many
reasons behind how it was done. It was a big deal.”
His Navy friendships are valued: “I made many life-long friends in the Navy. We
had a reunion last July. I keep in touch with a few of them. I’ve done mortgage
loans for a few of them. The ties are strong. It’s a brotherhood.”
Tibiatowski recollected: “When I went into the military, I was arrogant. I had
excelled at sports. But when I got to boot camp, I got knocked down a few
notches. Right away, they show you that you belong to the government. It is
a humbling experience – the discipline – everything from making the bed to
how you fold clothes. I still fold my clothes the way I did in the military. Being
from North Dakota, you go into it with a good work ethic. But I did not know
36 / THE GOOD LIFE

NAVY VETERAN
what to expect. At both boot camp
and A School I was thinking ‘Holy
cow... Am I really in this? Can I really
do this?’ But then you get to use the
skills they taught you. The discipline
learned in the Navy has set me up for
even more success than I imagined I
could ever have. Because of my time
in the service, I am more focused. I
treat my everyday life with focus. My
kids may say that some days I act like
a drill sergeant. Discipline is still a big
thing for me.”
He ran into his commanding officer
years after he left the service: “I got to
tell him what he did for me. Although
he was awfully hard on me, it helped
me be the sailor that I was and the
man that I am.”
It all comes full circle: “The biggest
thing for me, in the position that I
had in the military and now having
this job is to be able to give back to
veterans. It is huge for me, because
I know that a lot of them get taken
advantage of. I want them to get into
the home they deserve for the right
price and the right interest rate. VA
loans are amazing. There are many
great advantages that many veterans
do not know about.”
When asked what the phrase “the
good life” means to him, Tibiatowski
enthusiastically answered: “’The good
life’ means being healthy, happy and
able to provide for my family. I don’t
need to be a millionaire or go on
exotic vacations. I enjoy being able
to give back — to be able to watch my
kids grow and be healthy. To me that’s
the good life. It’s having my family – I
love that.”
Finally, I asked Tibiatowski if, going
back in time, and given the choice to
again join the Navy, if he would do it
and he said: “Absolutely. Without any
doubt, I would do it again.” •
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 37

LOCAL HERO | JASON HICKS
Original publish date:
May-June 2018
SELFLESS SERVICE IS THE MOTTO FOR
JASON HICKS
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
The Good Life featured
Army Veteran Jason Hicks
as the May/June 2018
Local Hero.
In the past few years, the
biggest change for Hicks
has been that in his role
as Commander of the
United Patriotic Bodies of
Fargo-Moorhead. He was
part of the group effort
that transitioned the
organization to take over
all funerals at the Fargo
National Cemetery. Aside
from that, he remains
proud of his two kids who
are currently serving in the
MN National Guard.
Hicks continues to enjoy
life in the country citing
that there’s always
something to do. His
latest endeavor is raising
chickens which he likes
to joke qualifies him as a
rancher.
38 / THE GOOD LIFE
WRITTEN BY: ALEXANDRA FLOERSCH
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Jason Hicks’ life motto is pretty simple:
"If you take care of your people, they will
take care of you.”
If you take care of your people,
they will take care of you.
While his oldest brother is a prison
guard, his sister runs a nursing program
and his other brother is a fireman, the
Clay County investigations and narcotics
detective can’t pinpoint what drove him
and his siblings into careers of service.
After all, neither of their parents had.
But that’s not the case when it comes
to military service, where there’s a very
visible link.
“Pretty much every male on my dad's
side of the family – and my wife's side,
for that matter – have all served. The
only one who didn't was my brother, the
fireman, because he had asthma," Hicks
said.
In fact, the Glyndon native himself joined
the Army immediately after high school
at just 19 years old. And, as life would
have it, that undeniable pride for his

ARMY VETERAN
country would rub off on his three children in the
years to come.
His son, Hunter, 22, recently completed his Army
contract while his 18-year-old daughter, Macie,
just finished her advanced training for the Army
National Guard combat medic school at Fort Sam
Houston in San Antonio, Texas.
"My daughter Macaila (Macie’s twin) would have
signed up in a heartbeat, but she
has some health problems,”
he explained. “It really hurt
her but she can serve in other
ways.”
Army Experience
Paved the Way
In the Army, rules, structure
and loyalty define your life.
"The one thing the military
really nails into people is
selfless service, guaranteeing
you're not always going to like
what you're doing, but you're
going to do it anyway because the
mission comes before yourself,”
explained Ray Pizarro, having
known Hicks for 21 years and
serving overseas together. “And
the mission is righteous.”
It was that mentality that Hicks
led with as an infantryman and
platoon sergeant during his
deployments to Germany – where
he was sent to the Persian Gulf War
– and Bosnia for a peacekeeping
mission in 2003.
"Jason never cared about his career more than
he cared about his men," Pizarro said. "He put us
before himself, meaning if bad news came down
the pipe and he had to pick a couple of volunteers
to go do something rotten, instead of picking two,
he'd pick one and do it with them.”
It was that unique style of leadership that allowed
Hicks to build both trust and rapport with his unit.
"There wasn't a single task that was ever
questioned,” Pizarro said. “People would line up,
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 39

LOCAL HERO | JASON HICKS
saying, 'What do you need me to do? I'll do it.' Because
they knew he would suffer with them.”
Getting his first taste of leadership while serving his
country molded Hicks into the person he is today – one
who bleeds red, white and blue.
"I saw the best and worst of people. It's something that I
learned from," he said. “Some people talk about how great
other places are. But having seen first, second and thirdworld
countries, there's no doubt that we're it. I will never
apologize for being an American. And I never have."
Giving Back
A story all too common among soldiers, Hicks admits to
having had a difficult time adjusting when he first returned
from overseas.
"That's probably one of the biggest reasons I focus on the
veterans groups... I can relate," he said. "There's always
something bigger than yourself – so many things we can
do to make this better for everybody.”
Having been involved with the Veterans of Foreign Wars
(VFW) since 1993, Hicks became one of the youngest
commanders during his first term from 1998-2000, and
later served a second term from 2010-2014.
Currently, he’s most active with the color guard, marching
in parades, conducting flag presentations and teaching
flag etiquette to kids. If it isn’t obvious at first sight, Pizarro
says Hicks’ dedication shines through when honoring
Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN – an organization that
sends area veterans to their memorials in Washington
D.C., free of charge.
“He’ll say, 'It's going to be super hot. We're on the runway
but you're going to be in uniform and represent the VFW
because the VFW represents these guys. I don't want to
hear any shake and bake about how awful it's going to be.
We're going to do it for the honor of these people,'" Pizarro
explained. “And we’ll do it with a gracious heart.”
Respect is hard to come by but perhaps it’s the bond that
only service members can attest to – the “brotherhood" as
Hicks says – that makes it all worth it.
"It wouldn't matter if you're a Korean War veteran or a war
on terrorism vet, you all have that (bond),” Hicks said. “For
example, there's a guy at the Fargo VFW and he was with
the 7th infantry regiment of the 3rd infantry division...
so was I. So we salute each other with our motto. He's a
Korean War vet and I'm – what? – a third of his age? It's
really cool."
40 / THE GOOD LIFE
Serving … with a Badge
Hicks retired from Army in 2007 but he has continued
serving in other ways. After graduating from Minnesota
State University Moorhead (MSUM) with a degree in
criminal justice, the veteran started his law enforcement
career in Dilworth as a part-time patrolman. But it
wasn’t long before he was hired at the West Fargo Police
Department, where he scored a position as narcotics
investigator after just a year in.
"That's something I had always wanted to do and it was just
wild. That was at the height of the big meth push – when
they were making meth and had meth labs everywhere,”
he said. “We could literally work 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. There was always stuff to do.”
From small, marijuana paraphernalia arrests to a multipound
methamphetamine busts, Hicks worked an endless
amount of cases.
"The thing with drug work – and I say this to everybody
– if you're doing it right, within about three years, you're
burnt out and you don't want to do it anymore," he said.
When that time came, he applied at the Clay County
Sheriff’s office as a patrolman and soon worked his way
into an investigative position once again – one he has held
for the past 10 years.
"I’ve worked cases from a simple burglary to homicide,
sexual assault, home invasion – all this crazy stuff,” he
said. "I've worked some really unusual cases.”
As with any job, the role of an investigative detective has
its ups, downs and undeniable stressors.
“You get a little burnt out sometimes and you have to find
other ways to focus," Hicks says.

ARMY VETERAN
For him, that usually means not only taking warranted
time off work but also exercising.
"It helps clear your head,” he says. “Don't get me wrong,
I'm not a marathon runner or anything. I like long walks
and things like that – the same stuff I did in the Army,
except I'm not carrying a rucksack and a rifle.”
At the end of the day, one recurring assumption still
surprises Hicks.
“After people sit down and talk to me, they never believe
that I'm a cop. It just makes me laugh," he said. "I'm
about as normal of a person as there is. I don't have
magic powers.”
Living “out in the sticks” with his wife, Peggy, of 27 years,
is where Hicks finds solace outside of work, enjoying
the livestock, peace and quiet. Be it hunting, fishing for
“anything that bites” or relishing in Minnesota’s snowy
winters, Hicks cherishes the great outdoors.
But what exactly defines “the good life”?
"Being able to wake up in a country that's free," Hicks
said. "Just the everyday freedoms that we enjoy as
Americans. Not everyone has it. The good life is being an
American." •
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 41

LOCAL HERO | MIKE GRUCHALLA
Original publish date:
September-October
2019
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
Nearly a year has passed
since Vietnam Combat
Medic Mike Gruchalla’s
story was published in the
September-October 2019
issue of The Good Life.
Gruchalla was scheduled
to go on the April
2020 Honor Flight as a
volunteer, but the trip
was canceled due to
coronavirus restrictions.
A dedicated gardener,
Gruchalla understands the
importance of seasons of
rest. As such, he is allowing
the garden to rest this
year and isn’t sure if he’ll
be doing any canning this
fall. His current focus is on
the herbs he’s planted. All
in all, Gruchalla maintains
that life is still good
despite the coronavirus.
42 / THE GOOD LIFE
MIKE GRUCHALLA
From the midwest to Vietnam and back,
Mike Gruchalla’s focus has always been doing
his job well and fiercely serving others
WRITTEN BY: ALEXIS SWENSON • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
When Mike Gruchalla arrived in
Saigon, Vietnam on January 11, 1970,
he hit the ground rolling - literally.
“As soon as we touched down at the
airport base ... the Viet Cong started
mortaring us. The airplane got to the
end of the runway, started taxiing back,
lowered the back ramp on the airplane
... we exited while the airplane was still
taxiing ready to take off. So, I hit the
ground rolling,” explained Gruchalla.
Merely seven months prior the 19-yearold
had been drafted to serve in the
Vietnam War.
“I drafted and then I enlisted [in the
Army] because my older brother had
gone AWOL. I figured that if I enlisted
and volunteered to be a medic and
got sent to Vietnam, it would keep
my brother out of Vietnam,” said
Gruchalla.
Gruchalla volunteered to be a medic
simply because he knew they were
needed and assumed it would send
him to Vietnam.
In August 1969, Gruchalla left for
Fort Lewis, Washington to complete
basic training followed by Advanced
Individual Training (Gruchalla’s
medic training) in Fort Sam Houston,
Texas. After the abbreviated training,
Gruchalla went home for Christmas
leave and arrived in Vietnam on
January 11, 1970.
Life in Vietnam
Gruchalla felt life at base camp was far
less appealing than getting out in the
field and often volunteered for patrol
with any group that wanted a medic.
“I didn’t like being at base camp
where I had to have spit-shine shoes,
a pressed uniform; I wanted to do my
job,” said Gruchalla.
This willingness to go out with anyone
— Koreans or other allies — exposed
Gruchalla to extremely dangerous
situations. In the course of nearly 2
years, Gruchalla found himself in 15
different tunnels, being shot, surviving
four helicopter crashes, and being run
over by a tank.
Earning the Combat Medical
Badge Medal
Most memorably, Gruchalla cites the
event that earned him the Combat

VIETNAM MEDIC
“
That badge says I did
my job. I think I did
it well. I wish I could
have saved more, but
there’s only so much
you can do.”
– Mike Gruchalla
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 43

LOCAL HERO | MIKE GRUCHALLA
Medical Badge Medal, because, “there were only 2,231
combat medic badges awarded in Vietnam.”
“On July 2nd, I was sent out to a firebase ... The night
of the 2nd, we got attacked. When the attack started the
enemy was playing Johnny Cash, Charlie Pride, and other
country songs over loudspeakers in the jungle. Over a
period of five or six hours, we threw everything at them
we had. We even lowered the guns and fired beehive
rounds (155 howitzer with seal darts), said Gruchalla.
“... I was dragging a wounded soldier into the command
bunker with the help of another guy. A satchel charge
went off in front of us, blew me into the tunnel, and as
soon as I got into that tunnel, they blew it. That sealed the
entrance.
“There were 38 of us in the bunker and we called in an
A-B52 strike on our position. When it was all done, 63
GI’s died. 38 of us got off. I was number 38.
“When we got dug out, it was my job to tag and bag the
63 guys. The first guy that I tagged and bagged was the
guy that was helping me with the wounded man. He had
44 / THE GOOD LIFE
the flag from that firebase inside his shirt. And, I have that
flag today,” said Gruchalla.
According to the American War Library, the Combat
Medical Badge Medal was established to recognize
medical personnel who experienced combat while
providing medical assistance to wounded personnel.
“That badge says I did my job. I think I did it well. I wish I
could have saved more, but there’s only so much you can
do,” said Gruchalla.
Gruchalla’s Medals
Gruchalla also received a Purple Heart Medal, a Bronze
Star Medal, and a Silver Star Medal, but the only
paperwork he has is for the Combat Medical Badge
Medal.
“When I came home from Vietnam, it took me 4 months
to get my things … They were going through and taking
things out ... because they made references to where I
was,” explained Gruchalla.
Gruchalla reasons that the paperwork was confiscated

VIETNAM MEDIC
“
It hurt at first, but it
doesn’t matter now. My
dad saw my medals and
that’s all that counts.”
– Mike Gruchalla
because he carried out some of his work in Cambodia
and Laos – a direct violation of international law.
“We weren’t supposed to be there,” said Gruchalla.
Per military rules, an individual is allowed to wear their
medals if they have paperwork to verify earning them. As
such, Gruchalla continues to be denied from wearing the
medals. Initially frustrated, he has now reached a resolve
of sorts.
“It hurt at first, but it doesn’t matter now. My dad saw my
medals and that’s all that counts,” said Gruchalla.
Coming Home
Despite diligently doing his job to help fellow soldiers,
Specialist Spc. 4 Gruchalla’s homecoming was
characterized by a negative public perception of Vietnam
veterans.
“... On the flight from Minneapolis to Fargo, the only seat
that was available was first class. There was a guy sitting
in the window seat next to me. As soon as the plane took
off, he went and sat with the stewardesses; he didn’t want
to sit by a Vietnam vet. When we landed in Fargo, nobody
got off the plane until I did. They all waited at the back of
the baggage claim area until I got my bag and walked out
the door,” said Gruchalla.
In the following weeks, Gruchalla determinedly attempted
to register for college.
“I dressed the part – bell-bottoms, shirt with puffy sleeves,
the beads, the whole thing. But, I went up to the registrar's
office and pretty much got chased off of Moorhead State.
I had short hair, I was a Vietnam vet, I was a ‘baby killer’,
said Gruchalla.
“I went home. I spent four months in my folks’ basement
growing out my hair. I didn’t go out for anything because
I didn’t know if I would be accepted for having medium
length hair,” said Gruchalla.
A Continued Medical Career
Eventually, Gruchalla acquired a job in the medical field,
continuing to care for hurting people. For 10 years, he
worked at Dakota Hospital for orthopedic surgeons.
Then, he spent the next 27 years at the Fargo VA Hospital
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LOCAL HERO | MIKE GRUCHALLA
working in the operating room.
Gruchalla saw firsthand how much of what the medics
learned in Vietnam was put into practice on American
soil.
“It was a slow process, but it went from ambulances
basically being a meat wagon ... to someone riding in the
ambulance able to initiate medical treatment. And, with
that, the use of helicopters to transport because we found
out in Vietnam that we only had basically an hour before
things would permanently die,” said Gruchalla.
“When I first came home, the VFWs and the American
Legions called me ... they both told me they didn’t want
me. ‘Vietnam was not a war ... we don’t want the Vietnam
vets’,” said Gruchalla.
Many years later, prompted by the positive change in
the public’s view of Vietnam veterans, Gruchalla joined
the VFW, AM Vets, Disabled American Veterans, and
Vietnam Veterans of America.
Gruchalla helps the Vietnam Veterans of America with
their 5K and 10K races as a crossing guard and is involved
“My Lives as a Medic”
At the consistent urging of a VA doctor and Gruchalla’s
now-wife, Gruchalla authored a book outlining the stories
he carries from the Vietnam War. He was reluctant at
first, in part due to his dyslexia which made the writing
process challenging, though he’s glad now that he wrote
it.
“My Lives as a Medic: A Soldier’s Journal in Vietnam”
provides a raw, honest memoir of Gruchalla’s experience
in the Vietnam War.
Giving Back Today
Gruchalla wasn’t always involved - or invited - into veterans
organizations.
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VIETNAM MEDIC
with the Fargo Moorhead Vietnam
Veterans Week in May.
Furthermore, for the past four
years, Gruchalla has volunteered
with the Veterans Honor Flight
of ND/MN, a nonprofit created
solely to honor America’s veterans
for their sacrifices. He assists in
Honor Flight fundraising events
and has been the cook for the past
2 years.
Helping with the Honor Flight
is a rewarding experience for
Gruchalla, and his favorite part is
“just seeing the veterans as they
see the memorials.”
The Good Life
“In spite of being diagnosed with
cancer and having a stroke, I’ve
had a good life. And, most people
would say a good life ... with friends
and family. ... I have associations
and acquaintances because in
Vietnam I learned that you don’t
want to be friends with anybody
because when friends die, it hurts.
When we acquaintances die, it’s
not as bad,” said Gruchalla.
Undoubtedly, the Vietnam War
played a large role in Gruchalla’s
life although he’s not solely defined
by his years serving. Rather, his life
in whole is a greater representation
of his values.
When looking at Gruchalla’s
experiences, it is evident that in
enlisting to protect his brother,
working as a Combat Medic, 37
years in the medical field, writing
a book, and volunteering with
veterans organizations, his primary
focus has always been caring for
others.
“... I wouldn’t change a thing. It was
meant to be. And, like I said, it’s
been a good life,” said Gruchalla. •
“My Lives a Medic: A Soldier’s
Journal in Vietnam” can be
purchased by emailing:
pmatsonr@hotmail.com
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LOCAL HERO | WAYNE CASEBEER
Original publish date:
March-April 2020
www.yumpu.com/user/
thegoodlife
Where
is he now?
United States Marine Corps
Veteran Wayne Casebeer’s
story was recently
published in the March/April
2020 issue of The Good
Life.
In the past few months,
Casebeer has sought to
develop a greater leadership
role within the community.
He was reelected as Junior
Officer Surgeon of the West
Fargo VFW Post 7564 and
officially became active as
Color Guard Commander
for the organization.
Casebeer has also been
heavily involved with The
Cooties Pack Rat 8, an
association of the WF VFW
that raised over $70,000
in 2019 to support cancer
research. He was elected
as Junior Officer Surgeon
for the organization.
Additionally, Casebeer was
reelected as Senior Vice for
Red River Raiders.
His dog, Dan Daly, is now
fully grown. Dan can often
be seen outside walking
with his family and has won
the hearts of his neighbors.
WAYNE
CASEBEER
Leading Quietly,
Responsibly, and
Sincerely
WRITTEN BY: ALEXIS SWENSON
Thirty-one-year-old Wayne Casebeer
first joined the United States Marine
Corps in part to honor the family
legacy of serving his country and in
part due to his competitive nature.
"I come from a Navy family. My sister
and I are very competitive. She went
into the Army and I wanted to do
something a bit more to compete with
that, so I went into the Marine Corps.
Ultimately, neither of us went into the
Navy," said Casebeer.
After graduating from high school in
Alexandria, MN, Casebeer enlisted
with the US Marine Corps where
he completed 5 years of active duty
followed by a couple of years in the
Marine Forces Reserves. He served
in Twentynine Palms, CA, Al Ambar
Province Iraq, the reserve station in
New Orleans, LA, and the reserve
station in Minneapolis, MN. During
active duty, Casebeer's role was in
Communications and he was attached
to an artillery battalion.
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY: WAYNE CASEBEER
"They were using radios to do
communications between different
units in the Marine Corps which is
extremely inefficient. Our goal was to
bring the internet to artillery because
we needed a way to coordinate fire.
My five years were spent modernizing
artillery. I went from high school to
leading men in combat and that was
pretty cool," said Casebeer.
Aside from the sheer excitement of
firing guns, Casebeer appreciated the
incredible amount of things he learned
in a small amount of time. "It wasn't
just working on computers. You have
to know how to fire machine guns, fire
artillery, haul artillery, drive vehicles,
how to load things on vehicles, how
to eat, how to feed people, and more,"
said Casebeer.
Above all else, the people were the
most memorable for Casebeer. "I made
a whole family. There were 15 of us
that stuck together the whole time.
When my battalion deployed, they split
48 / THE GOOD LIFE

MARINE CORPS VETERAN
us into mini 15 man teams and sent us out. We drove
around Iraq for 9 months, just 15 of us, it was great. They
were from all walks of life and we're still close today,"
said Casebeer.
Red River Raiders
Roughly three years ago Casebeer helped to establish
Red River Raiders, a nonprofit organization and
charter for the Marine Corps League, a congressionally
recognized organization to serve Marines. In a similar
vein, Red River Raiders has a mission of providing
assistance to fellow Marines or disabled veterans.
Red River Raiders supports people in a number of ways
including fundraising for Toys for Tots, providing a small
detachment for a Color Guard hosted by Casebeer, and
assisting with fabric and sewing blankets for Project
HART. Project HART is a transitional housing program
that provides basic needs, case management, and
employment services to homeless veterans to assist
them in overcoming their barriers to permanent
housing so they can live the life that they
deserve.
Additionally, Red River Raiders is heavily
involved in assisting with the Homeward
Vets program. Homeward Vets is primarily
administered by the West Fargo VFW
while the Marine Corps League provides
the manual labor for the program.
Typically, the Fargo Veteran Affairs
Health Care System identifies a
Marine that needs an apartment,
provides funding, and sets the
individual up with keys for the space.
The Red River Raiders' goal is that the
day the veteran receives the key, the
organization brings a bed, couch, and
other furnishings into the apartment.
"Essentially, a person goes from being
a disabled homeless veteran to being
a veteran with a home that is fully
furnished - in the same day. We've been
nailing it. We've done very, very well and
helped about 60 veterans last year," said
Casebeer.
Red River Raiders also hosts the Marine
Corps Ball to celebrate their November 10th
birthday. "This year we're hosting the event on
November 7th in Fargo. It's going to be a formal
event so we'll get dressed up in our tuxedos and
get the gals nice dresses. It's just going to be really
fun," said Casebeer.
PHOTO BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
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LOCAL HERO | WAYNE CASEBEER
give you immediate gratification because once folks are
in and are able to actually get that gratification it makes
all the difference. If they're sitting on their hands, they're
not going to want to do it anymore. So, putting veterans
to work for veterans is a goal that I want to maintain.
If we do and are able to attain new membership, that's
what's going to keep them as members. That's my
primary goal for all the organizations I'm a part of -
motivating people enough to stay," said Casebeer.
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: WAYNE CASEBEER
A Homeward Vet move that was done by the Marine
Corps League last year in the middle of a blizzard.
For Casebeer, a favorite part of his volunteer work is
simply working with other veterans. "It's so easy to
work with other veterans. It's not difficult to work with
other people, but the difference is a language barrier.
So, somebody who might speak broken English - it's
not hard to have a conversation with them, but it's not
going to be as efficient as having a conversation with
somebody you grew up with and that is family. You have
your own lingo and your own way of working together.
With veterans, it's like working with a family member.
You can get mad, you can get upset, but you're going to
accomplish whatever you're trying to do," said Casebeer.
Life Lately
Casebeer landed in West Fargo, ND to be close to the
USMC Reserve station in Wahpeton, ND after being
given a choice of Wisconsin or North Dakota. Since
Wisconsin was too close to Minneapolis, Casebeer
opted for North Dakota. "North Dakota worked out
really well; the people are fantastic. I've kind of decided
to settle down here," said Casebeer.
Casebeer currently works full time at Blue Cross Blue
Shield of North Dakota on a small team in cybersecurity
and risk management. "Blue Cross Blue Shield has an
excellent volunteer program and the leadership there
is fantastic. Without working there, I wouldn't be able
to do any of the volunteer work I do. They're awesome.
The work is great too. Our primary role is to do risk
management for IT systems and security systems
overall. It's pretty dynamic and you need to be pretty
intelligent to do it," said Casebeer.
West Fargo VFW
Casebeer also is a member of Color Guard for the West
Fargo VFW. A sizable group of nearly 40 people are on
standby for the group. Casebeer is currently training
to take over the position as Color Guard Commander
where he will step into greater responsibilities. "It's
going to be a lot more work, but I am looking forward
to it. It is a commitment with my working multiple jobs,
but it should be good," said Casebeer.
Duties of the Commander include coordinating
with funeral homes, the National Cemetery, and
other veterans organizations depending upon which
organization is leading the event. Furthermore,
the Commander serves as the point of contact in
coordinating for Moorhead, Fargo, and West Fargo
ceremonies for various Veterans holidays.
For 2020, Casebeer's goal is to help maintain each
organization he's involved with. "It's very hard to recruit
folks into nonprofit organizations. I like programs that
Casebeer was selected by Northern Lights
Council, Boy Scouts of America in 2019 to receive
the Andrew P. Nelson Award for Outstanding
Leadership and Service. This award recognizes
everyday heroes who quietly make a difference in
our community in the way that they work, volunteer,
and make life better for others.
50 / THE GOOD LIFE

MARINE CORPS VETERAN
Outside of his full-time job at
Blue Cross Blue Shield and
volunteering with various veterans
organizations, Casebeer enjoys
spending time with his toddler
daughter. "I have a daughter named
Kahlan; she's great. She's a little
redhead. It's miserable outside
now, but in the summer we like to
go to parks and hang out and play,"
said Casebeer.
In any free time he has left Casebeer
trains his 40lb dalmatian puppy,
Dan Daly, named after an infamous
Marine. "I love my dalmatian. He's
one of the best animals there is.
Dan Daly was a Sergeant Major
in the US Marine Corps and was
awarded two medals of honor. He
fought in three different wars and
received medals of honor from
two different wars. It's a fantastic
name," said Casebeer.
The Good Life
A testament to the type of life
Casebeer strives to live can be
seen in how he was selected by
Northern Lights Council, Boy
Scouts of America in 2019 to
receive the Andrew P. Nelson
Award for Outstanding Leadership
and Service. This award recognizes
everyday heroes who quietly make
a difference in our community in
the way that they work, volunteer,
and make life better for others.
"The good life is mostly helping
other people. That's my driving
force for everything. A good life for
me is to be a responsible leader
and also to have people accept me
as a leader. Being a responsible
leader is to have a goal, set out to
accomplish that goal, accomplish
that goal, and then be able to
measure it. I can see that in the
work that I do - people are waiting
on me to tell them what to do,
especially for the Homeward Vets
program. I've got nine people on
standby. We all collaborate and
work together; we're all effective
leaders," said Casebeer. •
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