I was only two years old when I was diagnosed with polio, before the Salk vaccine existed. I spent months at St. Charles Hospital and returned for treatment and therapy for years. I was too young to understand it then, but that first fight began shaping the way I would face every challenge that came later.

On August 6, 1966, I left North Bend, Oregon, and headed for basic training at Lackland Air Force Base. I had never even been on an airplane before. I didn’t know it then, but that flight was the beginning of more than six years in the United States Air Force—and a chapter that would change my life forever.

My orders eventually took me to Vietnam, where I served in high-priority military communications. The responsibility was real, and so were the things I saw and carried home with me. Later, at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, I watched Operation Linebacker II unfold as my time in uniform was coming to an end.

By the mid-1990s, coaching had become much more than a weekend activity for me—it had become a mission. In 1996, after moving to Crystal Lake, Illinois, I founded the Crystal Lake Force Soccer Club. We started with only two teams, but my goal was always bigger: give kids a place to learn, grow and enjoy the game.

For years after Vietnam, I stayed busy with work, family, coaching and business, but I had never truly reconnected with the veteran brotherhood. That changed in 2013 when I joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I found the camaraderie I had been missing—and eventually a new way to serve veterans and help strengthen the next generation of leaders.

In 2023, I worked with the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network at the Illinois State VFW Convention to raise awareness among veterans. I spoke with veterans, shared information and encouraged people to push for change. Today, that mission goes even further. I ride for veterans, cancer survivors, children fighting cancer and those carrying wounds the world may never see.