by SGT Nic Jordan
7/9/2011

While some have served entire careers in the military and dedicated their lives to it, others have gone on to do other things with their lives; start a business, raise a family, attend college- they are more than just the uniform they once wore. 

It is for this reason I decided to acknowledge those individuals; to pay tribute to their service, but also to show their neighbors who they are in addition to being Veterans of the United States Military. I hope to share with you their stories, and invite you to introduce me to other Veterans whom I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet. My goal is not to be seen as merely a Recruiter- I want to use my position to help the community see the human side of the military members in our community. While I can’t attest to the factuality of these stories, I can tell you I will share their stories as they were told to me. I am merely the middleman between you the reader and the integrity of the story teller. I hope you enjoy learning about your neighbors as I’m sure I’ll have by meeting them.  

During the Holliston Carnival a few weeks back I bumped into a gentleman
named George Snow -- a Navy Veteran -- and explained to him my idea for
writing these articles. He said he would be happy to meet with me and share with
me his story. So we set up a time that worked for us and ended up sitting in his
back yard a week later for nearly three hours talking about everything from his
military service to his family and also just swapping stories of our shared
military backgrounds. You never truly realize how small of a world it is until
you start talking to someone; his grandson recently got out of the Army and
joined the National Guard being recruited by my office partner. It’s nice to be
able to hear positive and reassuring stories from people whom you don’t even
know about a profession that so few truly understand.

George graduated high school in 1948 among a class of forty eight seniors;
he loved working with electronics and decided to join the Navy to pursue his
goals of electronics work. He was stationed on a destroyer doing odd jobs- his
supervisor tutored him in different electronic areas during their off time. He
mentored George over time and eventually he was in Algeria and was asked to work
on multiple ships due to the experience he gained. He returned to Massachusetts
to work for the Naval Command in Boston where he made the rank of Chief. Soon
after George asked to be placed on a submarine and he was sent to the USS Daniel
Webster  SSBN 626. He has worked as a recruiter himself and over the course of
his career he has seen and done many extraordinary things.

When George retired from the Navy, he worked for a company based in Ohio working
with developing independent study programs for the electronics service
industry covering  Eastern Canada south to Florida, and west to the Mississippi
River. He spent the next 20 years in the field.  He also worked for BSI doing
fountain drink installations before retiring from his third career at 75.

Since his retirement he has given back in various ways to the community of
Holliston where he resides. He has been a VFW member for 40 years where he is a
past Commander. In June of this year, the HollistonReporter.com wrote an article on
a VFW project called “Wave to the Police,” which is meant to bridge the gap
between town youth and local law enforcement as well as promote respect. If 
a child waves to a Police Officer and the Officer stops to talk, they are
rewarded with a coupon for ice cream -- which sounds like a great idea on those
hot summer days. Along with others in town he brings food to the elderly on a
regular basis through a program setup with the Senior Center, thanks to the help
of volunteers like George. The Moving Vietnam wall came to Holliston in big part
thanks to the American Legion, George, and other VFW members who successfully
petitioned the Wall’s commission that Holliston deserved the honor of hosting
the Wall.

I also met George’s wife and heard stories of their five children; there seemed
no end to what this man has accomplished in the 81 years he’s been around so
far. The town of Holliston appointed him to serve on the Conservation Commission
due to his knowledge of the town and it was another chance for him to give back
to the community. He spent five years in this role before moving on to the Election
Committee where he spent the last 15 years working as one of the town's Voting
Registrars. 

It was definitely relaxing to be able to spend a few hours in the evening
sitting in this man’s back yard, listening to the sounds of dusk as we talked
back and forth. But it was also nice to be able to get to know George and look
forward to working with him on various projects through the Holliston VFW and
local food pantry. I hope you too have enjoyed getting to know a fellow
Holliston resident, former Navy Chief and current and constant community
servant.

If you or someone you know are serving in or have served in the Military and would be
interested in sitting down with me, I’d be more than grateful to meet with you
and share your story. Please feel free to reach me by email:
Nicolas.jordan@us.army.mil. I’m not interested in promoting anything more than
the community, those who live in it, and the experiences they’ve had. Until next
time…SGT Jordan- Army National Guard Recruiter.