HEARTS museum honors armed forces recruiters

By Nanette Craig

Ten recruiters representing the armed forces in the Huntsville area were treated Thursday to an appreciation lunch at Golden Corral by the HEARTS Veterans Museum.

“We wanted to recognize the recruiters. They are out here doing a good job recruiting folks to keep us free,” said retired Air Force recruiter and event organizer Larry Snyder.

Representatives from the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and the Texas Army National Guard were also honored with plaques presented by the HEARTS Veterans Museum.

Military recruiters, no matter the branch, face obstacles in trying to recruit young people to join the military. As a recruiter, no two days are the same. They travel to high schools, job fairs and any place where there will be a captive audience and a chance to sign up new soldiers.

“We change lives,” said Marine recruiter Donald Johnson.

Johnson doesn’t know the exact number of people he has recruited, but he said it has been “a lot.” His family has a military background although he is the first Marine. He said for him, recruiting has been challenging, but it has built his character as well.

“Some people want to travel, some can’t afford college and some want a career,” said Johnson of his recruits.

For Army recruiter Allen Sistrunk, he said he has had many challenges to overcome as a recruiter during his year and a half of recruiting, in which he’s enlisted 24 soldiers.

“There are many misconceptions about joining,” said Sistrunk. He said he has to answer many questions about the current military involvement in Iraq.

“They think they are going to have to go straight to the front lines, and that’s not how it’s done,” said Sistrunk.

He said depending on the job, training can take anywhere from three months to 18 months, maybe longer.

Angela, his wife of 11 years, is very proud of her husband. As a military wife, she knows how fortunate she and their children are to have him home for now, even if he receives phone calls all the time, they can’t plan extended vacations or he puts in late hours.

“I have no complaints. He keeps coming home every night,” said Angela.

Texas Army National Guard member Albert Archuleta knows how supportive Walker County is of the residents serving. He is a pre-kindergarten teacher at Stewart Elementary and said he joined the military because it was a tradition in his family.

“It’s an honor being here in Huntsville. I’m a teacher, I get to represent the military and the school district,” said Archuleta.

He believes being a soldier in the school district makes a positive impact on students to join the military and serve their country. His guard unit has been called to go to Iraq, and he was asked to help train the soldiers.

Recruiting is a stressful job and in its May 18 edition, the Houston Chronicle reported the 2007 suicide of Army recruiter Aron Anderson, who served two tours in Iraq and continued his military duties as a recruiter.

“Since 2000,” said the Chronicle, “there have been 16 Army recruiters to commit suicide, five of those in Texas.”

The military offers counseling for returning soldiers, but for some, the experiences they have had stay with them and can’t be erased.

HEARTS Veterans Museum director Charlotte Oleinik stressed to the recruiters in attendance to come to the museum if they ever needed help with anything.

“Our community is very supportive of the military,” she said.

Memorial Day, which honors fallen U.S. soldiers, will be marked in Huntsville with a concert honoring all branches of the military at the First United Baptist Church at 7 p.m.

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