Mark was born and raised in central Wisconsin to a large family. Mark is the eldest male child of 14 total siblings – 8 boys and 6 girls. Mark graduated from Necedah High School in 1998 and joined the Marines in 1999 where he served 8 years of active duty and achieved the rank of […]

Mark was born and raised in central Wisconsin to a large family. Mark is the eldest male child of 14 total siblings – 8 boys and 6 girls. Mark graduated from Necedah High School in 1998 and joined the Marines in 1999 where he served 8 years of active duty and achieved the rank of […]

Otis arrived in Milwaukee “on a stick” and homeless . It had been over thirty years since Otis had accepted a mainline injection of heroin as payment fora debt owed him. people, places and things were hard to make sense of. He had grown up as one of only eight African American families in rural […]

In 1965, Campbell graduated from the Marmion Military Academy in Aurora, Illinois to begin his career in the military. He enlisted in the U.S. Army that December and served four years, including two tours in Germany with the 8th Infantry Division as well as a tour in Vietnam. Throughout his military career, Joe specialized in […]

Joe joins us today to share his experience of serving in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He explains why he chose to enlist in the Army instead of waiting to be drafted, why he was anxious to fight in the Vietnam War, and how the realities of war compared to his initial expectations. […]

In this segment of the Stigma Free Vet Zone, Vietnam veteran Joe Campbell reflects on his family’s experience during his active duty and beyond. We hear how Joe’s family grappled with the fear associated with not knowing where he was, what danger he might be facing, and if and when they might receive word that […]

With great pride and patriotism Erin Schraufnagel joined the United States Marines Corps after the 9/11 attack in New York City in 2001. Twelve years later, Staff Sergeant Schraufnagel left the military life behind her. She shares her expectations for deployments to Iraq, a marriage strained between deployments, the unexpected enemies in her own ranks, […]

Kaitlin Miller lives in Saint Louis and is the daughter of former guest, marine recon, and Vietnam veteran, Dan Van Buskirk. Dan recounted his war experiences, his participation in Guitars for Vets, and his work with training service dogs for veterans. Kaitlin grew up in Alsey, Illinois and went to school in Saint Louis and […]

Bob Nevin is a native of Queens in New York. At an early age Bob, his parents and family moved to UpState New York. Bob’s mom was home raising the family while his dad, a WWII veteran of the war in the South Pacific, built his career in aviation. Bob’s dream of a life in aviation […]

CVSO County Veterans Service Officer. Who they are and who they work for. When leaving the military and searching for your next  mission or purpose, personal and family health should be the number one priority. The CVSO represents the veteran and not the VA / Veterans Administration. The primary work of the CVSO is […]