| Veteran
of the Month August 2004  |
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Congratulations
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Edward Westphal was born and raised in Waseaco County, Minnesota and attended rural and church schools in Janesville, Minnesota before enlisting in the United States Air Force on October 6, 1950 at the age of 21. Following basic training, Ed’s first assignment was to Langley AFB, Virginia, where he entered the security service. Ed has served in locations all over the world, including England, Morocco, Greenland, Guam, Pakistan, Germany, and then back to England. During most of his tours, Ed was required to wear civilian clothes to prevent being recognized as military personnel. The reason for Ed’s camouflage, so to speak, was that during these tours of duty, he transmitted highly classified security information Ed has also been stationed stateside, including assignments to McDill AFB, Florida; Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota; and Minot AFB, North Dakota. In 1972, Ed ended his career of 21 years, as a Master Sergeant at McGuire AFB, New Jersey. Ed and his family ended up back in South Dakota, when they came to visit friends in Rapid City following the 1972 flood. Shortly after relocating to Rapid City, Ed started his new career as a bus driver for Gray Lines of the Black Hills and then as a driver for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and US Marshall Service, most notably during the AIM Occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973. In late 1973, Ed went to work for the Douglas School System as a driver/mechanic and officially retired on May 30, 1992. Ed married
Audrey West while in London, England and they recently celebrated their
50th wedding anniversary. Ed is an avid hunter and fisherman and a member
of several veterans organizations. Ed served as Chairman of the Veterans
Coordination Committee from 1993 to 1995 and is an active member of
The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA), serving on their board for
many years and although Ed is 73 years “young,” he is still
the mainstay of TREA’s Honor Guard. |
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