ARMED FORCES DAY FEATURE: JEFF KLEIN, US NAVY

BY SUZIE WELLS

Je Klein, of Honeoye Falls, followed in the footsteps of his Navy veteran grandfather and uncle and spent over two decades in the US Navy and Navy Reserves. He continues to serve his community as a volunteer Residential Services Manager at Richards House, a veterans homeless shelter, sharing legacies and stories of the forgotten heroes of the Negro League Baseball, and serving in the Honeoye Falls Mendon Rotary and on the HF-L Board of Education.

Je is a role model to all who know him, so this Armed Forces Day, I wanted to share his stories. On active duty, Je was a Gunners Mate assigned to the USS Ponce LPD-15 stationed at Norfolk. He became a Master at Arms and attached to Pearl Harbor. He reenlisted several times because he truly enjoyed the job. “Traveling to foreign countries was enjoyable, but the operations and training were what kept [him] in.” e driver was about my age and his passenger, his seven-year-old son, waved an American ag at me. e father explained that it was when the military established a presence in Manhattan that he and his fellow New Yorkers nally began to feel everything would be okay. He told me his son wanted to give me his ag, and as I reached to accept it, his son smiled at me. It was the rst real smile I had seen in almost two weeks. As they drove away, my fatigue was gone and the stress dissipated. I wore that ag inside my ID lanyard the rest of that duty and still have it today. It’s a reminder that whatever hardships we face, everything is going to be okay.”

He tells of a few memorable stories: on his rst Mediterranean Cruise, his ship was anked by two surfacing Russian submarines. “ ey locked their radar on our ship, which sent our entire crew to our battle stations.” It turned out they were just exing their Cold War muscles and they submerged and moved on. Another time, in the 1998 Baltic Challenge, Je ’s unit thwarted every simulated attack (even one by a US Seal team) on a naval hospital ship exercise involving thousands of military personnel, 17 ships, and 22 aircra from the US and 11 European countries.

However, he says his most memorable and meaningful Naval experience was his service at Ground Zero a er 9/11. He says, “When we arrived at Ground Zero on October 19th, the World Trade Center was still on re. One of the most amazing architectural marvels in the world had been reduced to six stories of burning rubble…a surreal landscape of steel, cement, and debris. I realized the center of world trade became the center of American resolve.

“ ere were about a dozen of us standing on that platform [with] notes and prayers and remembrances written to loved ones all over the platform. One note caught my eye. A child wrote: ‘Mom, I’m sorry for the ght we got in that morning.’ I made a promise to myself that I would never leave my house or go to bed without a kiss and a hug and saying ‘I love you’ to my family.

“I looked at the rest of my fellow rst responders and noticed we were all crying. But there was something else. ere was also a look of erce determination in everyone’s eyes. Everyone on that platform knew what needed to be done. We all needed to come together for something bigger than the individual.

“Our orders were for 16 days, guarding tunnels, bridges, and train stations. e FBI had received information that there could be a follow up attack to disrupt tra c coming in and out of Manhattan. ey provided us with a list of about 75 suspected terrorists and our orders were simple: If anyone on that list tried to get into a tunnel, detain them and turn them over to the FBI. Our group detained seven.

“On about the 10th or 11th day, the e ects of fatigue and emotional stress began to take their toll. A car pulled up to [my checkpoint].

Je says, “I served with and became close friends with people of every race, color, religion, and nationality. Every one of these people was willing to put their life on the line for others they would never meet. We all learned to get along for a common purpose and treated each other with fairness and respect. is is something we should all strive for.”

He adds, “ e military is not for everyone, but there are so many other opportunities for people to give back. Coaching, mentoring, scout leadership, volunteering in schools, joining a service club, to give back to the communities we love. One of my favorite quotes is from Muhammad Ali: “Services to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” Je says, “I have been in public service for over 37 years now, and every service project or volunteer opportunity I participate in is as rewarding as the orphanage I helped renovate 35 years ago.”

Since retirement from the Navy, Je ’s biggest hobbies in life are spending time with his family, serving his community, and climbing the Adirondack High Peaks (he’s halfway through his second 46). ank you for your service, Je . May we all serve our communities as you do.

Find Je ’s passion project “ ey Stepped Up to the Plate” on Facebook.

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