A NIGHT AT THE LOCAL VFW We’ve all got an opinion about America’s wars, politics, and place in the world. On the heels of the United States’ recent withdrawal from Afghanistan and ahead of Veterans Day 2021, Northern Express thought it a worthwhile time for all of us to pause the bickering and — in honor of those who chose to serve and sacrifice for all Americans — simply listen. By Al Parker Over the course of the nation’s history, 41 million Americans have served in the military, with more than 16 million serving in World War II alone. Northern Express recently pulled up a chair alongside six northern Michigan veterans at VFW Post 2780 in Traverse City to learn about their lives, time in the military, and feelings on today’s armed forces. Veterans Day is Nov. 11, but we encourage you to seek out a veteran you know and say thanks any day of the year.
Bill Volkening, U.S. Army
“I was a farm boy from New Baltimore when I got my draft letter in 1959,” says Bill Volkening. “I was off to Fort Wayne in Detroit, then on to basic training at Fort Knox.” He served stateside for two years before leaving the Army in 1961, then in 1982 reenlisted in the Army Reserves. In 1990, Volkening was deployed to the Middle East, where he drove trucks and trained truck drivers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq. He finally retired from the Army in 2000. “Looking back, I remember the camaraderie,” says the 81-year-old Kingsley resident. After ending his active-duty career, Volkening continued to be involved with veterans through VFW Post 2780 in Traverse City. He served as post commander twice and as long-time captain of the post’s Honor Guard, which visits senior care homes and schools and assists at funeral services for veterans. “I always wanted to serve veterans and their families,” says Volkening, who was chosen as the VFW post’s Veteran of the Year in 2016. What does he think of today’s military? “I gotta give those young folks a lot of credit,” he says. “There’s no draft, and still they step up and serve their country.”
Bill Seater, U.S. Army
Bill Seater was drafted into the Army in 1966, just as the U.S. presence in Vietnam was building. After basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he went to tech school in Virginia, taking generator mechanics classes. Soon he was on his way to Southeast Asia. “I arrived in Vietnam on Sept. 21, 1967,” recalls Seater, who grew up in the tiny Emmet County town of Brutus. “We landed at Tan Son Nhut air base.” Later he was driven to “a little bitty compound,” the Phu Lam Signal Facility, a key communications base on the west side of Saigon. In one month in 1967, the tiny compound processed 1 million messages over 55 teletype circuits, and the number of troops there approached 800. Seater was working the midnight shift on Feb. 8, 1968, when a sergeant burst in and shouted that the base was under attack. “I was headed out to the bunker when a blast went off nearby,” says Seater. “It numbed my ears, and I couldn’t hear my own footsteps. The only injury I got over there was that night.” In the dark, he ran into something and suffered a nasty cut on the palm of his hand. Seater considers himself lucky. He later had a chance to change jobs and became one of the base’s overseas switchboard operators. “I lived off base, in a hotel,” he remembers with a smile. “It was pretty nice compared to some guys.”
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John W. Milks, U.S. Marine Corps
John W. Milks had a big problem with authority when he was younger. So what did he do in July 1967? Enlist in the Marine Corps. “I was full of hatred and animosity,” says Milks, who lives in Benzie County. “I do better now — with adult supervision.” Nevertheless, growing up, Milks had always wanted to be a Marine. When he signed up, he was told to report to Fort Wayne in Detroit. Unfortunately, he arrived at the historic fort on July 24, 1967, right in the middle of the violent and chaotic Detroit Riots and found the gate locked shut because of the rioting. “There were two guys there, and I told them I was here to enlist in the Marines, and if they didn’t open the gate, I was gonna climb over it,” he says. After a little discussion, he was let in and started his military service, which began with basic training in San Diego and highlighted by a hellish tour in Vietnam. “I met some good people and learned the blessings of good health, good air, clean water,” says Milks. Coming home, he struggled with problems that were common among Vietnam veterans, including work stability. “I was a painter, did landscaping, had probably 50 different jobs,” he says. “I think my kids [three daughters and a son] really got me through it.” Eventually Milks went to work for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians where he oversaw grounds maintenance. Looking back on his service? “I was thankful and proud to serve, proud to be a Marine,” says Milks. What does he think of today’s armed forces? “I think it helps young people do the best for themselves. The military builds selfdiscipline, channels their energies, and helps in their maturing.”
Tim Luckey, U.S. Air Force
In the late 1970s, Traverse City native Tim Luckey was an energetic teen when District Court Judge Richard Benedict “suggested” he consider serving in the military. Luckey enlisted in the Air Force in 1978 and went off to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for basic training. He became a military police officer, eventually serving in 26 countries before his discharge in 1998. “I spent four years in Germany and five years in Japan,” says Luckey. “The worst place? That was Korea, I hated it with a passion. It was a stinky country.” After his service, Luckey became a criminal investigator in Pina County, Arizona, before returning to Traverse City where he served as a reserve city police officer.
