Patrick Wempe
JOINING
Dr. Wempe, of Kingsley Iowa, joined the National Guard at 19 in the 209th medical unit. Their job was taking soldiers from the front line to the clearing unit and from the clearing unit to the mash unit. During his time in the National Guard he reached the rank of E3.
While he was in the National Guard he also attended college. He admitted that he didn’t do very well in college during this time and didn’t apply himself as he should have. “In the National Guard they do their best but you also have to realize you’re there for a weekend then you’re off doing a regular job. We didn’t have a lot of money, we did some training on site. It wasn’t until we went to hospitals and to active duty posts where we actually learned our jobs,” said Wempe.
NATIONAL GUARD TO NAVY
Wempe learned quickly that although the National Guard was still a form of service, he wanted something more exciting and something that would be challenging. After spending two years in the National Guard and going through college, Wempe decided to join the Navy. During his four years in the Navy he was deployed four times to the Middle East, getting the challenge that he desired.
“When I first got to the strip we were almost getting ready to have the ground forces called. They all had this nuclear biochemical training, and for the new guys they said ‘we don’t have time to train you, just pick it up as quick as you can.’ “ The ship was approximately 60 yards wide and 150 yards long, packed with young men and women just like himself. “There’s that intensity. Active duty can be really intense verse the National Guard is a little bit more hurry up and wait.”
by Molly Anne Turner
JOB ON THE SHIP
When Wempe got his job assignment, he was put in crypotlogical operations. When he wasn’t on watch, training, or sleeping, he was working. In this section of work he mainly worked with encryptions codes. Wempe loved his job because it gave him something to do. Being out at sea can get tiresome and exhausting, but having a consistent job and a responsibility gave him something to really focus on.
BROTHERHOOD
Days were long and hard the majority of the time, but the brotherhood between the men on the ship is what kept his spirits hopeful and his energy high. Wempe said, “it’s unexplainable. And it never goes away.” The brotherhood and the bond that is made through being in the military is something special that only those men and women understand. “You have these people that are from all walks of life, different races, and we’re all coming together as one unit. I’m closer with some of my friends in the navy than I am with high school friends, or even college. It’s because we went through that together. It’s that camaraderie that’s kind of unexplainable. We can tease each other but if someone outside was to tease one of us, we’re right there.”
MOTIVATION FOR SERVICE
Another motivation besides his brothers next to him, he experienced while in combat that forever changed his life. “In the military is where I really drew my heart to adopt. There was a specific situation in Kuwait where a little girl tugged on my BDU’s, looked straight up at me with her big brown eyes and said ‘will you take me home with you?’ I just got to thinking with the service aspect, that’s who I was fighting for.” He now has three daughters, the oldest him and his wife adopted from Mongolia.
FINDING HIS FAITH
While in the military, many people try and find something to cling to that can help them get them through the tough things they are seeing and doing. For Wempe, it wasn’t until he read some bible verses of his bunk mate that he found this certain something to cling to. “Your sleeping quarters were almost like coffin racks. Everything you own goes in a small place. The guy above me put bible verses in his and I could see them. I read them and not long after I went to the chaplain and made a commitment to Christ. When you get out of combat you fall away from that, but there’s no atheist in the fox hole.”
BACK HOME
Once back home from the Navy, Wempe decided to go back to school and received his bachelors, masters, and doctorate from the University of South Dakota. “It was difficult but I approached every day as an opportunity to win that day. I finished up my four year doctorate program in two and a half years. I was really motivated and really driven. It’s kind of interesting because you go through six years of something and those six years have changed my behaviors and shaped me for the rest of my life. It’s kind of interesting that way.” Even though coming home he was motivated and driven to succeed, he still struggled like most soldiers do with symptoms of PTSD. “I remember writing my mom a letter and telling her that I was going to build a cabin in the woods and just live. I was lonely and didn’t trust anyone.” Something that brought him out of that was his faith. He got involved with Campus Crusades for Christ. This organization gave him the family and the bond that he had been searching for. He was able to grow close to people while learning what it meant to be a true disciple of Christ.
CONTINUING TO SERVE
Once Wempe graduated, he realized his desire to go into teaching. He now teaches at Henderson State University and uses that as a tool for service. He has one year with his students and he tries to make the most of it and change their lives the best he can. “I have a family that came from school teachers and a handful of us have been in the military and I think that service side of things just really comes into play.”
provided by Dr. Wempe
provided by Dr. Wempe