IN OUR COMMUNITY
Why I served my country
Upstate veterans and friends at the Central New York Veterans Day Parade, 2012.
photo by susan Keeter
VETERANS TELL HOW MILITARY EXPERIENCE OPENED DOORS, BROADENED OUTLOOKS, TAUGHT VALUABLE SKILLS BY JIM HOWE
For some it was a way to afford college or gain entry into the working world. For others, it was duty. Military service changes the lives of many Americans, including several who now work in a variety of jobs at Upstate. They are influenced by lessons and skills learned in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Marine Corps. Don Sadeckas was a military police officer in the Army who retired as a sergeant first class in 2001. He still feels pride when he sees a military member in uniform, knowing that they are up to whatever comes at them. “I am proud to be a veteran, and I am also proud of those who served before and after me. I thank them every opportunity I get,” he says. When Yetta Williams enlisted in the Air Force, she at first didn’t recognize the significance of her role. It began sinking in when she arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. “We were told that we were now ambassadors for the president of the United States, and that we should be aware of that at all times and conduct ourselves accordingly,” she recalls. “It occurred to me that I didn’t just represent myself. I represented my family, my church, Christ, the company I work for. I have never forgotten that.” Williams married an airman named Austin, who now works at National Grid. Of no relation is an Upstate coworker, Elliott Williams, who says men from his family have served in every war or conflict in America’s history from the Civil War to Iraq. “Being a veteran is more than just a label or a title. It is who and what you are,” he says. “Though I am far removed from military service, I am still a soldier and always will be — just like those relatives who came before me and those who will come after me.” Among the more than 9,000 employees at Upstate Medical University are 251 military veterans. Here’s what eight have to say about their experiences serving America.
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U P S TAT E H E A LT H
spring 2016
Name: Elliott Williams of Auburn.
Upstate job: Patient registration in the emergency department. Military service: Army, 1980-83.
Reason for joining: Family obligation. “My family has produced soldiers and sailors in every war or conflict in this country’s history from the Civil War to the present-day Iraq conflict. All males in my family are expected to participate in some type of military service.”
What he gained: “Being from Brooklyn, I had already been exposed to different cultures, but going to different countries (at age 18, he was stationed in Camp Stanley, South Korea) and seeing those cultures in their native lands and living by their own traditions, I quickly learned I was wrong about thinking one group of people was fundamentally better than another group of people because of money or educational status or color or whatever. I learned that there is no better or worse when it comes to people, there is only different: different lands, norms, beliefs, languages, etc.”
Name: Gregory L. Eastwood, MD, of Jamesville.
Upstate job: Professor of bioethics and humanities and former president of Upstate Medical University. Military service: Navy, 1972-74.
Reason for joining: “During the Vietnam War, military service was required of male physicians either after one year of residency or after full training. I entered the Navy after full training in internal medicine and gastroenterology.” What he gained: “My two years in the Navy allowed me to improve my clinical skills. Also, I was able to spend about half my time doing research, and I developed close personal and professional associations with several people, which persisted for many years after I left the Navy.”
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