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Making a splash Hundreds visit nostalgic Trout Air Tavern. P13
In the swim Schools arrange funding to keep pool. P9
to Forest Lake leader Submitted photos From left, Weber holding Ayade, the Iraqi boy he gifted with a wheelchair on Father’s Day, 2010; Weber at the Baghdad airport in 2010; and Weber and his son Brandon cleaning up after a recent Navy Sea Cadets breakfast. BY MICHELLE MIRON Editor
Some more Sommer Fans mingle with ‘Mad Men’ star in Stillwater. P6
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FOREST LAKE — A highlight of Sgt. Richard Weber’s life was surprising his wife Brenda with his return home after a six-month deployment to Iraq in 2010. The former Air National Guardsman, now 43, hid his arrival date, parked a block away and snuck down his street in uniform while fielding glances from curious neighbors. Brenda glimpsed him from the window of their house and ran out crying as Weber’s brother caught it all on tape. “She’s just as patriotic as I,
and did everything she could to help me in my career,” Weber noted in praise of his wife. “She was very strong when I had to deploy.” That emotional reunion was among the predominantly positive memories Weber has of his 22 years as a Guardsmen, time spent both domestically and overseas. In fact, if not for the Guard’s policy of enforced retirement he’d still be a soldier today. After retirement two years ago the former master sergeant missed the focus on community service so much he ran for and was elected to the Forest Lake
City Council last November. The Maplewood native has become a huge fan of the city he calls his adopted hometown, mostly due to its residents’ commitment to service of all kinds. “The hard work our citizens do opened my eyes to something I’d never seen before,” he said. “I can’t say enough about how strong this community is.” These days he’s passing on his enthusiasm for military service via his full-time occupation: aerospace science instructor in the Junior ROTC program at Johnson High School in St. Paul. This Memorial Day, he’ll
be guiding his students through a Color Guard ceremony at Arcade-Phalen American Legion Post 577 in St. Paul. “They are great kids,” he said of his job. “I love it.”
A MILITARY PAST Weber grew up in Maplewood with a single mom, and lacking money for college enlisted at age 19. His grandfather was a WWII vet and his dad a Guardsman, and he grew up fascinated by military movies.
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