Shortly after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, my four-times-great-grandfather, Caleb, joined the Colonial Forces and fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. We owe all of our liberty to these brave colonial soldiers who stepped forward and risked their lives so that the new and scared concept of self-government could form and take root. They are my heroes.

Shortly after the start of the Civil War, my great-grandfather George, age 19, enlisted in the Union Army and fought throughout the war. Four months after George enlisted, my great-great-grandfather Orin enlisted at age 47 (that has to be like age 60, nowadays – and they weren’t riding around in Humvees!), but he died of typhoid during the Battle of Island No. 10, after digging into and living in rifle pits along the banks of the Mississippi River during the winter of ‘61/’62 (he made it all of 6 months).

The Civil War soldiers who fought to save the sacred concept of self-government are my heroes.

Now, about me. I was born and raised and educated in the Midwest, receiving a Bachelor's in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University (Boilermakers!). After a brief stint designing jet engines for NASA/General Electric, I entered and served as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Air Force (having now logged over 30,000 flight-hours as both a military and commercial pilot).

While in the military as a young man, I was stationed in New England as my initial assignment and have never left since, having grown from a young to an old man. New Hampshire has been my home for three decades, where I have lived, raised a family, and am now retired (but find myself busier now than when I worked).

I would like to close by saying the entire time I was on active duty, I ALWAYS carried a pocket-sized Constitution and Declaration booklet, tucked into my flight suit. I didn’t carry it to read, only as a reminder of why I was serving. That I was willing to sacrifice my life so those sacred documents could live.