Four decades, then done: Guardsman retiring after 40 years

Terry Owens still has the 40-year-old letter somewhere among all of his other military memorabilia.

Greetings, it said. Your friends and neighbors have selected you for the Armed Forces of the United States.

"It was a draft letter, of course," Owens explained. "I thought at the time I needed to get some new friends and some new neighbors."

But that letter, now faded, marked the beginning of Owens' four-decade career in the military, starting with a brief stint in the Vietnam-era Army and culminating with 38 years in the Missouri National Guard.

"It's been a good ride," said Owens, 59, of Cape Girardeau. "It's been about patriotism, adventure, training, retirement. I enjoyed working with other soldiers trying to teach them the right thing to do."

Training others is largely what he's done. After the Zalma, Mo., native was drafted in 1966, Owens went to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood. He assumed he'd be going to Vietnam after that.

"To me, it was almost a given," he said.

After basic training, he and a friend were in line to get their shots for Vietnam, including inoculations for black plague and yellow fever. But they were pulled out of line and informed they were going to drill sergeant school.

For the two years he was in the regular Army, Owens was a drill sergeant. He was training boys to be soldiers. Owens admits he was a stereotypical drill sergeant, with a lot of yelling and screaming.

"But I knew a lot of them were going to Vietnam," he said. "I knew if they goofed up here, no big deal. But if they goofed up over there, they paid the consequences."

Training young soldiers was a mixed blessing for Owens. He knew the men needed proper guidance and knowledge. But he hated to see them go as they left Fort Leonard Wood, headed off to Vietnam.

"It was always in the back of my mind: 'Some of these boys aren't going to make it,'" he said.

Several of his childhood friends from Bollinger County didn't.

It was draining work. So when his two-year stint was up, Owens headed to St. Louis, where he went back to work at Ford Motor Co. He then joined the National Guard in 1968.

"I wanted to stay connected to the military," he said. "It was partly patriotism. But honestly, it was good money, too. And I enjoyed it."

The next year, he moved back to Southeast Missouri, joining the 1140th Engineer Battalion. At each monthly drill, he worked on vehicles, trained and tried to stay ready for any situation.

In 1981, he became a full-time training noncommissioned officer. He helped organize all the training -- the bulk of what the Guard does until a crisis happens. Eventually, he became the chief bridge noncommissioned officer in the staff engineer section of the 35th Engineer Brigade.

"Terry was always a pretty dedicated soldier," said Bert Wells, who also served National Guard with Owens for years. "He had been a drill sergeant. When those guys put on those drill-sergeant hats, that's quite an accomplishment already."

Owens was especially meticulous about taking care to work with other soldiers, said Wells, who is now retired.

"He was the training-readiness guy," Wells said. "He was a real dependable guy."

Owens has been a behind-the-scenes guy. During the local Guard's biggest contributions -- helping out when the area was hit hard by floods -- Owens made sure food was coming in to feed the workers. He made sure they had other equipment and supplies. He set up places for them to sleep. If medical attention was required, he organized it.

Such work may not seem so glamorous, but it's crucial.

During the problems in the Middle East, Owens was on lists five times to go to Iraq. He never went, but again, he helped train those who did. He also helped them get ready to go.

Owens said he's not necessarily against the war, but he thinks they should have "finished the job" during Desert Storm.

"We should have gotten it done sooner and we could have," Owens said. "We wouldn't have been messing with it now if we had done that."

At his full-time Guard job at Fort Leonard Wood, he's helped troops get their orders straightened out so they could go to places like Korea, Japan, Germany, Thailand and the Dominican Republic.

Now, after 40 years, Owens -- a divorced father of two grown boys -- is ready to start his retirement in June. On April 18, there was a retirement ceremony in which he was presented with a commemorative sword. He's added it to his military collection of badges, military coins and other collectibles.

"I'm proud I made it through," he said.

He wants to spend time fishing and catching up with his family.

"I missed everything because of the military," Owens said. "If I had to do it all over again, I would. But I'm ready to take a break."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137