Veterans Share Their Experiences At Bristol Public Library

By Dean Wright, The Bristol Press

November 15, 2021

In partnership with the Bristol Historical Society, the Memorial Military Museum and the Bristol Public Library, a panel of three veterans with experience in Middle East war zones shared their experiences with members of the public as part of a forum discussion at the library Saturday.

“You are part of the history of the Memorial Military Museum, we’ve been here in Bristol for 46 years,” said Carol Denehy, vice president of the Memorial Military Museum. “There have been countless programs that have been presented to honor the veterans and their stories. This is the first one that we are doing for the 21st century. I think you (the audience) would agree that we are overdue to recognize these people in our own hometown and their stories…”

Denehy thanked the U.S. Navy’s Senior Chief Joe Bogdanki, U.S. Air Force’s Lt. Amy Johndro and U.S. Army’s Col. Peter Mack for taking the time to share their experiences with the assembled as panelists. The event was meant to highlight the voices of veterans who had experienced more recent conflicts in American history.

Both Denehy and Assistant Library Director Scott Stanton led questions at the event.

The veterans discussed at length multiple points in their lives, from what brought them to join the military, to the skills they learned and onto their current professional lives.

Bogdanki first joined the Navy in 1988 and was active in the military until 1995 where he served in Operation Desert Storm. He was also part of the Naval Reserves before ending his military career in 2014. The Navy veteran is known for serving in the Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Force during Operation Shock and Awe and then with the Seabees 30th Naval Construction Regiment in Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Johndro first served in Ecuador in 2003 before serving in Guatemala in 2005. She then joined support efforts during the 2006 Hurricane Katrina crisis and then served in Baghdad, Iraq in 2008. For 16 years, she served in the Air Force. She worked as an emergency medic while training to become a nurse.

Mack served many years as a helicopter medical evacuation pilot by first being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps. He received a degree in aerodynamics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1991. Mack flew medical ambulance missions in Korea along the demilitarized zone. He was also a MEDEVAC detachment commander in Honduras for a time before becoming a medical research test pilot with the Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory.. He served actively for 10 years before being honorably discharged after flying Blackhawk helicopters in Japan. He was called back into service as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Mack flew reconnaissance and medical support missions while in the Middle East

All the veterans said joining the military was a positive experience for them and made them the people they are now.

Bogdanski said when he returned from active duty, he knew he wanted to become a firefighter. He’s a 23-year veteran of firefighting in Waterbury. He thanked his career in the Navy because he felt it prepared him for firefighting.

“It definitely piggybacked me right into the fire service,” he said. “...Many veterans join for a lot of reasons. A lot of guys put a uniform on because they want to serve and make a difference. My transition (from military to civilian life) was a lot easier because I could still put a uniform on and serve my community as a firefighter.”

Bogdanski said he knew others who didn’t have as easy a time transitioning. The Navy veteran said the fire service helped him to continue to make an impact in his surrounding communities and he was fortunate for that.

Johndro is still a nurse and worked in the emergency room for many years before transitioning to St. Francis Hospital.

“The military nursing is a little more intense than civilian nursing so I was very well trained to handle trauma, specifically,” she said. “I felt very comfortable in a trauma room with chaos around me because I was trained for that and it served me very well. I had wonderful mentors who trained me, not only to be a good leader but to be a good follower.”

She said she felt that had she not lived all those experiences, she did not think she would have become as successful a nurse as she is now.

Mack felt the military taught him how to be part of a team and what it meant to take care of people on that team.

“I was writing some awards one Saturday and I heard some squawk over the radio saying there is a downed aircraft,” he said of a time when he was overseeing the command of his unit. “I thought it was just a drill but then I heard sirens… I see one of my aircraft with its nose buried in the sand off the side of the runway and tail sticking up and a fire engine going over there. I knew there were four crew members on board.”

Mack said he remembered running to the aircraft and wanting to see all those people walk out on their own power. He didn’t care about the aircraft. He saw a firefighter walk those individuals out of the aircraft. He said those walking out of the crash asked him what was going to happen to them and he replied nothing was going to happen to them. Equipment can be replaced, people can’t, he said.

“In my civilian job as a pilot now for Raytheon, it’s the same thing,” said Mack. “Put safety first, take care of your people and they will take care of you.”

When asked what it was like to interact with the residents of the Middle East, Johndro said they shared more in common than she originally thought.

During her time in active service, she volunteered at a clinic for Iraqi soldiers’ wives and children two days a week. Despite being in a wartime area, she remembered connecting with those residents.

“One thing I remember very much realizing, and this holds true for all the countries I’ve been to, those kids are just like my kids and those women were a lot like me,” she said of residents in areas she served. “They laughed. They wanted to play soccer. They wanted to play boardgames. They hugged. They loved. They were not ‘them.’ They were people. It was hard to think you’re in a combat area but these are people just like me and people I see every day. Their love for their family is no different than mine.”

Brian Johnson contributed to this story.