BROWN NEWS SERVICE / Jenny Frye Pat Freeman, (l-r) Matt Freeman, Don Freeman, Mike Freeman, Bob Freeman and Dave Freeman are proud of the service they have provided their country and communities.

Freeman family believes in serving their country

By KAY F. LOUTH Times Bulletin Staff Writer VAN WERT &endash; On Sept. 11, 2001, the people of this nation were given cause to mourn. Individually and collectively, the nation was brought to its knees in tears and in prayer. But even as the horror of that day crippled the hearts of the people, the people gained a renewed sense of love of country, of patriotism and a sense of national solidarity. The people also watched in horror as hundreds of firefighters and police died in the aftermath of the attack as the Twin Towers collapsed. Since then, the people were given back something that been lost over the years &endash; heroes to admire and to emulate, the spirit of service embodied in the men and women in uniform. The Freeman family of Van Wert exemplies that spirit of service. Dave Freeman, along with four of his five sons have108 collective years of service in uniform to their communities and their country. With the exception of Don, who is currently serving in the Armed Forces, Dave, Mike, Pat and Matt Freeman have worked for the fire department, the police department and the sheriff's department. In addition, along with Don, Dave, Pat and Matt have served their country with stints in the armed forces. Bob, the eldest son is a machinist. Happy Holidays &endash; maybe The group's matriarch, Karen, says that she tries not to dwell on the dangers her sons and husband face each and every day. "Well, you really try not to think about it. Otherwise you would drive yourself crazy, if you thought about it all the time. Grandma just told me to live each day and let God take care of it." She also noted, "Dinners get interrupted, especially when you're going to have a cookout or something. Then it seems like it doesn't matter if you plan something, right in the middle of it, or just before its time to eat, everybody gets called in. There you are waiting for them with a cold supper." Dave and Pat echoed that thought by noting holidays are the same way. "Some years you get a holiday. Some years you don't." Dave Freeman: "Dad" -- 43 years in uniform. Dave doesn't know what drew him to the safety service field, but when he joined the Air Force at 17, he chose the military police. During his five-year stint in the Air Force, he also served as a volunteer fireman for the Murray, Neb., Volunteer Fire Department. When he got out of the Air Force, he and his wife Karen and their sons, Don, Mike and Bob moved back to Van Wert County. In 1969, twins Pat and Matt were added to the Freeman family. One day, Dave said he looked in the newspaper and saw an article that the Van Wert City Fire Department had vacancies and were testing. He applied, took the test, got the job, and started in November 1967. During that time, Dave was of the first of a new breed of heroes &endash; the paramedic. After his retirement in 1991, he returned to law enforcement by becoming a member of the Van Wert County Sheriff's Department Auxiliary. Dave was dual-trained as a firefighter/paramedic/fire inspector/investigator and as a law enforcement officer, so the step to the Sheriff's Department wasn't a gigantic leap. He also worked as a Town Marshall in the village of Convoy, part-time. "So really, all my adult life," Dave said, "I've done this type of work, emergency response type of work, either in the military or the Sheriff's Department." Which unfortunately for the family meant a small paycheck. "You don't get rich doing this," he said emphatically. "The plus side of this kind of job is hard to explain because you have to be there, do it, feel it, to realize all the good things. It involves helping people and seeing good, positive results." It would be easy to think with so many sons following in his career footsteps that Dave steered them in that direction, but he stressed that was not the case. He said he didn't influence their decisions, their vocations or when they went in the military. "Obviously," he said, "I didn't steer them in the military because they all went into the Army. If I had any clout, they would have gone into the Air Force. But I gave them, and still do, all of the wisdom and knowledge that I can share with them just like I would any other police officer or firefighter. They're my sons, and my brothers in uniform."

Mike: 21 years in uniform Originally, Mike started as a volunteer fireman for the Van Wert City Fire Department and was eventually hired as a full-time fireman in 1989. He worked there for a couple of years, until his wife's job required a move to Illinois. Mike tested for and secured a position with the Dewitt County, Ill., Sheriff's Department in 1991 and served with that department until 1995. He and his wife moved back to Van Wert soon after and Mike tested for the Van Wert City Police Department and was hired later that year. "It appealed to me because of the reputation of being in law enforcement," Mike said. "I suppose it's a way to justify that you're doing something for the common good. You actually have an impact on the way things are, hopefully to do that in a good way each day." He noted that becoming a firefighter was one of the first things he wanted to do after his high-school graduation. "It was everything I expected it to be. It is a wonderful profession, there's nothing like being a firefighter or police officer." Mike, along with his brothers, spent a lot of time at the fire station while they were growing up. "It was an exciting place to come as kid," he said, "Every kid dreams of coming to visit the fire station." During his tenure as a firefighter, Mike did have the opportunity to work with his dad on occasion. "That was great at some times and challenging at others." He thinks that the events of Sept.11 have made everyone a bit more aware of their surroundings and how fragile everything is and how things can change in an instant. And that it makes everyone more appreciative of the freedom the people have in this country. "Something," Mike said, "we represent and that we uphold for everyone. "The best thing about being a law enforcement officer is that you can have a direct impact on people and situations just by the way you conduct yourself. If you can make a difference in a person's life early enough and if you handle that appropriately, then maybe they won't have to experience the downside of continuing that way." Don: U.S. Army: 17 years in uniform Currently, Don is a sergeant major at Fort Hood, Texas, and is in charge of community relations for the 1st Calvary Division. Being a military man was not his original plan. He joined the army to get money for college and when he was in Germany in the 1980s, he decided he liked what he was doing and decided to re-enlist. Don said his father greatly influenced his path in life. "We were raised to believe...to have a sense of duty to our county, to our community." In April, Don arrived back home from Kuwait where he was serving in Operation Enduring Freedom. "It was always a little scary, but it was an honor to go overseas and do our nation's bidding with the soldiers that I served with." His unit was a forward support company which supported maintenance for M1 Tanks and Bradleys. A Bradley is an infantry-fighting vehicle. In 1991, Don became a member of the exclusive Sgt. Audie Murphy Club. Audie Murphy is the most highly decorated soldier in American history. The club was established in 1986 as a way to recognize the army's best and brightest non-commissioned officers. Once inducted, the members do a lot of volunteer work in the community, escort VIPs when they're on post, and advise the chain of command of enlisted issues in the army. Don thinks that the adventure and the challenges inherent in the military, police and firefighting careers was a significant force in his and his brother's choice of careers.

Matt: 15 years in uniform Matt became a police officer because of an old-fashioned case of hero worship. "A gentleman by the name of Marion Michael Morris. His other name is John Wayne. I am a John Wayne nut. I've watched John Wayne in his movies and in his interviews and he was always serving the public," Matt said. "Even when he was not on screen, he was always serving the public. He was the real American hero and I think that sunk into my head." Matt also noted that he and "the other half that looks like me," his twin brother Pat, signed up for the Army when they both 17. Pat, he noted, went in to shoot big guns and, "I went in and learned how to fix helicopters." He flew on helicopters everyday for five years. "I miss it now. I miss flying. Flying everyday, hanging out the door of a helicopter." Like his other brothers, Matt grew up at the fire department and he said he has been wearing a uniform his whole adult life, noting he still goes to the fire department everyday before he goes to work to talk with the firemen. "I don't how the public sees us, but the fire department, the police department, the sheriff's department, we're all one big family anyway." Matt also worked for the Van Wert County Sheriff's Auxiliary. He and his brother Mike both took the test for the police department at the same time and out of the 98 people that took the test, he and Mike were two of the five people they hired. Matt also served in Desert Storm. His unit worked directly for the 18th Airborne Commander out of Fort Bragg, NC. "When Iraq invaded Kuwait, eight hours or so after they invaded, we got our call, we loaded up and we were the first heavy-lift helicopters unit in the country." He said the experience there was different noting there was a lot of bad stuff. He did see combat and lost four of his friends in the conflict. Pat: 13 years in uniform Pat has been a member of the Van Wert City Fire Department about 3 1/2 years. "I guess I always wanted to be a fireman. I grew up there and it's just something I've always wanted to do." Pat served for four years in the Georgia National Guard as a military policeman. He said after he was discharged from the Army, he was still living in Georgia when word got back to him that the Van Wert City Fire Department was testing. "I jumped on an airplane and flew to Ohio and took the test. I moved back to Van Wert and was here just about a year when Chief Steele (Fire Chief Jim Steele) called me and offered me the job and I've being doing it ever since and I love it." Pat served as a cannon crewman on the demilitarized zone in Korea. "At the time, I had fun while I was there. It's no place I'd want to go back to. But it was also scary at the same time. It opened my eyes to what the world is like in places other than the United States." When he got back from Korea, Pat changed over to the Military Police and served as part of the security force for the '96 Olympics in Atlanta. More exactly, he served as law enforcement at the Olympic Village where the athletes stayed. "It's probably something I'll never ever get to do again." His area at the Olympics was the blue zone which was where the American, Russian, Israelis, British and German athletes were all housed, which was also the high-risk area, mainly because of what had happened at the '72 Munich games. He was only about 300 yards from where the bomb went off. For the next couple of weeks, he said it was scary because some Ryder trucks and some fertilizer had been stolen around Atlanta. The normal family thing Dave explained that a lot of people don't know that the fire station is a home place for children of firefighters. "When firemen work the 24-hour shift at fire stations, usually in the evenings, their wife and kids come up to do the normal family thing. So in the evening there might be several kids in the fire station. They kind of grow up there." As teen-agers, when there was a big fire, Dave said, firemen's tee-age kids came to the fire station and helped repack hose, helped wash hose, and helped put the trucks back in service because it was exciting for the children. "So they really grew up there."