Josias Ochoa, Jazmine Luevanos, Matthew Yang
Mr. Hocking/Period.6
Veteran Name: Joseph/Jody Helter
Branch of Service: Army/Navy
Years in Service: 25 years/4 years
Joseph and Jody Helter
Without this nation’s veterans we would not have our freedom. It is our duty to recognize
their bravery. Recently, we had the honor of participating in King High Remembers, where we
met two veterans Joseph Helter and his daughter, Jody Helter.
Joseph Helter was born in 1939 in Nebraska. As a teenager, Joseph was not looking to
join the Army. However, in high school he decided to drop out of school Out of high school,
Joseph found himself struggling to find a way to support his family because it was extremely
difficult for him to find a job without a high school diploma. With nowhere else to turn Joseph
decided to enlist in the Navy but due to him not passing the physical examination he had no other
option but to enlist in the Army. He was sent to boot camp as a young adult in Colorado without
any idea of what to expect. His daily routine consisted of having breakfast at five in the morning,
having classes until six in the afternoon and then he had free time up to around eight o’clock due
to exhaustion period. For Joseph, free time consisted of playing golf and pranking his fellow
soldiers. One prank that was all too familiar was the dreaded Short Sheet. Short Sheeting was
when a person folded and arranged the sheet on the bed in a way that anyone getting into the bed
would be unable to stretch their legs out beyond the middle of the bed as a practical joke.
Anyone with a Short Sheeted would get in trouble by their commander because it was a
requirement for their beds to be organized. Despite all the pranks, boot camp wasn’t such a
breeze. Mr. Helter found boot camp to be rather difficult. After a while, he became homesick and
frequently wrote letters to his family. Mr. Helter also went through pressure and stress during his
years of service but he stated “There is no pressure, just small things.” This statement means that
you should not worry about things when they are usually just small things. Joseph did not carry
or possess anything for good luck as well as participate in any pre-combat rituals. His best advice
was to avoid pressure and stress as much as possible which is what kept him confident along the
road. He traveled to Germany, Georgia, Colorado, Alaska, Midway, California, Thailand and
other regions throughout his years of service. Unfortunately, Joseph was involved in a three-day
battle in Vietnam around 1955 where they were outgunned twenty to one however, fellow
soldiers who were scheduled to go back home volunteered to go with them to battle and
sacrificed their lives for their comrades. Joseph stated, “The hardest part was verifying who the
dead were,” since after a battle, soldiers would have to confirm the identities of those who gave
their life for our freedom. When Joseph returned, he found there were a lot of people protesting
the war but he didn’t mind since he knew war is always for freedom. After Joseph’s years of
service, he had his education supported by the G.I. Bill and attended two years of college where
he received his Associate's Degree. Following this accomplishment, he worked at a correctional
facility and to this day, still keeps in touch with the friends he made during his years of service
despite not attending any of his reunions. Overall, Joseph saw his military services to be a very
positive experience and claims it has made him who he is today, especially after spending
twenty-five years in the services.
Jody Helter was born on October 20th, 1959 in Lincoln Nebraska. As a teenager, Jody
completed high school, went on, and eventually received her Bachelor’s degree. She admitted to
joining the Navy because she “liked their uniforms more than the others”. Jody had the same
daily routine as her father Joseph during boot camp. While she was in the service, Jody felt more
confident with herself. Jody began her service by going to boot camp in Florida. Jody had stated,
“It’s a rude awakening the moment you get off the bus.” Strangely, Jody had actually enjoyed
boot camp; for fun, she and her friends would do crazy things and go “bed hopping.” Despite all
the fun, she witnessed racism, sexism, and homophobia. Jody still managed to stay in touch with
her family and wrote back to them frequently. Like her father, she did her best to stay away from
the pressure and stress of the military and managed to avoid it, remaining calm when possible.
Jody had carried a small bear for good luck throughout her years of service. During her service
she had trained in Colorado and traveled to places such as Mississippi, Japan and Hawaii (where
her unit was). Although she didn’t experience any combat, she was still able to witness many
casualties of war when she was at Kuwait. While she was on leave, she would go back to her
hometown Nebraska and visit her family. The day her service ended, Jody recalls it being
“bittersweet,” because she knew she still wanted to continue doing what she loved. Her biggest
regret of her years was getting out of active service, however she still viewed her military
services as a positive experience. Jody’s military experience did not influence her views on
today’s military and war because she claims that it was always about freedom in her view. Jody
stated “It wasn’t a job. I was just doing my part to assure freedom for everybody.”
As a result of King High Remembers, we have gained much respect for our veterans and
we will cherish their legacy for as long as we shall live. Joseph and Jody Helter have taught us a
lot about the significance of our troops and the cause of their entrance into the military service.
We understand now that they do not fight for themselves but for the freedom of our nation. It is
truly a great honor to be able to say that we were able to talk with heroes.