Stories from Four Edina Servicemen

Four Edina servicemen share their stories on putting country first.

By: Andy Greder | From the issue: January 2012

Photo: Marshall Franklin Long

Minnesota Air National Guard Master Sergeant Dave Westgard

Service.

Four armed service men from Edina have served tours in Iraq, enrolled in Army Ranger School, worn the uniform in 30 countries and protected the homeland against nuclear attack.

Respect.

They pay tribute to those who served them before them. They’re civil in the communities they help liberate. They fulfill the mission at hand.

Sacrifice.

They do it on regimented schedules thousands of miles from their families, friends and home. They forgo their freedom to create it for others.

Meet these four inspiring men:

Support and Solace

The support and solace Sean Anderson provides to his country were inherited characteristics from his mother Susan Anderson. The Navy pilot flies nuclear command and control missions to allow the President and the Joint Chiefs to remain in contact with resources abroad. The 26-year-old Edina man was also selected as a casualty assistance calls officer, with the somber task of notifying family members if their son or daughter loses their life in the line of duty.

“[I think] they picked him because of his sense of empathy toward other people,” Susan Anderson says.

At Our Lady of Grace church in Edina, Susan Anderson compiled a prayer and tribute book of local armed service members. The goal was to remind people of the need for prayer support to service members and their families and to build awareness of the altruistic aspects of service.

“They need our encouragement,” Susan Anderson says. “It’s not easy. No matter what their assignment, they are told what to do and they do it.”

Sean Anderson is told to participate in routine training missions in order to be ready in case the U.S. comes under attack. “Our mission requires us to stand alert to maintain a survivable link between the president and joint chiefs and his nuclear forces,” he says. “It is unique in that we are protecting the homeland and preventing any nuclear attack against the United States.”

Sean Anderson, who graduated from St. Thomas Academy in 2003 and Loyola University in Chicago in 2007, earned wings about two years ago and began embarking on stateside missions.

“I like the idea of putting service before self,” Sean Anderson says.

That doesn’t come without a price.

“The biggest sacrifice is not having freedom to have my own schedule,” he says. “Not being able to have the freedom to spend time with friends and family is the toughest part.”

“It’s nice to see new places and you appreciate a place once you come back to it,” he says. “That’s how I feel about Minnesota and Edina.”