jinelson
03-31-08, 09:20 AM
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Fighting To Serve
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20080331/NEWS/369434793
Growing up, all three Behrens boys played Army. It wasn't unusual for their mom to look outside and shout, "What are you doing on the roof?" But she knew: They were playing Army again.
And now, all three brothers, Brian, Matthew and Brandon Behrens, have joined up.
Brian, 24, is in the Army and still in training in New York; Matthew, 20, will leave for the Marines next month; his twin, Brandon, has joined the Army National Guard and will leave for basic training in August.
But of the three, the one who went through the most to get in the military was Brandon, who fought to get in because of an unusual problem: He is missing most of his trigger finger.
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x157/usmc3537/2blide.jpg
Brandon Behrens, 20, shows off the finger that almost kept him out of the military. He fought for more than a year to serve his country.
Mike Peters / mpeters@greeleytribune
For more than a year, Brandon sent letters to the military, to Congress, to other leaders, asking that he should be given the chance to join, despite a childhood accident that caused him to lose the upper portion of an index finger.
"When I was 3, I got my finger caught in a folding hide-a-bed, and it cut off the end," Brandon said, holding up the finger. "I grew up without that finger, and I've been fine.
But when he tried to enlist, Brandon was told he couldn't join because most of his trigger finger was missing.
Growing up, all three Behrens boys played Army. It wasn't unusual for their mom to look outside and shout, "What are you doing on the roof?" But she knew: They were playing Army again.
And now, all three brothers, Brian, Matthew and Brandon Behrens, have joined up.
Brian, 24, is in the Army and still in training in New York; Matthew, 20, will leave for the Marines next month; his twin, Brandon, has joined the Army National Guard and will leave for basic training in August.
But of the three, the one who went through the most to get in the military was Brandon, who fought to get in because of an unusual problem: He is missing most of his trigger finger.
For more than a year, Brandon sent letters to the military, to Congress, to other leaders, asking that he should be given the chance to join, despite a childhood accident that caused him to lose the upper portion of an index finger.
"When I was 3, I got my finger caught in a folding hide-a-bed, and it cut off the end," Brandon said, holding up the finger. "I grew up without that finger, and I've been fine.
But when he tried to enlist, Brandon was told he couldn't join because most of his trigger finger was missing.
It isn't that Brandon was disabled by the accident. He was a state qualifier in wrestling at Greeley West High School, and he played the trumpet and bugle in the band. He was a member of Bugles Across America, where he played Taps at military funerals in this area. All without the end of his trigger finger.
So, he was surprised last year when he was told he couldn't join. "When they told me 'no,' " Brandon said, "it became a challenge to me. I had to show them I could do it."
So he began writing letters to Washington, explaining his "disability" wasn't a problem. It took more than a year, but he got a letter stating he might be able to get into the Army National Guard. Staff Sgt. Skye Robinson in Greeley helped.
"He's a great kid, and we wanted him in the National Guard," Sgt. Robinson said. "It was a matter of getting the waivers and correct documentation." Robinson said the length of Brandon's amputation made a difference, also. If it had been just a half-inch shorter, he probably wouldn't have been accepted.
All three brothers graduated from Greeley West. Their parents, Monte and Sharon Behrens, were not military, although they will now have bumper stickers that will show they are "Proud Parents" of soldiers in the Army and Marines and the National Guard.
At first, their mother tried to talk her three sons out of joining the military. "Of course it worries me, because they could all be overseas in the war in a year or two," Sharon said. "Already, I go crazy if I watch the news and hear about more soldiers being killed over there."
But she is proud of her sons as well. She already wears a shirt that says "Army Mom" on the front and has plans to get two more: "Marine Mom" and "National Guard Mom."
Staff writer Mike Peters' column about Weld County people appears Mondays in the Tribune. His humor column, the Gnarly Trombone, appears Saturdays.
Its stories like this that make Marines stomp Poolee's for service bashing.
Jim
Fighting To Serve
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20080331/NEWS/369434793
Growing up, all three Behrens boys played Army. It wasn't unusual for their mom to look outside and shout, "What are you doing on the roof?" But she knew: They were playing Army again.
And now, all three brothers, Brian, Matthew and Brandon Behrens, have joined up.
Brian, 24, is in the Army and still in training in New York; Matthew, 20, will leave for the Marines next month; his twin, Brandon, has joined the Army National Guard and will leave for basic training in August.
But of the three, the one who went through the most to get in the military was Brandon, who fought to get in because of an unusual problem: He is missing most of his trigger finger.
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x157/usmc3537/2blide.jpg
Brandon Behrens, 20, shows off the finger that almost kept him out of the military. He fought for more than a year to serve his country.
Mike Peters / mpeters@greeleytribune
For more than a year, Brandon sent letters to the military, to Congress, to other leaders, asking that he should be given the chance to join, despite a childhood accident that caused him to lose the upper portion of an index finger.
"When I was 3, I got my finger caught in a folding hide-a-bed, and it cut off the end," Brandon said, holding up the finger. "I grew up without that finger, and I've been fine.
But when he tried to enlist, Brandon was told he couldn't join because most of his trigger finger was missing.
Growing up, all three Behrens boys played Army. It wasn't unusual for their mom to look outside and shout, "What are you doing on the roof?" But she knew: They were playing Army again.
And now, all three brothers, Brian, Matthew and Brandon Behrens, have joined up.
Brian, 24, is in the Army and still in training in New York; Matthew, 20, will leave for the Marines next month; his twin, Brandon, has joined the Army National Guard and will leave for basic training in August.
But of the three, the one who went through the most to get in the military was Brandon, who fought to get in because of an unusual problem: He is missing most of his trigger finger.
For more than a year, Brandon sent letters to the military, to Congress, to other leaders, asking that he should be given the chance to join, despite a childhood accident that caused him to lose the upper portion of an index finger.
"When I was 3, I got my finger caught in a folding hide-a-bed, and it cut off the end," Brandon said, holding up the finger. "I grew up without that finger, and I've been fine.
But when he tried to enlist, Brandon was told he couldn't join because most of his trigger finger was missing.
It isn't that Brandon was disabled by the accident. He was a state qualifier in wrestling at Greeley West High School, and he played the trumpet and bugle in the band. He was a member of Bugles Across America, where he played Taps at military funerals in this area. All without the end of his trigger finger.
So, he was surprised last year when he was told he couldn't join. "When they told me 'no,' " Brandon said, "it became a challenge to me. I had to show them I could do it."
So he began writing letters to Washington, explaining his "disability" wasn't a problem. It took more than a year, but he got a letter stating he might be able to get into the Army National Guard. Staff Sgt. Skye Robinson in Greeley helped.
"He's a great kid, and we wanted him in the National Guard," Sgt. Robinson said. "It was a matter of getting the waivers and correct documentation." Robinson said the length of Brandon's amputation made a difference, also. If it had been just a half-inch shorter, he probably wouldn't have been accepted.
All three brothers graduated from Greeley West. Their parents, Monte and Sharon Behrens, were not military, although they will now have bumper stickers that will show they are "Proud Parents" of soldiers in the Army and Marines and the National Guard.
At first, their mother tried to talk her three sons out of joining the military. "Of course it worries me, because they could all be overseas in the war in a year or two," Sharon said. "Already, I go crazy if I watch the news and hear about more soldiers being killed over there."
But she is proud of her sons as well. She already wears a shirt that says "Army Mom" on the front and has plans to get two more: "Marine Mom" and "National Guard Mom."
Staff writer Mike Peters' column about Weld County people appears Mondays in the Tribune. His humor column, the Gnarly Trombone, appears Saturdays.
Its stories like this that make Marines stomp Poolee's for service bashing.
Jim