God Bless Our Veteran: John Arens

What an honor to be pictured with 91-year-old retired Navy Captain John Arens at the Southwest Florida Military Museum and Library in Cape Coral, Florida.

Every Tuesday, the SWF Military Museum offers lunch for veterans and family members. Up to 200 attendees enjoy the lunch and camaraderie each week.

Bob with vet in white suit- mem museum

Captain Arens, a Toledo, Ohio native, born in 1926, has an impressive military career.

He first served in the Merchant Marines near the end of WWII. As a teenager he joined this non-military organization which protects transportation of commercial goods and passengers during peacetime. However, in times of war, Merchant Marines can provide assistance to the US Navy.

While in the Merchant Marines, he was drafted into the US Army and served as an Airborne Ranger in the Korean War with the Army Rangers 187th Airborne.

In the 1960s, he trained for and became a Navy SCUBA diver and worked for a number of years in the Arctic. After that, he skippered a Navy spy ship during the Cold War years.

He retired at age 59 from military service in 1987, but the Navy called him up in 1991, along with other retired captains, to serve in Iraq’s “Operation Desert Storm.”

John Arens has stories to tell about his time in the Merchant Marines, the Army, and the Navy. His stories are the stuff I see in the movies.

God bless you, sir, and thank you for your patriotic services.

If you want to go to the lunch for veterans, show up at the museum, sign-in, and enjoy lunch. If you have a group, call first. Look for the man in dress whites and shake his hand. He has served our country well. And don’t forget to visit the museum. It is one of the best in the country.

Bob at veterans museum cape coral

Southwest Florida Military Museum and Library

4820 Leonard Street, Cape Coral Florida 239-541-8704.

While you are there, look in the September 11th exhibit. You will find my book CC Veterans Museum 1 TOT in display (coauthored with Janice Hall Heck) Triumph Over Terror about my experiences serving as chaplain at Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Thanks, Bob Ossler, Chaplain

You can find me on Facebook at Bob Ossler Chaplain

and on Twitter at @bobosslerchaplain

You can order Triumph Over Terror on Amazon.

Article by Bob Ossler and Janice Hall Heck

About Janice Hall Heck

Janice Heck, coauthor of Triumph Over Terror with Bob Ossler, is a retired educator (special education, early childhood administration). An AARP card holder, she is still raring to go! After official retirement, she kept her hand in education by teaching English, writing, and computer applications (part-time)in a residential adolescent drug/alcohol rehab program. In her free time (whoever said you have free time when you retire? Wrong!), she writes for, edits, and publishes a community newsletter; sings in the Margate Community Church choir; and collects old grammar books just for the heck of it. (Stop that snickering!) She loves travel, cats, writing, blogging, blogging challenges, and life-long learning. She is a wife, mother, and Grannie to thirteen grandchildren. She is committed to Relay for Life (cancer), the annual City-to-Shore MS Bike-a-Thon, and the American Heart Association. She is rapidly learning about eldercare for an older sibling. Welcome to her blog. Connect with her @janiceheck on Twitter, Janice Hall Heck on Facebook, and website www.TriumphOverTerror.com.

View all posts by Janice Hall Heck →

One Response to God Bless Our Veteran: John Arens

Janice Hall Heck says:

March 24, 2018 at 10:58 am

Reblogged this on JaniceHeck and commented:

Here is a post honoring an outstanding veteran. The article is coauthored with Bob Ossler and myself.

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