Local News

Austintown veteran admits to independent streak

AUSTINTOWN -- A gift from his grandchildren, an Army Green pullover hoodie worn by David G. Ward is inscribed with "Grumpy Old Vet: I Do What I Want.”

The casual wear represents the Austintown resident's sense of humor while giving an indication of how he's lived his life — an independent streak that found him suddenly joining the Army, volunteering to organize the base's armory, learning how to play the guitar and writing songs, continuing his military career after he returned to Ohio and transitioning his handyman qualities into an IT career.

After graduating from Austintown Fitch High School, Ward followed what many others in the Mahoning Valley automatically did.

"Back in the ’70s, it was graduate high school. Get a job in the mill," he said.

He did just that, working at Copperweld Steel until he got laid off. After Black Monday when Youngstown Sheet & Tube closed its Campbell Works, and he was stuck in a dead-end job, Ward saw few career opportunities for himself in 1978.

"Everything was kind of going south then. So, what am I going to do? I decided to join the military and go see the world. Something made me stop at the (Army) recruiter’s office that day. I was 18, signed my name to what I wanted and told my family on Thanksgiving Day that I was leaving in January. My dad was happy. Mother, obviously, no. But, my dad thought it was a really good choice," Ward said.

He arrived at Fort Sill in Oklahoma for basic training on Jan. 9, 1979. While there, he took part in U.S. Army Field Artillery Advanced Individual Training (AIT) for being a cannon crewman.

Attending the Air Assault School in Florida, Ward hoped to join the 101st Airborne Division.

"I went to school for that and got my wings (Air Assault Badge) from them, sliding down ropes out of helicopters and stuff like that. On the third jump, I broke my ankle. Then, I got shipped to Korea," Ward said.

His deployment coincidentally found him sent to South Korea, the same country where his father fought in the Korean War three decades earlier.

With the United States still in Cold War hostilities and standoff status with North Korea, Ward was stationed at Camp Pelham, a U.S. Army installation in South Korea located near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It was known as a Firebase 4P1 (aka 4Papa1), an active U.S./Republic of Korea artillery fire support base located near the Korean Demilitarized Zone north of the Imjin River.

"I was only 8 miles from the border. We had predisposed targets that we were supposed to hit before everything came in on us."

Relating the gravity of the situation as well as dark military humor, he recalled, "In the mess hall, they had a sign painted on the wall, real little, but you still could see it, 'Your life expectancy here is 1.3 seconds. Get a round down range and then run.' It kind of ruined your appetite."

While there, Ward did two things that changed the course of his life, just not immediately.

Ignoring the advice of his father, he said, "My father always said, 'Don’t volunteer for anything." Well, I volunteered to take over the arms room, which takes care of all the weapons. It hadn’t passed an AGI (Annual General Inspection) in years. According to my job classification, I shouldn’t have had it, but I begged for it.

"I got an Army Commendation Medal out of that for turning the arms room around. Good thing I did. It was very interesting to learn and take care of everything. I even started a mobile arms room that I would take to the field while we went out for exercises, which hadn’t been done. They were kind of impressed with that. It was fun."

While stationed in South Korea, rather than spend his paycheck like his fellow soldiers on alcohol and "working girls," "I bought a guitar and started teaching myself how to play for something to do that was constructive."

Ward stopped playing the instrument for years, but returned to it when his wife, Elsie, bought him one when he turned 50.

"Music has done a lot for me as far as keeping me, I guess, for a lack of better words, on this side of sane. It has done a lot, and then when I learned three chords, I started writing my own songs," Ward said.

Since then, he's had two releases as The David G. Ward Project and founded the Songwriters 5×5 Showcase that happens once a month at Paladin Brewing.

Returning to Ohio and after serving his time with the Army, Ward turned to the Ohio National Guard and attended the Ohio Military Academy, now known as the 147th Regiment (Regional Training Institute) of the Ohio Army National Guard. Following that, he went back to where he started, Fort Sill, for the Officer Basic Course. When he left the military in 1989, he left as a 1st lieutenant.

"I was interested in becoming an officer to make it a career. I was seriously considering staying in the guard until I hit enough years to retire, but my father and I had an automotive aftermarket business at the time. Every time I was gone for a weekend or two weeks, I had to repair what the other guys had done. So, it got to a point where I had to resign to keep the business going."

Ward attended Youngstown State University for two years and then used his auto mechanic skills to teach shop at his high school alma mater for five years. "Then, they kind of ripped everything out of there," he said.

"So, I became a corporate trainer for a while, but I learned the software so well they moved me over to start testing it. I guess I was good at it because that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. I kind of fell into it."

For someone who has worked with computer systems, software and networks over the past 20 years, it seems fitting that Ward used that technology to reunite with his fellow veterans.

"A couple of years ago via social media, I reconnected with about a handful of guys I served with in Korea. We got together in Vermilion. I hadn’t seen those guys in 40 years. You sit down next to them, and it’s just like you didn’t miss a day, a brotherhood. Good men to serve with."

Summing up Ward's feelings about his military service, he said, "Nothing wrong with giving back to the country or service. Anybody that’s served in the military or served their country has my utmost respect. That takes a lot of dedication."

AUSTINTOWN -- A gift from his grandchildren, David G. Ward wears an Army Green pullover hoodie with "Grumpy Old Vet: I Do What I Want" inscribed on it.

The casual wear represents the Austintown resident's sense of humor while giving an indication of how he's lived his life -- an independent streak that found him suddenly joining the Army, volunteering to organize the base's armory, learning how to play the guitar and writing songs, continuing his military career after he returned to Ohio and transitioning his handyman qualities into an IT career.

After graduating from Austintown Fitch High School, Ward followed what many others in the Mahoning Valley automatically did.

"Back in the '70s, it was graduate high school. Get a job in the mill," he said.

He did just that, working at Copperweld until he got laid off. After Black Monday when Youngstown Sheet and Tube closed its Campbell Works, and he was stuck in a dead-end job, Ward saw few career opportunities for himself in 1978.

"Everything was kind of going south then. So, what am I going to do? I decided to join the military and go see the world. Something made me stop at the (Army) recruiter’s office that day. I was 18, signed my name to what I wanted and told my family on Thanksgiving Day that I was leaving in January. My dad was happy. Mother, obviously, no. But, my dad thought it was a really good choice," Ward said.

He arrived at Fort Sill in Oklahoma for basic training on Jan. 9, 1979. While there, he took part in U.S. Army Field Artillery Advanced Individual Training (AIT) for being a cannon crewman.

Attending the Air Assault School in Florida, Ward hoped to join the 101st Airborne Division.

"I went to school for that and got my wings (Air Assault Badge) from them, sliding down ropes out of helicopters and stuff like that. On the third jump, I broke my ankle. Then, I got shipped to Korea," Ward said.

His deployment coincidentally found him sent to South Korea, the same country where his father fought in the Korean War three decades earlier.

With the United States still in Cold War hostilities and standoff status with North Korea, Ward was stationed at Camp Pelham, a U.S. Army installation in South Korea located near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It was known as a Firebase 4P1 (aka 4Papa1), an active U.S./Republic of Korea artillery fire support base located near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) north of the Imjin River.

"I was only 8 miles from the border. We had predisposed targets that we were supposed to hit before everything came in on us."

Relating the gravity of the situation as well as dark military humor, he recalled, "In the mess hall, they had a sign painted on the wall, real little, but you still could see it, 'Your life expectancy here is 1.3 seconds. Get a round down range and then run.' It kind of ruined your appetite."

While there, Ward did two things that changed the course of his life, just not immediately.

Ignoring the advice of his father, he said, "My father always said, 'Don’t volunteer for anything." Well, I volunteered to take over the arms room, which takes care of all the weapons. It hadn’t passed an AGI (Annual General Inspection) in years. According to my job classification, I shouldn’t have had it, but I begged for it.

"I got an Army Commendation Medal out of that for turning the arms room around. Good thing I did. It was very interesting to learn and take care of everything. I even started a mobile arms room that I would take to the field while we went out for exercises, which hadn’t been done. They were kind of impressed with that. It was fun."

While stationed in South Korea, rather than spend his paycheck like his fellow soldiers on alcohol and "working girls," "I bought a guitar and started teaching myself how to play for something to do that was constructive."

Ward stopped playing the instrument for years, but returned to it when his wife, Elsie, bought him one when he turned 50.

"Music has done a lot for me as far as keeping me, I guess, for a lack of better words, on this side of sane. It has done a lot, and then when I learned three chords, I started writing my own songs," Ward said.

Since then, he's had two releases as The David G. Ward Project and founded the Songwriters 5×5 Showcase that happens once a month at Paladin Brewing.

Returning to Ohio and after serving his time with the Army, Ward turned to the Ohio National Guard and attended the Ohio Military Academy (now known as the 147th Regiment (Regional Training Institute) of the Ohio Army National Guard). Following that, he went back to where he started, Fort Sill, for the Officer Basic Course. When he left the military in 1989, he left as a 1st Lieutenant.

"I was interested in becoming an officer to make it a career. I was seriously considering staying in the guard until I hit enough years to retire, but my father and I had an automotive aftermarket business at the time. Every time I was gone for a weekend or two weeks, I had to repair what the other guys had done. So, it got to a point where I had to resign to keep the business going."

Ward attended Youngstown State University for two years and then used his auto mechanic skills to teach shop at his high school alma mater for five years. "Then, they kind of ripped everything out of there," he said.

"So, I became a corporate trainer for a while, but I learned the software so well they moved me over to start testing it. I guess I was good at it because that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. I kind of fell into it."

For someone who has worked with computer systems, software and networks over the past 20 years, it seems fitting that Ward used that technology to reunite with his fellow veterans.

"A couple of years ago via social media, I reconnected with about a handful of guys I served with in Korea. We got together in Vermilion. I hadn’t seen those guys in 40 years. You sit down next to them, and it’s just like you didn’t miss a day, a brotherhood. Good men to serve with."

Summing up Ward's feelings about his military service, he said, "Nothing wrong with giving back to the country or service. Anybody that’s served in the military or served their country has my utmost respect. That takes a lot of dedication."