By Courtney Elisech
In the United States, Veterans Day is a federal holiday to honor those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, observed on Nov 11. Some veterans celebrate by telling stories and sharing memories. Take a trip down memory lane with Michigan veteran Jessica Mroz.
SANFORD – At the age of 23, Jessica Mroz started her career as a Specialist in the Army Reserves. She served from 2003 to 2006, honorably discharged to begin a new adventure as a mother. She didn’t want to be overseas when she had her son at home.
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, were her inspiration to join.
“I remember watching the towers,” Mroz said, “I remember watching a man jump off a tower and it was just the worst decision you would ever have to make. That jumping out of the building, jumping out some 60 or more stories, is the only choice. I wanted to help make sure that didn’t happen again.”
Mroz, 41, is currently a travel nurse living in a new home located in Sanford, Mich. Most recently, she worked in California, at Select Specialty Care in Saginaw, and now in North Branch, Mich.
Prior to being a travel nurse, Mroz worked at Covenant HealthCare as a critical care nurse and a rapid response nurse, aka reach nurse.
Before joining the reserves, Mroz classified herself as a shy person, uncomfortable with being in charge.
“I was a super-duper shy person,” Mroz said. “Not that you would know that from knowing me now. But, in school, I was so shy I couldn’t even raise my hand to answer a question, my face would turn beat red. I could not talk to people. I was the most shy person on the face of the earth.”
One experience from basic training had an impact on Mroz. It gave her life-long skills and confidence she would come to rely on in her daily life and her career as a nurse.
“It was the very beginning of basic training. My drill sergeant, just out of the blue, said ‘all right, Mroz, you are going to be platoon sergeant.’ So, I had to go and be in front of my entire platoon of about 30 to 40 people and march them to the mess hall. I had to call cadence. I had to do all this stuff.
“It really brought me out of my shell. And it made me feel okay to be in front of people, giving directions and being the one in charge. That all translated into being able to do my reach nurse stuff, it was a lot of the same thing.”
Mroz set out for home and civilian life after completing basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., job training in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and being stationed in Southfield. Mich. with her drill unit.
“Returning to civilian life…it was weird for me,” Mroz said. “It wasn’t as bad for me as it was for some other people. I was only gone for six months or so for all my training.”
It was difficult to see people who didn’t give everything they could to their jobs.
“Being in the military is your job,” Mroz said. “You are forced to give everything you have and work super hard all of the time. Everyone around you is like that, just extremely disciplined. Then you come back to the civilian world, and you see all these people that are just doing whatever they want, without a purpose or pride behind anything. That was the biggest adjustment to coming home.”
Veterans Day has come to mean a lot more to Mroz in the last few years than it had in the past.
“Nothing to do with me, but I just met my biological dad about seven or eight years ago. I found out that he is an army veteran of 20 years, a retired Master Sergeant,” Mroz said. “So, that’s something that him and I have in common.”
They have a special way to celebrate Veterans Day together.
“On Veteran Day we always call each other, and he will tell me stories about a couple different things. We will talk about how much the army changed our lives,” Mroz said, “And it did, it totally changed my life.”
Veterans Day can mean something a little different to each person. For those who have served, it is a day to remember and reminisce with old friends. For others, it is a time to be thankful for those willing to risk their lives in service of this country.
Try to find a new way to celebrate this year. Instead of saying Happy Veterans Day, start up a conversation. What is an experience that impacted them? Why did they join? You will be surprised by the stories you get to hear.
