Written by Brianna Brinker, Contributing Writer
In honor of Veterans Day, we celebrate a veteran with two granddaughters attending Saint Leo University. He is a man who fought for our lives and gave all his might to keep the United States safe. He is Richard Judd– a husband, a father, and a grandpa, but most importantly a hero to our country.
Judd was in the Air Force for 22 years, occupying numerous positions. He came in as an enlisted and came out as a major. He started off as a SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, escape)specialist; the role wasn’t an easy one. He trained people how to survive, resist capture, and escape to get home safely. After nine successful years of training those people, Judd then had the position of as a minuteman missile launch officer, and in order to become one, he had to go through six months of training, and he remained in this position for a couple of years.
For Judd’s remaining years in the Air Force, he remained in the intelligence field and became a mapping charting geodesy officer, which includes measuring the planet in precise measures.
After his experience in the Air Force, Judd describes himself as having integrity, loyalty, and honesty. He still uses those words to describe himself, and he encourages anyone to do anything they can to serve the country.
“If you can serve your country in other ways, I think you should always consider doing that,” he said.
His tone carries a sense of pride, knowing the roles he had in the Air Force allowed him to gain these qualities. His posture and smile carry a sense of confidence in who he is today.
Judd didn’t voluntarily join the military; he had other plans for his life. But in 1969 during the Vietnam War, he was drafted. However, he has a different perspective today.
“Today I think it’s more important, since there is no draft, that young people should consider going into the military because the world is a dangerous place, and they have to understand that their freedom is not free and easy to lose,” Judd said.
He agrees that people now-a-days should not take freedom for granted and encourages people to serve their country, even if it’s for a couple of years of their lives.
What motivated Judd the most to protect the country was visiting, seeing, and living in other countries and realizing how they don’t have the same freedoms that Americans have and how easy it is to lose the things that Americans enjoy in this country. That gave him the fight and the power to keep going so people today can have an enjoyable life experience.
People who enlist in the military go through terrifying experiences, but they can also be rewarding in the end.
“In Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, bombs were going off near me,” he said, but he doesn’t look back on those experiences with disdain. He looks forward. He focuses on his grandchildren and being able to watch them grow. He’s grateful he’s able to form beautiful relationships with each of them, and that gift is evident by the expression on his face.
Judd’s time in the Air Force allowed him to also save many lives. In Fairbanks, Alaska in the Brooks Range during 1977, he was serving his position as a SERE specialist for the Alaskan command during a training exercise. It was 72 degrees below zero and people were freezing to death and Judd located them, while keeping them warm for 18 hours, including through the night, before they could get to a place of warmth and safety.
“I have found others that didn’t quite make it,” he said. Sadly, he said it wasn’t a scene that anybody wants to be a part of. His voice gets low and sad as he talks of these past times.
It is well known that risk is a part of going into any branch of the military.
“Anyone who serves in the military could find themselves in danger,” he said. “It’s a decision you have to make.”
It’s a choice that puts a soldier’s life on the line for the people he or she loves, and for the future of the country.
After 22 years of being in the Air Force, lessons are learned, and lives are changed. “Freedom isn’t free,” Judd said, which is a life lesson Judd learned from going to multiple countries where they want to take away what America has: freedom.
Judd believes that being in the Air Force made him a better person.
“You get to see the world in a whole different light,” he said.
From days, weeks, years, challenges, and near-death experiences, being a fighter for the country and a hero for the people showed Judd responsibility.
“You can’t blame everything that goes wrong on something else,” he said. Judd believes the military teaches discipline, so soldiers take credit for their own actions.
Judd shows the love he has for his country from the years he spent fighting for freedom. His gratitude and kind heart shows that it was all worth it to be able to see the people he loves blossom as a grandfather and, again, a hero to our country.
2 Comments
That is a fantastic real story of a true hero in many ways of life . Thank you for your service as a war hero , father , grandfather and great grandfather .
It was the grace of God I found and read this about Richard and it mentions their dear family. I knew them when my husband was also a Survival Instructor at Fair Child AFB in the early 70s. Glad to know Rick, as we knew him, continued on with a career field in continuing to save lives. They knew us as Delbert & Kathy Thomas