Fred Mosely, with his wife, Valerie, at his side, receives a certificate from Alan Blanke for Mosely’s recognition as Veteran of the Month for September from American Legion Post 432, Wheatland.
Frederick Mosely served 20 years in the army and, if family matters hadn’t taken precedence, he would have served for 10 more.
Mosely, of Brookfield, serves in a different way now, managing an honor guard for veterans’ funerals.
“We do military funerals all over the area,” said the member and past commander of American Legion Post 432, Wheatland. “We’re kind of the last ones that are doing them.”
Mosely entered the service following his 1984 graduation from Farrell High School.
“Just nothing here in the valley at the time,” he said of why he enlisted. “It was either go to work at the steel mill, Sharon Steel, when it was still open, or join the military. I had nothing going for me at the time, so it was my opportunity and it was a good opportunity. I’m glad that I took it. Once I was in and had five, six years in, I said, ‘I’m going all the way.’”
The best part of the military was the travel, he said, noting he served in Germany and Egypt.
“I got to see parts of the world that a lot of people will never see,” he said.
He called the camaraderie among troops “awesome.”
“You have to depend on each other,” Mosely said. “Camaraderie is a lot stronger than any job you’ll ever have.”
Mosely handled battlefield communications for the 7th Infantry Division, 1st Armored Division and 101st Airborne Division.
“I went from rotary telephones that I had to crank up to phones that I could just pick up and I’m hooked up,” said Mosely, who served in the Persian Gulf for six months after the invasion of Kuwait. “We can communicate using computers, now. I can tell you where everybody is on the battlefield with a computer, now.”
After he left the service, Mosely worked for the U.S. Postal Service and then as a corrections officer. Now retired, he encouraged today’s young people to give the military a try.
“You get to pick your job,” he said. “You have an opportunity to do college, too, while you serve your country. I was in Egypt and taking college classes over satellite.”
Even if you are not a lifer, the military can get you a start on a career, he said.
Mosely was honored by the legion post as Veteran of the Month for September.
