Military Service Past and Present: Bobcat Nation Commemorates Veteran’s Day

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Gallery|5 Photos
Laura Willhelm
Officer Krause poses with interviewers (from left) Stella Heinze and Emma Duvall after their interview Friday, November 11.

Tara Shanley and Maya Cavolo
November 11, 2022

Bobcat Nation Vets have been serving in different places around the country. This Veteran’s Day, we at BAHS hope to commemorate our staff who have served our country in the past. Our own Officer Krause and Coach Pickett served in the US Army, and many other staff members at BAHS have family members that have served in the military.

Coach Pickett

Coach Julian Pickett is pictured at his deployment with his wife and daughter. (Julian Pickett)

A well-known member of the BAHS staff happens to also be a veteran– Coach Julian Pickett. Before coming to BAHS, Coach Pickett served in the US Army for 5 years. Currently, Coach Pickett works with our regional playoff Football Team, as well as indoor and outdoor track.

When asked how his time in the military prepared him for working with young people as a coach, he said that the core values of “Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage” that he learned in basic training became a way of life for him and assisted him in teaching young people how to be accountable. He said that “anyone can be taught to learn the basic rules of athletics, whatever the sport may be. However, the respect of your military core values and beliefs set you apart as someone who is well-suited to work with children as a coach and mentor.”

Pickett is also familiar with fellow staff member, Coach Eric Siegel. He refers to Pickett as a loyal and passionate person: “He is willing to do anything for the better[ment] of athletes.” When students were asked about Coach Pickett, Bryson Calamita said that he is “a true representation of what Bel Air Football is all about.”

The Bel Air High Football Team is still playing strong this season in 2022; they continue in regional playoffs tonight, November 11. (Julian Pickett)

Officer Krause

You may have seen him around– but did you know he served our country?

Before he became our friendly neighborhood SRO, Officer Richard Krause served 5 years in the Army and 2 years in the National Guard in the military police departments. Krause’s most interesting service assignment was when he was stationed for 2 years in Panama and picked up Spanish. When asked the most important lesson he learned in his service, he said that his “sense of loyalty, discipline, and dedication” guided him throughout his life.

Officer Krause poses with interviewers (from left) Stella Heinze and Emma Duvall after their interview Friday, November 11. (Laura Willhelm)

Officer Krause also shared that fellow SRO Nick Rhodes is a marine reservist; his position is a combat engineer.

Though they themselves may not have served in the military, many BAHS staff members have family members who have served – such as Mrs. Hackett’s father (Army) and brother (Navy), Mrs. Pollard’s son (Navy) and Mrs. Schindler’s parents (Navy.)

Doris (Robertson) Johnson proudly served in the US Navy for 13 years, joining on March 13, 1945. She was chosen as one of the first six enlisted women to be sworn into the Regular Navy on July 7, 1948. During her time in the Navy, she was stationed in Washington, D.C., Hawaii, and Europe. She was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, American Theater Campaign Medal, and four Good Conduct Medals. She met her husband, Robert Johnson, while stationed at Bainbridge Naval Training Center and they married in 1958, when she decided to leave the service. Sadly, in 1968, Robert was lost at sea on the USS Scorpion submarine.
Doris died on May 30, 2019. Because of her important connection to the history of the US Navy, Doris was given the honor of being buried at sea. Her remains were taken on a submarine to the location of her husband’s resting place. (Susan Schindler)

 

 

 

 

 

Robert proudly served in the US Navy for 18 years, joining on April 29, 1950. He served aboard the destroyer picket ship Boredlon before reporting for submarine training in Groton, Connecticut. He was an instructor at radioman’s school in Bainbridge, Maryland from July 1957 until October 1960. He then reported to Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He returned to Bainbridge as an instructor in August 1965 until February 1968, when he reported to the USS Scorpion submarine docked in Rota, Spain. Robert was called to Rota, Spain to fix the radio equipment that was not working. On Scorpion’s return to its home port of Norfolk Naval Station in May 1968, it exploded and sank, killing all 99 men on board. The submarine debris was located southwest of the Azores. No remains of any sailors on board were ever recovered. USS Scorpion was declared lost at sea with all hands on June 5, 1968. The remains of the Scorpion submarine were located by Robert Ballard, who discovered the remains of the Titanic while he was working for the US Navy to find the Scorpion. (Susan Schindler)

Happy Veteran’s Day to the dedicated students, families and staff of Bobcat Nation!