They served as teenagers

Their time in military service wasn’t long and their experiences differed, but these veterans have one thing in common: their lifelong commitment to serve.

Grafton native Jay Wissmueller served four years in the Coast Guard, two in Alaska and two in Hawaii.

Port Washington native Lee Wiskirchen served two years each in active duty for the Navy and in Navy Reserve service.

“I think everybody should give back to the country we live in. Whatever people think of this country, it’s still a great country to live in,” Wissmueller said.

“Our service didn’t stop with the armed services,” Wiskirchen said.

Both were among the large crowd that participated in the 2.4-mile Sweat4Vets walk from the Cedarburg to Grafton American Legion posts on Saturday. This year, the event raised money for Camp American Legion.

Wissmueller and Wiskirchen’s dedication to their country started when they were teens.

Wissmueller joined in 1975 while still in high school. It was right after the Vietnam War ended, and he knew the Army and Navy wouldn’t be as active.

“I figured what can I do to make a difference?

“We’ve always got a mission to do. We’ve always got to look out for the people who can’t look out for themselves,” he said of the Coast Guard.

Wissmueller already knew how to swim. He grew up not far from a deep portion of water where Cedar Creek flows into the Milwaukee River.

“My brother would throw me in there. You learn to swim real quick,” he said.

After basic training in Alameda, Calif., Wissmueller ranked high in his class and got to pick where he wanted to be stationed. He chose Alaska.

“When I was in high school I had three goals: I wanted to own a motorcycle, I wanted join the Coast Guard and I wanted to go to Alaska,” he said.

Wissmueller got his bike during junior year in high school.

“By the time I was 18, I had all my goals fulfilled,” he said.

He served on a 180-foot-long ocean-going buoy tender, largely responsible for maintenance of lighthouses and navigation buoys. His ship also had ice-breaking ability to clear lanes in the Bering Sea.

“I thought it was fun. I was 18 years old,” Wissmueller said.

During survival training, he was dropped into the wilderness and had to set up shelter and scavenge for food. His unarmed group came across a Kodiak bear and a cub but stayed far enough away. They also steered clear of moose.

During a several-day trip to Pearl Harbor, the captain ran an abandon-ship drill. Wissmueller jumped off the side into the Pacific Ocean. He remembers seeing guys with M-16s on shark patrol.

“You never realize how small you are until you’re about 100 feet from the ship,” he said.

His second two years were spent at the Coast Guard’s air station in Chicago. Wissmueller worked in supplies on helicopters, once flying to St. Louis to help during river floods.

After the service, the former second class petty officer went to the University of River Falls for a year before realizing school wasn’t for him. He returned to Grafton, and met his future wife Ann at a bar. The two briefly dated in high school.

Wissmueller wanted to join the American Legion for years, but he joined the service during the blackout period that was finally lifted a few years ago. He has been an active member of the Rose-Harms 355 in Grafton for the past two and a half years. Ann is a member of the post’s auxiliary. The couple still lives in their hometown.

Wissmueller did odd jobs before earning an associate’s degree in mechanical engineering from Milwaukee Area Technical College. He works for the vehicle-lighting company J.W. Speaker in Germantown.

Wiskirchen joined the Navy as a senior in high school, planning to graduate from college and stay in the reserve and get commissioned as an ensign before deciding if he wanted to make it a career.

One semester into college, he was called to active duty during the Vietnam War and was sent to the Atlantic Ocean for sixth months and the Mediterranean Sea for another six, working as a radioman.

“I got sea legs pretty easily,” he said.

Wiskirchen made friendships along the way, and picked up a variety of skills.

“One of the things I enjoyed about the Navy is I learned a lot. It helped me growing up,” he said. “I enjoyed the organization. I enjoyed responsibilities placed upon me and what I learned.”

Wiskirchen used the GI Bill to go to college and he graduated from UW-Milwaukee. He taught English, was the gifted and talented coordinator, assistant principal and principal at John Long Middle School in Grafton.

“It’s the idea of serving,” he said of going into education. “I remember one of my favorite quotes — Gandhi said, ‘The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.’ I kind of fell in line with that.”

Wiskirchen met his wife Maureen in Lake Geneva in 1968. She was working as a waitress and later became a teacher. Both are retired now and like to travel, but duty still calls.

Wiskirchen, who lives in Cedarburg, has been a member of the Rose-Harms Post for 27 years. He is the post’s adjutant and judge advocate and is involved with many of its events and activities. Maureen serves in the post’s Auxiliary.

Wissmueller and Wiskirchen both followed in their family’s footsteps, but both said they made the decision on their own to join the service.

Wissmueller’s father served in the Philippines in World War II but didn’t talk about it. Wissmueller found a Bronze Star while going through his papers after he died.

Wissmueller’s son Jayson served in Iraq with the Marines and now studies social work and psychology at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon with his service dog, Brewer.

Jayson’s son Peyton is finishing basic training for the Marines infantry in California. He graduated from Grafton High early and will be back to attend the school’s June 7 ceremony.

“It’s totally his choice and I couldn’t be prouder,” Wissmueller said of his grandson.

Ann’s father was one of eight brothers who served in the military.

Wiskirchen’s father was a tank commander in the Army and arrived at Normandy the day after D-Day.

Both find Sweats4Vets as one of the post’s important activities. Wiskirchen has participated in four straight walks, and Wissmueller has done seven of the nine.

“It’s goes with the whole Legion ethos of giving back. Money goes to different charity each year,” Wiskirchen said.

“It’s just a small measure I can support all the men and women who have sacrificed,” Wissmueller said. “The ones who have served, the ones who are serving now and the ones who will serve in the future.”

For more information on Sweat4Vets, visit www.sweat4vetswi.com.