For the annual American Legion Veterans Day dinner, Fulton resident William Tharp will provide a peek into life in the modern armed services.
"Every year for the last 20 years, we've tried to find someone that's active duty or just retired or made a career of military, from Callaway," said David Beaver, Fulton's American Legion post commander.
He said the dinner has been a tradition in Fulton since World War II, or possibly even before. A typical audience for the evening ranges 120-130 attendees.
"The night is more about honoring all the veterans and active military," Beaver said. "It gives citizens an opportunity to show their support."
This year, it's scheduled for 6:30-8 p.m. Monday at the Callaway Senior Center (531 Commons Drive). Tickets cost $10 and can by purchased at the center or by calling 73-642-8360 or 573-642-5479. Supper is traditional Thanksgiving fare, and the evening's entertainment also includes a live musical performance.
Tharp is an Active Guard Reserve staff sergeant with the Missouri National Guard and currently serves as an information specialist at the Jefferson City base. His family moved to Fulton in 1989, when Tharp was just turning 10. He attended Fulton Public Schools in third through seventh grade, but he was home-schooled in eighth through 12th grade.
"I wanted to go to college, but Linn State didn't want to take my high school diploma," Tharp said. "I thought the Army might instead."
On Aug. 20, 1998 - yes, Tharp still remembers the exact date - he joined the Missouri National Guard, following in the footsteps of his stepfather. Over the following years, he was deployed three times: in Kosovo in 2001 and 2003, and in Afghanistan in 2009.
He's held a total of five support roles, from being a light-wheel vehicle mechanic during his first deployments to his current IT-like role.
"The Army's wonderful about cross-training individuals," he said, adding the chance to try different roles has been one of his favorite things about serving.
He noted while most people who think of the armed forces don't immediately imagine a man in a cubicle installing software and troubleshooting computer problems, the job is a natural evolution of the signal corps' role.
"The signal corps has been around for a long time," Tharp said. "Since times when ground wars were fought using cannons, you saw people waving flags and signaling your next step. Throughout time, the signal corps has had to advance. Radio operators replaced flag men, and now computers play a role."
As an AGR member, Tharp works 10-hour shifts three days a week in Jefferson City. Holding this type of job also allows him to spend more time with his wife and three boys.
"You get the benefits of being on active duty, but you're still with the Guard," he said.
Tharp said he highly recommends this type of career path with the National Guard to people who are interested in military service.
"It's been, at times, trying and rewarding, stressful and calming," he said. "It's not an experience for - I don't want to say the weak-minded, but you have to be resilient, able to take on adversity and push through."
Tharp said he's still deciding on what to talk about at Monday evening's dinner, but he hopes to make it more of a question-and-answer session than a formal talk.
"What they talk about, we usually leave up to them," Beaver said. "We haven't had that many of the younger people who are active."