’09 Conference Exceeds Expectations

A cadet’s project
blossoms into a gift to both veterans
and America’s next generation
By Kristi Carr
Photo © 2007 Marc Carter
S
Stories are
important to
Cadet 2nd Lt.
Nicholas Rider.
As a child, he
was mesmerized
by the ones his
Grandpa Haney told about
serving as a Marine in World
War II. These days, the stories
of his grandfather and other
military veterans have turned
this Washington Wing cadet
into one of the country’s
youngest historians and
authors.
For Cadet 2nd Lt. Nicholas Rider, center, and the veterans he interviews, itʼ s a mutual admiration
society. U.S. Army veteran Adrian J. Taylor said both Rider and the veterans want the same thing:
“For the world to know what (the veterans) went through to give the generation of today its
freedom!” Veterans pictured include, from left, front row, Richard Gumke, Army, World War II, and
Bill Crowley, Marine Corps, World War II. Middle row, C.H. Rowe, Marine Corps, Vietnam War;
Staff Sgt. Ian M. Willet, Army, Iraq (active duty); Rider; Bob Hazelbrook, Navy, World War II; and
John Haney, Marine Corps, World War II. Back row, Tom Restemayer, Navy, Vietnam War; Staff
Sgt. Daniel V. Wermuth, Army, Kosovo (active duty); and Adrian Taylor, Army, Korean War.
BORN TOO LATE?
Rider admitted he might have been born in the
wrong era. “I would have loved to have lived back in the
1930s or 1940s. I love the music and entertainers of that
era,” he explained. Encouraged by his grandfather’s
reminiscences, Rider started building World War II-era
model airplanes, but that was not enough.
By age 11 — a year before he joined Civil Air Patrol’s
Paine Field Composite Squadron — Rider could be
spotted outside local supermarkets in his hometown of
Monroe, Wash. Armed with an autograph book and
accompanied by his mother, he checked out any
customers who might be veterans, looking for clues like
insignias on their hats. Summoning up the courage to
approach them, he asked for their signatur es. Some also
told him their stories of militar y service.
And so it began — Rider’s curiosity had become a
tangible project.
Citizens Serving Communities...Above and Beyond
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www.gocivilairpatrol.com