The Good Life – July-August 2020

LOCAL HERO | JOE WALLEVAND
Original publish date:
May-June 2017
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Where
is he now?
Army Special Forces Green
Beret Joe Wallevand’s story
was published in the May-June
2017 issue of The Good Life.
Wallevand remains a musician
as he continues to learn
and play classical music on
the piano as well as sing
the National Anthem on
occasion. He recently joined
the Fargo National Cemetery
Honor Guard, participating in
gun salutes to honor fellow
veterans.
Wallevand is grateful for
how he’s been able to better
manage his PTSD through
group counseling sessions
at the Fargo Vet Center and a
few one-on-one sessions of a
counseling technique termed
Eye Movement Desensitization
and Reprocessing (EMDR). He
encourages fellow veterans
to use the Vet Center as it has
helped him so much and urges
anyone who has experienced
trauma to seek counseling.
Overall, Wallevand believes
that it can be fun getting to
know yourself better. Since
life is too short, it needs to be
good.
JOE WALLEVAND
TEACHER, SCIENTIST, POET, SOLDIER
WRITTEN BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
US Army Special Forces (Green Beret) veteran, Joe Wallevand served in the
military for 21 years, taught in public schools for 19 years, and was a chemist for
American Crystal Sugar for 24 years. In the Army Special Forces Wallevand served
as a medic and also a trainer. When asked about any medical experience prior to
the Army, he said: “I was a Boy Scout.”
Wallevand has three years of active duty and then served 18 years in the North
Dakota Army National Guard in three different companies: the 191st Military Police
Guard Company, 634th Service Company at Hillsboro-Mayville, and the 815th
Medical Clearing Company Fargo-Bismarck, eventually attaining the rank of first
sergeant for that medical company. He achieved the E-8 level before retirement.
28 / THE GOOD LIFE