ROCHELLE — John Gruben of Rochelle served in the United States Army from 1970-1972. 

Gruben did his basic training at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, before going to Fort Polk in Louisiana for his advanced individual training. From there, Gruben went to Fort Sam Houston in Texas for medical training. After that, he was stationed at Fort Sheridan in Chicago and was placed on a temporary duty assignment for just over a year at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin, where he was attached to a medical unit as a medic, helping to take care of long-term Vietnam War wounded. Gruben’s military service came to a close in 1972. 

“We had the soldiers that were in bad shape,” Gruben said. “They were at that point in their recovery where they could go home, but they couldn't be too far away from a medical facility. Working at Camp McCoy as a physician's assistant changed my life forever. It was a much different world. It allowed me to grow up quicker than I would've otherwise. I got fairly close to a couple of veterans. One was in the hospital for a year and half. He was mortally wounded in Vietnam and lived.”

Gruben was drafted into service in April 1970. At that time, he had a student deferment to keep him from going into the service due to the fact that he was attending Kishwaukee College. But Gruben gave up his student deferment after he saw a close friend be drafted after finishing college. He figured his service would start sooner or later, with there being no end in sight for the Vietnam War. 

“I was getting serious with my now-wife at the time,” Gruben said. “I saw a friend who got drafted after graduating college. I thought, 'Why put it off?' At that time they were drafting people well into their mid-to-late 20s. I figured I'd get drafted after school anyways. It was a blessing that it worked out the way it did for me.”

Up until his service went the way it did, Gruben always figured he was bound for Vietnam. Fort Polk was the staging area for getting young recruits acclimated to Vietnam, but he instead went from there to Texas for medical training. Gruben said he still feels guilt for not serving in Vietnam the way that friends he grew up with did, but feels thankful for the safer path.

“I think that because I went in with college credit and did well in my placement tests, they put me in more training and gave me that path to serve here,” Gruben said. “It allowed me to grow up in a way that a typical 20-year-old wouldn't have seen what I saw. I knew that Vietnam was going on, so I could handle it. We had a job to do. I had some personal experiences that will last me a lifetime. I have a certain darkness in my soul due to the fact that I didn't go to Vietnam. Because of guilt. I had friends that went, and I didn't. I saw the horrors of the war at the hospital at Camp McCoy.”

Gruben recalled the Vietnam War and the draft hanging over the heads of he and his friends “like a dark cloud” during his senior year of high school in 1968. He said that caused a lot of his classmates not to have big post-college plans.

Gruben is glad he served in the Army. It helped him with maturity and gave him access to the GI Bill for his education. He finished college with a teaching degree. He’s taught engineering for over 30 years and holds two master’s degrees. 

Gruben taught at Dixon High School for a year before moving to Kishwaukee College in 1975. He taught there full-time for 18 years before going to Waubonsee Community College for 11 years. After retiring six years ago, Gruben went back to teach at Kish. He’s also worked in industry throughout his teaching career. 

“I know my service put me on a better track for the rest of my life,” Gruben said. “The military gave me opportunities with the GI Bill that I would not have had otherwise. It helped me to further my educational development.”

Gruben has lived in Rochelle all his life, outside of his time in the service. He married his high school sweetheart and the couple lives just blocks away from where they both grew up. 

Gruben said his service gave him a higher respect for the value of life, along with the value of giving back to the community. His involvement locally includes American Legion Post 403, Kiwanis Golden K, advising the Rochelle Township High School Key Club, the Kishwaukee College veterans group, the Veterans Assistance Commission of Ogle County, and past service on the Rochelle city council.

“I like giving back to the community,” Gruben said. “I think that value came about after my service and it meant more to me as I grew older. With the Legion, we do a lot with veterans and that's important to me. I do quite a bit. I'm busier now than I was when I worked full-time.”

Gruben doesn’t consider himself a hero, like the title of this page reads. He wants to leave that moniker for those he gave medical treatment to, and friends and family that laid their lives on the line in combat. 

“I'm not a hero,” Gruebn said. “I didn't go to Vietnam. It was a job that had to be done, and we just did it. I'm proud of what I did and the patients I worked with. I was drafted. I didn't volunteer. But I didn't shy away from it.”

Honoring Our American Hero is a series that will print twice a month in the News-Leader. If you know an American Hero you would like to have featured, contact Jeff Helfrich at jhelfrich@rochellenews-leader.com or call 815-561-2151.