Current Residence: Springfield
Family: Wife, Connie Todhunter; Son, Max Todhunter; Daughter, Melissa Taghi; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren
Career after the military: Project manager for the Alaska State Fire Marshal
Hobbies: Ballroom dancing, hiking, gardening, reading
Branch of Service: U.S. Air Force, retired
Did you join the military or were you drafted? Enlisted
Dates of Service: 1959 to 1979
Deployments/Bases: Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, basic training and tech school; Amarillo Air Force Base in Texas for 3½ years; remote assignment in Galena, Alaska for 13 months; Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska for four years; the University of St. Thomas ROTC in St. Paul, Minn., for four years; Elmendorf for four more years; University of Central Florida ROTC, Orlando, Fla., for three years.
Total time that you served? 20 years
What did you do in the service? I was in the administrative field, which I found to be a rewarding career and very enjoyable line of work.
What did you gain from serving in the military? A great education in my career field, plus college education in three other career fields, which allowed me to work in three different civilian career fields upon retirement from the Air Force.
What do you remember most about your service? Working with young people at two different University Air Force ROTC Units. Working with future Air Force pilots.
What would you like readers to know about your military experience? If you are young and do not know what you want to do with your life, the Air Force is a great place to find a career, and to build a retirement and a future career in civilian life.
Hometown Heroes is a weekly feature profiling Clark and Champaign County veterans compiled with the assistance of local Vietnam veteran Randy Ark. To nominate a veteran, e-mail samantha.sommer@coxinc.com or randyark48@gmail.com or call 937-328-0363. Any veteran of any military branch, years of service and age is eligible to be profiled.
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