Howard Jorgenson

73 years old

Born in 1943 in Truman, Minnesota

Currently living in Truman, MN.

U.S. Army National Guard Vietnam War Veteran

Truman, Minnesota native Howard Jorgenson was born and raised on the family farm, and except for his time spent serving our country during the Vietnam War in the 1960s, never left town.

He decided to join the U.S. Army National Guard rather than be drafted, and served with the National Guard for seven and a half years. “We stayed stateside, he recalled. “We protected our military bases.” During his stint in the service, he reached the rank of E-5 (Staff Sgt.) and said he worked with “heavy weapons.”

For a local farm boy who had never left home, Jorgenson's time in the Guard saw him traveling within the United States as various duty assignments came up. He remembers being stationed at bases in Missouri, Georgia, North and South Carolina and in his home state of Minnesota.

After his discharge, he headed right back to Truman to continue farming and raise a family. Jorgenson remembered when his final paycheck from the National Guard arrived in the mail. “I never cashed it,” he said with a grin. “That final check was for one dollar and ninety-seven cents!”