Stan Eden of rural Oregon served in the United States Army from 1953-1955. His service included helping with rebuilding efforts after the Korean War.

Eden graduated from Stockton High School in 1953. He and a group of his classmates played softball together, before one team member received their draft notice. That led to seven team members, including Eden, volunteering for the draft and enlisting into the U.S. Army.

“Back then the draft was such a possibility that you always had to think about it,” Eden said. “I went to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Most of us were farm boys. Tractor scraper school was one of the schools offered after basic training with bulldozers and road builders. Several of us were in that school. I did that for 16 weeks. Not everyone was sent to Korea, but I was. The demilitarized zone was being put together at that point and it sounded like there was going to be peace for a while.”

Eden took a ship over to Korea and entered through Incheon Harbor before going to the Busan area, where he was assigned to a battalion that built roads and other infrastructure. He did that work for about 17 months, helping the South Korean people to get “back on their feet”, including building roads to hospitals and churches.

After growing up in rural Northern Illinois, Eden was exposed to new cultures and ground in Korea. He has fond memories of learning about how Korean people lived.

“It was a journey to learn more about people that you heard a lot about in Southeast Asia,” Eden said. “You got to know them and found out they were people you could talk to and you could learn from each other. We were able to operate freely enough to help them when they needed help. Our government at that point was naturally interested in seeing South Korea do well. It was an amazing thing to go through at 18 and 19 years old. We got to see what they needed and did what we could to help them move on.”

Eden said his service taught him how to follow orders, and that he was fortunate to have a duty that was less dangerous than some. He believes that time in his life was the catalyst for his longtime career he’d have as an educator.

Now 90 years old, Eden has lived in Ogle County since 1969. With the GI Bill at his disposal, he attended the University of Illinois after getting out of the service in 1955. He became involved with the U of I Extension, the statewide network program that focuses on agriculture and more.

After doing Extension work with counties in Southern Illinois, Eden moved to Ogle County. He worked with the U of I Extension for 42 years before retiring in 2002.

“If I didn’t serve, I probably wouldn’t have gone down the career path I did,” Eden said. “And my career was so rewarding for me working over 42 years.”

Eden’s Extension work got him into a number of volunteering ventures, which he continued after his retirement. He’s had involvement with the Oregon VFW Post, 4-H, the Ogle County Farm Bureau, the Ogle County Fair Association and Autumn On Parade.

“In my Extension work, I met a lot of people and touched a lot of lives of a lot of people across the county because there are so many phases to agriculture,” Eden said. “I worked on Autumn On Parade with the tractor show and volunteering builds on itself as time goes along. I worked with the Color Guard for veterans’ funerals in the area. People really do appreciate that work and it’s meaningful. One of the things I’ve learned over all my years is you need to be a person that’s willing to help others. Being a veteran means you have a responsibility to help others. And you find ways to do that.”

Honoring our American Hero is a feature on local veterans that runs twice a month in the Rochelle News-Leader. To submit a veteran or service member for consideration, please email Jeff Helfrich at jhelfrich@shawmedia.com.