War veteran wishes for ‘active duty’ on Veterans Day

Inside the snug southside Wylie Street home, 53-year old Jeffery Powell stretches out on his long gray recliner in its prime spot facing the TV in the corner. After a long day of truck driving, Powell joins his wife, Donna, in their quaint living room to watch the evening news.\nPowell, a native of Bloomington, who served 20 years as a hospital corpsman for U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, retired 15 years ago, but still hopes he might be called to duty.\n“The greatest thing I’d like to do for Veterans Day is to go back on active duty,” Powell said. \nHowever, because Powell can’t return to the military, he plans to spend the holiday with his wife eating a free meal at the Golden Corral. The restaurant honors veterans and current military personnel by giving away a free meal today. \n“At times I think they need to put me in a glass case with a sign that says, ‘In times of war, break glass.’” \nIn 1991, Powell was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy after 20 years of service.\n“After Desert Storm, if you were an E6 (staff sergeant) and you had your 20 years, you had to gohome,” he said. \nDonna Powell said her husband “lives for” the military, citing his affinity for talking and reading about the military. \nAfter 15 years of civilian life, Powell said he’s always wanted to return to service. At the age of 17, he had limited choices when he graduated from Bloomington High School, he said. \n“I could either put together Westinghouse refrigerators, RCA TVs or work in the stone quarry,” he said, muting the 6 p.m. Indy Channel news broadcast. While he was in the military, he traveled to 30 different countries and all over the US, he said.\n“There isn’t a place that I couldn’t find on the map,” he said. \nVarious souvenirs from his travels adorn the living room shelves, including a miniature Godzilla from Japan. \nNext to Godzilla, a fuzzy picture of Powell in a uniform standing with his young daughter sits in a gold frame. Even though his now grown-up daughter lives in Pennsylvania, Powell is often reminded of her when looking at a little stuffed rat sitting on the shelves. Originally purple, the rest of the small rat has turned a grayish color with age. \n“My daughter stuck it into my stuff and he’s traveled all over the world,” he smiled. \nApparently the small puff ball has traveled over the equator and survived the hazing that went along with it, earning the title of a true “shellback.”\nSitting down in his recliner after proudly displaying his souvenirs, Powell sits quietly for a minute. \n“I felt like I had a whole lot more control over my life in the military,” he said quietly. “Here, I’m just a mindless worker bee.” \nWhile he’s had 15 years to readjust as a civilian, the transition hasn’t been easy \nfor Powell. \nHe qualified for the GI Bill to pay for school; however, he said that he still couldn’t afford school with a wife and daughter to support. After working at a factory near Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for several years, he returned to Bloomington. He divorced his first wife and bought his parents’ house from his father, who continues to battle cancer.\nDonna Powell, his second wife, said that not too many things in the house have changed. In the corner of the dining room, his mother’s china cabinet still displays the pink rose petal china underneath a layer of dust. \nHowever, a wedding photo now hangs just above Powell’s head as he sits in his recliner. The couple just celebrated their two-year anniversary.\nPowell stirs from his demure trance and recalls an old saying, which he swears is true, as it had been confirmed by several unrelated sources.\nThe saying goes that it takes someone from the Air Force no time to readjust to civilian life, someone from the Army five years and someone from the Navy 20 years, but that someone from the Marines never readjusts, he said. \n“I’m somewhere between 20 and never,” he said.