On Veterans Day, Evansville native reflects on life spent serving his country
EVANSVILLE − Veterans Day, a day of honor, reverence and remembrance, is always emotional for veterans and their families. But it will be even tougher this year for Dan Ingler, who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I just recently said goodbye to a fellow veteran and friend who lost the battle with cancer, Sfc. James Harris,” Ingler said. “He was one of my platoon sergeants in the 380th Quartermaster Company. He was one of the good ones, for sure.”
Ingler often feels proud, yet remains humble.
“There have been so many great service members that have gone before me to pave the way,” he said. “Most of all, I think about my wife Allie and my family for the support they gave through 21 years of service and two deployments.”
Ingler said being a military spouse is the hardest job in the world.
“There was never a time when she didn’t worry about me, but she had to keep it together for the girls (Alaina, now a 20-year-old nursing student at Purdue and Alivia, a 14-year-old freshman at Castle High School),” he said. “She is an amazing woman who should be honored and thanked more than me. I had it easy. I got to go out with fellow soldiers and do what I loved. She had to live in a constant state of worry and fear, afraid to turn on the news, afraid of the unknown.”
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Ingler deployed to Iraq in 2005 to a small base near Al Nasiriyah called Camp Cedar.
“This was an amazing place,” Ingler said. “It was adjacent to the holy city of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham. We were able to see the ruins of the city and see the ziggurat that was built there.”
They deployed under the banner of the 406th Corps Support Battalion but were almost all members of the 380th Quartermaster Battalion. Later, in 2010, he deployed with the 419th Movement Control Battalion out of Bartonville, Illinois. He was sent to Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan.
“I was a first sergeant at that time,” he said. “As well as having soldiers at many of the bases in Afghanistan to support movement of service members throughout theater, we also tracked and managed all of the shipping containers that moved supplies and materials thought Afghanistan.”
Both deployments lasted a year. He retired in 2014 as a member of the Evansville-based Army Reserve 406th Corps Support Battalion.
His heart filled with emotion when he saw then-4-year-old Alaina at Camp Attebury after returning from Iraq in 2006.
“It was an amazing feeling seeing my little girl again,” Ingler said. “Her little smile and giant heart was more than enough to bring this crusty old soldier to tears.”
After graduating from Boonville High School, Ingler attended the University of Southern Indiana and enlisted in the Army Reserve. He later spent about 12 years on active duty and nine in the reserves.
When he came off his active duty tour, he became a member of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Local 136 in Evansville.
“This was an excellent fit for me and I can’t thank a fellow veteran and friend, Dan Felker, for recommending it,' Ingler said.
His company, Sterling Boiler and Mechanical, were unwavering supporters of veterans and local military. When Ingler arrived in Bagram, Afghanistan, the living conditions were less than comfortable.
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“Dan and his crew put together several crates of hand tools and building supplies and shipped them to us,” he said. “He then asked us not to send them back but to leave them for the next unit to take our place. He even paid to have my family fly down to Fort Bliss, Texas, to see me the weekend before we were to depart for Afghanistan. He is a perfect example of veterans helping veterans.”
Ingler recently left the union for a position at Alcoa in Newburgh. There have been a few bumps along the way in readjusting to civilian life.
“But I have always been surrounded by positive people who love me,” Ingler said. “Larry Rhodes has always been a friend that I can count on. He is a Vietnam veteran with a giving heart and a love for veterans that can’t be matched by anyone.”
When Ingler deployed to Iraq, Rhodes saw needs with both the Army Reserve and National Guard units in Evansville and formed Operation Support on the Homefront to support the families of deployed soldiers.
“While each unit had Family Readiness programs, there wasn’t much they could do when a service member had an emergency at home,” Ingler said. “When we were deployed, we had so many things to worry about. It’s great to know that if the water heater went out, the car got a flat tire, or there was a leak in the roof, Larry and his own Army of volunteers, along with donations from the community would take care of it.”
Ingler said Rhodes helped countless families and veterans.
“I came home for a couple of weeks leave when I was in Iraq and stopped in to thank him for taking such good care of my soldiers’ families,” Ingler said. “I mentioned in jest that he should come see us some time. So he did.”
Rhodes went through the State Department, hired a videographer, Steve Oglesby and travelled to Iraq and filmed a documentary about the two Evansville units.
Ingler’s father, Richard, is an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam.
“He has always been supportive of me and has also been a crucial part of my adjustment after the deployments,” Ingler said. “We share bond and a sense of understanding that exceeds the normal relationship between a father and son. I save the most important for last.”
Contact Gordon Engelhardt via email at Gordon.engelhardt@courierpress.com or on Twitter @EngGordon.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Dan Inlger reflects on a life spent serving his country
