OUR NEW COMMANDANT WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF: I was born February 4th 1948 to Edward H. and Shirley M. (Langnes) Krieser in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I grew up on Milwaukee's South Side where I was the eldest of nine children. I graduated from Boys' Trade and Technical High School in 1966 and entered the United States Marine Corps. After Boot Camp in San Diego, California and Infantry training at Camp Pendleton, I was sent to Vietnam on board the re-commissioned WWII troop ship USNS General Leroy Eltinge. Disembarking over the side in Marine Corps style at the port in Da Nang and hit the beach in the landing craft. Upon reporting for duty in 1st Platoon, Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, the shortage of infantry platoon and squad radio operators caused my commanding officer to send me for a crash course in the subject. After being wounded on two separate occasions and receiving the Purple Heart Medal, I received an Honorable Discharge for medical reasons at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. After being discharged and getting back home to Milwaukee, I married my sweetheart since we were 11, Miss Linda L. Hagen. I then went back to school for an Industrial Electronic Technical Degree which got me employed as a Steelworker by Bethlehem Steel Corporation at Burns Harbor Indiana in October 1969. After 41 years on that job I retired this past January. My interest in military history and in particular American military history of the Civil War drove me in 1980 to be a Civil War re-enactor. I joined a local group representing the 9th Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry. I also joined the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War with ancestral lineage from my Great-Great Grandfather, August Bruss of Company A, in the 9th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. I have served the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War on all levels and served as its Commander-in-Chief 2000 to 2001. I am a life member of several organizations, among them the Marine Corps League, Military Order of Devil Dogs, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Order of the Purple Heart and Disabled American Veterans. I am also a member of Sons Veteran Reserve, the Army Navy Union and Loyal Order of Odd Fellows.