John's Story: By John B. Kalla

I was adopted in July of 1967 (born 20 July 1967) in Anchorage, AK, where my (now)parents paid for the medical expenses of the mother. It was a "gray-area" legally in Alaska at the time, and illegal in the lower 48. My (now) mother had had two babies die either soon after birth or in the womb, so they set it up to adopt me. My sister, Letitia Marie Kalla, was born seven months later (23 Feb 1968), also in Anchorage. My youngest sister, Julie Denise Kalla, was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada on 16 Feb 1970.

I went to high school in Wheaton, MN and graduated in 1985. I attempted college for the next few years, but it didn't take. I worked in a fish/crab cannery in Alaska in the early 1990's and took up Truck Driving after that. I drove a truck for eight years then joined the Army in April 2000 as a PFC (E-3. Private, First Class) because of my prior college credits. My MOS (job) was 98K (Non-Morse Signals Interceptor/Analyst). I spent a couple years in the U.K. and finished off my tour in the midwest US. I left the Army in 2004 as a SGT (E-5). While I was in, my commanding units included: The 109th MI (Military Intelligence) Group, 108th MI Brigade and the 704th MI Brigade. I was awarded fairly standard ribbons at the time including: JSAM (Joint Service Acheivement Medal) with Oak Leaf (means I got two of them), GCM (Good Conduct Medal), NDSM (National Defense Service Medal), OSR (Overseas Service Ribbon), GWOT (Global War on Terrorism Ribbon) and the obigatory ASR (Army Service Ribbon).

After leaving the Army, I spent the summer of 2004 enrolled at Dakota State University in Madison, SD (extension office in Sioux Falls, SD). I was working towards my B.S. in Computer Science, but received a job offer to return to Colorado to work in the fall of 2004.

I was incredibly proud to have served my country in the Army, though I was probably a little old at 32 to keep up with all the 19yr olds. My knee was injured shortly before I left, so my plans to join the Air Force Reserve (full-time) upon my discharge fell through. I’m currently working as a government contractor in Aurora, CO, USA.