Local veteran served in both Navy and Army in long career

When Paul Thorade was a boy growing up in Canyon City, Colo., he never dreamed that he would be going all over the world. In fact, he went to college to be a firefighter -- and ran out of money before he finished. That was why he joined the Navy.

He became an operations specialist for secret clearance missions. and spent most of his time in the Combat Information Center. Navy Seals would make ship lanes when they moved from land to sea. The Seals would make sure the lanes were clear of mines, or disarm them. Thorade was on the phone communicating with them at that time.

He was with an amphibious unit where the ship would open up and the equipment would be unloaded from the back. His job was actually to gather, process, evaluate, disseminate, and display information for intelligence purposes.

He went all over the world on the USS Cleveland LPD-7 which was a ship on which helicopters could land. Since they didn't want to be on the water for six months straight, the ship went to different ports for a break. Some of Thorade's favorite places were Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia. The ship he was on had two collisions at sea while under two different commanders. While refueling, another ship would come up close while staying on the water. The waves and wind sometimes caused problems. Once, Thorade saw the collision happen. It ripped metal away like paper, but only tore off the catwalk. They were in no danger of sinking.

His home base was San Diego. Once he went to Sunset Cliff overlooking the ocean and met a young woman named Teresa. It so happened that before he went, he had asked God to show him the person that he should marry. He calls his wife of 25 years, the answer to his special prayer.

Thorade served in the Navy for five years from 1981-1986. He was offered a $34,000 bonus if he would re-enlist, however, he told his commander that he would not rejoin for a hundred thousand dollars. But two years later, he enlisted in the Army for free because he couldn't find a decent job.

He was in the Army from 1988-1992, and was stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C., where he operated a mobile crane and worked with riggers doing heavy drops. He picked up the load with his crane and helped to see that it was properly insulated and ready to be dropped. There was an attachment that went from the plane to activate the huge parachute and drop the item. Sometimes, the parachutes didn't deploy properly when the item fell out of the plane. Once, he watched a 2-ton truck fall. It bounced when it landed and flipped over, entirely demolishing the truck.

In 1989, following the murder of a U.S. Marine on the streets of Panama City, U.S. troops were ordered to Panama. Thorade volunteered to go and serve in "Just Cause." The purpose was to overthrow the dictator Manual Noriega.

Thorade was a driver for the Army rangers. "They were much more skilled at war than I was, but one of the rangers straightened me out, especially with my weapon. I didn't know Spanish, which was not good. Once, we were sitting in a truck talking and I heard people talking in Spanish around me, but didn't pay much attention. An officer, that did understand the language, gave the order to exit immediately. I took off running. A sniper opened fire, but he must not have been a good shot because I didn't get hit. Rangers continued on into the building and captured the sniper who had put on a dress and wig, and was trying to escape. From that time, my wife has joked that I got shot at by a Panamanian transvestite!"

The battle was pretty much over, but the Panamanian Defense Force factions were still fighting the U.S. forces when Thorade and a sergeant were making a delivery. "We drove by an open, mass grave. It's a smell that I will never forget as long as I live."

After his tour with the Army, Thorade and his wife moved to Amarillo, Texas, to be near his dad. He got a job as an immigration inspector for the Department of Justice patrolling the U.S. border. For this type of employment, he had to learn Spanish. "It would have been good if I'd known the language before I went to Panama," Thorade said. "At least, I'd have known to get out the way of a sniper." When asked if he encountered problems as a border patrol agent, he answered, "Every day."

He retired with a medical discharge from the Department of Homeland Security after 14 1/2 years in military service, and the federal government.

After his retirement, they went to Oklahoma where they served as house parents at a boy's home, Goodland Academy, where, for some reason, or other, their parents could not care for them. They worked there for a couple of years and during that time, and the previous two years, Thorade took correspondence courses from Trip Bible Institute earning a master's degree in Biblical Christian Counseling.

After he received his degree, he began searching for a church to pastor and went on the Ozark Christian College Web site. He found Schell City Christian Church was searching for a shepherd. That is how he wound up in Schell City.

Thorade doesn't like the attitude of most of our young people. "More kids need to serve instead of having such a "me" attitude," he said.

He has written a book addressing these problems. The book, "Reaching Overall Success with Basic Beliefs," is neither religious nor political, but helps a person reach their greatest potential and success by showing how to direct their lives in a productive manner. It is also quite autobiographical showing that any odds can be overcome, and there is no reason not to reach greatness. The book is available at: www.author.com, or can be ordered at most book stores.

When asked if he would serve his country again, his answer was, "Yes. We live in the greatest country in the world. But basically, soldiers live in a communistic environment so that others can be free. In the military, you don't do anything without being told -- unless you want to get into trouble. Being in trouble in the military is a bit more severe than the outside world."

The Thorades have a son, Chris, who is presently serving with the United States Navy in the Persian Gulf. They have a daughter, Brianna, who is in college in northeastern Oklahoma.