ROCHELLE — David Norris of Rochelle served in the United States Army from 1981-1990 in a variety of capacities and reached the rank of sergeant. 

Norris enlisted and went into active service on Jan. 5, 1981 and was first a motor transport operator, or truck driver. After that, he went to Airborne school to become an Airborne truck driver. He was placed in the 82nd Airborne Division and served for a short time Germany in 1982 for Exercise Campaign Reforger before returning to the United States for two years and was placed in the 18th Airborne Corps, where he was for three years at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.  In October 1983, he went to Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada.

After that, Norris spent time at various Army training schools, including Primary Leadership Development School, Air Force schools for Air Load Planners, and to Huntsville, Alabama to Redstone Arsenal Space and Rocket Center to learn about munitions and explosives. He then returned to Fort Bragg for a time before choosing the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii, where he was for 2.5 years before being placed on a disability list due to an injury and was discharged a year later. He was in active service for nine years and eight months.

While serving as a truck driver for an artillery unit, Norris was assigned to drive the command sergeant major, who signed him up for various schools and training, which resulted in unique experiences and duties.

In his time doing Airborne work, Norris jumped out of planes, which resulted in the “most exhilarating experience” of his service: parachuting and having to cut his parachute off to land in a lake. 

“That was cool,” Norris said. “The first time I did it was a rush. The second time I did it was a rush. The third time was, 'Here we go again.' Tailgating out of an airplane was cool. The gate drops down and you just run as fast as you can and try to get yourself stable while skydiving. When free falling, sometimes you'll go through a cloud and you'll see the water peeling off your goggles and coming off your uniform. By the time you land, you're usually dry. I had no interest in or experience with anything like that before I joined the service.”

Following his service and discharge, Norris dealt with debilitating injuries from his time in the Army. He worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for 10 years to be compensated for his injuries and underwent four back surgeries. His final back surgery was experimental at the time, and after that and physical therapy, he was able to say goodbye to a wheelchair that he spent time in periodically for 23 years due to his condition.

“For a while, my injuries did sour me on the military,” Norris said. “I was sour against everything and everybody when I was down. I got into better health and got the right healthcare and the VA changed to a new whole health system. My family really helped me. There were some tough times, but we got past it. I feel humbled and lucky to be where I am now after dealing with my injuries earlier in life. I have a good wife and a kid and grandkids. I'm glad to be where I am. Now I just want to help people.”

Norris has found a passion for volunteering over the years since his service. When his health improved, he realized he had a chance to say thanks to the others that have served the country.

Norris’s volunteering has included serving as an officer on the Rochelle VFW Post Board of Directors for the past 26 years, working at the district, state and national level of the VFW, involvement with the Eastern Lee-Ogle Honor Guard for the last 26 years, membership with the Rochelle American Legion, membership with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and serving on the board of directors for the Rochelle Veterans War Memorial.

Most recently, Norris started volunteering for the Veterans Administration as a volunteer in the Vet to Vet program, which is peer counseling among veterans.

“They find that if vets speak with other vets, that it helps them more than talking to a clinician,” Norris said. “They'll open up more to other vets. I went through a class to help facilitate it. The Vet to Vet program I'm connected with is for chronic pain. I was asked to help with it. We launched it nationally in May and the Madison VA was the first group to launch. We had upwards of 12 veterans in our group every Monday morning and myself and others took turns facilitating meetings. I'll help anybody that needs help if they're willing to help themselves. In the group we sit down and share our pain stories with each other so everyone knows that others have been through hard times.”

The most enjoyable volunteer experience for Norris has been with the Honor Guard working at funerals of veterans. He also enjoyed going to local schools and teaching kids to raise and lower the flag and how to treat it. 

“I find a lot of satisfaction in volunteering,” Norris said. “Especially when you're helping someone that's down and you see the joy you bring to their face. It just makes me feel good and it's a way I can pay back and say thank you for getting me to the 100 percent I'm at and helping me get to a better place with my medical situation. Working with other people like me helps me with my own things I've been through. It helps me with my mind and my soul.”

Norris’ decision to enlist in 1981 came due to his brother in law, a Vietnam veteran, talking to him about the service and steering him in that direction. Norris never planned to stay in the military as long as he did. He originally planned to serve only three years, but found needed purpose and discipline in the Army. 

“I got in and found that I was good at it,” Norris said. “I went in as a truck driver and ended up in combat arms. You realize after a while that you have a purpose. Before I went into the Army, I really didn't have a purpose. Training younger people coming in, you could see those that planned to get out after a few years and others that chose to stay in to better themselves and learn. I was the latter. I wanted to learn and I was learning all the time.”

Honoring Our American Hero is a series that will print twice a month in the News-Leader. If you know an American Hero you would like to have featured, contact Jeff Helfrich at jhelfrich@rochellenews-leader.com or call 815-561-2151.