VETERAN SALUTE: Visiting more countries than states through the army
EMPORIA (KSNT) - Raised in Olpe Kansas, Scott Burenheide would go on to see the world through the military.
With his 20 years of service, including not one but two combat zones, Scott would make a difference on the global scale. While looking ahead to the future, Scott wasn't sure what life after high school looked like.
“I was the baby of seven, single dad, I had no idea what I was going to do," Burenheide said. "Out of the older siblings two of them went to college, everybody else got jobs and went to work. It’s like well I guess that’s what I’m destined to do, just get a job and go to work.”
Fate had the answer: by chance, a recruiter call to his household looking to speak with one of Scott's older brothers put him on the path to a 20-year military career.
“I zipped up to Emporia to the recruiting office, I was 17-years-old," Burenheide said. "My dad had to sign, because I was 17. He was happy about that, being a veteran himself.”
With his time in the army, Scott wore many hats. From a mechanic, to truck driving, to Platoon Sgt. and Sgt. 1st Class, and even an instructor.
Scott went everywhere. The heavy hitters from his experience include Egypt, Korea, Germany, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, France and Iraq.
“By the time I was 20, 21-years-old I had seen more countries than I had been to states," Burenheide said. "That was an adventure, I loved every minute of it.”
Scott would serve in two combat zones: the first in Operation Desert Storm and, over 10 years later, in Iraq. The interactions he had with those in Iraq served as a reminder for why he signed up.
“It was a good mission, and I’d do it again," Burenheide said. "I saw a lot in Iraq, but the most heartbreaking I’d ever seen was two children, you got to remember it was 120 plus degrees over there, two children walking on hot pavement with no shoes. The first thought that came to my mind was my two boys, to be in that situation. That was the most heartbreaking, and that’s when I knew why we were there.”
Nowadays Scott isn't traveling as much, planting his roots in Emporia, where the grandkids come to visit every so often.