Patriotism is alive and well here at Ellis Dental!
Not only do we have a staff member who is retired Army but also two members of our Ellis Dental family currently have sons serving our country.
While working closely with Dr. Ellis as one of her dental assistants, many of our patients probably aren’t aware that Vicki Russel served eight years as an active member of the United States Army Reserves. Vicki completed her Basic Training right here in Missouri at Ft. Leonard Wood and then was sent to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for her Advanced Individual Training as a medic. While long since retired from the Reserves, Vicki “considers her involvement and graduation from both Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training, along with her time spent serving her country to be some of the proudest moments of her life.”
Our dental hygienist Denise Schwarzbach is a true military Mom with not one but two sons serving our country. In January 2012, son Derek joined the United States Marines. Now almost three years later he is a Corporal stationed at Camp Pendleton, California and works as a heavy machine operator. This past spring Denise and her family were able to join him in California before his scheduled first deployment to Afghanistan. After serving six months overseas, Derek returned to the States the end of October and has a long awaited visit back to St. Louis, planned for February 2015.
Son Nick is following in his big brother’s footsteps and will be leaving for Marine Corp Boot Camp this month to begin his own journey of becoming a United States Marine. Upon completion of Boot Camp he will be serving in the Marine Corp Reserves while also attending Missouri University of Science and Technology. The Schwarzbachs are so very proud of both their sons!
This year, Christmas will be even more special for Mary Ladd, another one of our invaluable dental assistants, since her son Sam, who she hasn’t seen since October, 2013 will be coming home for the holidays. Sam always knew he wanted a military career and certainly didn’t waste any time after graduating from high school. In fact, he left for Boot Camp on June 28, 2013 and is now a C.S. E2 (Culinary Specialty) serving on the USS Tortuga stationed out of Norfolk, Virginia. Sam’s graduation in October, 2013 made Mary not only proud to be an American but also proud to be the mother of an active service member.
Ellis Dental wishes to thank Vicki, Derek, Nick and Sam for their service to our great country along with all the rest of our area’s active and retired military personnel. These heroes have our undying gratitude for their service and sacrifice in keeping our country the greatest nation on earth.