Many students know James Kluska as a beloved social studies teacher at Del Val, however, he also spent time serving in the United States of America’s military.
Kluska served in the United States Army in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. He came from a military family, with his father serving in the Navy, two of his brothers being in the Marines, another brother in the Army, and both of his sisters marrying men from the military. Only one his one brothers did not serve. With many of his family members serving, Kluska saw from an early age that serving our country was an honorable thing to do and that he also wanted to serve.
His life was changed when his father passed away while he was still in high school. Kluska earned an ROTC scholarship for the Navy at Penn State, but after a year, he transferred to the Army.
One of Kluska’s favorite aspects from his time serving was the places he got to see and the relationships that he got to form with those around him. Some of the places include the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California where he learned Italian. Kluska also served at Fort Bliss in Texas, Fort McClellan in Alabama, Fort Benning (which is now Fort Moore) and Fort Stewart in Georgia, Fort Bragg (which is now Fort Liberty) in North Carolina and Fort Pickett (which it now Fort Barfoot) in Virginia.
Kluska also spent three years in Italy in the Po Valley area, which is around thirty minutes from Venice, Italy. He got to meet new friends from dozens of different states, and he was able to keep in touch with them for decades. However, Kluska says some of the hardest things about serving was being away from his family and seeing some not so nice things.
Kluska advises anyone who is considering joining the military to “follow your heart, it’s a very honorable profession.” He would also tell them to never give up.
“Leadership is not about being in charge,” Kluska said. “It’s about taking care of the people in your charge.”
Kluska learned that the most important thing in life is the relationships that you form with other people, which has affected his time as a teacher in the classroom. This includes relationships formed with his students. Kluska shared that teachers have a passion for what they do and the profession of teaching should not be undervalued.
If he had not served in the army, Kluska said that he would probably have served in the Navy like his father had.
As it is Veterans Day, it is a good reminder that people who serve our country protect everything for the rest of us, and we can’t overlook the sacrifices that those people made for us. Freedom is not free.
Kluska explained that with many veterans in our school and community, it is extremely important to give them our respect and to thank them for what they have done for us. However along with that we also should “never forget the people who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
“I did it because I have a passion for serving our country, which is not perfect, but I still believe is the greatest country in the world,” Kluska said.
