Raasch reflects on life, military

As he looks upon a picture of his platoon when they were in Korea, or at the Purple Heart he received during his service, one knows how important the military has been in the life of DeWain Raasch.

Currently a resident at the Pioneer Home, in 1930 Raasch was born in Wauwatosa, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee. A flag featuring the Green Bay Packers hangs behind his bed at the home. He came out to Wyoming in 1976 after leaving his job of installing and repairing passenger and freight elevators.

When he first came to the state he lived in Powell, where he had a construction company. He also spent nine years, 1980-89, working at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, prior to retiring. He added he drove from Powell to Cody during the time he was working with the historical center.

"I didn't like Cody that much," he said with a laugh, choosing to travel there rather than take up residence.

In 1989, Raasch moved to the veterans home in Buffalo for a few years before coming to the Pioneer Home. He said there wasn't really anything that drew him to the town, but when he could he loved to go out and about. "I've got no way of getting around," he said. "I'm stuck here [at the Pioneer Home] because I can't drive anymore." Overall, he said, Thermopolis is a beautiful place.

One of the big appeals of Thermopolis to Raasch is his love for small towns. He explained he was born and raised in a big city and when he was 16 his family moved to the country, about 25 miles away, to Wood Lake, Wis.

As for his military career, Raasch joined the Wisconsin National Guard in 1948, and was honorably discharged in 1950. He then joined the Army, where he was until 1957, when he was honorably discharged as a corporal. He joined the Air Force Reserve the same year.

The military service was something Raasch really enjoyed, adding "it was something different." He spent two years overseas in Korea and Japan in 1951 and 1952. It was in the Korean War he earned his Purple Heart, wounded in Cheorwon Valley in the spring of '52 when a piece of shrapnel struck him above his right eye.

"The mortars were coming in. I was just ducking down in my hole and that much was sticking up," he said, indicating where the shrapnel hit. He came back to the States shortly afterward.

His career with the Army also saw him spending a year as a prison guard at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Before he was discharged.

Raasch said it wouldn't hurt if everyone did go into the military for a short time, as it would help them to learn some respect. "I've always thought that. It wouldn't hurt to, right out of high school or college, go into the military for a while. The military, to me, never hurt anybody."

Raasch was married in 1952, though he and his wife Marlene were divorced in 1975; she currently lives in Lovell. The couple has two children, Richard, who went into the Army for three years when he graduated high school, and Sandy, who works at Northwest College in Powell.

"I've had a very good life," Raasch said, "and I'm enjoying my retirement. I raised two kids and I'm doing good now."

This story on Raasch will be one of many stories featuring residents of the Wyoming Pioneer Home.