Father and son in Antioch earn two separate military-related honors

ANTIOCH – A driving force behind Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies in Antioch, a father and son recently gained national recognition.

It’s been quite a month for retired U.S. Army Col. Paul Hettich and his 12-year-old son Joseph.

On Oct. 1, Joseph stood before a crowd of about 250 people in Washington, D.C., and read an essay about “My Story as a Military Child.” The story won a national children’s writing contest hosted by the Reserve Organization of America.

Days later on Oct. 10 in Washington, D.C., Hettich was inducted into the 2022 class of the United States Army ROTC National Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame honors graduates of Army ROTC who have distinguished themselves in military or civilian pursuits.

Hettich joined the ranks of honorees across the country, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and Walmart founder Sam Walton.

The honors for both father and son are the latest for a family steeped in military history for the past 10 generations.

“Both were pleasant surprises,” said Paul Hettich, who retired as a colonel with more than 30 years of service in the fall of 2017 and serves as a deputy ranger police officer for the Lake County Forest Preserve.

“I was very honored to be among these incredible people,” he said of his Hall of Fame induction, which took place during a ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Thirty inductees from across the country were honored for their contributions. Induction into the Hall of Fame serves as a permanent record of each inductee’s service and accomplishments and an enduring model and source of inspiration for Army ROTC cadets. Each inductee received a certificate, plaque and medal.

Hettich attended ROTC at Loyola University of Chicago, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1987. He was inducted this year into the Loyola University Chicago Rambler Battalion Hall of Fame on April 29.

Among his widespread involvement in organizations throughout Lake County and beyond, Hettich is part of the Antioch American Legion, the Antioch VFW and the Lake County Veterans Assistance Commission. He’s district chairman for Boy Scouts of America, vice president for the Illinois Reserve Organization Association and a U.S. Army Reserve Ambassador for Illinois.

“I wound up being mandatory retired in 2017 after 30 years of service. … After living a life like that, 30 years of service all around the world, it’s hard to turn that off,” Paul Hettich said. “I just found other ways to continue my service.

“I still believe in giving something back, especially with a lot of my focus on veterans events and ROTC and recruiting and talking to some of our youth to encourage them about the benefits of service.”

Those beliefs seem to have rubbed off on his son Joseph, a Boy Scout who has helped his father plan Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies by researching veterans from the area.

Paul Hettich said he couldn’t be prouder of Joseph’s recent award, presented during the 96th annual National Convention of the ROA in Washington, D.C. Joseph sat at the head table with the oldest member of the ROA, a 102-year-old U.S. Army major general.

Not only did Joseph write the essay – earning a certificate and a check for $1,000 – he confidently read his story in front of a crowd of dignitaries, military members, veterans and their family members, Paul Hettich said.

“It was a very excellent story from him about stuff I knew but that he never really talked about,” he said. “For him to put it in words, I thought was pretty unique. Then he took it to the next step at the convention and read his paper … and got a standing ovation.”

In the essay, Joseph talked about being born in 2009 when his father was deployed on his fourth combat tour in Iraq. His mother would record short videos daily of Joseph to send to his father. His father would record himself reading books to Joseph. At the end of each reading, he’d leave a message for his son.

“My mom would often play these videos of him and I would sit right in front of the television and watch the videos as I got a little older,” Joseph wrote.

Joseph had seen information about the essay contest on his father’s computer and decided to enter on his own. Paul Hettich serves on the ROA Family Readiness Committee, which proposed the children’s writing contest for the ROA National Convention.

“I thought it’d be fun to try out,” Joseph said. “Once I got going, it was easy. … I have a lot of background relating to the military.”

As he writes in the essay, Joseph remembers visiting his father in Washington, D.C. as Paul Hettich readied for a fifth combat tour, this time in Africa. Joseph went to many memorials.

“I just have a lot of background relating to the military,” said Joseph, who said he likely will follow in his father’s footsteps by being involved in the military. “It would keep the generations going.”