Jefferson Barracks National Guard Soldier Ends 36-Year Military Career

Sgt. 1st Class Gary Schepers, 60, has served in the National Guard longer than most of the soldiers in his unit have been alive.

For 34 out of his 36 years of service, Schepers has been in the 1035th Support Maintenance Company, headquartered at Jefferson Barracks. His last drill was a celebration of his service at a company picnic at .

“It is a brotherhood, and I will miss it,” he said in a release from the Guard. “I will miss the people that I’ve developed an association with over the years, and I will miss the work.”

Schepers was drafted into the U.S. Army in May 1971 and served for two years. After trying civilian life, he went into the National Guard.

“I was working at a factory at the time, a book binding company, and I was going to school taking classes in auto body repair and auto mechanics,” Schepers said. “Then work started getting slow at the factory, and I had a wife and two kids, so my brother talked me into joining the Guard for one year. It’s funny because I had turned down a six-month early release from the regular Army for those who joined the Guard or the Reserves.”

Schepers deployed with the Guard to both Iraq and Kuwait, preparing military equipment for its return to the U.S.

The oldest soldier in his unit, he remembers what it was like being drafted, rather than volunteering his time like the rest of his unit.

“To many of these young guys, the idea of being forced to serve is a concept hard to grasp,” Schepers said. “They just can’t believe that some people actually had to serve in the military.”

His retirement plans include spending more time with his wife Mary, and their two grown children, Kevin and Stephanie.

“I might also do a little bit of fishing, and I like to tinker with small engines,” he said. “I’ve got more time for that now.”