Exchange Club to welcome 88-year-old war veteran

88-year-old retired Colonel Jack L. Tueller will be sharing stories and playing his trumpet at this week’s meeting of the Exchange Club of Utah Valley. The breakfast gathering will be held on  Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009 at 7:30 a.m. at Mimi’s Café in Orem. All interested community members are invited to attend.

Colonel Tueller served as a combat pilot in World War II, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and seventeen other air medals. He flew combat missions in 1943 and 1944, first from England and then during D-day on Omaha Beach. He also served in the United States Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam Wars where he received two Legions of Merit and a presidential citation.  He has flown over 20 different fighter and bomber aircraft and has seven thousand flying hours to his credit.  After military retirement, he became vice president of engineering firms, finally retiring at the age of 78. He and his wife of 67 years have six children, 28 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Exchange, America’s Service Club is a group of men and women working to make their communities better places to live through programs of service in americanism, community service, youth projects and its national project, the prevention of child abuse. To date, the National Exchange Club’s efforts have helped more than 1.6 million children and 656,000 families eliminate child abuse from their daily lives.

The local Exchange club meets weekly for breakfast on Wednesday mornings at Mimi’s Café in Orem. New members are sought and always welcome to join. For more information, look online at www.utahvalleyexchange.org.