Anyone who wants to understand me must first understand Russell, Kansas. It is my home, where my roots lie, and a constant source of strength. My father's view of the world as 'stewers versus doers' registered early. From my neighbors, I learned to feel deeply for God, country and family. In Russell, I came to understand there are things worth living for, and, if need be, dying for. The Russell of my youth was not a place of wealth. Yet it was generous with the values that would shape my outlook and the compassion that would restore life's richness after I had begun to doubt my future following the war. Ever since, I have tried in my own way to give back some of what the town has given me. I have tried to defend and serve the America I learned to love in Russell.