Getting to know: Sterling Moninghoff

 

VFW Connections

Sterling first got involved with the VFW in 1999 through another member. Although he had passed by the building every day, he had no idea it was there. He learned that he was eligible to join due to his service in Korea, so he completed his membership paperwork. However, he was not able to get involved at first, as the travel required for his job regularly took him away from the area. In 2003, there was a lull in Sterling’s work demands, and he was immediately encouraged to take a position as the Adjutant at the Grand level. He served as the Grand Commander from 2007-2008, the District Commander from 2008-2009, and the Post Commander from 2010-2011. He also served as the Bingo Chairman of the post for 15 years. During that time, he also volunteered as a floor worker, sold pull tabs, and organized the financial books. He is also an active member of the Military Order of the Cootie (MOC).

 

Sterling was born in Bad Cannstatt, Germany, as his father was stationed there as an active-duty Marine. Shortly after his birth, they settled in New Jersey, where his grandparents emigrated in the 1860s. The family lived in Lambertville, New Jersey, a small town of about 5000 people.

Sterling was the oldest of the four siblings. He attended Catholic school for his first two years but eventually transferred into public school. He was responsible for walking his siblings to school. Sterling’s father completed his service in the Marine Corps when Sterling was 10 years old.

His childhood was challenging, as his younger brother, Larry, experienced an undiagnosed illness that caused frequent and severe convulsions. Because of this, both his parents had to work to keep the family afloat, his father taking a position in a paper mill and his mother serving as a police officer. Larry, just two years younger than Sterling, passed away at the age of eight.

To add to the family’s stress, they found themselves having to move suddenly in 1971 when Sterling was 12. As natural gas lines were being replaced in the city, several malfunctioned and caused large explosions. Several areas surrounding their house—including some homes on their street—were impacted. Tragically, several of Sterling’s classmates were killed in the blasts. Fearing for their lives, Sterling’s father packed up the family and drove to Opa-locka, Florida.

With his mother’s uncle and mother’s grandmother living nearby, Sterling’s family settled into the Hollywood area. Sterling attended the local middle school and high school. He did well in his studies, even completing college classes at the University in Miami while still in high school. He also maintained a part-time job with his girlfriend’s father.

His parents divorced in 1975, so by his senior year, Sterling was on his own living in a trailer with his friends. He knew he wouldn’t be able to afford college on his own, and local jobs were hard to come by. Since many of Sterling’s family members served in various branches of the military, he figured that it would be a good option for him, too.

 

Sterling took the ASVAB and did well enough to be able to pick almost any branch or job that he wanted. However, he decided against the Navy, as his uncle was an instructor at the Great Lakes Naval Academy, and he didn’t want to chance a run-in with him. The Air Force had a two-year waiting list. As his father had served in the Marine Corps, Sterling knew the branch might not be a good fit for him. Therefore, the Army seemed like the best option.

As Sterling was passionate about music, having participated in high school marching band, concert band and drum corps, he considered being part of the United States Army Band. However, he was concerned that this wouldn’t leave him with strong job opportunities after his service. Finally, Sterling settled on an electronics job as a 32F—an Army Fixed Ciphony Repairer. He learned that the job would require 48-week course of study and a Top-Secret security clearance, but he was up for the challenge. Although he enlisted in the Army in December of 1976, he entered the delayed entry program and entered active duty on July 5, 1977.

Once a position was available for Sterling, he headed to Fort Jackson for boot camp in Columbia, South Carolina. After his graduation in September of 1977, they didn’t call his MOS to announce his next duty station. They discovered that his training didn’t start for another two weeks, so he was told he could have a taxi ride to the airport anywhere he wanted to go. He surprised his mother at home, staying with them until it was time to head back to Fort Jackson.

Sterling completed the Common Basic Electronics (COBET) training course. Although the course was supposed to take him eight weeks, he completed it in three. While he was initially accused of cheating, he demonstrated that he knew the content well. In November, Sterling headed to Fort Gordon in Georgia. He finished his training there on September 1, 1978.

His first duty assignment was the 169th Signal Company, 36th Signal Battalion in South Korea. During the bitter Korean winters—which caused Sterling some frostbite—he was trained to use several new systems. Sterling was tasked with secure communication voice repair. He really enjoyed learning about microwaves, satellites, and communications systems. He became so skilled at his job that they extended him an additional two months after his one-year tour was up, as they didn’t want to let him go.

From there, Sterling was assigned to an 18-month tour at Fort Huachuca in Arizona with the 505th Signal Company, 86th Signal Battalion, 11th Signal Brigade. This was a world-wide deployable unit, which meant that Sterling was placed on Temporary Duty (TDY) to many locations during his time there.

During this time, he met Alice at Fort Huachuca, and they married in Tombstone, Arizona. He planned to take his new wife to get set up with her military paperwork the next day. However, he received an alert at 4 AM to report with his "B Bag” (a duffel packed with warm-weather gear). Upon arrival, he was told to load up their equipment in a C-130 aircraft. Once they were done, they waited until the tailgate unexpectedly closed and the plane took off. When they landed, he saw a sign that welcomed them to McGuire Air Force Base. Sterling was given a briefcase and a piece of paper to sign by the commanding officer. He was told that he would receive the key to the locked briefcase while they were in flight. When the pilot met them 30 minutes later and they were able to look at their materials, they discovered they were headed to Exercise Bright Star ‘80 in Cairo, Egypt. This meant that he would be spending three weeks there, and his wife would have no idea where he went. Eventually, he was able to set up their communication systems to make a call back to post so they could get things situated.

Soon afterward, Sterling received vague orders for 252 Signal Company with duty in Schwabisch Gmund, Germany. He arrived in Frankfurt and took a train, only to be told that they didn’t have a signal unit there. Eventually, he found someone to transport him to the location on his orders: the communications center. After a series of continuing misadventures, including his watch dying and not knowing where exactly he was, he eventually made it to the very tiny Bismarck Kaserne. He and his wife separated during this time. Before she left Germany, she ended up introducing him to the woman who would become his daughter’s mother, although he did not know she was pregnant until after he had already returned to the States.

In 1984, Sterling received orders for the Pentagon where he was part of the USAISC-Pentagon. There, he met his second wife, Anna, while she was working at the Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). Although their first encounter was an argument, they married a year later. She later transitioned from active duty to the reserves.

In December of 1985, Sterling received a strange phone call. He was told he would need to get an Official passport with a particular stamp. From there, he was told to head to Fort Meade in Maryland. When he arrived, he was told he would need to surrender his military ID. He was also instructed to grow out his hair, wear civilian clothes, blend in, and not ask where he would be going. Sterling was suddenly part of an INSCOM military intelligence unit.

That summer, he was sent to Korea for 15 months, just nine months after marrying Anna. She was also caring for her seven-year-old son, Scott. While he was still in Korea, Anna told him that orders had arrived for him to go to Germany. After contacting the branch manager to sort things out, he was told, "You are now part of them. We don’t have control of you anymore.” Sterling learned that he would likely spend the remainder of his military career with INSCOM.

Sterling was sent to Fort Gordon in Georgia in 1987. His family was able to join him there shortly after arriving, and he served as an instructor there for several years before being sent to his next assignment in 1990 to NATO Headquarters in Europe. Once he arrived, the command had to figure out who he was and what to do with him. Eventually, he was assigned to 97th Signal Battalion, although many people at the shop were quite perplexed by him. He spent time in and out of Germany in field sites before receiving orders to Fort Bragg at the beginning of April 1994.

Although he was told that he should expect to be sent back overseas quickly, Sterling was suddenly overcome by a mystery illness shortly after returning to the States. When he woke up, he was covered in red dots, became very tired, and passed out in the middle of the road. He was unconscious for several days and was quarantined at the medical center. Sterling was later diagnosed with chickenpox, meningitis, varicella, and other conditions.

Once Sterling recovered, he finally got to Fort Bragg, where he was once again met with a confused command who didn’t know what to do with him. After they figured out who he was, he was told he would be assigned to a unit there and wouldn’t be deploying. Shortly afterward, they informed him that plans had changed, so he would be deploying in a month and a half. On the day of his departure, he was on one of four planes that headed to Florida. When he arrived, he was told that he would be airlifted to the next location. After that, he would open an envelope and give it to the teams. Many helicopters arrived and whisked the group away. When he opened the envelope with instructions and a map, he realized they were going to Haiti. They spent nine days on the mountaintops and then returned him.

In 1997, and after several other operations, Sterling was ready to retire. He got fitted for a uniform, cut his hair to just within regulations, shaved his beard, and wore his airborne uniform with boots and beret. No one recognized him—including his own dogs—as it had been over a decade since he was dressed like a soldier. He had a lovely retirement ceremony and was awarded with a Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) for everything he did for the United States Army.