Veteran
Ron Reddick

Interviewed by:

Greer Melville and Delaney Smith

"... you’ll also probably have some of the biggest heartaches you’ll ever have
'cause you’ll probably lose a friend or two."

~ Ron Reddick (28:45)

Ron Reddick's Story:

From getting tear gassed while protesting the Vietnam War to jumping out of airplanes in Army boot camp to completing dangerous peacekeeping missions abroad, veteran Ron Reddick, seems to have done it all. Reddick a 59-year-old Brewster resident who now owns a coffee shop on Cape Cod, Massachusetts has been on many adventures all over the world. Not just for military purposes, either. He has also traveled for personal fun and for his old job in the tech industry. Reddick grew up as a first generation American in Chicago. His parents, who immigrated from Spain and Germany, couldn’t afford to send him to college so when he was offered an ROTC scholarship he readily agreed. Reddick lost a lot of friends due to his decision to join the military, his friends with whom he protested disliked his decision to join something they had protested. Even his mother was a little disappointed in the path he chose. She had always wanted him to go to West Point. Reddick doesn’t regret his decision though. During his time in the military he grew a lot as a person-- going from a unranked enlisted soldier in boot camp to an accomplished member of the U.S. Army who has led his military team out of dangerous situations. Reddick tells powerful stories about guiding friends out of minefields and doing push ups for hours in the middle of the night in the freezing rain. These stories of hardship and hard work have shaped him into the man he is today: humble, strong, tactical, and “less of a smart ass.” He even says that many of the skills that he uses to run his coffee shop today are ones he learned while in the military. There is no doubt that Reddick was born to be a hero.