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PennWest faculty member recalls how military saved his life

By Paul Paterra 5 min read
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Dr. Christopher Wydra, keynote speaker at Monday’s PennWest California’s Veterans Day program
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An unoccupied table is set aside in remembrance of fallen or missing service members.
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Dr. Jon Anderson, president of Pennsylvania Western University, with Dr. Christopher Wydra, coordinator of PennWest’s Doctorate in Criminal Justice program
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Monday’s program began at the Vietnam War Memorial on the PennWest California campus.

Dr. Christopher Wydra credits the military for saving his life – literally and figuratively speaking.

Wydra, coordinator of PennWest University’s Doctorate in Criminal Justice program, was the keynote speaker at the California campus’ Veterans Day program Monday in the Convocation Center. “I think the military has had a direct impact on me because of the things I’ve gone through in life,” Wydra said.

Wydra has an extensive background in military service and law enforcement. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1990 to 1997 and continued his military career with the 171st Air Force National Guard from 2008 to 2014. He also has more than 20 years of service with the Pittsburgh Police Department, spending 14 years as a detective. He was deputized and worked Title III investigations at the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office for three years.

Wydra recalled his college years as a time when he had a little bit too much fun and did not fare well as a student.

“The next thing you know I was on academic suspension and was kicked out of college for a year,” Wydra recalled. “I knew my mom was not going to be happy, and she wasn’t. She said, ‘If you’re not going to be in college, you’re not going to live here.’ So she kicked me out.”

While going through the financial struggles of living on his own, Wydra eventually joined the U.S. Marine Corps, participating in Operation Desert Storm.

“They gave me direction very quickly,” he said.

Upon returning home, he embarked on a career in law enforcement.

“I was very happy being in law enforcement,” Wydra said. “So, I can say figuratively, the Marine Corps saved my life and got me into a career that I really wanted to do.”

Wydra reflected on a police call where he found himself one on one with a man wielding a gun.

“As we were engaged in the shootout I could feel bullets hitting my vest,” Wydra recalled. “One bullet went under my vest, went into my side and out my back. I could feel the blood coming out. I did see him go down, so I knew I shot him.”

The suspect survived the shooting while Wydra’s gun jammed. He fixed his gun, but the suspect jumped in Wydra’s police car and drove away, but was later apprehended.

He credited his military training for helping him survive.

“That kept me in the fight,” Wydra said. “That helped me stay calm. I was thinking through everything. I kind of went on auto pilot and I was just reacting. Yes, I got lucky, but I really attribute it to the Marine Corps and the Marine Corps training. So, I can say the Marine Corps literally saved my life.”

The school’s 51st annual Veteran’s Day celebration was attended by more than 70 people.

PennWest President Dr. Jon Anderson signed a proclamation designating November as Military and Veterans Appreciation week at the university.

“PennWest is a veterans-friendly institution'” Anderson said. “We benefit, not only from the veterans who are here as students, but from the many who served, who are on our faculty and staff … (We) thank veterans for fighting on our behalf so that we have the freedoms that we do.”

Nicole Thompson of Uniontown is this year’s recipient of the Col. Arthur L. Bakewell Veterans Scholarship, which is awarded to a student veteran who demonstrates a high level of academic achievement and service to the community.

The scholarship has been presented at the school’s annual Veterans Day celebration since 1984. Made possible through the Veterans Scholarship Fund 500 Club, the scholarship honors the memory of Bakewell, the first Veterans Club adviser.

Thompson, who was not in attendance Monday, is a senior at PennWest California and a retiree of the U.S. Air Force. She is a mother of four daughters.

“Despite the challenges of being a full-time student and a full-time mother and with all of her daughters involved in extracurricular activities and being a wife taking care of her husband, Nicole has maintained a 4.0 GPA,” said Cory Shay, director of Military and Veteran Success. “She does most of her work at night while her family sleeps.”

There also was an unoccupied table set aside in honor of fallen and missing members of the service.

The program began with a brief ceremony at the college’s Vietnam War Memorial. Shay said he is aware of only two colleges that have such a memorial – PennWest California and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“I want to honor the more than 2.7 million service members who served in the Vietnam War,” Shay said. “Unlike my generation and the generation before me and the generations before the Vietnam War, the soldiers that served in Vietnam did not come home to ticker tape parades, a grateful nation, a welcoming nation. On behalf of a nation, to our Vietnam veterans, I just want to say thank you for your service and sacrifice.”

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