98 Country August Veteran of the Month: Richard Rakow

Our August Veteran of the Month is Richard Rakow. Thank you for serving our nation and helping maintain our freedom!

Richard was nominated by his daughter Vanessa who had this to say about him:

My dad has been a member of the Army National Guard for almost 42 years. He works at Camp Ripley for his regular full time job and participates in the Army Reserve.
My dad has missed countless family events because he had annual training or drill. He has received many awards from his units. He is a mentor to any younger soldiers that he comes into contact with.
My dad has trained to go to war and fight for his country but has never gotten the call of duty. Two years ago he was about two weeks short of deploying to Afghanistan when he was held back. I know this event was very hard on him.
My dad is also the ride captain for the St. Cloud sector of the patriot guard. He has watched many men and women go off to combat and come back. He has never gotten the thanks and gratitude that he deserves and that is why I am nominating him.

Richard and his daughter, Vanessa, stopped by the 98 Country studios to talk about his career and accept his gift basket. His daughter also talked a little more about why she nominated her dad for Veteran of the Month.