MP experiences differing places, culture

"I sure have no regrets about my time spent there," said Jerry Paxton, representing District 47 in the Wyoming House of Representatives, about his time as a military policeman in Germany.

Paxton served in the United States Army from 1965 to 1967. "My combat was more breaking up bar fights," he said of his experience overseas. His service was a result of the draft, and Paxton felt that the experience was overall very positive for the trajectory of the rest of his life.

"It was a great experience for a country boy from Wyoming to travel halfway around the world and see new cultures," Paxton said of the "eye-opening experience." After his time in the service, Paxton took advantage of the GI bill to complete his education.

"You kind of find out what your physical limits are," Paxton said. In his experience, they pushed him hard in basic training and the extra training required for his position as military policeman, but he found it was a good, maturing experience or him and other young people. Paxton's time in the military expanded his horizons by allowing him to associate with different kinds of people from different walks of life, he said, as diversity was not a big part of his childhood in Wyoming.

While in Germany, Paxton was able to take a piece of the Berlin wall and venture into East Germany, also traveling to Switzerland and France.

Paxton said that seeing East Germany at that time gave him a greater appreciation for the system of government in America and appreciation for freedom. Going through the Berlin Wall was one of the reasons that Paxton got into politics, he said, in order to preserve our freedoms.