Special to the PVT Army Lt. Col. Hank Wohle, left, is 60 years old but back in uniform in Iraq. Here he stands with Lt. Col. Richard Rodrigues. Both graduated from West Point. Advertisement

They keep going and going and going...

Hank Wohle a graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno, received his commission from the Army ROTC program upon graduating in 1972. Thirty-five years after being commissioned, he realized he had to do something to help alleviate the strain placed on soldiers who were in their second and third rotation in Iraq.

His solution -- he volunteered.

An educator in the Churchill County schools and Pahrump's first high school football coach, Wohle sat with his family one night and told them how he felt about the war in Iraq and why he wanted to deploy.

Six months later he was sent to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Although his wife Susan and his children, Sierra, Lillie and Jamee, had no idea what they were in for, they stood behind this husband, father, educator and soldier and supported him to the max.

"He loves his country, and he is fighting for what he believes in," said Susan Wohle. "We are all so proud of him."

Not knowing what challenges lay ahead, Lt. Col. Wohle packed his bags and deployed to war-torn Iraq September 2007, six years and 10 days after he had retired from the armed forces.

At age 60 but in great physical shape, Wohle was not to be undone by the younger soldiers in-country.

Within his second week overseas, while at his duty station at Multi National Forces Iraq, Wohle heard of a 12-mile traditional activity called the DACON March -- DACON for "Danish Contingent," which began the march on Cyprus.

Immediately Wohle and his friend, Lt. Col. Rick Rodrigues, formed the FUOPS DACON March Team. Wohle, Rodrigues and others were on their way.

First Sergeant Peter O'Reilly, a reservist and owner of the Peter O'Rielly Agency, Lt. Col. Richard Rodrigues, a 1973 graduate from West Point, a retired army officer with 20 years service and currently an executive vice president with the First National Bank of Brooksfield, Ill., and Col. Michael Schneider, a West Point graduate in 1980 were making a name for themselves.

"After eight miles you could begin to feel the effects of the march, but just like the rabbit on those television commercials, we kept going and going" said Wohle. "Our goal was to finish in the middle of the group and that is just what we did."

Militarily, these three soldiers offer more than 65 years of service to their country and have numerous awards and decorations.