During the Dec. 4 game vs. the Detroit Red Wings, we welcomed United States Air Force Staff Sergeant Joshua Grice.  

From Johnstown, Staff Sergeant Grice enlisted in 2003 and went on to complete his training as a helicopter crew chief. During his 10 years of service, he was deployed to Iraq twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and three times to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He has continued to serve our community for the last nine years as an officer with the Columbus Division of Police.

During the Nov. 28 game vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, we welcomed United States Coast Guard Boatswain’s Mate First Class David Johnson.  

From Virginia Beach, Boatswain’s Mate First Class Johnson enlisted with the Coast Guard in March 1981. Over the course of his 20 years of service, he assisted in numerous operations that intercepted tons of illegal drugs and aided in more than 500 search and rescue missions.

During the Nov. 26 game vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs, we welcomed United States Navy Petty Officer Third Class Russ Beaman.  

From Knoxville, Tennessee, Petty Officer Third Class Beaman enlisted in 1967, and after completing basic training he was assigned to the USS Intrepid. During his four years with the Navy, he served two deployments to Vietnam as a Flight Deck Safety Officer, responsible for the safety of the catapult crew and pilots of the planes being launched.

During the Nov. 17 game vs. the Montreal Canadiens, we welcomed Ohio Air National Guard Staff Sergeant Kameron King.  

From Mansfield, Staff Sergeant King enlisted with the Ohio Army National Guard in 2011 and served for eight years as a member of the 585th Military Police before transferring to the Air National Guard. He now serves as a member of the 179th Cyberspace Wing and has served deployments to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

During the Nov. 15 game vs. the New York Rangers, we welcomed United States Navy Petty Officer Third Class Roger Rill.  

From Grandview Heights, Petty Officer Third Class Rill joined the Navy in 1968. Over the course of his four years of service, he was deployed to Camp Tien Sha in Da Nang, South Vietnam, and the Gulf of Tonkin gunnery line aboard the USS Belknap, and was later deployed to the Mediterranean and Black Seas aboard the USS New.

During the Nov. 13 game vs. the Edmonton Oilers, we welcomed United States Army Specialist Eric Ricketts.  

From Newark, Specialist Ricketts was drafted in August 1967. In 1968, he was deployed to Vietnam where he was assigned to the Long Binh post, just outside of Saigon. A year later, he was honorably discharged from the Army. While serving in Vietnam he was exposed to Agent Orange, later leading him to develop bladder and skin cancer, but due to the treatment he has received with the help of the Veterans Administration his cancer is now in remission. 

His granddaughter, Blue Jackets Boom Brigade member Isabel Mangus, presented him with this gift.

During the Nov. 1 game vs. the St. Louis Blues, we welcomed United States Air Force Master Sergeant Jeremy Mers.  

From Wauconda, Illinois, Master Sergeant Mers joined the Air Force in 1997 as a Munitions Systems Apprentice. After four years of active duty, he left the Air Force and later joined the Air Force Reserve in 2008. In 2011, he was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He now serves as a line recruiter servicing Columbus and its surrounding areas.

During the Oct. 29 game vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs, we welcomed United States Navy Reserve Electrician’s Mate Second Class Kevin McEnneny.  

In 2007, Electrician’s Mate Second Class McEnneny joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve and served as a Field Radio Operator. In 2010, he was deployed to Afghanistan where he served on the front lines. He left the Marines in 2013, and in 2021 he joined the United States Navy Reserve and just recently re-enlisted for another two years.

During the Oct. 24 game vs. the Washington Capitals, we welcomed United States Army Specialist Joseph Lay.  

From Dallas, Texas, Specialist Lay enlisted in November 2016 as an Intelligence Analyst and was stationed in South Korea from 2017 to 2018. He was later deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. In 2021, he was stationed in Germany before his honorable medical separation from the Army in 2022.

During the Oct. 18 game vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, we welcomed United States Navy Petty Officer First Class Harry Hoffrogge. 

From Circleville, Petty Officer First Class Hoffrogge enlisted in 2010 and served as a Fire Controlman for the Tomahawk weapons systems. In 2012 he was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as a part of a team hunting pirates in the Arabian Sea and was deployed once again in 2015 for an 11-month tour.

During the Oct. 16 game vs. the Colorado Avalanche, we welcomed United States Army Staff Sergeant Danny Adams Jr.  

From Columbus, Staff Sergeant Adams joined the Army in 2006 and was trained to maintain the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the Abrams Tank. He was later deployed with the 1st Armored Division in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Later he was deployed as a member of the 4th Infantry Division in support of Operation New Dawn.

During the Oct. 13 game vs. the New York Devils, we welcomed 99-year-old World War II veteran United States Army Corporal Burt Marsh.  

From Seneca Falls, New York, Corporal Marsh was drafted into the Army after graduating high school in 1944 and in January of the following year he was deployed overseas. Assigned to Company M of the 319th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division, he served as a 30-caliber heavy machine gunner earning three Battle Stars in the Battle Of The Bulge, the Rhineland Offensive and the Central Europe Campaign. He was honorably discharged from the Army in June 1946.