Colonel Neil E. Edgar - 1968-
US Army Airborne - Military Intelligence
It all started when he was at college in upstate
NY. One of his closest friends was an older guy, former Marine who did a
4 year tour after high school then went to college on his G.I.
Bill. Neil and he took a military history class together
and they talked about his life in the Marine Corps and the exploits of
Neil's own family members who were also in the service.
They discussed his father, grandfather, uncles Charlie
and George and his cousin, John, all of whose stories can also
be found at this website. Suddenly Neil felt that college might have
been the wrong place for him. But, since he was paying for school
out of his own pocket, he felt committed and not finishing
what he started was not becoming of an Edgar - that level of personal
commitment would serve him well wherever he would go.
He went on to Chiropractic School with the same
repressed feeling of emptiness for not having served in the military. But
after graduation, life in the real civilian world just wasn't cutting it.
Being in private practice dealing with HMOs, PPOs and the changing healthcare
system did not meet his expectations for how life was supposed to
be. He needed a bigger challenge.
At the time, the Army was the only branch implementing
the Student Loan Repayment enlistment incentive. After learning he
could pay back his $70,000 student loan for 3 years of service to our
great country it became a no-brainer. At the age 27 he followed his
heart and joined the regular Army, signing up for the Airborne
Infantry. The recruiters couldn't understand it as they thought he
could be enticed into flying helicopters, but it was simple; He simply
wanted to jump, shoot, move and communicate!
Here is his story - as of 2026, it is still being written -