08/06/2026
Please join us Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 6:30 pm as we honor Jerry Apfel as our August 2026 Veteran of the Month.
Gerald Roger “Jerry” Apfel was born August 29, 1950, in Birch Creek, Wisconsin. He graduated from Chippewa Falls High School in Chippewa Falls, WI, in 1968.
On April 1, 1969, he joined the Navy, graduating from bootcamp on June 10. He received orders to Aviation Electronics (AV) “A” School at Naval Air Technical Training Command (NATTC) onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Memphis in Millington, Tennessee. After proving to be one of the more capable learners, he was put in the “fast track” class and completed the 16-week course in just 12 weeks. His first permanent command was with the Jolly Rogers of Fighter Squadron 84 (VF-84) onboard NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia. There he performed maintenance on aircraft communications, navigation, and electronic countermeasures systems. His squadron deployed onboard the USS Rosevelt (CVA-42) and sailed the Mediterranean Sea and the waters around Cuba for two seven-month deployments. After almost three years of sea duty, he transferred to Helicopter Training Squadron 18 (HT-18) onboard NAS Whiting Field in Milton, Florida. Once again, he performed maintenance on communications and navigation equipment.
On September 19, 1973, Jerry re-enlisted with the intention of making the Navy a career. He completed shore duty then returned to NATTC onboard NAS Memphis to attend the AV1-B Advanced Electronics School. Upon completion of school, he received orders to the Firebirds of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 110 (VAW-110) onboard NAS Coronado in Coronado, California, where he worked on the Airborne Command and Control E-2C Aircraft. He was soon reassigned to USS Constellation (CV-64) as ship’s company. Thanks to his performance, training, and work ethic, he was placed in charge of the Intermediate Radar Department that maintained the fire control radar for fighter aircraft.
In March 1977, he learned that his next transfer would be an unaccompanied tour onboard USS Midway (CV-41) homeported in Japan. Jerry had married Debbie, the love of his life, in 1975. Accepting the orders meant that his first child would be over six months old before he met her. After much heartfelt discussion, they decided that separation was not the life for them. On March 24, 1977, he received his honorable discharge in San Diego, CA. For his service to our nation, Petty Officer Apfel was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and a Good Conduct Medal.
His return to civilian life brought him to Memphis where he worked as a service technician at a small office equipment company. During a family vacation in Dallas, Texas, he interviewed with Texas Instruments Incorporated and was hired on the spot. Unfortunately, the factory environment was not for him, so he returned to Memphis to work as a field service technician with a 150-mile territory. As technology evolved so did his job, with several mergers and buyouts. In 1985, he retired and returned to Covington where he drove a school bus until retiring from that position in 2025.
A Deacon and active member of Covington First Baptist Church, full retirement left Jerry available to follow God’s call from teaching Sunday School to both national and international mission trips. Debbie and Jerry raised four wonderful children – Jaime Hunter, Kendra Parr, David Apfel, and Cory Apfel. Sadly, Debbie passed on Jan. 1, 2025, and is sorely missed by Jerry, their children, and their twelve grandchildren.
Jerry was nominated for Veteran of the Month by his friend, Robin Wallace, the May 2021 Veteran of the Month.
