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Kliegl — U.S. Marines

9/11 attacks inspired Kliegl to become a Marine; She served two deployments in Iraq

-Submitted photo
Crystal Kliegl enlisted in the Marine Corps her junior year in high school and left for boot camp less than two months after graduating high school in 2004.

Like many from her generation, one historic event helped drive Crystal Kliegl toward the military: the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

As a sophomore at Fort Dodge Senior High School, Kliegl was in school the day that hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. She said she couldn’t really fathom what was happening at the time, but it eventually pushed her toward the Marine Corps.

“I remember watching it on television and thinking I had to do something,” she said. “I really didn’t think about the military as a career, but my friends said they knew I would. They remember me dressing up as a Marine in fourth grade. I guess I don’t remember that. But I just felt it was my duty to do something. That’s how I felt.”

Kliegl’s father was also a Marine, which she said also helped make her decision.

Kliegl enlisted in the Marine Corps her junior year in high school and left for boot camp less than two months after graduating high school in 2004.

She was stationed for four years at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California, and served as a supply Marine in warehousing. She earned the rank of corporal. She was also deployed two different times, serving in Iraq in 2006 and 2008. Each deployment was for 10 months.

“I really didn’t know if I wanted to make this my career,” Kliegl said. “After a couple years in, I said I would stay until I wanted to have children. Then I got pregnant and decided I wouldn’t re-enlist after my first stint.”

Now more than a dozen years removed from service, Kliegl says the skills she learned in the military come in handy in her current career, a high school English teacher.

“As a teacher, I think I can remain calm in the midst of a lot of panic,” she said. “I can keep calm in serious situations and make logical decisions.

“I was promoted two years into my service and I was in charge of 20-30 Marines. I had to get to know each of them. That’s how I take care of my students.”

Kliegl didn’t go into teaching right away. She worked in the business world for several years, including managing a fitness center. But she soon realized that she wanted to do something more impactful.

“I decided that wasn’t the legacy I wanted to leave,” she said. “I didn’t think I was making a difference.”

Kliegl has been at Fort Dodge Senior High since 2020. Her husband, Aron, also works as a custodian for the high school. Her children are Lily (13) and Makai (10).

She said she would encourage any student thinking about the military to make sure it’s the right decision for them.

“I would ask them to think about why they want to go into the military, but I would also tell them it was the best decision I made,” she said. “I learned so many life lessons from my experience.”

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