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Beverly Schwab has put in a lot of time as a military wife and mother. It wasn’t until she had sewn on her husband’s Coast Guard Auxiliary insignia that she realized she had sewn on military insignias for all five branches of the United States military.

“When I was sewing on insignias I thought, ‘Wow’, I have sewed on every one,” Schwab said. “I am proud of my family. It is an accomplishment, and it is unusual.”

The Marines, Navy, Army National Guard, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Schwab’s loved ones had served in each at one time. Despite some lonely times, Schwab, 72, said that she was blessed to have her husband around most of the time, and that most of her memories are proud ones.

“There were more proud times than tough times,” she said. “I am sort of glad that the military continued in my family.”

Schwab’s first husband, Tony Koga, was in the Marines in the 1950s. Koga passed away in 1990. Her second husband, Harry Schwab, joined the Navy around 1965. He was a member of the Senior Air Crew on a Navy transport, and he served seven tours in Vietnam. He also spent six months in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1982, and two months in Spain in 1975.

In the late 1970s, Harry joined the Army National Guard in Tomahawk where he was a lead instructor at Camp Williams. He was transferred to Fort McCoy as a facility manager, and the Schwab’s came to Tomah in 1990. He currently works part-time as a Civilian Technician Operator of the Learning Center at Fort McCoy, and he joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2005 where he is the Vice Commander of the 8th Western Rivers District, Division 2, Flotilla 5 in La Crosse.

“We have been lucky. He has usually always been around,” Schwab said. “Other than the seven missions in Vietnam, and about six months being away in the (National) Guard, he has stayed put pretty well here.”

Schwab’s son, Tony Koga Jr., joined the United States Air Force in 1979. He was a military police dog handler, and then joined the Police Department of Homestead, FL., before being injured in a crash while on duty and returning to the Tomah area.

Through it all, Schwab said there were few drastic changes in her life. She missed her husband and son while they were away, but she said that she kept herself busy.

“I just took care of household things,” Schwab said. “There really were no big changes for me. I missed him (Harry), and I didn’t like him being away. We were just fortunate we didn’t have little kids running around then. Because he was an instructor in the (National) Guard, he usually stayed at Fort McCoy and Camp Williams.

Schwab said that she likes to stay as active as possible. She is a member of the Writer’s Group, and she likes to write about trivia. She also said that she is glad that her husband still serves in the military. She is proud of him, and her son.

“I am very proud of them and the military,” she said. “And I have been proud to be a military wife all this time.”