Friends, family celebrate reservist's return

One friend started collecting money for the party before the veteran even left.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- For nine months, John Campbell flew Apache helicopters in Iraq with reservists half his age.
The 57-year-old grandfather and former police officer returned to his hometown in suburban Cincinnati on Saturday, where more than 100 old friends converged from across the country to honor the man they call Jocko.
Campbell, who trains pilots at Fort Knox, Ky., was drafted at 21 and served in Vietnam. He's been in the Army Reserve since 1972 and left the Cincinnati Police Department in 1985 to work for the military as a civilian.
"My hat's off to him," said retired police sergeant Paul Vogelpohl, who spearheaded plans to celebrate the Army reservist's return before he'd even left.
Vogelpohl and others started collecting money for Campbell's party about a year and a half ago, when the Fort Knox unit was activated. He collected about $4,300 and continued hitting up party-goers as they celebrated in Campbell's old haunt, a tavern in Delhi Township, west of Cincinnati.
"Sometimes they'd get me twice in one day," said Lt. Richard Idecker of the Delhi Township Police Department.
Expressing admiration
Campbell's parents -- Air Force Gen. Donald Campbell and Bettie Campbell -- drove up from Florida for the party. Childhood friends who hadn't seen Campbell since he left the Cincinnati area 20 years ago said they felt like he'd never left home.
Campbell's mother remembered when he and his brother left home for Vietnam. She said watching her grown son head to war again was painful.
"But I am proud of my boy," she said.
The reservist reflected on his tour, where he served beside younger pilots who nicknamed him Soup.
"I went out there with the goal of out-flying the young guys," he said, adding that he logged about 600 flight hours.
"I cannot run the two miles like they can, but I can sure fly like they can," he said.
Vogelpohl, 59, said he envied his slightly younger friend's stamina.
"He's [almost] 58 years old. That's unbelievable," Vogelpohl said.
Older soldiers still make up a small percentage of Army combatants, but their numbers are growing as more reserve units are activated. In March, the Army raised its recruiting age limit from 34 to 39 to try to boost its forces in Iraq.