Smalltown Pa to Vietnam to Col with Lou Seelig
- Smalltown Pa to Vietnam to Col with Lou Seelig HomeFront Sitrep 1:10:02
Lou Seelig is the embodiment of the American dream. He was born in a small town of Honesdale, PA to first generation immigrant parents. He learned humility and determination while raised as the oldest boy of nine children from a modest family. He also learned courage as an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam being awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He overcame a below average start at school to become the Comptroller for President Reagan’s missile defense program “Star Wars”. While a senior fellow at the National Defense University he a wrote a controversial book “Resource Management In Peace and War” predicting Desert Strom four years before it occurred. Success has always been a driving factor for Lou, but he found out late in his career that he needed to redefine success.
Lou and his wife Jean’s families came from humble backgrounds in Europe and immigrated to the US for various social and economic reasons. Their ancestors brought with them little else but their values, customs, and cultures that were passed down generation after generation. Intrigued as a child by the many undocumented stories told around the dinner table and other festive occasions, Lou undertook an investigation of his family past after retiring, to help better understand himself. He also wanted to document his findings for his siblings, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews so they would benefit from his research and appreciate the rich but humble family history. The documentation resulted in his writing the book “Need to Succeed” initially published in 2003 and republished in 2021 including family pictures. Lou wants to share his genealogical approach with people interested in searching their own family history. His hopes are that the presentation will provide information on the how-to of genealogy presentation for those conducting their own family search.
