Perry Yoder, Army Veteran -- November 11, 2022

The Yoders

  Mr. Perry Yoder, a member of Faith Temple (FT), Taylors, SC, was 20 years old when he joined the U.S. Army as an enlisted man on Jan. 21, 1971. He completed basic training at Ft. Lewis, Washington. 

  “There was a lot of snow on the ground,” he says, describing that time.

  Perry and Mrs. Joyce Rainey Yoder live in Marietta. Her adult son, Robert Roye, lives with them. Perry has one adult daughter, Sonya Yoder. Joyce was part of the church when it began. Her late parents, FT members, were Mr. Belton M. Rainey (1923-1987) and Mrs. Grace B. Rainey (1924-2000).

  Perry was born into a Mennonite family of 3 boys and 3 girls (his 2 brothers are deceased).

  “I was the third oldest. I was born in Catlett, Virginia, but grew up in Goshen, Indiana,” he says. “We went to East Goshen Mennonite Church.”

  He accepted Christ when he was 3 or 4 years old, Perry says. He graduated Goshen High School and worked at Goshen Sash & Door. He married Karen and couldn’t find a good job, so he joined the Army. While he was in Basic, his daughter, Sonya, was born. After Basic, he chose “Ammunition Storage” (MOS 55 Bravo)(MOS means “Military Occupational Specialties”) as his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and trained at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Listed are his consecutive service locations.

  Fort Sill, OK: Jul 1971—Dec. ’71

  Manheim, Germany: Jan ’72—Dec ’73 

  Ft. Hood, TX: Jan ’74—Jul ’75 (He and his first wife divorced at Ft. Hood, and he met Joyce there.)

  Babenhausen, Germany: Jul ’75—Jul ’78

  In Aug. 1976, Perry “took leave” and married Joyce at FT in SC on Aug. 15, 1976, at Paris Mountain State Park, Greenville, SC. Joyce's mother, a judge, performed the ceremony. While on leave, Perry attend FT services and felt shocked, he says. “Everybody was getting out and dancing in the aisles. The singing was loud. I liked it. We’ve been coming here ever since,” he says. He flew back to Germany, One month later, Joyce and her son, Robert Roye, flew to live with Perry in Germany.

  Redstone Arsenal, AL: Jul ’78—Apr ’80. Perry worked as an ammunition instructor.

  Camp Ames, S.Korea: Mar ’80—Mar ’81 (inventorying special weapons in bunkers)

  Ft. Bragg, NC: Mar ’81—Mar ’84 (8th Ordnance Co.)

  North Point, Germany: Mar ’84—Mar ’87

  Ft. Lee, VA: Mar ’87—Sep ’89

  Fischbach, Germany: Sep ’89—Dec ’91. From that location, Perry was deployed (Dec ’90—Apr ’91) to “Operation Desert Storm,” a war that expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. While stationed in Saudi Arabia, a very hot location, he received from his mother-in-law, Ms. Grace Rainey, a chocolate Easter bunny. “It was all right till it got there,” former Sergeant First Class Yoder says. “As soon as I opened it, it melted in my hands. Our ammo dump was 7 miles from the front lines. A Scud missile was fired toward our area, but a Patriot missile fired from Germany took it down. Every night was like Fourth of July fireworks. The Lord was with me.”   

  NOTES on “Yoder” and the Mennonite Church:   

  “Yoder” is a common surname among the Amish and Mennonites and is an Americanized form of the Swiss-German name “Joder.” Sources say the name “Yoder” is of Dutch origin and means “Family Of Theodore.”

  From "christianity.com": Often mistaken for Amish, Mennonites are a Christian group that formed during the Protestant Reformation. They were persecuted, while the church itself has been a proponent of peace. There are divisions of Mennonites (also called Anabaptists), and most agree on the basic tenets of Christianity.

  Mennonites emerged from the Anabaptists, a reform movement of the 16th-century Reformation. The Mennonite Church was named after Menno Simons, a Dutch priest who organized the work begun by moderate Anabaptist leaders. Simons (1492-1561) became a Catholic priest at about 24 but had doubts about some Catholic teachings. He started to “rely on Scripture alone for answers,” and left the Catholic Church to become an Anabaptist, or “rebaptizer.” By 1544, the term “Mennonite” was used to describe Dutch Anabaptists. Mennonites became a new movement known for adult baptisms. The Amish isolate from the world, while Mennonites do not.