Just before Memorial Day, a pair of Hillsboro High School graduates and best friends solidified their commitment to serve in the U.S. military.
On May 22, AJ Femmer, 22, who grew up in the De Soto area, was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy, after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with economics.
A week earlier, his longtime friend, Clayton Vassalli, 22, of Barnhart, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, after completing an ROTC program at Southeast Missouri State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business.
Femmer and Vassalli will go on to train to become pilots.
Femmer will report on Aug. 28 to the Naval Air Station Pensacola to begin his training. Vassalli said because of COVID-19, training classes are spaced out more than usual, and he is scheduled to report on May 9, 2021, to the Columbus (Miss.) Air Force Base 14th Flying Training Wing Home.
“Looking back how we were best friends all throughout our childhood, now we are doing the same thing, I think that is really neat,” Femmer said. “Neither of us planned for it; it just kind of happened that way. I think that is really awesome. The academy is not what I planned for, but I’m very happy with how it all turned out. I couldn’t be more excited about what I’m going into now.”
Vassalli said he and Femmer never pushed hard for the other to become a pilot, but as has often been the case since the two met in the fourth grade, their paths just led to a similar destination.
“We found it together, and we felt it would be a great fit for both of us. We never said, ‘You have to do this,’” said Vassalli, who plans to work and take classes toward a master degree in business over the next year.
“It is funny we both went to college for engineering, and we both transitioned into business. He went economics, and I went business. It just happened naturally.”
Hillsboro High School science teacher Lauren Eatherton, who taught the two friends college-level biology, said she is proud of the two young men and their plans to serve the country.
“Our country is getting two fine gentlemen,” Eatherton said. “I hope one day, my sons are as good as they are.”
Different routes converge
Even though the Hillsboro duo are set to become pilots, they didn’t follow the same paths into the military.
In fact, neither had considered joining the military until their senior year of high school.
“(AJ) had applied to numerous colleges and was accepted at most of them,” said his father, Brad Femmer, who was in the Air Force. “One day a naval rep was at the high school, and he said it was kind of neat. It had not been a lifelong dream of his.”
AJ Femmer said he was helping one of the high school counselors and just happened to be in the room when the Navy recruiter made his presentation.
“Our counselors do an excellent job of bringing people in here from all walks of life to talk to our kids about their futures,” said Hillsboro High Principal Cathy Freeman, who also is Vassalli’s mother. “You could see the light bulb go off for both of them. The idea of committing themselves to the military was not something they thought about, but they just thought this is a great opportunity. We will serve our country and give back and have college paid for. It was really neat.”
After the presentation, Femmer and Vassalli went through the rigorous process of applying to the Naval Academy. Candidates need to have a good academic record, secure letters of recommendation from teachers, pass a fitness assessment test and get a nomination from a senator or congressman.
While both completed the application process, only Femmer, who was nominated by Rep. Jason Smith, was accepted to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
However, Vassalli received a scholarship from the Air Force ROTC, which would cover his tuition to any public university in the state. He decided on Southeast Missouri State.
Now, after four years traveling different roads, the friends find themselves on a similar journey as they plan to become pilots.
“At the end, it is almost the same path,” said Femmer’s mother, Lucy Femmer. “We are so excited about these two good friends becoming pilots at the same time. They will serve the country together. It is cool.”
In the Navy
Femmer said even after being accepted into the Naval Academy, he did not envision graduating and then signing on for an additional 10-year commitment – two years of pilot training and then another eight years as a Navy pilot.
He said he planned to complete his degree, serve his required five years in the Navy and then start a career as a civilian.
“As I was at the academy, I fell in love with it more,” Femmer said. “There is so much that we get to do, so ironically, I chose a path that will keep me in the service the longest.
“It just fell that way. If you would have asked me in high school, ‘Do you think you are going to be a pilot in the Navy?’ I would have said that is crazy.”
His mother’s advice to be open to a variety of opportunities helped guide Femmer during his four years in Annapolis.
“He saw the Naval Academy as a narrow gate,” Lucy said. “He felt if he pursued this route, he would narrow his future. But once he went to the Naval Academy, the gate opened wide and he found out he could be anything.
“I always told him not to make a quick decision about your future. Once you start the journey, you don’t know what else will come to you that can change your thinking about the future.”
Femmer’s thinking changed twice in his final year at the academy. After deciding to pursue aviation, he initially wanted to be a naval flight officer.
Someone in that job operates the advance systems onboard naval aircraft, and some naval flight officers act as the overall tactical coordinator for multiple aircraft during missions.
“If you ever watched the movie ‘Top Gun,’ the navel flight officer is Goose and Maverick is the pilot,” Brad said.
Femmer eventually decided to pursue pilot training, though, with a little nudging from Vassalli, who had decided to be an Air Force pilot by his sophomore year of college.
“He was not sold on being a pilot,” Vassalli said. “I was like, ‘Dude, if you are looking at aviation and being a NFO, why not just fly the plane?’
“When he told me he got (NFO), he also said, ‘If I wanted to switch to pilot, I think that process would go fairly easily.’ I said, ‘If you are thinking about it already, then why not?’ He put in the paperwork, and now he will be a pilot. It is kind of crazy how it all worked out, but it is super cool.”
Ready to serve
Even though Vassalli said he didn’t really think about joining a military branch until his senior year of high school, his mother said she had a feeling he would end up serving in the military.
“We took a trip to Washington, D.C., as part of his fifth-grade trip with his intermediate school. He was chosen as one of the students to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I could see from that point on the patriotism and commitment to service that he had,” Freeman said.
Through the ROTC program, Vassalli’s desire to serve became stronger. It was so strong that his commitment to the Air Force, along with a nagging shoulder injury, ended his football career after his freshman year at college.
Vassalli was a running back and cornerback in high school and played safety as an invited walk-on at Southeast Missouri State. However, he knew early on that football was not in his future.
“ROTC was my top priority,” Vassalli said.
Vassalli proved ROTC was his top priority by graduating summa cum laude and as a distinguished graduate, an honor given to someone who finishes in the top 10 percent of their field training encampment.
He also was named one of five recipients of the President’s Spirit of Southeast Award, which is given to students who demonstrate integrity, leadership and involvement both on and off campus; encourage others to get involved; and embody the best of Southeast Missouri State, according to the university’s website.
“When he got his opportunity to go to Southeast Missouri State University on a full-ride ROTC scholarship, there was no turning back,” said Vassalli’s father, Clinton Freeman, who will take over as the Dunklin R-5 superintendent on July 1. “He was going to do this and do it at the highest level. For him to be a distinguished graduate, I was blown away. That is amazing. Clay is very driven and goal oriented. I’m so proud of how much he accomplished in four short years.”
Vassalli said he would like to become a fighter pilot. However, he said even though pilots submit their preferences, they are assigned to aircrafts based on their class ranking, submitted choices and the need at the time.
“I would say I want to fly an F-22 jet,” Vassalli said. “They may not need an F-22 pilot, but there may be another fighter jet they need. I really don’t care; I just want to fly.”
‘They’re a steal’
Hillsboro math teacher Kevin Gillespie can’t help but think of the movie “Top Gun” when discussing Femmer and Vassalli.
“The best reference about their playful personality is that relationship between Maverick (played by Tom Cruise) and Goose (played by Anthony Edwards) in ‘Top Gun,’” Gillespie said. “It is like they have a hard time taking anything too seriously, but at the same time, every task they are given to accomplish they will do it perfectly.”
Gillespie also said the Navy and Air Force are lucky to have the two Hillsboro graduates.
“It is a steal for both (the Navy and Air Force),” said Gillespie, who taught Vassalli in Algebra II and both of them in pre-calculus. “They will get their money’s worth out of them.”
Katie Lauterwasser taught Vassalli geometry and Femmer calculus. She said the military is getting two of the best students to graduate from Hillsboro.
“We have had a lot of kids from Hillsboro go into the military, but I feel these two are very dedicated to what they put their mind to,” Lauterwasser said. “They are responsible, respectful and well-rounded individuals.”
Strange end
Femmer and Vassalli did not finish their senior years in college on their campuses.
Because of COVID-19, both were sent home in March and ended the year like most students across the country, completing class work online.
Femmer said he was on spring break in New Orleans with some fellow midshipmen when they found out they would not be returning to the academy for classes.
He said he flew back to the academy, gathered most of his belongings, then drove to Washington, D.C., to pick up his girlfriend, Autumn Waggoner, who was doing an internship there, and they drove back home.
“At the time, we thought it would be an extra week or two away,” Femmer said. “We thought, as seniors, with so much administrative stuff to do to prepare for transitioning from midshipmen to a real officer, we would get called back, eventually. We thought we may have to quarantine there, but we didn’t.”
The two young men also missed their graduations and the full experience of a commissioning ceremony.
“I know it was disappointing to (Vassalli) that Capt. (Jessica) Boettcher couldn’t be there to administer his oath in person, because she was such a strong role model for him,” Cathy Freeman said. “I thought the commissioning went very well virtually. We will have a going-away party when he ships off next spring.”
For Femmer and his family, they missed a week of activities and a large gathering in the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Femmer and his fellow graduates did return to Annapolis in the days before May 22 to record smaller graduation and commissioning ceremonies, which were then shown online on the official commissioning day.
“It was disappointing because this was set up to be the best time at the academy for seniors,” Femmer said. “All of that was taken away.”
What hasn’t been taken away is their future in the armed forces. Femmer and Vassalli said they are looking forward to the next decade, even though they are not completely sure when their time in the military will end.
“I do like the intel (intelligence) side of the Navy, and maybe I would try that,” Femmer said. “I also could see myself getting out after 10 years. One thing I have learned is how much things can change in a short amount of time.”
“The more I got into ROTC, the more I fell in love with leadership and being able to lead the next generation of military members,” Vassalli said. “I’m on the hook for 12 years (two years of training followed by 10 years of mandatory service). From today’s perspective, I’m looking at doing 20 years and maybe beyond. Of course, my viewpoint could change 12 years from now.”