President Donald Trump last week named Lt. Gen. Herbert Raymond McMaster as his new national security adviser.
For Bruce and Sue Vrooman of Superior, McMaster is more than a name.
"Our new National Security Advisor, three-star General H.R. McMaster, served with our son, Jeremy, for quite a few years," Sue Vrooman wrote in an email to the Telegram.
McMaster and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Vrooman first met at Schweinfurt, Germany, when it was an active Army base.
"H.R. gave Jeremy the nickname 'Scooter' while there," said Vrooman, who lives in Superior's Allouez neighborhood. "Jeremy was the driver for Major Mark Rice, and they would travel closely with Colonel McMaster during their days at Schweinfurt. Jeremy really admired and respected H.R., and talked to us about him all the time."
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The two reconnected a few years later when Jeremy Vrooman was sent to Fort Carson in Colorado. Shortly after he arrived, McMaster was tapped to lead the base.
"H.R. told us that when he saw the list of soldiers, he saw Jeremy's name and shouted 'Scooter!' " Vrooman said.
Staff Sgt. Vrooman died July 15, 2008, in Baghdad, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while his unit was conducting combat operations in Kn'an, Iraq. He was 28.
"When Jeremy was killed in action, knowing how much respect Jeremy had for H.R., it was only fitting for us to request that he present flags and medals at Jeremy's funeral," Vrooman said. "He called us the next day, and the first words he spoke were, "This is H.R. McMaster. I love your son.' "
Although McMaster was at War College preparing for his first star, he jumped through all the hoops needed to be at the funeral in San Antonio, Texas.
"He told us later that he would have dared anybody to stand in his way," Vrooman said.
In addition to presenting flags and medals, he shared stories of their service together. At Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, McMaster marched in front of Staff Sgt. Vrooman's horse-drawn caisson in heat that hovered around 95 degrees.
"We still hear from him," Vrooman said. "Usually if we send him an email, he responds by the next morning. We're going to send him a congratulations message and see if he emails back."
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Reuters contributed to this report.
