3 generations choose to wear the uniform
JEFFERSON TWP — Like father, like son ... like grandson.
Three generations of men from the Gross family have served in the U.S. Army, all stationed in Germany.
All graduated from Knoch High School, where they played football. Two of the three even share the same name and married their high school sweethearts, both Knoch cheerleaders.
“Anyone that has spent time around my family will tell you that the three of us — grandpap, dad and I — are very similar. Both are extremely influential in my life,” said the youngest of the trio, 26-year-old Zachary Lee Gross, who is an attorney and captain in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps.
Gross (“Zach” to most and “Zachary Lee” to his grandma Evelyn Gross when he's in trouble) graduated from Knoch in 2008, before attending Grove City College where he earned a bachelor's degree in finance.
When he wasn't absorbed in his studies, he played football. He was quarterback for the Knoch Knights and later quarterback and assistant coach for Grove City.
Zach then attended Penn State's Dickinson School of Law from 2012 to 2015, where he graduated magna cum laude.
“When he told us he was going to law school, I said 'That's perfect for you,'” his grandmother Evelyn said. “He loves to argue.”
Now a captain in the Army, he works as the legal assistance attorney, claims judge advocate and the officer-in-charge of the tax center while stationed in Baumholder, Germany.
“I selected Germany as my top choice,” he said. “(And) I was fortunate enough to have received it.”
It's history repeating itself.Zach's father, 52-year-old Ted Gross Jr. served as an Army scout platoon leader in Bad Kissingen, Germany, during the Cold War from February 1987 to September 1989.His job was to patrol the border between East and West Germany.He returned to the U.S. only a few months before the Berlin Wall — the barrier between East and West Berlin, which also symbolized the larger division in Europe during the Cold War — came down.“We knew the end was near,” he said.On Nov. 10, 1989, the wall, which began as nothing more than a barbed wire fence put up overnight on Aug. 12, 1961, was taken down. The Cold War officially ended two years later in 1991.Ted Jr. attended Clarion University for its ROTC program after his graduation from Knoch in 1982, where he had played tight end and defensive end for the football team.He married Nancy (Stepp) Gross, his high school sweetheart, in January 1987, only 10 days before leaving for Bad Kissingen.Nancy, now 52, was a cheerleader at Knoch. She and Ted Jr. began dating at age 15.She moved to Germany, where she took a job as a nurse, in May 1987 to be closer to her husband, but the couple only saw each other about 20 days during that first year.“And we only spent one Christmas together in Germany,” Nancy said.Now Ted Jr. and Nancy live in Penn Township. They have three children; Zach and his two younger sisters.Ted Jr. works as a history teacher at Mars High School, and Nancy is a nurse at Butler Memorial Hospital.
Ted Jr.'s parents, Ted Gross Sr., 74, and Evelyn Gross, 72, share a surprisingly similar story.Upon his graduation from Knoch in 1960, Ted Sr. — offensive and defensive right tackle — married his high school sweetheart — a cheerleader — Evelyn (McNamee) Gross, who was only 17 at the time.Ted Sr. chose to enlist in the Army at age 18 because he wanted to “get it out of the way,” as there was a draft in place.He was stationed at the Spangdahlem, Germany, from 1960 to 1965 as a launcher control repairman. He was there to protect the Fulda Gap, where NATO forces feared the Russians might make an attempt to invade should the Cold War heat up.Unlike his son's situation, Ted Sr. was able to have his wife with him.“When your husband's in the Army, the Army is in control of your life,” Evelyn said.She said it ultimately strengthened her relationship with Ted Sr. and gave her a new perspective of the world.“You meet people who don't think like you,” she said.The now retired couple had two children, Ted Jr. and a daughter.They live in Jefferson Township, thousands of miles from where they once lived and where their grandson is now stationed.As a close-knit family, every member makes an effort to keep in touch. Evelyn made a Facebook account just so she can message Zach. She knows it's the best way to reach him. Nancy talks to him daily in the same way.“Even if it's just 'how are you?'” Nancy said. “I can't imagine not being able to communicate with Zach.”Zach said that years ago during his playing days at Grove City, his grandfather, Ted Sr., would “without exception” be the first person in the bleachers.
“I traveled to Kentucky for a game against Thomas Moore,” Zach said. “When the bus finally arrived some 10 hours later, Grandpap Gross was the first person in the stadium, even though the game wasn't starting for another four hours.”The connection for these three men, however, is far greater than Knoch football and their cheerleader wives, which, by the way, Zach has yet to find.“They never brag about it,” Evelyn said about the men. “But I think they're proud to serve the country.”
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