In Search Of…Lifelong Friends

Graduation is always a bittersweet time, ending one chapter and beginning another.  But it's particularly emotional for three Holmen students.
NewsChannel 8's Jennifer Livingston goes in search of lifelong friends.

For high school graduates…it is a time to say goodbye to old friends…and look ahead to the new ones you’ll soon
be making. But for three very special Holmen grads…that’s easier said then done. You see…for Nick Kibler…Andy
Clement…and Justin Boardman…it’s hard to think of a time when they weren’t hanging around together. “I really
can’t remember that far back. We’ve been friends a long time.” “We met down the street here at Oak Grove Elementary
school.” “These three have been my closest friends ever since we were little tykes….we’ve been hanging out on the
river.”

The river…or pretty much anything outdoors…is the glue that binds this close knit group together. “We’ve
had the same interests, we like to hunt and fish and just pretty much be outside anywhere. We’ve all stuck with that
and stayed friends.” Infact…spend anytime at all with them…and you can tell they know each other…almost as well
as they know themselves.
“We’ll just sit down and talk, since we’ve been little…about stories. We’ve got planty of stories…oh yeah.”

But this special bond…goes one step further. While many of their friends are moving on to college…or
jobs…these three are banding together once again…this time to answer the call of duty….to the U.S. Army. “I just
feel like I want to do something for my country.” “This country just has so much to offer. To serve it is just
amazing.” “I just want to make a difference, to impact the world.”

At Holmen’s graduation this month…the trio was recognized for the commitment they’ve all made. “We got a standing
ovation from about 2500 people. That was amazing. It makes you feel great.” “It just felt so good to know that people
are proud of us.”

They are about a month away from basic training…where they’ll head in three different directions for the first
time in their lives. “It’s gonna be different. I’m gonna wake up at 5 am for basic trainging and they’re not going to
be there. Gonna have to start over. Going back to kindergarten…only i’ll be older.”

So for now…they are spending nearly every day like they they have so many days before…side-by-side on the
river. “We just kind of want to get our time in now.”

We went in search of…three lifelong friends. “As soon as we get done with our military careers, we’ll be hittin’
it off together again.” We found them.

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