Branch served: Army / National Guard, 20 years of service
Joel O’Neil set out to build a construction business. He didn’t expect so much of his work to involve caring for fellow veterans’ final resting places.
Today, the owner of West Fargo’s J-1 Excavating & Roll-Off holds a Department of Veterans Affairs contract to care for Fargo National Cemetery near Harwood. His company digs graves, maintains the grass and irrigation system, and installs headstones. At the time of his interview, that work accounted for about 90% of his business.
For someone who spent 20 years in the Army National Guard, those responsibilities carry a personal connection.
“It’s sometimes a little bit grim, but also super rewarding,” O’Neil said.
He hires current and former military members, bringing other people who have served into the work. When he describes the cemetery contract, he talks about taking care of veterans’ families as they lay a loved one to rest.
“We take a little extra pride in our work,” he said.
Reasons to Stay
O’Neil’s decision to enlist began with a concern familiar to many college students, which was how to pay for an education.
He had already spent a couple of years in college when he joined the Army National Guard in January 2000. Student loans had prompted him to consider another way to finance school, and friends who were already in the Guard helped point him in that direction.
Patriotism helped keep him in the military. As the years passed, the relationships he formed became another reason to stay.
He would eventually earn a degree in construction management. His military commitment, meanwhile, took on a significance he couldn’t have anticipated when he signed up.
