Veterans Day Connection
It was during Santa Clarita’s annual Veterans Day ceremony at our Veterans Historical Plaza in Newhall on November 11, 2018 that Chris and I first met, and we reconnected recently again via Facebook messaging, which led us to meeting for coffee in Newhall. I very much enjoyed Chris’ candid interview and I hope that you will appreciate his Veterans Page.

JROTC Service in SCV
Christopher Alan Hiortdahl was born August 29, 1980 at Glendale Memorial Hospital and his family lived in Burbank until he was 7 years of age, when they moved to Las Vegas to accommodate his dad’s business demands.

Christopher A. Hiortdahl’s Air Force unit.

His dad, a Korean War veteran, was in the crane rental business, and Chris said, “My dad was a successful local businessman who once installed billboard signs for restaurants along Lyons Avenue near Interstate I-5, aka ‘Hamburger Hill.'” The Hiortdahl family moved to Saugus in 1997, leading Chris to graduate from Valencia High School on June 18, 1999.

Chris was a cub scout in his younger years. During high school, Chris worked part time at a local automobile service business, where he met a cute girl named Amber Wyatt.

They knew each other through Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC); Amber from Saugus High School and Chris via Valencia High School. Chris said, “Initially, we simply could not stand each other,”

Civil War Service
Chris’ JROTC service morphed into him enlisting in the U.S. Air Force Reserves March 31, 2005, and he explained that he was driven to serve his country following the ghastly 9/11 terrorist attack.

Civil War enactor.

He also desired to start his own family; hence becoming a reservist was right up Chris’ alley.

His grandfather, Glenn L. Peters, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, inspired Chris, along with his own dad’s Korean War service.

Chris said, “I have family members who served in the military going way back to when seven Confederate soldiers and one Union Soldier served in the Civil War, so I thought that I should carry on our family tradition.”

Chris took his seven weeks of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and following a three-week leave of absence, he attended technical school for another eight weeks at Lackland, graduating in December 2005.

His specialty was in air transportation, which Chris found very educational. During Chris’ basic training, Category 5 Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, Louisiana, and sent Chris’ unit into emergency mode, feverishly sending tons of supplies to Louisiana. At one point, Chris worked 72 straight hours.

Bagram Air Base

Christopher A. Hiortdahl.

After graduating technical school, Chris became a full-blown reservist, so he travelled back to Santa Clarita to resume working for a living and pursuing his American dream.

However, in January 2011, Chris and his unit deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan until May that year, initially serving mail drops to troops in the field, which practically bored him to death. Bagram, a huge military installation, accommodated America’s largest cargo planes, including Lockheed Martin’s huge C-5 Galaxy.

Chris, desiring more meaningful service, volunteered to assist with medical evacuations of wounded and killed in action soldiers. Meanwhile, Bagram suffered random incoming enemy mortar and rocket fire, which took a heavy toll in terms of injuries and damage at the air base.

Chris remarked that while serving at Bagram Air Base, Osama bin Laden, who had eluded capture since 9/11, was killed in Pakistan by Navy Seal Team 6.

Christopher A. Hiortdahl during gas mask training.

Norwegian Ancestry
Being nosy about Chris’ last name, when I asked about Chris’ heritage, he proudly informed me that his distant Norwegian relative named Thorstein Hallager Hiortdahl (1839 to 1925) — a chemist, mineralogist and politician — had been knighted by a king.

Chris said, “Professor Thorstein Hiortdahl was decorated as commander of the order of St. Olav in 1911, and was knighted in the Royal Order of the Polar Star, and the mineral ‘hiortdahlite’ was named after him.”

Meeting Amber Wyatt
Back in the world as it were, Chris worked for a plumbing company for five and a half years and then as a case worker for awhile with “Manage Career Solutions” assisting veterans seeking employment.

It was there that he and Elliott and Judy Wolfe, founders of the Santa Clarita Veteran Services Collaborative, met as the collaborative evolved. Meanwhile in 2015, Chris reached out to his former high school ROTC nemesis Amber Wyatt via Facebook messaging, and as Chris smilingly put it, “I won her over with my rapier (steely) wit and chiseled good looks.”

Christopher A. Hiortdahl, Amber and Caroline at Bonnie Springs Ranch, Nevada in March 2019.

Chris and Amber began dating, leading to their engagement and birth of their beautiful daughter, Caroline, on August 23, 2017. Wedding plans are in the works for this year.

Presently, Chris is in between jobs while actively pursuing employment.

Meanwhile, Chris supports our local homeless folks by volunteering at Santa Clarita’s Bridge to Home facility.

Chris also performs around the United States as an actor in Civil War battle reenactments. Chris said, “Every Hiortdahl serves, in whatever capacity, to protect and better others. I believe that’s what God wants, and I hope I have lived up to that expectation.”

Chris, I thank you for participating in our KHTS Hometown Station veterans program and I thank you for your honorable service to our patriotic community and our exceptional country.

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