Lt. Chuck Nadd returns to Trinity Prep

Chuck Nadd was just stepping down from the lit stage when he heard it – the familiar anthem sung at football games and graduation ceremonies.

Nadd took a few steps back as he looked over a crowd of 850 singing students that filled a jam-packed auditorium. He held his hands crossed at his waist and stood at attention, his lips forming the words as the young voices carried a triumphant melody.

A collage of medals across Nadd’s Army Service Uniform jacket tell a story of where he’s been at a quick glance, from the Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., to war-torn Afghanistan more than 7,000 miles away.

But as the words of Trinity Preparatory School’s alma mater soared through the school auditorium, the students knew the man in uniform was one of their own.

A Trinity Prep Saint had safely come home.

Lt. Charles-Fiodor “Chuck” Nadd returned to his former school last Friday following his eight-month deployment in Afghanistan as the Trinity Prep student body welcomed him with open arms – a celebration that thanked not only Nadd for his service, but every soldier serving in the U.S. military.

The homecoming hero took the same stage he walked across seven years ago as a high school graduate and presented Headmaster Craig Maughan with an American flag, flown from his Blackhawk helicopter over Afghanistan on the 12th anniversary of 9/11.

The outburst of singing that followed struck a chord with Nadd, who realized it wasn’t so long ago when he walked the school’s corridors as a Saint.

“It actually had been a little while since I’d heard it, but it came back right away,” Nadd said. “I spent seven years here; the community is a big part of who I am so it was really touching.”

More than 100 million viewers got to know Nadd on Feb. 2 as they watched his homecoming parade through downtown Winter Park in a Super Bowl ad for Budweiser. The commercial caught a glimpse of the soldier’s exuberant welcome home in January as Nadd and his girlfriend Shannon Cantwell waved to residents from atop a wagon pulled by Clydesdale horses.

“This was a thrilling event for us to participate in; this homecoming hero’s welcome for our hometown hero Lt. Chuck Nadd,” said Mayor Ken Bradley, reflecting on the parade.

“The whole staff and those of us who participated had no idea that this would become a Super Bowl ad. We thought we were giving a hometown welcome to a hometown hero.”

Nadd returned to Winter Park as an honored serviceman, but Trinity Prep history teacher Bill Milsten still remembers him as the wacky yet dedicated student from years past.

The high schooler pushed the humorous slogan “Go Nadd” while running for student body president his senior year, also parking his car one day in the center of the school’s courtyard – a quirky response to a rule banning students from chaining their bikes to lampposts.

But Nadd also gave off a sense of contagious energy and heart, Milsten said. The Trinity Prep Saint burst at the seams with school spirit, toting homemade pillow case flags at basketball and football games painted in the school’s gold and blue colors.

Nadd waved the flags at every game he went to and created a greater sense of school pride that Trinity Prep has retained ever since, Milsten said.

“When I got to Trinity Prep 10 years ago, the spirit of the school wasn’t really strong at sporting events,” Milsten said. “He shows up making homemade flags and going to every event and cutting up – they just went nuts.”

“That enthusiasm just kind of built and built.”

The Army lieutenant even played a part in starting a Trinity Prep tradition. He and classmate Alex Kowaleski mixed things up their 2007 senior year on Headmaster’s Day by shooting off a 5-foot rocket on the football field.

The school now fires off a rocket every year.

Nadd took the opportunity to continue another tradition Friday by speaking in Trinity Prep teacher David Ballard’s civics class. The lieutenant addresses the students every year about the power of voting and how it affects the armed forces.

“After World War II, pretty much everyone knew someone who had served in the military,” Nadd said. “That’s not at all the case today.”

“I think it’s really important to spread the message and let people know what the military is all about.”

Ballard’s own perception of the U.S. government drastically changed when Nadd left for West Point, he said. Cynical views that he had developed over 33 years of teaching civics melted away when he realized the value of supporting something greater than yourself, to keep a nation free at great individual cost.

“He’s caused me to realize that there’s a greater purpose than just being a Democrat or Republican,” Ballard said. “It means a lot now to me to be American, because of him.”

Nadd would later visit the city’s Public Safety building that day, where he presented Vice Mayor Sarah Sprinkel, Police Chief Brett Railey and Fire Chief Jim White with three more flags flown on last year’s 9/11 anniversary.

The hometown soldier reminded the community of the sacrifice many others have made in the line of duty.

“It’s about much more than just me,” Nadd said. “There’s a lot of people who came back injured, have done multiple tours and, of course, those who didn’t come back at all.”

“Those are the real heroes.”

Nadd will head to Fort Drum, N.Y., this month to begin his new role as a platoon leader for the 10th Mountain Division, flying helicopters for training purposes and overseeing repairs and maintenance.