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Decorated Veteran and St. Louis Police Officer To Be Honored by Toyota at November 26th Rams Game


November 2006
 Filed under: TOYOTA CORPORATE Car News | TOYOTA CORPORATE Headlines
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kevin Androff is a sports fanatic. Since his return a month ago from serving a year-and-a-half in Iraq and Kuwait, the decorated veteran has been treated to the St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series and the University of Missouri Tigers off to their best start in football since 1969.
The unbelievable welcome home will continue for the 37-year old Androff, who will be the first of four honorees in the Toyota Truck Salute to the Military. Toyota will honor a different military veteran at each of the final five remaining Rams home games.

Androff, who was born and raised in south St. Louis, joined the Navy Reserves following high school and, for the past 11 years, has been a St. Louis police officer. He met his wife, Julie, while both worked at the stadiums during Cardinals and Rams games. The two decided to get married in a small ceremony in late 2005, but as plans were underway, the call for mobilization to Iraq came.

"We began to move up the date to June 23 and the next thing you knew, we were getting married on top of the St. Louis Cardinals dugout before one of their games," Androff said. Eighteen days later, Androff left for training in Virginia and then duty in Iraq.

During his training in Virginia, Julie's father, Robert, became ill and just four days before Kevin was to leave for Iraq his father-in-law unexpectedly passed away. "It was very stressful at first having to be away at such a crucial time," he said.

Androff was carrying on his family tradition of serving their country. His father, Robert, was in the Navy, his brother Mickey is in the Reserves, his brother Mark has retired from the military, and his Uncle Jim is still considered missing in action from World War II.

Androff's military service was very unique. The Petty Officer served back-to-back tours in Iraq and Kuwait with no break in between. But what makes his story different is that the Navy assigned Androff to the Army.

"The Navy has taken on a new role and typically hadn't assigned soldiers to the Army," he explained. "The Navy typically also doesn't send Sailors to the desert, where we were known as 'Dirt Sailors.'"

Everything worked out well for Androff, who was decorated with several medals to include: two Navy Achievement Medals, one Army Achievement Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Iraqi Campaign Medal.

During his tour, Androff was a Customs Border Clearing Agent and helped with security for troops returning home. In Kuwait, there were as many as 2,000 troops returning over a 24-hour period and Androff helped clear them for Customs upon their return to the United States. His role in Iraq was similar, as he was stationed at the Balad Air Force Base in the northern part of the country.

"Looking back to my tours, I made some great friends and the camaraderie was fantastic," Androff said. He added that he also vividly remembers watching the Cardinals play the Houston Astros live in the 2005 playoffs on the Armed Forces Network. "I kept up with how the teams were doing, but never got to watch a game live until that playoff game which aired at three in the morning."

Androff returned home September 30, and the next morning received a call from a friend who had two extra seats to the Rams-Detroit Lions game. "It was a great way to come back home and do something I enjoy," he said.

According to Androff, he missed his family the most while oversees but came to better appreciate his freedom as an American. "In addition to missing my family, I missed a lot of things about St. Louis like the great pizza we have here," he said. "But I also missed the freedom to move about. I traveled a lot in Kuwait but to even leave the base took two hours. Being a street policeman, I wasn't used to feeling locked down, and other policemen I met there felt the same way. Getting in your car and being able to go where I want is something I really appreciate now.

"There are things we all take for granted, from going to the grocery store, eating what you want, watching cable television and just calling someone on the phone," he added. "But I won't take any of that for granted again."

Toyota will give Androff, his wife and his father the VIP treatment prior to the November 26th game against San Francisco. The Androff family will be guests of Toyota and receive complete hospitality at the Toyota VIP tent, which will also showcase the all-new 2007 Toyota Tundra.

The full-size Toyota Tundra will be the largest, most powerful pickup truck ever offered by Toyota when it goes on sale in February 2007. It was designed and engineered in the U.S. and will be built at Toyota plants in Gibson County, Indiana and San Antonio, Texas. Tundra's all-new platform will feature a significantly expanded wheelbase, an increase of 10 inches in overall length, nearly five inches in height and four inches in width. The new Tundra will come in three cab configurations and offer a choice of three engines, including a new 5.7-liter V8 capable of towing over 10,000 pounds.

Source: Toyota Motor Sales

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