Illinois Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Gorup of Raymond retired from the military after nearly 26 years of service during a ceremony May 15 at Camp Lincoln in Springfield.
Gorup retired as the Noncommissioned Officer-in-Charge of the Illinois National Guard’s Joint Operations Center. He spent 21 years in the Infantry, including a 2008 to 2009 deployment to Afghanistan with the Illinois National Guard’s 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. While in Afghanistan, he mentored an Afghanistan National Army Infantry Company.
Previous deployments included a 2000 Operation Desert Spring deployment to Kuwait with Co. A, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment in support of the No Fly Zone over Iraq; a 2002 deployment with the 66th Infantry Brigade to Germany as part of Task Force Santa Fe after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; and a 2004-2005 deployment with the 1st Battalion, 131st Infantry Regiment to Fort Polk, Louisiana, where the unit served as the “opposing force” for units rotating through the Joint Readiness Training Center.
Gorup was born in Chicago and is a graduate of Larkin High School in Elgin. He served for four years in the active Army from 1995 to 1999. He has served as a fire team leader, squad leader, platoon sergeant, NCO mentor at the company-level, and an operations, exercise, and training NCO. In addition to the 1-178th Infantry, the 1-131st Infantry, and Joint Force Headquarters – Illinois; he has served with the 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment and the 634th Brigade Support Battalion.
Gorup is a highly decorated Soldier. He received his second Meritorious Service Medal upon retirement and has been awarded four Army Commendation Medals, three Army Achievement Medals, and multiple other awards and decorations. He also holds the Parachutist Badge, the Expert Infantryman’s Badge, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.
Gorup lives on a farm in Raymond with his spouse, Molly, and their four sons.