Veterans Among Us: Nick Zenz
Miami University employee Nick Zenz knows the inside of a B-52 better than most. One might say that he inherited this knowledge from his family.
The B-52 Stratofortress is the oldest airplane model still in regular service in the United States arsenal of military aircraft. The B-52 entered service in 1955 and it has outlived every aircraft intended to replace it. The B-52 flew over 126,00 sorties in Vietnam. It was used extensively in Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, The Iraq War in 2003 and it is currently doing service in Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
Miami University employee Nick Zenz knows the inside of a B-52 better than most. One might say that he inherited this knowledge from his family. His grandfather served with a B-52 Air Force Wing in the 1960s. His mother served in a B-52 Air Force Wing in the late 1980s. Nick served on B-52s with the Air Force 23rd Air Craft Maintenance Squadron, also known as the “bomber barons,” and the 5th Bomb Wing, beginning in 2015.
All three in the family wound up doing the same job in different eras as guidance and control aviation technicians. All three had overseas deployments with their beloved B-52s.
Nick grew up in West Chester Township, Ohio and questioned what he wanted to do after his high school graduation in 2015. At some point, he asked his mother for direction in his future. He told her that he wanted to join the Air Force. It wasn’t long after this that he found himself at boot camp at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. From Sheppard, Nick was off to his primary duty station in Minot, North Dakota. It was here that his real work with the B-52 began.
“2017 was an eye opener for me,” Nick said. “My unit was sent to Al Udeid air base in Qatar to support Operation Inherent Resolve and Operation Freedom’s Sequel.”
Zenz said that his bonds with the Air Force began in Qatar.
“I still have phone conversations on the first Wednesday of every month with one friend from that time,” he said “I realize now that these relationships are the most unique relationships that one could ever have.”
In 2018, Nick found himself at the Royal Air Force base In Fairford, England where his unit worked closely with the Ukrainian military to familiarize the Ukrainians with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations. This work involved sending three B-52 aircraft on a daily basis to the Baltic states for use in joint training exercises.
The summer of 2018 found Nick back in Minot supporting local nuclear exercises with the B-52.
One more stateside deployment to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada resulted in his participation in multinational exercises with his unit’s B-52 in the Nevada desert.
Nick left the Air Force in 2019 and enrolled at the University of Cincinnati where he was employed while a student in the university’s Office of Veteran Programs and Services.
“It was this job that opened my mind to the idea of working in higher education,” Nick said. “Shortly after I graduated from UC in 2023, I applied for a job in Miami’s Gift Planning. I’m still with the same team, and I’ve begun to work on my MBA at the Farmer School of Business.”
The late Hollywood star Chuck Norris spoke about his Air Force service.
“As a former Airman, in the United States Air Force, like many veterans in America, my military experience played an important part in instilling in me a sense of character and discipline that has served me throughout my life,” Norris said.
Norris, I think, was speaking about Nick Zenz and others who have willingly stepped forward to repay a debt much larger than themselves.
Lee Fisher is a Miami graduate, resident of Oxford, Ohio and a Vietnam veteran.
