Newly-promoted Nevada Army Guard Col. Karsten Hall, right, takes time out for a photo with father Jonathan Hall and mother Ruth Hall in Carson City on June 4, 2024.
Master Sgt. Erick Studenicka/Nevada Army Guard
CARSON CITY – A self-admitted man of few words, Jonathan Hall succinctly but perfectly summed up his 85th birthday Tuesday: “It’s the best birthday yet.”
On the same day he turned 85, his son Karsten Hall was promoted to the rank of colonel in the Nevada Army Guard – right on the senior Hall’s front porch in the Capital City. Ruth Hall, Karsten’s mother, also had a front row seat on the porch of the ceremony presided over by Brig. Gen. Troy Armstrong.
Jonathan Hall cannot travel due to poor health. Dozens of the younger Hall’s relatives and friends filled the yard during the ceremony, but the box seats on the front porch were reserved for Jonathan and Ruth.
The site of the ceremony in southeast Carson City was Karsten Hall’s home for six years in the 1980s. The Hall family moved to Carson City in August 1981 and it’s been Jonathan and Ruth’s home for nearly 43 years. Karsten was among the first students at Eagle Valley Middle School and he lived at the home until he enlisted in the Army in 1988.
Karsten, who remains a Carson City resident, said the easy solution to getting his parents to his promotion ceremony was simply to bring the ceremony to them – just a short drive from the Office of the Adjutant General Office campus on Fairview Drive where Karsten works as the Director of Logistics.
“In order for all of my family to participate in ceremony, we came up with the idea to hold it here at the house,” Karsten said. “We came up with the idea last week. I came by and made sure my mom was good with it — people invading her yard — and she was good with it and we put the plan in motion.”
Armstong, the Nevada Army Guard’s land component commander, said Hall’s ceremony was the first he had seen at a private residence.
“It’s my first ceremony at a residence but a great opportunity for the Hall family,” said Armstrong, who presented one of his personal “challenge” coins to Jonathan Hall to commemorate his birthday. “It’s great that Karsten’s parents have the chance to see one of their son’s military milestones. I still regret my own father was not able to see my last promotion.”
Although not quite as lengthy as Karsten’s nearly 40-year military career, Jonathan Hall also recorded an honorable military service stint with four years of enlisted duty in the U.S. Air Force from 1959-63. He married Ruth in 1967 and they had two sons (Karsten and Matthew) who have given Jonathan and Ruth nine grandchildren (ranging in age from 6 to 36) and one 3-year-old great-grandchild.
Ruth Hall finished her husband’s summary of the ceremony with some elaboration.
“It’s been absolutely super,” Ruth said. “Karsten dreamed it up and wanted us to participate — and here we are with the best view of the ceremony.”