By Mark Coddington
mark.coddington@theindependent.com

Not that any of them minded. Actually, it was a point of pride.

Besse, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, had four groomsmen three of whom belong to different branches of the military.

It took a small miracle to get all four members of the military to St. Paul this weekend to give Besse a chance, however brief, to have three of his closest friends around on one of the biggest days of his life.

"It's really good to get back and see everyone," Besse said. "I probably won't get to see them all at the same time for a long time."

As the groom, Besse had quite a bit of leeway to get home. He was given a week off from an introduction to flight training in Florida. In three weeks he'll head to Texas for full-on pilot training.

Things were a little more difficult for his best man and childhood best friend, Sgt. Adam Jorgensen of the U.S. Army. His unit had initially been told it would be deployed to Iraq in December, but the date was pushed back to three weeks from now, narrowly allowing him to fly up from Fort Hood, Texas, for the weekend.

Seaman Eric Wickersham of Harrison, a college roommate of Besse's, found out only a few days ago that he had been cleared to return from U.S. Navy corps school in Great Lakes, Ill., for the weekend.

The short leave allowed the three men to catch up on sleep, relax and, of course, be in a wedding.

So, with three branches together, do they get into the traditional squabbles over superiority?

Cadet Cuyler Gembol of Broken Bow, a groomsman who became friends with Besse through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Air Force ROTC program, said that beyond the usual light jokes, there isn't a whole lot of rivalry.

But Wickersham can't help himself in describing the Navy's superiority: They have Seals, Marines and "Top Gun," he argues.

"We have land, sea, air we have everything," Wickersham says.

Not all of the four have always had the military in their plans. Besse and Gembol joined the Air Force ROTC because they had always wanted to fly. But Wickersham had no plans to join the Navy when he and Besse roomed during their freshman year at UNL.

He enlisted in October because he "needed a purpose," he said.

"I didn't even know he was going to join the Navy," Besse said. "I don't even think he knew he was going to join the Navy."

Jorgensen decided to join the Army about a year after high school in order to pay for college.

Besse's mother and stepfather, Russ and Sandra Kasson of St. Paul, had seen Jorgensen and Besse grow up together, playing Legion baseball together, practically living at each other's houses.

On Saturday, they were excited and proud to see the two of them together, in uniform, serving their country.

"You definitely know when you see them how much they've grown," Sandra said while the men posed for pictures before the wedding. "They're men now."

The wedding would also contain a few other hints of military pageantry: Besse and McAllister would exit the church under a saber guard of Air Force ROTC cadets, and members of the local American Legion post would present the colors at the reception.

Several of the men said they were looking forward to standing up with others from across the military branches.

"It's an honor to stand up there with Derrick," Wickersham said. "And I just love weddings."

That comment immediately drew laughter from the group.

"Must be a Navy thing," Jorgensen said.