MINNEAPOLIS - This time around the fourth of July has special meaning for one Twin Cities family.
After more than 25 years in the U.S. Navy, Commander John Geisen retired during a ceremony in Minneapolis on Friday.
He is one of nine children, seven of which are in the military.
One of his sisters says in their extended family, 23 people either served or are serving.
She says that makes the sacrifice of others even more meaningful.
"We appreciate the dedication and the time, and the dedication that others have spent," said Geisen's sister Jeannette Verbruggel, "and the risk and the pain that so many have gone through."
Commander Geisen's last tour was aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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