What are you doing now:
After being discharged from the Marine Corps I started looking for a job. Unfortunately an AAV job description did not easily transfer to the civilian employment environment. After many job fairs, interviews and rejection letters in the Washington-Baltimore area, I moved my job search to Atlanta, Georgia. I lived in Atlanta when I enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1965, and both Ann's parents and my parents lived in Atlanta at that time. Once again I tried the job fair route, but every company I talked with seemed to require 2 years experience for even an entry level position. However, during an interview at the Lockheed Corporation in Marietta, GA where once again I was informed that my background and job experience did not fit their needs, I was directed to try Georgia State University (GSU).
At the GSU Employment Office I had a meeting with the Head of Employment (Ms. Mimmi Wanamaker) who setup two interviews for me. While my basic job aptitude was generally not listed in GSU's needs, she said that my Marine Corps background made me an applicant with "potential". One appointment was with the Department of Education, and the second was with the Chair of the Information Systems Department (Dr. Cotterman). The Chair of the IS Department did not have any openings, but he sent me across the hall to see the new Director of the Computer Center (Dr. Jan Mize) who was one of his Department's former IS professors. It was my opinion that both interviews went well, and I returned home to Annapolis to wait the results. I was soon offered a position in both Departments. And after several phone calls I accepted the position in the Computer Center as an Entry Level COBOL Programmer. My computer background at the Naval Academy consisted in having taken a Fortran programming course, and I knew how to keypunch - love those 80-column punch cards. I believe three items helped me obtain this position: a) I had a proven record as a Marine Corps Officer, b) the Director of the Computer Center had just moved into his position the previous summer from the IS Department, and c) his former Department Chairman had attended the Naval Academy for a few years. Needless to say I spent the next month in Annapolis reading an entry level COBOL programming book (today it would be called "COBOL Programming For Dummies") to see what I had gotten myself into. I soon returned to Altanta and started work at the GSU Computer Center on 1 November 1977.
Then after several months of working at Georgia State University, the Computer Center had a re-organization, and I was promoted to Department Manager for the Institutional Support Group (ISG). This promotion, I believe, was due more to my Marine Corps training than my programming expertise. The ISG Department supported many of the software programs for the GSU administration. By late 1987 I was personally supporting the GSU Library Systems (Circulation, Acquisitions and Serials Control) which where written in COBOL and ran on a Sperry Univac 90/80 mainframe (hexidecimal based) and consulted for the GSU Libraries with the purchase of a new automated library system which was purchased through the Unisys Corporation in addition to my Departmental duties. This new system was called PALS (Project for Automated Library System which was developed at Mankato State University in Minnesota) and ran in the Univac 1100 mainframe (octal based) environment. My title for managing both the GSU institutional programmimg area and the PALS library softare was the Director of Library Services Support (LSS). In addition to the various programming support areas, LSS also supported several digital projects such as Course Packs and the State of Georgia Archives' Confederate Pension Records project. By 1996 the GSU Wells Computer Center was supporting 12 University System of Georgia (USG) Libraries around the State with PALS on its Unysis mainframe via the USG statewide educational network known as PeachNet. In addition, GSU operated a PALS Universal Catalog representing 50+ academic libraries in Georgia including the State Archives. Starting in 1996 I was "purchased" by the University System of Georgia to support the University System wide (34 institutions) integrated library system (ILS) - Endeavor's Voyager. My title for my USG position was the Director of Virtual Library Support. Both of these jobs were very satisfying, and I truely enjoyed working with both the GSU IT personnel and the USG Library staffs. In March 2007 we moved to a Del Webb "Active Senior Community" in South Hall County north of Atlanta off I-85 and started making plans to retire. In 2006 I had open-heart surgery and while I recovered it gave me second thoughts about working longer after I turned 65 so I retired in 2008, but after a year in retirement I was hired by the University of Georgia to help maintain the Voyager ILS software, the Voyager Universal Catalog and to manage the USG Library Project's website. Because my wife, Ann, was still working (I married a younger woman) for SunTrust Banks and was traveling a great deal, I traveled with her and did most of my work via the internet. When we were in town I would go to my office in the Main Library at UGA in Athens and work from there.
Finally in 2013 we both decided to fully retire and have been enjoying the pleasures of retirement ever since. Our travels have taken us to Europe, the Caribbean including Mexico as well as beautiful areas of the United States. We helped our son and his wife move from Winston-Salen, NC to Chicago in 2016. An interesting drive with a Crossover and a U-Hall truck, plus 2 cats and a dog. In June 2017 we moved them again with the same configuation, but this time from Chicago, IL to Fort Collins, CO. And in August 2017 we drove chine, books, etc., etc. from our house to their new house in Fort Collins. Believe me it is a long drive from Hoschton, GA to Fort Collins, CO. We have done it once and we may be in the ground before we are asked to do it again. 1600+ miles is rough on this old body. Next time we go to Fort Collins we will choose to fight with TSA and fly instead of drive.
They are keeping us busy, but we enjoy sharing vacation time with our son and his wife when we can. During our trip to Europe in 2013 we visited Normandy, and I had the honor to participate in Morning Colors at the American Cemetery. Plus, we visited the American Cemetery in Luxembourg where General Patton is buried...I am sure he was rolling over in his grave with both a Marine and a Naval Academy graduate standing over him. Our visit to Oxford England gave us an opportunity to visit Highclere Castle - "Downton Abby". On our visit to Cancun Mexico we visited the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. We traveled through the Panama Canal (from San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale) on board the Queen Victoria in 2016. In 2015 we traveled back to Hawaii with our son and his wife for the Maui Invitational basketball tournament to support the Demon Deacons (Wake Forest University).
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Other Comments:
Officer: Captain, U. S. Marine Corps
MOS:1803-Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) Officer
Years: 1971 - 1977
Commissioned: 9 June 1971
Discharge: DD-214 dated 20 August 1977
Unit: United States Naval Academy
Officer: Midshipman, U. S. Navy
Years: 1967 - 1971
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
Enlisted: Corporal, U. S. Marine Corps
MOS: 1345-Combat Engineer, Heavy Equipment Operator
Years: 1965 - 1971
Enlisted: 25 August 1965
Discharge: DD-214 dated 8 June 1971
INTRODUCTION
On 11 December 1946 I was born in Frankfort, Indiana (home of the Clinton County Hot Dogs), a small farming town north of Lafayette, Indiana. In 1951 my parents moved to Columbus, Indiana where I went to McKinley Elementary School and Columbus Junior High School. It was while we lived in Columbus that we had our first black & white Arvin television. You may have heard of many of the shows we enjoyed watching: The Ed Sullivan Show, I Love Lucy, The Red Skelton Show, The Jack Benny Show, The Cisco Kid, Roy Rogers, Flash Gordon and The Honeymooners, just to name a few. However, for me during the mid-1950, it was Men of Annapolis that had my attention. Because we did not have VCRs or DVRs back then you could not afford to miss an episode of any show. My mother would allow me to sit in front of the TV (it was a small screen) and eat my dinner so I could watch Men of Annapolis. It was during this time in my life when I was 10 years old that I decided that I wanted to attend the United States Naval Academy after I graduated from high school.
In July 1957 I wrote a letter to the United States Naval Academy Admissions Office and received in return both an Annapolis Catalog and a letter from the Admissions Officer describing what I needed to do to prepare myself academically for the Naval Academy. The letter recommended taking the following courses when I reached high school: Solid Geometry, Plane Trigonometry, General Science, Physics, Chemistry, a Modern Foreign Language, Mechanical Drawing and additional courses in History and Social Science. I talked to my parents about going to the Naval Academy, and they said they would help me secure an Appointment when it came time. They knew our Republican Congressman and had worked for him on several campaigns. At that point in my life I began making my plans for going to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Because I enjoyed being in the Band when I was in school in Columbus, I joined the Grady High School Band as a drummer. And while in Band I met Ann Irwin (Grady Class of 1965) who was in the Flute section. Over time we became high school sweethearts. She had a great influence on my life and still does. Over the next few years as we grew closer, we talked about our individual desires and plans for our future. As we saw it, our plan was that I would go to the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia after I graduated from Grady High School in 1964, and Ann would go to Howard College in Birmingham, Alabama the next year. However, at the time we did not know that God had other plans for our lives.
When I lived in Columbus, I was sprinkled as a Methodist, but church was more of a social activity versus a personal religious experience. When I started dating Ann, she invited me to her church. It was there that I became involved in studying the Bible and learning about God's love and our need for His presence in our lives. In 1964 I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and asked Him into my life. I was baptized by Dr. Monroe Swilley at the Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia on 8 March 1964. It was my acceptance of Christ and this declaration of my faith that I believe set in motion God's plan for the rest of my life.
In 1964 I did go to the University of Georgia as Ann and I had discussed. However, in August of 1965, as Ann was making her plans to attend Howard College in Birmingham in the fall, God stepped into my life with plans He knew to be best, and my future relationship with Ann took an unexpected turn. The United States was getting more involved in the war in Vietnam, and the Government had again started to implement plans for the Draft to fill the Army's ranks. During my Freshman year at UGA I was enrolled in Air Force ROTC and did not think about leaving school. But hearing stories about the possibility of the Draft being started again opened many uncertainties for me to consider. During the summer before the beginning of my sophomore year at UGA, I started to think about my options with respect to either returning to the University of Georgia or enlisting in one of the services to avoid being drafted into the Army. I knew, because of my brother, I did not see the Army as part of my future. In the middle of August 1965 prior to returning to UGA, God and I had several very long and serious discussions about my future. One day as I drove around Decatur, Georgia, I kept asking God to show me what I should be doing and waiting for Him to speak to me. As it says in Isaiah 30:21 "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it�??. After an hour of this conversation, as I was driving towards the Decatur City Hall, God got my attention by pointing me to a sign directly in front of me at the City Hall �?? �??Join The Marines�??. It is amazing the peace that overcame my soul, and I knew that God had just spoken and answered my prayer.
Around the 18th of August I visited the Marine Corps Recruiting Station in downtown Atlanta across from the Greyhound Bus Station. The Recruiter talked to me about staying at the University of Georgia and signing up for the Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Course (PLC). I left the Recruiter�??s Office to think about what had been said and to review my options. However, I knew that God had directed me to enlist in the Marine Corps. It did not take long for me to realize that my mind had already been made-up. Since I had turned 18 in December 1964, I returned to the Marine Corps Recruiting Station on Wednesday 25 August 1965 and enlisted in the Marine Corps by signing a 3-year enlistment contract with no special training conditions included. At that point I knew I was going to be trained as a Marine Corps rifleman and would soon be going to Vietnam. I then went home and told my parents that I would not be returning to UGA and that I had enlisted in the Marine Corps. Next, Ann and I had a date that weekend where we talked about her upcoming Freshman year at Howard College. Ann was leaving that Sunday to start her college adventure. But when she asked me when I was going back to the University of Georgia, I told her that I was not going to return to UGA, but instead, that I had enlisted in the Marine Corps. I told her I would be leaving on 15 September for Marine Corps Boot Camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. To say the least, neither my parents nor Ann were �??happy campers�?? with my decision. For Ann and me I had just put a �??wrench�?? in our relationship and future plans. She let me know that our future together was based on both of us graduating from college and that it did not include the military. On Sunday 29 August Ann went off to Howard College as I made plans to leave for Boot Camp in just over 2 weeks.
On Wednesday 15 September 1965 my father drove me downtown to the Marine Corps Recruiting Station and let me out of the car. It was basically a silent trip because I had said my good-byes at home. I reported to the Marine Corps Recruiter along with several other new Marine Corps Recruits. After our swearing-in ceremony and being welcomed into the Marine Corps, we were given orders and put on a Greyhound Bus for Savannah with a stop in Macon where a few more Recruits joined us. In Savannah we had to wait at the Bus Station for other new Recruits who were being gathered from other locations. It was our last few hours of �??freedom�??, but we were being watched. Late that evening we were all loaded onto another bus for the final leg of our journey and the beginning of an adventure we would never forget. Our bus turned off of US-21 onto SC 802 and then we pulled onto the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island near Beaufort after midnight and stopped in front of the Receiving Center. A Drill Instructor boarded the bus, quickly got our attention and told us what to do. Rapidly and silently we departed the bus and discovered both the infamous �??Yellow Footprints�?? on the pavement and Marine Corps Drill Instructors. From that point on, God has done some amazing things in my life, as well as my life with Ann.
As you read through my �??My Story as a Marine�?? you will see God�??s hand reaching out in answering my prayers over and over. My enlistment in the Marine Corps, I believe, was part of God�??s plan to help me grow and mature so that Ann and I could develop a loving relationship in the years to come. Although I created many ups and downs in our relationship, Ann continued to endure with patience and love. God�??s plan for our lives eventually brought us back together. Regardless of my decision concerning the Marine Corps that I made in August 1965, the relationship that Ann and I have developed through the years has brought us closer and closer together, and we are still best friends who are in love.
God gave me my childhood dream of attending and graduating from the United States Naval Academy. He has provided me with life experiences that have molded me into the person that I am today. And He also brought into my heart the joy of my life. I graduated from the United States Naval Academy on 9 June 1971. Ten days after my Graduation, Ann and I were married in Atlanta at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church by Dr. Monroe Swilley and Dr. Russell Dilday. We are both true believers in the phrase: �??God�??s timing is perfect, and He is on time, every time!�?? And that regardless of the trials that we have faced and will face in our lives, He is always nearby to take our hands and give us direction, comfort and peace.
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