August 2, 2000:
Due to a family member's illness, I was forced to leave the class of 59 prior to graduation. We
moved to central Florida where we were caretakers for a catholic summer and fishing camp. As
I was working different jobs I was able to pay off debts we had accumulated as a result of the
illness.
I never felt at "home" in central Florida and I knew that we would not move back to
Bradenton. I wanted to start a life of my own so I decided to join the Army, believe me it all
sounds simple when I now put it on paper, but then it was a huge problem. Due to my age I
had to have parental consent to join, again not so easy. Finally joined, liked it from the first
day.
After my training was complete my first assignment was to Fort Bragg, NC. When I
walked in to the 1st Sgt.'s. office that first day, he loudly announced that he knew I had not
finished high school. He sent me to take my GED test which I passed with flying colors. When
my final GED transcript was returned we managed to obtain MHS address, the 1st Sgt.
promptly typed a letter and off the package went to MHS. In August of 1958 we received a
signed diploma with a nice note attached signed by Wheeler Leeth. Mr. Leeth knew of my
problems and commented he was happy to see I had taken the opportunity to complete school.
I spent more that 21 years in the Army and as in any career there were good times and bad,
hated Vietnam. Retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 4, that is a technical grade in the Army and I
had specialized in the Mechanical Maintenance field.
We lived in Germany for nearly 15 years,
combined with my military time I lived 25 years of my life in that country. Also lived in
Colorado for 10 years, we really enjoyed living there. We decided to move to South Carolina
for a couple of reasons, mainly to enjoy Lake Thurmond. Large lake with nearly 1200 miles of
shoreline, we manage to go out on our boat at least twice a week.
I am simply thrilled to get back in touch with the class of 59. Although I did receive a diploma in 58, my heart and
thoughts have always been with my classmates in the class of 59. So if everyone is willing, you
could officially adopt me, and make this whole thing legal.