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One year at Univ of Miami in accounting that wasn't
my calling.
I moved to New York, my birth state, and got hired on by the Bank
of NY as a stock liquidation clerk.
That lasted 6 months while I was trying to establish residency to
get into City College,
but then I started getting draft notices.
I went back to Miami to reattend UM but the draft followed me, so
I went down and enlisted in the Army instead.
I spent 8 years and a month, luckily being picked up from Basic
Training to attend Engineer OCS.
I later became a dual rated aviator and spent two tours in VietNam
flying CH-47 Chinooks,
two tours in Germany; the first flying fixed wing DeHavilland Beaver,
Hueys, and
old Chocktaws as an Army Airfield Commander of a 2,000 foot grass
strip with a small detachment of troops;
the 2nd tour as an Engineer Battalion S-1 Adjutant (non-flying --
did not like).
Reduction in Force was a welcome separation as an Engineer Captain
and
3 months later I was hired by the FAA as an Air Traffic Controller.
I worked a little over 7 years as Radar Air Traffic Controller at
Miami Center and
then transferred to Seattle Center for 5 months before the PATCO
strike of '81 hit.
I went back to flying but not before doing a few years in Insurance
Sales.
After joining the Reserves and requalifying in the Chinook
I took a contract pilot job in Saudi Arabia with
Lockheed-Arabia for 3 and a half years flying the smaller tandem
rotor helicopter,
the Marines CH-46 Sea Knight, on Civil Defense missions.
Back in the States, I joined Weyerhaeuser in Federal Way, WA.
I attended night school at Seattle City University and completed
a BS in Computer Information Systems and
worked as Quality Assurance Analyst and IT Specialist.
I retired after 21 and a half years with Weyerhaeuser in November
of 2009.
I married Rose in '72 (in Army dress blues). We have two boys,
Jeff - 36 living in Lewisville, TX, and Mike - 33 married with a
6 year old boy and
newborn baby girl, living near us, here in the beautiful NorthWest.
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