Reflections

In many cases I am the wrong person to ask about combat and war and service to our Country. First of all, I never had to go to Vietnam at all. When I left the Army in Sep 1964, I began graduate school at the Univ or Arizona and joined the AZ National Guard aviation unit. When I learned in the summer of 1965, the 11th AAD became the 1st Cav and was deploying to Vietnam, I told my wife - I have to go back in the Army; these are my friends. So, I did. At the very same time, Bell Helicopter in TX had offered me a job as a test pilot (I had 1400 hours in helos then) and to fully fund my remaining MS degree in aeronautical engineering. While extremely tempting, my service to country and serving with friends won out. It turned out to be a good choice although I actually had two good choices.

Yet, in 1987 when I retired I never looked back. My service career was history and my private sector experiences were all ahead of me. Emotionally and psychologically, I am completely divorced from the Army. In fact, you would be surprised how few people even knew I had an Army career. For me, it was a proud time of my life but it is now simply history and memories. I say this because I see so many fellow veterans whose lives seem to have ended when they left their respective Service. Regrettably, I know too many retired officers whose lives after active duty kept them within the sound of Reveille and Taps and never really rejoined the society from once they came.

Even today, following three careers (one Army and two private sector) I am still working via a web based LLC I started 4 years ago. Now, I follow my passions and interest only as I have no need to make a living. I have the best of all worlds today and am in a position to give back to my community; help your people as they head off to college or whatever; and, "simply try to make a dent."
Image courtesy of David Grieshop

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