Current Residence: Springfield
Family: Spouse, Karla
Career After the Military: Steel Products, division of Kelsey Hayes; Olan Mills Photography; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Hobbies: Golf, bowling, Mustang
Branch of Service: United States Marine Corps
Did you join the military or were you drafted? I joined because I knew I was getting drafted.
Dates of Service: March 1966 to March 1968
Deployments/Bases: Boot Camp in San Diego, Calif.; Vietnam with the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines; Quantico, Va.
Total time that you served? Two years total, including 12 months, 28 days in Vietnam.
What did you do in the service? 0311 Rifleman; Fire Team Leader; Squad Leader; we were known as "grunts " in the United States Marine Corps.
What did you gain from serving in the military? I found out what "Semper Fi" ("Always Faithful") really means while in Vietnam. I was proud to lead a Marine rifle squad in combat.
What do you remember most about your service? Lifting off from Da Nang, Vietnam, to come home without any incoming rounds coming in.
Hometown Heroes is a weekly feature profiling Clark and Champaign County veterans compiled with the assistance of local Vietnam veteran Randy Ark. To nominate a veteran, e-mail samantha.sommer@coxinc.com or randyark48@gmail.com or call 937-328-0363. Any veteran of any military branch, years of service and age is eligible to be profiled.
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