My father had been in the Army during WWI, but never left the US . . . seems there was a giant influenza epidemic going on about that time - I understand that more died from "flu" than from combat. Come WWII he tried to enlist, but was deemed too old - 46 - by all of the services, and refused by the FBI although he was an accountant at the time.

I was in college at the end of the 50's but didn't feel that I was doing anyone much good there, myself especially, so joined the Army in the fall of 1960. I had asked for the longest electronics school I could get, and when the paper stopped flying was given my 8th or 9th choice. After I was in for a while and really knew what the graduates of those other schools did, I was glad to have gotten my particular school, Aircraft Electronics or Avionics.

After some time in the states, I was sent to Thailand and later Viet Nam, returned to the US in the spring of 1963, married a girl I had met earlier, when I was in NM., and went to Texas to look at tanks in the 1st Armored Division.

When my the end of enlistment was getting close, I decided to enlist in the Air Force, to wait out the enactment/renewal of the GI Bill, that would allow me to go back to school and finish up with a degree. six years later, I was north of Oslo, Norway, training the Norwegian Air Force folks on the radio systems of the Lockheed Hercules aircraft that they had bought, in a swap-out of older US aircraft deal, between them, the US, and Lockheed Aircraft. Since I had nearly nine years in, I decided to continue on and go for the retirement at twenty years of service.

Various other postings took me through various parts of the US, and then to England, where I got involved with a transportable communications outfit that provided communications assets to help manage airlift, both inter and intra-theater airlift, and came back to the states for another three odd years of the same work, although based in North Carolina. A short tour at the end of the Aleutian Chain was followed up with about four years in New Hampshire, my home state, and my first AF posting managing aircraft maintenance, ground safety, our unit's budget, and the numerous tasks help any organization perform its function. I retired from the AF at 48, with 26 years of active duty for a fair retirement pay, and the determination to finish some sort of a degree.

Another few years later I finally finished a degree in Computer Information Systems, a field that had barely existed in 1960 when I had originally enlisted, and had nothing at all to do with my previous education. Since my active duty spanned such an expanse of years, I drive personnel folks mad when I tell them, quite honestly that I am a Pre-Viet Nam Era, Viet Nam era, and post Viet Nam disabled veteran, material they are bound to report to someone who really cares about these sort of things. Oddly enough, Although I actually served, on the ground, in Viet Nam during the beginning of our activities in that country, that period of time is not considered Viet Nam War service, the eligibility period starting some years later, slim comfort to American Servicemen killed in support of the Vietnamese during those years, an all of my Viet Nam era time was spent in California, and England, training electronics, or managing airlift. Additionally, after serving in many positions halfway around the world, I was returned to a base about 120 miles away from my original home twice, and retired from that base, where I now make my home.

Dave