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Retired Air Force. 21 years. Vietnam vet. Retired right after first Gulf War. Had my papers in so I didn’t get deployed. Got a real nice certificate of recognition signed by President George HW Bush. If I had waited a few months longer to retire Clinton would have been president and I would tore up the certificate if his name had been on it.

I was on orders to go to Germany for the 5th time when the war started and they froze my orders. After the war was over, they started that downsizing in Germany and bringing units home. They changed my orders to Korea. I was a single father with two teenage girls. I was not in the mood to go to Korea for a year and leave them with my aged mother. I told them I would go back to Germany for 3 or 4 years, but not Korea. Since I was over 19 years, at least I controlled that. I told them no I was not going to Korea, and that was that. Put in the retirement papers and have never looked back.

Didn't know squat about Washington state. I had two aunts and uncles out there who I always stayed in touch with. Exchanged photos and such. The mountains reminded me of Europe. They sent me the news papers and there were plenty of legal office type jobs out there, a severe shortage. I had been looking here in Alabama and Georgia for over 2 months on terminal leave and had not found anything. We packed our stuff and went out there, me and the girls, and I got there on a Friday, got the Sunday paper, sent out for two jobs, got a call on Wednesday, interviewed on Thursday and called and told on Friday I had a job. Making twice what I did at retirement in the Army. So, there I stayed for 15 years. Met my new wife out there. She retired from B of A and we came home to freedom here in Alabama and got out of that soviet state!!!