I was born on 07/07/1947 in Portsmouth, VA. I was at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, attending William T. Sampson High School as a freshman during the Bay of Pigs fiasco. I joined the Navy early in 1967 to avoid the draft and possible service in the Army. It only took me 25 years to determine a career in the Navy wasn’t my cup of tea. I was in the Gulf of Tonkin working on the flight deck of USS Constellation during the 1968 Tet Offensive. I made another cruise on Connie before going over to Kitty Hawk. I was in the I.O. for the Idi Amin flare-up and during the Iranian hostage crisis working both Gonzo Station and Kermit Station. I was with the Kitty Hawk Battle Group when President Park was assassinated in South Korea. I was aboard USS St Louis at the entrance of Manila Bay in 1989 during a coup d’etat.