We went to Puerto Rico to the rifle range and I never shot a gun in my life. I was the first one up to shoot the targets and when I was done shooting, I had ten straight bullseyes. My GI buddies were happy for me. The next day I did pretty good again, but not ten in a row. I was happy.
As a graduate from college I had a draft notice waiting to pick me up to go to Korea to fight in the war. So, I had a choice of either being dirt soldier or joining the navy or air force and I chose to join the air force. I became a pilot in the tactical air force and we were a part of the mobile task force that would put an American air force anywhere in the world within two or three days, operational. We would refuel jets as we flew across the ocean. I had visited almost every island between Japan and England to do the job of refueling. 600 miles west of Wake Island we received orders to proceed directly to the Philippines. The Chinese had decided to take over a little island that was off the coast of China and they were showing it. Our mobile strike force was there in two days. The Chinese saw the F-104 fly over at 1,400 miles an hour, the first time anybody had done that. Through negotiation they called that off. I was in the Philippines for about four months. Our first-born child was born a week before I left and I didn't see him again until he was six months old. I had the opportunity to visit Wake Island, Midway Island, Philippines, Guam, Hawaii, England, Japan, and all over the United States when we would fly out to do our missions. I entered the air force in September, and then the Korean armistice was signed at the end of that year so, I didn't have to be shot at and I got to go back to college. So, I went, after I got out of the air force, and got a PhD and became a professor. So, it worked out well.
I enlisted because I just got out of school and there were no jobs. I’m most proud of my last rank that I received, Senior Chief E-8. While in the Navy, I oversaw the engine rooms, fire rooms and the destroyers. I was in charge of 75-80 people on the ship.
