About me. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but left to join the navy shortly after graduation from Saint Michael's High School. It was during the Korean War and I had a choice of being drafted or volunteering. I chose the later and joined the navy.
I volunteered to stay at Cam Rahn and "turn the lights out." So, I was given my first base of choice when I left Vietnam. Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi, would be our home for the next eight years. After, eight years at Keesler and a combined total of 28 years military service, I hung up my air force blue and retired.
Shortly after retirement, I was offered a position in the federal service. I accepted and worked at Keesler as a personnel manager, teacher, and finally in charge of air force technical training course development.
My wife of 43 years, Betty, passed away in January 1998 after prolonged illness. So I decided to retire for a second time. On 1 January 1999, I retired from Federal Service.
I was keeping busy as a member of the Biloxi Girls Softball League Governing Board of Directors, Director of the 9-10 age group and coach of 11-12 year group. I have taken a year off because I have been traveling. I may or may not continue coaching next year.
All You Can Eat Pizza
Retirement Luncheon
I spent the next 24 years in the air force assigned to such hardship tours as Homestead, Florida, Madrid, Spain, Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, San Antonio, Texas. While in San Antonio, duty called and I was assigned to Cam Rahn Bay Air Base, South Vietnam. I enjoyed the warm weather, but did not enjoy the heat the war produced.
During the four years I spent in the navy, I saw most of Europe's major capitals, i.e., Paris, Rome, London, Edinburgh, Oslo and also most of the Caribbean islands. These travels were provided by the navy fleet tanker, USS Allagash (AO-97).
My last two naval years were spent on the warm beaches of Key West, Florida where I met and married my wife, Betty.
When my contract expired, I separated from the navy to avoid the many family hardships associated with sea duty. However, I realized I enjoyed the military way of life. This led to my enlistment in the US Air Force.
Updated: 4 Jul 2009
Song: Somewhere Along The Way
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On 11 Jun 01, Rita Farris became Mrs Rita Sommer. We were married in Nashville, Tn, packed up a U-Haul and moved all her worldly goods to Biloxi. We are traveling in our Motor Home. We have added many photos to our travel pages. The link to our travels and chat meets are on both our home pages. Keep coming back for updates.
