-  A Short Update, As At March of 2011  -   

From Candidate FitzGerald...

Below is a picture of graduation day for OCS Class 18-66 at Fort Gordon, GA. Candidate Gus Blanchard was our Candidate CO, Candidate Ellisworth S1, Candidate Geiger S2, Candidate DiNapoli S3, and Candidate John FitzGerald (me) S4.

Below that is a picture of me roping in the annual Honokaa Rodeo, held on Memorial Day weekend in Honokaa, Hawaii. My roping horse's name is "Ponita". I rope as a hobby and compete in all the local rodeos as well as the American Cowboys Team Ropers Association local events and their national finals in Reno, NV in October. My wife and I train and board horses as well as raise sheep & steers in our retirement in Hakalau, Hawaii (Big Island of Hawaii) 15 miles north of Hilo.

I retired from the local Caterpillar dealer in 2003, as the branch manager of the Maui branch.

The bottom picture is of me and my wife, Karen, of 36 years, at the Humaula Sheep Station's sheep shearing shed used by Parker Ranch during WW II.

I hope these pictures and comments help add some color to our scrap book. OCS was an experience I would not trade for all the tea in China. It definitely made a positive contribution to my future.

This page originally posted 11 August, 2011