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A Brief Bio, As Of February 2009 -
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I was born in England after WWII, and
came to America when I was 9 months old.
I tell you this because it has significance later
on. My childhood home was in Kansas City, KS, where I stayed until 1964. There
is nothing much exciting about my childhood, except that my grandfather raised
Shetland Ponies, so as a kid I got to ride and rope and do that sort of thing.
In 1964 we moved to Titusville, FL. That
was the year of hurricane Donna, and my first encounter with a “big wind”. It
wasn’t until OCS that I met a TAC Officer and, well, big wind took on a whole
new meaning.
I came into the Army in 1965, as a Morse Code Interceptor
(don’t ask me about it or I’ll have to cut off your head and put it in a safe).
My Basic Training was taken at Ft Jackson, SC. AIT was at Ft. Devins, MA. I read
Barney Franks book and found out that he was at Devins the same time I was. In
fact, we were in the Honor Guard at the same time. I don’t remember meeting him
though. I never got to work as a Morse Code Interceptor, since I went to Signal
OCS in 1966. I graduated with class 02-67.
In order to go to OCS I had to get my citizenship, which
always made me wonder. I
had a Top Secret Crypto Clearance, so, I could handle all sorts of secrets as a
non-citizen, and yet I needed to be a citizen to lead troops. It seems to me
that I should have needed citizenship for both positions. Oh, well.
After OCS I immediately went to Fixed Wing Aviation
School, at Ft. Stewart, GA, and then at Ft. Rucker, AL.
My two roommates and I lived quite well until we slept in
and were late one morning. They
took away our off post privileges, and we were moved to the BOQ at Ft. Rucker.
It wasn’t really that bad, but we did learn our lesson.
After Flight School I served with the First Cavalry
Division, in Viet Nam. I was a forward observer for the Artillery. What an
experience! I got quite good at adjusting the guns, and one of the Artillery
Officers told me he would help me with a branch transfer.
I gracefully declined that offer.
I next went to Germany, and served as a Company Commander for a Signal Company
in support of the VII COSCOM. While in Germany I met and married Sally Havlick,
who was an American school teacher in the DOD’s system.
I got out of the Army in 1970, and finished my education at Florida State
University, with a BS degree in Marketing. From 1972 – 1976 I was a traveling
salesman for the Armstrong Cork Company. I then sold insurance for Aetna Life &
Casualty. Woody Allen had a line in “Of
Love and Death”, where he says “There are worse things in life than death.
You’ll know what I mean if you have ever spent an evening with a Life Insurance
Salesman.” Take that for what it’s worth.
After selling life insurance, I became a Deputy Sheriff for the Broward County
Sheriff’s Department in the Ft. Lauderdale area. During those years my two sons
were born. Also, during that time I committed my life to the Lord. In 1980 I
went to Westminster Theological Seminary, in Philadelphia, and became a
minister. I served as a Police Chaplain in
the Philadelphia, PA, area for two years, and then started a church in
Williamsport, PA.
In 1989 I went back into the Army as an Army Chaplain. It seems I couldn’t get
the Army out of my life.
I served at Ft. Sill, OK, from 1989 to 1995. It was an interesting assignment
since I knew about the Artillery as a pilot, and now could see it in action on
the ground.
During my time at Sill I had a detour to Desert Storm, and a tour in Korea. We
had some Muslim soldiers in our unit, and the Battalion Commander asked me to
talk with them about going to fight other Muslims. They were “gung ho.”
However, the day before we went into battle they came to me with “doubts”
about killing other Muslims. I explained
to them that since they were auto mechanics and generator mechanics, the chance
of them getting a Muslim in their crosshairs was slim to none. However,
I told them that if they did, they would have to make the moral decision to die
for their beliefs. Well, they lived.
In Korea I was assigned as the Chaplain for the First of the Second Aviation
Battalion. When they learned that I used to fly in Viet Nam, they instantly
bonded with me. In fact the Instructor for the Cobras took me up and let me fly
all over Korea. That was a really cool experience.
In 1995 the “draw downs” caught me, and I moved to Springfield, IL, to start
another church. About two months after I got
there I was contacted and informed that I had made Major in the IRR. So
I found a Reserve Unit to drill with. I
served as a Chaplain in an Army Reserve unit in Decatur, IL.
In 1999 I went into the AGR (Army Guard Reserve) system.
I went to Ft, Dix, NJ, as Assistant
to the Post Chaplain. I preached at the
General Protestant Service, while he preached at the Gospel Service. I was also
the Training Officer and coordinated with the Chaplains who came to Ft. Dix to
see if they needed help of any sort.
Following that I was assigned to the 99th Regional Readiness Command,
at Pittsburgh, PA. There I was the full time support for the Reserve Chaplain. It
was our job to fill Chaplain slots in the units in our command, and also to
assign Chaplains and Chaplain Assistants to Iraq and Afghanistan. I remained
with the 99th until I retired in 2005.
While I was in I earned: Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal
(5th Award), Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal,
National Defense Service Medal, Viet Nam Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service
Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Korean Defense
Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Medal.
Above content originally posted 19 February,
2009, updated 26 February 2009.
