Current Residence: Xenia, Ohio
Family (spouse, children or grandchildren): Wife, Cindy (multi-handicapped teacher) and daughter, Felicia (student at Ohio University)
Career After the Military: Worked in a factory for 18 months; Heating and A/C for two years; body shop owner for three years; 1984-1986 earned Associate’s degree in Mental Health; 1999 to present Springfield VA Clinic on Burnett Road.
Hobbies: Fishing, football, yard work and playing with dog
Branch of Service: Navy
Did you join the military or were you drafted? Joined one month after I was drafted.
Dates of Service: Active duty 1973 to 1976
Deployments/Bases: USS San Bernardino LST West Pacific, home port of San Diego.
Total time that you served? 3 years
What did you do in the service? Gunnersmate
What did you gain from serving in the military? I discovered that no one I came in contact with had ever heard of Beavercreek, Ohio.
What do you remember most about your service? The wonders of the places I visited and the wonders of the ocean.
What would you like readers to know about your military experience? How different people viewed military service back then compared to now.
Is there anything else you want readers to know about you that we didn’t ask? Being a vet, I love my job at the Springfield VA Clinic! It’s difficult at times to try and keep up. But I work for some very nice folks and that, along with helping other veterans, makes it all worthwhile.
Hometown Heroes is a weekly feature profiling Clark and Champaign County veterans compiled with the assistance of local Vietnam veteran Randy Ark. To nominate a veteran, e-mail samantha.sommer@coxinc.com or randyark48@gmail.com or call 937-328-0363. Any veteran of any military branch, years of service and age is eligible to be profiled.
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