I joined the Navy on my 18th birthday after skipping school for a half day. This did not set well with my parents as Vietnam was just heating up and in a year’s time we would experience the Tet Offensive. I served as an engine and fuel systems mechanic on A-7 Corsair’s, a light attach bomber/fighter. I served two deployments aboard the carrier USS Oriskany, CVA-34, to the Southeast Asian country of The Republic of Vietnam. Since I was discharged in the end of 1971 I have married and had a wonderful family of two girls and continued my service to the country in the VFW and American Legion.