Gallery

Young Years

I was born on Lincoln's birthday in 1947 at St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee at 630pm sharp! My mother suffered a stroke leaving her paralyzed for two years and handicapped for life and spent many summers at Camp Wabeek in Wis. Dells. She graduated from Merrilan HS in three years with a 4.0 GPA, but had to learn to read and write all over again. My father suffered a motorcycle accident just before the depression leaving him with only one good arm. The doctor said he would never use it again but he did, working it back into use as one-armed farmhand. Later, he became a machinist/tool and die maker, retiring from A.C Spark Plug in Oak Creek, as a parts inspector on the space program.

Maternal Generations-1947

Parents-Luella and John....and Jr.-1948

Jr. and mother's younger sister-1949

College

Spent three years on the gymnastics team at UW-SP and two years in ROTC. I was lucky to be the escort for the first ROTC Queen, but too shy to kiss her.

Rings-1969

Floor Exercise-1969

ROTC Ball-1970

Military

Took basic training in the summer of 1968 at Ft. Benning,GA.: and basic officer training the next summer at Ft. Riley,KS. Graduated in 1970 as 2nd LT in the Field Artillary. Trained at Ft. Sill,OK and then spent from Feb. 1971 to Feb. 1972 in Vietnam as a forward observer with the infrantry in I Corps, in the Americal. Later served as a fire direction officer along the DMZ at FB Carroll and finished at LZ Maude,outside Da Nang. Served in the Wis. National Guard in Stevens Point from 1972-1974.

Vietnam gives you a great tan,

...and keeps you slim and trim.

And the housing was great too!