President of Volusia Dem Vets
US Navy
5/1968 – 2/1972
Aviation Electronics Technician, Navigation, 3rd class(ATN-3)
My first two years in the Navy consisted of boot camp at NTC Great Lakes, IL, Aviation Electronics Technician training in Memphis, TN and aircraft(A-7A Corsair II) training at NAS Lemoore, CA. I was then transferred to a fleet squadron in Lemoore, VA-153, the World Famous Blue Tail Flies. During my time with the squadron, I was assigned to the check crew for my first WESTPAC cruise to Vietnam. The check crew took airplanes apart after 2000 hours of flight, checked every system out and then put them back together. On the second WESTPAC I was a final checker, white shirt, on the flight deck. As the aircraft would start up and prepare for launch, we would ensure that everything was in working order. As the aircraft approached the catapult, we would inspect the entire outer surface of the aircraft for any problems. Thumbs up and then it would launch.