My dad served in the United States Marine Corps for 30 years. He reached the highest of the enlisted ranks, retiring as a Sergeant Major. He served his country in the Korean War (1972-1973), and served in Vietnam three times — two times (noted as “Vietnam” below) during the war, and one time (noted as “Okinawa” below) after the war. I am proud of the many honors he earned — especially his Purple Heart.
The first years of my life were spent in and around Fall River, Massachusetts where he and my mom met and married. He was stationed in various cities in Massachusetts doing “recruiting duty” stints. I went to a different school for almost every year of my elementary school years.
In 1970, he was transferred to the Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejuene, North Carolina, where I transferred into the 7th grade. He ended up retiring there, so I graduated from Lejeune High School (on the base), and then went on to East Carolina University, where I majored in Math and Computer Science. Once I graduated from college, I moved to Raleigh and began working for IBM, in 1980.
Here’s the road trip compliments of Uncle Sam:
| Place | From | To | Education |
| Norfolk, Virgina | October 1957 | December 1959 | Diaper duty |
| Twenty-Nine Palms, California | December 1959 | September 1960 | The terrible twos |
| Ocean Grove, Massachusetts (MA) | September 1960 | February 1961 | Playing hooky |
| Fall River, MA (Eastern Avenue) | February 1961 | January 1963 | First half of kindergarten |
| Cherry Point, NC | January 1963 | November 1964 | Second half of kindergarten, 1st grade, First two months of 2nd grade |
| Fall River, MA (Dover Street) | November 1964 | December 1964 | Two more months of 2nd grade |
| Fall River, MA (Warren Street) [Dad stationed in Vietnam] | December 1964 | January 1966 | Remainder of 2nd grade at Dover Street School, First half of 3rd grade at Warren Street School |
| Dudley, MA | January 1966 | June 1966 | Second half of 3rd grade |
| Fall River, MA (Dover Street) | June 1966 | July 1966 | Summer between 3rd and 4th grade |
| Fall River, MA (Howland Street) | July 1966 | December 1968 | 4th, 5th, and first two months of 6th grade |
| Coventry, Rhode Island [Dad stationed in Vietnam] | December 1968 | December 1969 | Remainder of 6th grade and first half of 7th grade |
| Camp Lejeune, NC | December 1969 | June 1973 | Second half of 7th grade through sophomore year of high school |
| Tarawa Terrace, NC [Dad stationed in Okinawa] | June 1973 | June 1974 | Junior year of high school |
| Jacksonville, NC | June 1974 | August 1975 | Senior year of high school |
| Greenville, NC | August 1975 | May 1980 | College |
| Raleigh, NC | May 1980 | Present | Lifelong learning |