Getting Started
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I told my father when I was around 9 years old that I was going to be a Marine when I graduated high school, which is exactly what I did and have continued to do for the last 30 years. I enlisted shortly after I turned 17 years old to be an infantryman in the Marine Corps. Shipped out to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina on July 20th, 1992. What I remember most of boot camp was how intense my Drill Instructors were and how much I missed my family back in Tazewell, Virginia.
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Service
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After completing recruit training I was sent to Camp Geiger, North Carolina where I was trained to become an Infantryman, (0331-Machine Gunner). My first Fleet Marine Force assignment was in 2nd Marines where I deployed to Okinawa, Japan; Cape Haitian, Haiti, and later as a Scout Sniper Team Leader, to Monrovia, Liberia. Both Haiti in 1994 and Liberia in 1996 were combat deployments.

I re-enlisted and went back to Parris Island, SC to serve as a Drill Instructor. After seeing how disciplined and physically fit my drill Instructors were, I knew I wanted to go back there and train others. I ended up training eight platoons of Recruits from 1998 through 2001. I came back to the Fleet Marine Forces and was assigned to 6th Marines just before 9/11.

Without question, 9/11 was the most life-changing experience for me. I was in Fort Bragg, NC training for an upcoming deployment. I couldn’t understand the magnitude of the event until I saw it on TV when they brought me in to see the commander. I knew everything was about to change. Ultimately, I deployed three times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Afghanistan and Pakistan and three times to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In all, I completed 12 deployments, 9 of which were combat deployments in support of this great nation I was blessed to born into. Additionally, I served another tour of duty as a drill instructor training naval officers. 

The best assignment in my 30 years of service has been my time within the Marine Special Operations Command. The Marines here are completely dedicated to their mission. Although I lost several good friends over the years, each of them were living “their dream”, and we were doing what our nation needed us to do. Bold and dangerous men are sometimes needed to bring violence to the doorstep of those who intend to do harm to Americans and our way of life. My greatest honor and privilege in life has been that I was able to go forward with some incredibly talented warriors and serve my country.
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Life After Service

I had my retirement ceremony on April 14th, 2022 and will be officially retired on July 31st, 2022. Exactly 30 years and 11 days after my journey began. As for “what’s next?” I am taking my wife Melanie, who also served in the Marine Corps and completed two combat deployments to Afghanistan, on a trip that we have been planning over the last five years we’ve been married. That trip is simply to see America. I have seen so much of other countries but really haven’t seen my own. We are leaving just before Memorial Day from Camp Lejeune, NC and living out of a converted cargo van until I stop back in East Tennessee to spend the 4th of July with my dad. 

I am a 100% bass fishing addict. I fish a lot of tournaments throughout the year in North Carolina and Virginia with Major League Fishing and other local fishing clubs. Bass Fishing has always been a way for me to become one with nature, think about my life, and come back off the water a better version of me. I do plan to join the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) once I get back from the trip and am officially retired from the Marine Corps. I see it as a way of being able to give back to the generation who served before me to include their families.

Getting Started
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I was drafted into the Vietnam War in 1968 at age 19. I was found ineligible the first two times I was drafted due to bone spurs in my leg. After my third draft, I was sent to the Army. At bootcamp in Ft. Bragg, we were lined up on the road, and the man next to me was handed a set of E-6 stripes, and he just looked at them. I was handed a set of E-5 stripes and they asked me if I knew what to do with them. When I said “yes,” they said I would be the platoon sergeant and first squad leader, and he would be the acting platoon sergeant. After bootcamp, I was sent to AIT in Ft. Polk, LA, better known as Little Vietnam as everyone was going to Vietnam after leaving Ft. Polk. I left Ft. Polk as a corporal and then I went to NCO School in Ft. Benning, GA. I went to Vietnam as a Spec 4.

Service
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I served combat duty in Vietnam for one year, and Desert Storm for three months. In Vietnam, I was assigned to the 1/5 Cavalry. We traveled from Cam Ranh Bay to An Khe and then to the Michelin Rubber Plantation. While at Michelin Rubber Plantation, I saw a soldier come out of a “spider hole” and shoot an RPG. I hid behind a small tree when I saw the soldier. The soldier fired the RPG, which hit the tree at chest level. The shrapnel from the rocket-propelled grenade hit my left arm. This injury is what earned my Purple Heart.

After I was injured, I was transferred to the 2/5 Cavalry, Bravo Company. I was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart in the field by General Roberts. After I came out of the field, I was assigned to a LZ St Barbara fire support base, which is where I met General Roberts. The 1/8 came in on the fire base, and the commander said for no one to come into the TOC except for his people. General Roberts started calling for the 1/8, and they never answered their phone. I picked up my radio, identified myself, and they asked me if I could pick him up at the log pad. I picked him up and brought him to the fire base. The Command Sergeant Major who was with him went into the TOC, brought out the Captain and 1LT by their ears as they were so drunk that they could not stand up. The Command Sergeant Major told me to call my company and tell them to “pop smoke” (throw out a smoke grenade) as birds (helicopters) were inbound to pick them up. He then put the 1/8 off of the fire base due to their being drunk.
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In Desert Storm, I worked as a hospital ward master. My job was to lay the hospital out on the ground and run the ER after it was established. I helped set up billeting quarters for the entire hospital staff and the hospital. After we put up all of the tents, I was unable to turn over as my back was locked up. They had to carry me out to the evac unit, brought me down to Doha,  Saudi Arabia, and I was sent to Langstuhl, Germany for 4 days. I was then transferred to LBJ Air Force Base in DC in my pajamas. From there I went to Dover, then to Ft. Bragg. I walked into Ft. Bragg, and asked what they wanted me to do. My Master Sergeant asked me what I wanted to do, and I told him I wanted to go home. I spent the rest of my time in Ft. Bragg until my unit came home from the desert and then I was discharged. 
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Medals and Citations:
Army Service Ribbon
National Defense Service Medal w/ Bronze Service Star
Expert Badge M-16 Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (50LC)
Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon
NCO Professional Development Ribbon (3)
Overseas Service Ribbon
Army Lapel Button
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal W/60 Device
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry w/ Palm/
Army Lapel Button
Armed Forces Reserve Medal
Purple Heart
Combat Infantryman Badge
Air Medal
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Life After Service

I wanted to become an RN and was working at the VA Hospital. I attended Steed College and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management. I was able to work as a Nursing Assistant until 1978, when they opened up five slots for Reservists to complete their LPN. I earned one of the slots and completed my schooling at the Johnson City Vocational-Technical school at Science Hill HS. Mountain Home VA Hospital allowed me to take a leave from work to complete my LPN. The government covered the cost of my schooling and state boards. My orders were duty according to school regulations. After finishing my LPN in 1980, I worked as a recovery nurse in same day surgeries until my retirement in 1997.
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I have served as a member of the Washington County DAV Chapter 9 (Disabled American Veterans) for over 25 years as a former Commander and supervisor of crafts. I was a charter member of Trinity Baptist Church when their land was constituted on October 21, 1984 with 116 members. I was placed in charge of furnishing the church and contacted a chair and table factory in Greeneville who gave us what we needed to furnish the church. I worked on Wednesday nights preparing meals for over five years. We rented places to worship until we bought our church property where the church now stands. I also worked security on Sundays and Wednesday nights. Dr. John Carpenter was the first pastor, and we were married there on Dec 2, 2001 by Dr. Mark Harrod after he became pastor in 1995. I helped coach basketball and participated in three mission trips including to Hagerstown, MD and St. Charles, LA. I still have the disaster relief hats that I wear to this day.

I felt God was calling me join a new church, and we moved to Westerly Heights Baptist Church in Johnson City in 2013. I am in charge of their food pantry and helped with grounds until they hired someone to do the work. We receive food from Second Harvest Food Bank, and I help provide food to needy veterans. Our first priority is to assist members of our church family, and deliver food to ones who have no way to get to the church. I have sung in their choir for almost nine years, and help as a Sunday school teacher. In my spare time, I enjoy fishing, hunting, taking care of our 4-acre property, and building blue bird houses.

Getting Started
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I joined the Army in 2005 as a junior in high school as the year prior to that my friend from orchestra had been killed in an ambush attack on 6 April 2004. I would have to wait another year to graduate high school before I could officially go to basic training. Once I got to basic training at Ft. Leonardwood my whole life was turn up side down as I had no idea what the next day shoot the next hour was going to bring. The drill sergeants wanted to make a lasting impression upon arrival and when they stormed our buses to get us off for in-processing they definitely made us know who was in charge of our life at that moment. 

The training was tough and memories are endless from the pugel and combative training to live rounds they are shooting over your head as you crawl across a muddy field with barbwire overhead. The friendships formed during this intense and major change of your life are never forgotten and to this day I still have friends from my basic training unit.

Service
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I deployed in 2008-2009 to Iraq. For the first six months my unit was in Diwaniyah at FOB Echo with the 8th Iraqi Army. We helped train them on numerous military operations and would perform joint patrols with them. We received indirect fire what seemed daily but was more probably weekly. It was never a comfortable feeling over there with the amount of rockets as one minute you could be sitting here and the next you were just gone, no warning just gone. 

Our unit was pretty fortunate as we were able to get through the first soix months with minimum damage and causalities. One of the worst days during those first few months was when we first arrived the pro-terrorism crowd made a statement by taking the life of two young boys about 9 and 11 (those children will never be forgotten). The second worse day was 24 Jan 2009 at 0623, I was preparing myself and things to go home on my mid-tour leave when the next thing I know everything is shaking around and I hear debris flying and spraying everything. The smoke was so intense that you couldn't see anything in front of you, almost like a white out. After the dust had settle we had found that the rocket had hit just outside our sleeping quarters but in our motor pool disabling a couple vehicles. After all that I was still fortunate enough that we were able to get a black hawk in so we could still go on our mid-tour leave.

I was an intelligence analyst that worked in the battalion staff and also drove for the scout teams as I loved getting to see outside the wire.  I got to do a lot of fun things in the dark being in the intelligence field during deployment some discussable some not due to classification of information. 

I was awarded Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and numerous certificates of achievement.
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Life After Service

Life after service hasn't been easy as I've been taking care of my daughter Brooklynn by myself her whole life.  We moved here to East Tennessee in 2011,  three months after she was born where I ended up attending ETSU. By the sixth semester I was burnt out on schooling and reentered the work force with the Wal-Mart in Unicoi. I then left Wal-Mart with veterans disability and attempted to finish school. 

I opted to leave school again and pursue an opportunity with the Veterans Health Administration. I am currently still with the Veterans Affairs four years later and have moved up the ladder. I have always tried to do what was best for my daughter and work around her schedule. My hobbies include going hiking, camping, exploring, music, and farming. When I get to do theses things I find reprieve from the daily and past stressors that have come from my life.

Getting Started
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Kenneth joined the Army in March 23, 1972 and served 40 years defending this great country we are privileged to live in. At 17 years old Kenneth was somewhat of a problem child and joined the military on a dare! His parents agreed to sign for him to join the Army.

He chose the Army because he alway loved playing Army as a kid. He was scared to death when he arrived at Fort Knox for basic training. He was so worried about having to be deployed to Vietnam but did not have to go after basic training. A year later he married and then left to live in Germany for a year. Kenneth and his wife are still married today.
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Service
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Kenneth served in Desert Storm from 1990-1991 mostly in Saudi Arabia. He was on the front lines of combat when he was deployed for a year. He faced difficult combat and although he doesn't talk much about the war there are still some rolls of pictures tucked away waiting to be developed. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his meritorious achievement while deployed in Afghanistan.

Kenneth went on to serve in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2009 with a group named “The Longhunters”. This was a special war for Kenneth. He wasn’t required to go but chose to go. He was one of the 18 men selected across the state of Tennessee to train the Afghan Army. He was stationed at Bagram Air Force Base where he would do fly out missions to train the Afghan Army. He says that the Afghan people were some of the nicest people and that he loved the children he met.
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Life After Service

After retiring from the Army, Kenneth went to work for the city Public Works. He is now fully retired and enjoying his hobbies of gardening, fishing, and spending time with his grandchildren. Kenneth suffers from chronic back pain which limits him from enjoying a lot of activities, but will be undergoing back surgery in the near future.

From joining the Army on a dare and facing combat to now being a grandfather, Kenneth's family feels extremely proud of the humble, kind, and helpful man he is. His daughter, Stephanie saying "he has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. We are so blessed and grateful to have you in our lives."

Getting Started

Wayne joined the military because of seeing 9/11 happen live in 9th grade. After playing basketball in college for a year Wayne decided that he needed something "bigger" to do with my life. He would watch the TV series "Band of Brothers" and envy those guys who were jumping out of airplanes. That's when he decided he wanted to be an Airborne soldier in the Army.

Service
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Wayne was in during OIF and OEF but also did some time in Haiti and in Germany as well. His job was highly classified. Wayne e dealt with very special assignments that involved COMSEC, Tactical Satellites, Radios and "lots of really cool weapons".

One of Wayne's most memorable experiences was when he was with the 82nd Airborne and got to jump out of planes during training exercises. His unit also went to Haiti during the earthquake and got to setup all of the islands communications for the entire military and civilian forces there too.

Life After Service
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After getting medically discharged from the Army I decided that I wanted to better myself for my family and I attended college. While attending college I went to work for a defense contractor in Texas where I worked with the NSA. The military paid for almost 5 years of college for me and they really took care of me during that time so that I didnt have to worry about the cost of college or the supplies. Since getting out of the Army I have been in multiple Cybersecurity roles and now I am the Chief Technology Officer for the Google Cloud relationship at Palo Alto Networks. I am a member of the VFW and the American Legion. I love volunteering and mentoring younger people who are at a crossroads in their lives. I always recommend the military because it is something that just doesnt stop when you get out. The military takes care of you for the rest of your life and it really is a brotherhood/sisterhood. I enjoy spending time with my family, working and playing basketball.