Aside from a three-and-one-half year stint as Tactical Officer of C Co. and Field Music at Valley Forge Military Academy & College in Wayne, PA, I worked in the publishing industry after retiring from the Army in September 1991. I started out as Executive Editor of Presidio Press, a San Francisco Bay Area book publisher specializing in military history and military affairs. After leaving VFMA&C in the summer of 1998, I became my own boss--using contacts I'd made with Presidio to line up freelance copy-editing projects for several commercial and scholarly book publishers. I finally had to give up work entirely in 2004, however, when my body began letting me down. Fortunately, all of my disabling conditions are either directly or indirectly service-connected--making me eligible for a wide range of VA benefits--without which I'd be up the proverbial estuary without a manipulator!
Other Comments:
For 20 years I lived on Hawaii's Big Island with my wife, Carol, in a subdivision about a mile outside of Mountain View--almost exactly halfway between Hilo and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. However, I moved to Idaho in late July 2019 to settle in the Sagle area not far from the Pend Oreille River. Between the Blue State politics, earthquakes and eruptions, I decided it was time to bid Hawaii Aloha and head for cooler climes! It was a wise decision. I absolutely love it here in the northern Idaho panhandle!
Best Friends SGT Dave Green
TSGT Roy Adams
JOC Mary Rothgeb
CPT Dale Baird
Tommy Tompkins
Best Moment Authoring the "Handbook for Stringers in the Armed Forces." It was my Newspaper Editor's Course project--which I took on a TDY basis while assigned to the Applied Journalism Department--and was subsequently published as a DOD pamphlet.
Worst Moment The death of my son, James Alma, at the age of 5 months and 23 days on April 1, 1977.
Chain of Command COMDR. William Gengler
MAJ Ron Peck
Tommy Tompkins
SGM Marvin Sibulkin
Other Memories *The birth of my son Jared in October of '77.
*Getting really hooked on long-distance running. Regular participation in 10K, 10-mile, and half-marathon races while averaging 60-80 miles a week.
*The all-around fun of being part of the DINFOS faculty.