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! Unfortunately, my health has worsened, and I am now wheelchair-bound and living in the Post Falls State Veterans Home. I recently had the privilege of going to Ft. Benning, GA, with my son and his wife [LTC Jared Wilson, USA (Ret.) and COL Casey Wilson] where, on 28 March 2025, I was one of 24 officers inducted into the Army OCS Hall of Fame.
Best Friends SP4 Joe Gogerty SP4 Jim Swinnerton SP4 Nels Johnson SP4 Earl Carl SP4 Brian Balint SGT Mary Campbell SP5 Pat Bigold SP5 Rick Baker SP5 Nat Roberts SSG Terry Lucarelli SSG John Savard MSG Keith Rutter MSG Marvin Sibulkin
Best Moment Placing second in the Army Authorized Newspaper category for three consecutive years in the annual Keith L. Ware Award competition conducted by Department of the Army and piling up a collection of DA Journalist Awards to rival that of any other newspaper staff in the Army.
Worst Moment After Army CofS Gen. Bernard Rogers completely revised the regulations governing height/weight standards in 1975, being told by the CG that I had 12 months to get from 285 pounds to 200 pounds or be barred from reenlistment.
Chain of Command 1973-74:
MG - CG COL John Q. T. Quinn - CofS CPT Ken Ho - PIO MSG Marvin Sibulkin - NCOIC
1974-76): MG Harry W. Brooks, Jr. - CG COL Lucian Bolduc - CofS MAJ Billy J. Cone - PIO MSG Dorothy Aldrich - NCOIC
Other Memories *Putting my "two-star thinking cap" on and writing the CG's column after getting guidance on what MG Brooks wanted to say in the next issue. . . .
Attending the Advanced Leadership Course in the spring of 1976 and graduating with trophies for being the Distinguished Honor Graduate and the Leadership Award. I did this after losing 95 pounds in nine months, going from 285 to 190. . . .