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 MAJ Tom Veleker CPT Howdy Belknap LTC Jim Rainey
Best Moment *Getting a Dept. of History Excellence in Teaching Award for 1990-91.
*Being course director of HI351, the honors version of the first semester of the two-semester military history course required of all cadets. This portion of the course covers the period from Greco-Roman times to 1900, with emphasis on Napoleonic and U.S. Civil War campaigns.
Worst Moment Realizing that my age and looming health issues were forcing me to retire with just a year in grade as a major and a slot at CGSC waiting for me.
Chain of Command LTG Dave R. Palmer - Superintendent BG Roy K. Flint - Academic Dean COL Robert A. Doughty - History Department Head COL Kenneth E. Hamburger - Military History Division Chief
Other Memories *Speaking at cadet dinings-in and being invited to eat lunch in the cadet mess--especially during the weeks leading up to the Army-Air Force and Army-Navy games. . . .
*Revolutionary War staff rides to Stony Point, Saratoga, the Continental Army's final cantonment in New Windsor, and Washington's headquarters in Newburgh overlooking the Hudson.
*Leading a cadet staff ride to Gettysburg.
*Having the Superintendent show up in my classroom during the lesson on the WWI 1918 German offensives and staying for the entire hour.
*Having breakfast at the Thayer Hotel with Gen. William Westmoreland and Capt. Howdy Belknap.
*Serving as escort for USN&WR Senior Writer Joe Galloway while he was at the academy to interview Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, who was there to speak to the Corps of Cadets.
Becoming good friends with visiting professors Malcolm "Kip" Muir of Austin Peay University and Herman Hattaway of the University of Missouri.
*Being elected president of the officers bowling league.
*Those awesome views from the faculty section of the stands in Michie Stadium during home football games.
*Having my retirement ceremony in the Pershing Room of Cullum Hall, the old Assn. of Graduates Bldg. overlooking the Hudson.
*Leaving the academy on July 25 for 83 days of terminal leave, then reporting in for my retirement outprocessing at the Presidio of San Francisco, Sept. 26-30, 1991.
