Where I've Lived

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 (1952-1953), and served in Vietnam three times – two different one-year deployments to Vietnam, and one deployment to Okinawa toward the end of 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 (Marine Barracks Retraining Command)

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) [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 [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 [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

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