As usual, I smile and accept the thanks bestowed upon me and
other veterans this day. I did my bit with the Army in the early
60's and hated it. But it turned out to be a good thing for me.
By 1960 I had dropped out of school and was starting to learn
many of the things I didn't want to do in life. Like working in a
meat packing plant. Since back then they drafted people, rather than
wait I volunteered. Then I learned of a lot more things I didn't
want to do - such as military life.
When I got out I was ready to go back to school and the GI bill
helped. It went up from I think $90 a month to $130 when I married
another struggling student. That paid the rent for us. There were
more twists and turns but I finally got a BA in 1970. Guess who was
the only outfit to offer me a decent job? Uncle Sam. That extra five
points for being a veteran got me into the Federal Civil
Service. And once on board the veteran's preference meant that in
case of a reduction in force all the non vets would be out the door
before me. That gave me the incentive to lean forward and start
hopping from one agency to another in search of promotions.
And the work (personnel administration) was half way
interesting, especially as I moved up in grade. It came to pass that
when I visited military activities the former lowly E-4 was now
accorded Colonel.status according to their GS conversion
chart. What a life. Except both wife and I found ourselves working
more hours than we wanted. We used some of our new money to buy and
sell a couple houses in the Washington DC area. That allowed us to
bail out of the rat race and live what had become our dream - a hobby
farm in the woods. There were a few more lucky twists and our hobby
farm became a big chunk of timber which has rewarded us in many ways.
All thanks to that honorable discharge from those miserable
years in the military.
Dave Gilmore, Cameron WV
The best teachers teach more than they know.
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