I entered Army service in March 1944 after having turned 18 years old the previous December. After Medical Basic Training at Camp Barkeley in Abilene, Texas, I attended school at O'Reilly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri and graduated as surgical technician. I was assigned to the hospital ship unit for training at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and then to our ship, the 'Frances Y. Slanger' in New York City. We made many trans-Atlantic voyages to England and France to return home wounded U.S. servicemen, and when the war ended, to return German prisoners of war to Europe from the U.S. where they had been held. Our ship had been destined for the invasion of Japan, but when that war ended suddenly following the atomic bomb droppings, the ship was no longer needed and was decommissioned in December 1945. I was assigned back to the Camp Kilmer, N.J. Hospital and was the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Genitourinary Clinic until I was discharged in May 1946. I settled in California and went to college on the G.I. Bill, ending up with a Doctor of Optometry degree from Los Angeles College of Optometry in 1951. I married the former Jeraldine Foresman and we moved to Fresno, California where I practiced optometry until my retirement in 1992. We were blessed with three children: Kim, Kay and Kent. My wife of 59 years died in 2008 and I still reside in Fresno.