Upon retiring from the Navy in 1984, I went to work at Los Alamos National Laboratory and retired from there in 1997. I had a variety of assignments there from OPSEC to Safety Officer and then retired as a Nuclear Facility Buiilding Manager for the Weapons Division. While selling my home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I worked for the Orvis Fly Fishing Company as a fly fishing instructor and guide for a year. I returned to Michigan where I am now fully retired. My son Donn joined the Navy for 8 years as an EW and my other son Phillip, joined the Navy for four years in the aviation field. Donn is working as a computer engineer in Atlanta, Georgia and Phillip is a robotics engineer working in Wixom, Michigan. My daughter Farah is happily married and living in Missouri. My daughter Karin passed away due to a life long battle with diabetes.
Other Comments:
I returned to Michigan where I am now fully retired. My wife Bernice and I enjoy a quiet country lifestyle and we enjoy serving the Lord as Care Pastor for the Potter's House Family Worship Center in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
Cold War Event - Cuban Blockade
From Month/Year
October / 1962
To Month/Year
November / 1962
Description The blockade began October 21 and, the next day, Kennedy delivered a public address alerting Americans to the situation. In his speech, he warned a frightened American public that the missiles on Cuba were capable of hitting Washington, D.C. or anywhere in the southeastern portion of the country, the Panama Canal, Mexico City or “as far north as Hudson Bay, Canada, and as far south as Lima, Peru.” A military confrontation appeared imminent when Kennedy told his audience that he ordered the evacuation of the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and put military units on standby. Boldly, he stated, “one path we shall never choose is the path of surrender or submission.”
Khrushchev responded by sending additional ships—possibly carrying military cargo—toward Cuba and by allowing construction at the missile sites to continue. Over the following six days, the Cuban Missile Crisis, as it is now known, brought the world to the brink of global nuclear war while the two leaders engaged in tense negotiations via telegram and letter.
Fortunately by October 28, Kennedy and Khrushchev had reached a settlement and people on both sides of the conflict breathed a collective but wary sigh of relief. The Cuban missile sites were dismantled and, in return, Kennedy agreed to close U.S. missile sites in Turkey.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
October / 1962
To Month/Year
November / 1962
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories One of the most tense periods of my career.