In High School, the Navy came on campus to give a test to 17-year-olds and above for the V-5 program. The Navy was looking for exceptional young people to enlist for 4 years and train to become a navy pilot with full college support afterward to become a professional of one’s choosing. Only two of us passed the test to enter this elite program. The test was followed by a physical exam. I was confident I was going to make the program.
The physical went well until I came to a table with cards full of colored dots. I was told to say the numbers I saw on the cards. What numbers? I saw none on any card. At that moment, I discovered I was severely red-green colorblind. NO NAVY FOR ME! It was like they told me I had cancer.
I quit school in my senior year and joined the Army. With 3 brothers serving, I had to join.
After the horrendous typhoon in the middle of the Pacific, I landed on Okinawa. The story of the 3 Japanese, their surrender, and our year-long relationship has been told. THEY CHANGED MY LIFE. They showed me: Commitment, integrity, courage, and honesty.
Music caused me to meet our company’s captain. He discovered that I quit school to enlist, which led to his insisting I take the High School Certificate Exam. He arranged and administered it. I tested at the 96th percentile (about as high as one could go), and he (a Ph.D. professor of Agriculture) offered me a four-year radar training program in the Philippines with an officer’s rating. Instead, I decided to go home to attend college.
