1944 into the U. S. Navy – discharged-underage 1946 joined the USMC @ Kansas City. MO

Unit Operations

Operations Killer & Ripper, CCF Spring Offensive 1951, Punchbowl

Awards/Badges

Two Purple Hearts, Combat Action Ribbon, PUC, Good Conduct Medal, WW2 Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Korean Service Medal/2 Stars, Occupation of Japan,, Korean PUC, KWSM and earned Expert Rifleman and Expert Pistol Badges

Most Memorable Moment

1st duty post:  Weapons Instructor @ Naval Training Center, San Diego.  Served with Ira Hayes & 2 Marines who had been captured on Bataan & another that was captured on Wake Island.  The rest of the 55 man detachment were mostly from combat regiments of WW2. Very exciting for an 18 year old Marine to hear Sea Stories  first-hand from “old salts”.  2^nd Duty Post: U.S. Naval Missile Test Center, Pt. Mugu, CA.  This was a top-secret base and Marines served as the security force.  This was the beginning of the Guided Missile program.  We had the security of the launching sites, the gates and the interior of the base. My Last post was at The Naval Training Center at Great Lakes, IL. Having received nine sets of orders in Sept. of 1950 and given ten days to report to Camp Pendleton, I had to check out of KSU in my sophomore year.  I was attending school on the WW2 GI Bill but wasn’t allowed to finish the semester.  I went to Tent Camp 2, Weapons Co., Machine Gun section.  We had our parade at Division Headquarters after completing our training and were shoving off the next morning.  I heard my name called by a familiar voice; I turned around & saw Ira Hayes.  He had been recalled also. That was the last time I saw him.  After a rough crossing with a typhoon to put us on edge, I joined E27.  April 23, 1951 was a time when E27 was holding a rear-guard action at the Hwachon reservoir during the CCF spring offensive. May 28, 1951 was very memorable.  We saw what ”close air support”` means with our Marine Corsair pilots supporting our ground action.

In my business and University career I have never been with a finer group of men than I served with our E27 Marines.

Career After USMC

Graduated from Kansas State University in 1954. Worked for Swift & Co. chemical Div. in sales & marketing.  I later changed companies and lived in Panama covering all Latin America & the Caribbean.  I set up chemical companies in Peru, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico & Ecuador.  Later worked for W. R. Grace & Co. as their general manager of their chemical operations in Ecuador, part of which was a Glidden paint plant.  The last 20 years before retiring, I had my own company.  I worked Latin America, Caribbean, the far east and the pacific rim.

Current Affiliations

1^st Mar Div Assn (Pres of FL chapter), DAV, Blind Veterans of America, MCL, and KWVA

Family Information

Married Matilde Francisca Escobar in Guatemala. C. A. in 1965.  We have 3 children; Richard, Timothy & Kathleen Mary.  We have 2 Grandchildren. One son just married a girl from Peru and our other son is still single. We, as you can see, have more expectations for Grandchildren.

Hobbies

Gardening, Orchids, genealogy & scuba diving

Degrees/Schools

St. Leo’s High School, Chicago, IL, B. S. Degree Agriculture/Chemistry from KSU, Manhattan, KS

Current Address

1090 McCarty St

Dunedin, FL 34698

727 787 5753

Email:  rollcage@aol.com