I was a senior in high school in the winter of 1974. I knew I wasn’t going to college and I did not want to stay in my hometown, as job opportunities were minimal and I didn’t want to be a factory worker. I went to the Navy recruiter and he told me about the various opportunities in the advanced electronics program. I saw it as a chance to get some kind of electronic training and to travel some. Long story short, I ended up as a sonar technician aboard two different fleet ballistic missile (FBM) submarines. I was in San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Guam, Charleston, S.C., Rota, Spain, Nova Scotia, Jamaica and Kings Bay, Ga. My six years in service were some of the best years of my life. I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve in the Navy and for the Navy teaching me many good life lessons.

Don Vriesman, American Legion Post 225