I was in the lottery, but I volunteered for the Marine Corps and went through Naval Flight Training from Oct ’63 until May ’65. I then went to Vietnam twice as a Marine fighter pilot and a forward air controller. I don’t regret volunteering. I do regret the lousy reception that I and other vets received when we returned to UF – I returned in the fall of ’68 – to complete our undergrad degrees. To have to hide the fact that I had served honorably in the service of my country from the protesters on the UF campus in the late ’60’s is a sore point that will stick with me forever.
