I attended Bellingrath Elementary and Junior High and 2 1/2 years at Lanier.
My Family moved to Abilene Texas in Dec 1964 where I graduated from high School.
In 1967 I entered the army and after attending OCS was commissioned a 2d Lieutenant in the Infantry.
In 1968 I was sent to Vietnam where I served 4 consecutive years in combat. I was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division as a combat platoon leader, recon platoon leader, & company commander. I also was assigned to the Vietnamese Airborne Division as a combat advisor and also I served with the US Special Operations Group(SOG), that was responsible for top secret(at that time) missions into Laos and Cambodia.
After Vietnam I served at Ft Bragg NC. In all I was on active duty almost seven years with the rank of Captain.
While in the army, and since, I have had the opportunity to visit well over a dozen countries all over the world. Even went to Afghanistan in 1973 for 90 days as a army trainer for their army. Of course that was well before the present war.
After leaving the army in late 1973 I returned to Alabama and entered Cumberland School of Law at Samford Univ. After graduating in 1977 I returned to NC where I had a law practice for 19 years.
In 1996 I was appointed as a district court judge by the governor of NC. In 2006 I retired after 10 years.
Still very active, doing volunteer work with our church for the food pantry. Also ride bicycles about 150-200 miles a week. Have ridden all the way across NC from the mountains to the coast.
Like to surf fish on the NC Outer Banks but not so much anymore. After losing 2 places in 3 years to hurricanes we called it quits.
When asked about retirement I tell people it is like being on an endless summer vacation when you were a kid!