I was born in Ann Arbor MI where my dad was finishing his college degree after WWII. I was raised in Tulsa OK. After West Point, I served as an Infantry Officer w/ the 3rd Inf Division in Aschaffenburg, Germany. After flight school I flew Cobras w/ F/4 Cav in Vietnam. From Vietnam I attended Infantry Advanced course and then I served with the 120th Aviation Co in Ft Richardson Alaska.
I resigned from the Army in 1975 and went to work for Butler Manufacturing Company in a number of engineering, sales and marketing positions. After 9+ years w/ BMC (the last 6 yrs in California). I joined Zond Wind Energy (now owned by GE Windpower) and helped build out the wind farms in Southern CA in the mid- ‘80’s. With the ending of the tax credits for new wind power projects in 1985, I became a Burger King operating owner in Las Vegas NV. Finding out that I didn’t really enjoy the restaurant business, I transitioned to be a silent partner in three Burger Kings and started looking to start a new adventure!
I found that in the Fixed Income (Bond) Institutional Sales field. After two years in the business, I started my own Institutional Fixed Income brokerage firm in Irvine, CA. After 20 successful years as an owner, I sold my ownership and retired in 2011.
I started riding motorcycles when I was 12. I had 2 buddies that had Mustang scooters that taught me how to ride. While stationed in Germany, I bought a 1970 250cc BSA Starfire from the Canadian PX at Baden-Baden, Germany and rode it all over Bavaria. I sold that and ordered a 500ccBSA from the Baden-Baden PX. My wife and I were planning on riding around Europe on it. When we found out she was pregnant, we thought it best to not be riding around on a motorcycle! I bought a small Honda CT 70 in 1971 which I still own. In flight school I bought a Honda 350 that Doug Madigan and I rode to classes and the flightline for the duration.
Over the years I had many motorcycles; dirt bikes, mini’s, Triumphs, Harleys, BMW’s and even a 750cc Kawasaki. During a visit to Cary & Ann Gaylord in the late ‘90’s Cary had gotten a big Harley Davidson Road King. He let me take it for a ride and I was hooked on big road bikes! I bought a BMW 1200cc road bike and eventually went to a Harley Road King. A friend from Class of ’66 had a Harley and we started riding together. We rode up and down California many times and ultimately rode in the 2009 Run For the Wall (Vietnam Vets) from CA to Washington DC; 3000 miles in 10 days. We continued our adventures, having ridden together in all 48 contiguous states and in excess of 50,000 milesI have moved to a trike in the last 3 years (although I still have a 2-wheel BMW) and am riding a Thoroughbred Stallion. 65 years of riding without an accident, I thought it best to move to the safety of a trike! I still own 3 Honda minibikes and 2 Taiwanese clones of the original Mustangs that I rode when I was 12. I know…..it’s a sickness!
I know we had a few brothers who were classmates of ours (the Ivy’s and Steele’s come to mind). It turns out I had a relative that was a classmate! Just a few months before entering West Point, I got a call from my grandfather. He told me that he had just seen one of his cousins at a family gathering in Chicago. She said that her grandson, Scott Wallace, would be entering West Point on Jul 1, 1965. I didn’t even know that I had distant cousins! My Dad and Scott’s Mom are second cousins. Scott had been raised in KY so our paths never crossed when I visited family in Chicago in our early years. We met the first time while in Beast Barracks. We are 3rd cousins with the same Great Grandparents.
Another coincidence from our families is that Scott’s brother is an Air Force Academy grad from 1973. My brother was in the USAFA class of ’74. Scott’s daughter lives in CA where Scott maintains a residence. We have a home nearby in CA. Scott and I can get together frequently and enjoy sharing our family connections.