Thursday, March 13, 1947, was a good day in Corpus Christi, Texas, a few degrees below the 73-degree average with humidity dropping from 93% to 37% overnight and still no recorded rain for the year. As the afternoon clouds cleared, all 7 pounds of me joined the post-World War II baby boom generation. I became possibly the only Danford born that year.
My 15-month old sister did not welcome me and burst into tears every time she saw me. After six months, mom put me in front of my noisy sister and said, “This is your baby.” Sis was shocked, saying, “My buh buh?” I was permanently called Bubba, not because I was a redneck, but because sis didn’t have complete command of the English language.
Our father had many varied jobs, first a mess sergeant in the Army (nicknamed Cheesie for putting cheese in everything), ultimately becoming an electrician. In 1950 the atomic energy program was expanded, and two years later that, plus our father’s electrical job, moved us to Aiken, S. C. for construction of the Savannah River Plant, locally known as the Bomb Plant. We settled in a new subdivision with other Bomb Plant families. Our first telephone was a seven-family party line, two years later we got a private line. In 1954 we joined the half of Americans who owned a TV with a 12.5 inch black and white screen. As the youngest, I was the designated ‘automatic’ channel changer. Family favorites were: Death Valley Days, Dragnet, I Love Lucy, Burns & Allen, Jack Benny, Alfred Hitchcock, Honeymooners, Little Rascals, The Millionaire, Gunsmoke, Red Skelton, and, of course, The West Point Story.
While in the second grade, our parents split up, dad going to New York City and mom, and us, staying in Aiken. Entering third grade I sought attention by blurting out the answer to any question the teacher asked on any subject. Needing control of the classroom, she sent me to the coat closet virtually every day. The World Book Encyclopedia occupied a shelf in the closet and the open top provided plenty of light for reading, and perusing the World Book instilled a strong life-long desire to see the world. An unusual malady caused my eyesight to deteriorate, but I compensated by looking through a small hole made between my thumb and first two fingers with the resulting diffraction allowing enough clarity to read the blackboard. However, this strange habit didn’t go unnoticed, and, at the eye examination, I remember the doctor saying, “Son, do you realize trees have leaves?” Glasses added a wonderful clarity to the world; I could actually see what I was aiming at with my BB gun.
My ninth-grade home room teacher was keen on encouraging students to go to college and on mornings would take one of us into the hallway and ask about which colleges you were thinking about. I just said that I’d go into the military. Her response, “West Point’s nice.” About a month later, mom came home asking why everyone at the bank was writing letters for me to go to West Point. Later, I discovered one of the teacher’s neighbors was Senator Strom Thurmond. I took the civil service exams, did the PT tests, and later found that Thurmond turned my appointment over to our Representative. As a result of all this jockeying around, I did not receive my appointment letter until May 9 with a June reporting date. At West Point. Duty, Honor, Country was an extension of my childhood as that was the creed of my mother and grandmother. They used different terminology, but the concepts were the same.
Due to my eyesight, I could not go combat arms, but, due to Vietnam, the eyesight requirement for combat arms was changed to anything correctable to 20-20 about two weeks before branch selection. On that day, I was still debating between Armor and Artillery; just before my number 452 was called, I flipped a quarter, Armor came up heads so that was my choice. I’m sure classmates thought I was just screwing around, but that’s how I chose Armor.
Upon graduation, Airborne, Ranger, 25th Division in Vietnam as a flame platoon leader, recon platoon leader, mechanized company commander, then off to 23rd Division in Khe Sahn as armored cavalry troop commander. Returned to US and commandant of Ft. Bragg’s Recondo School, then to 5th Special Forces with a HALO A Team. Left active duty in 1974 remaining in reserves for another six years, retiring as a Major.
Trying to decide what to do as a civilian, I decided upon Merrill Lynch. However, I would have to interview, which meant coat and tie and I didn’t own a coat and tie. A cousin in Houston did, so I drove to Houston from Ft. Bragg, wore his coat and tie to the interview and was hired landing me back in Texas. Met my wife at the first investment seminar I gave out of training school and, six months later, we were married resulting in three children and two grandchildren. Was a member of Merrill Lynch’s elite recognition clubs for the next 37 years and a founding lecturer at The Retirement Advisor University at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business training advisors on 401(k) plans. Continued sky diving as a civilian, getting in 251 jumps, until two bad landings five jumps apart cracked my spine and broke my previously broken shoulder. Left Merrill in 2012. Since then, I devoted time to fishing around the world, riding my Harley, and visiting grandkids. Bought 105 acres near Columbus, Texas in 2000 and youngest son started putting in a vineyard in 2013. Opened the winery/vineyard early in 2018, but the venture into the wine business ended in 2021. I now split time between Aiken, South Carolina, with sister and Georgetown, Texas, with relatives and West Point classmates in between.
- Special Memory R-Day
Had never been further north than Memphis, so went several days early to see the big NY City. In the hotel room next to mine were 3 midshipmen from deep South that had finished their first year, and my 8,000 population town was the biggest hometown of the bunch. One afternoon we 4 hay seeds decided to… Read more: Special Memory R-Day