Ted
Kirkpatrick
After high school I went off to the U and went into Army ROTC (big surprise, right?). I graduated in 1977 and received my commission and started a 22-year in the Army as an artillery and intelligence officer. Some highlights of those years were 6 years in artillery units (3 of which were in Germany) defending Western Civilization from the Evil Empire, a graduate degree in Soviet Studies from Indiana University, 6 trips to the Soviet Union for arms control inspections (I was there when the Soviet Union ceased to exist and was in Moscow when Yeltsin decided to blow up the parliament building), 5 trips in to Bosnia and a final tour in the Pentagon keeping an eye on Yugoslavia and Russia during the great Kosovo War of 1999. Somehow I managed to avoid ever personally shooting at anyone in anger or getting shot at for that matter. I was also extremely lucky enough to get into all of Eastern Europe before the Wall came down and into the Soviet Union during the period of glasnost and perestroika. Let there be no doubt, communism was a crime against humanity and the Russians will still be digging out from under the legacy it left a generation from now. Anyway, Carolyn and I were married in 1983 and our only son, Ryan, was born in 1987 while I was in graduate school in Bloomington, Indiana. I retired from the Army in 1999 and like John Holmquist and Randy Schnoes, work for American Express Financial Advisors. Not quite as exciting as the Army but it pays the bills. Memories from Marshall-U—so many, but how’s this for a start: all the teachers in the Math Dept (Jones, Belair, Twedell and Walther); endless laps around the U track and endless miles down River Road with Felix Sahlin and Bob Hoisington (to include breathing in the pepper gas from the demonstrations at the U); Mr. Mickelson and his “you’re going to learn whether you want to or not” approach to teaching Chemistry; beginning my Russian language studies with Mr. Ryberg; basketball games at Peik Hall; the graduation and the all-night party. In short, lots of memories about a lot of good friends—I feel fortunate to have gone to Marshall-U and to have been part of such a great group of people. I am looking forward to seeing all of you!! |
