Page 148 - Anthology

It only took twelve days to get from Japan to San Francisco. I was glad to be home. They kept us at
Camp Stoneman for about a month then discharged us. I caught a train to Corbin, Kentucky, and then a
bus back home to Big Creek. When I got back home, I felt good and I went to work driving trucks from
the coal mines to the railroad.

My military service changed me. I didn’t see things different, but I was more mature. I had seen things
and that was not the same as hearing about it on the radio. I married and had five children; two boys and
three girls. We moved to Lexington in 1962.

If I had the chance to speak to the youth of today, I’d tell them to get a good education. The one bad
mistake I made was to not use my GI Bill benefits to go back to school.

The army taught me how to take orders and how to take care of myself. I’ll tell you this,
I think there are more mistakes being made in Washington right now than in the history of this country.