After graduation I attended Tennessee Tech into 1956, then worked for a company in Chattanooga for a time until returning to Tennessee Tech in the fall of 1956. Finally deciding that I needed something different, I joined the US Navy with a fellow SDHS graduate, John Lovelady.

I served in the Navy from January 1957 until December 1960, traveling to Hawaii, Midway Island, Kwajalien Island, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines, Mexico, and Panama on a US Navy destroyer. This only made my itching feet even itchier!

Upon returning to civilian life I worked for a few months at a company in Chattanooga before beginning a career with the Central Intelligence Agency. My career with CIA included assignment to Taiwan (2 years) with short stints in Thailand and Viet Nam; assignment to England (5 years), The Republic of Guinea (almost 3 years); Bogota, Colombia (3 years); Iran (2 years); and positions at CIA headquarters in northern Virginia.

During my years with CIA I managed to scramble up the ladder from a civilian rank equal to that of a 2nd lieutenant in the Army or Air Force, to a rank equal to that of full colonel.

After retiring from CIA I worked as a contractor with two companies, retiring from one of them and moving to our retirement home in South Carolina. From there I made overseas trips to Germany, Sweden, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Peru, San Salvador, and Bolivia for the second company. My feet finally stopped itching in 2005. Nowadays, when not on the golf course, I can be found in a boat on the lake.

Through all my experiences I have never forgotten that the fundamentals gained while growing up in Soddy and attending Soddy Daisy High School made it all possible. And, I appreciate life in the United States more than ever!