Last Sunday morning I wandered into the Moose Lodge for the Green County Historical Society breakfast. As I looked around, I spotted Mike Furgal and his wife and grabbed a seat at their table.
Mike is a retired career Marine, and as Nov. 10 is the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, I asked Mike what he had planned for those dates. He replied that he has been asked to speak to students, K through 12 at the Blackhawk School District, regarding veterans.
Mike said he was in a bit of a quandary as that was quite an age range to address in one speech about Veterans Day, or any topic for that matter. I told him that I was contemplating a column about military service but had not yet decided how to focus it. As Marines invariably do, we started drinking coffee and telling lies - well, not really - just swapping stories about our experiences - mostly true, readers must understand.
Somehow, the topic of education came up, I don't remember just how. About that time, Dave Babler joined us and observed how the GI Bill had benefited him. Hmmm - military service, education, Mike's forthcoming speech to students, my forthcoming column - Bingo - problem solved, for me, and maybe for Mike. After all, education is relevant to all, K through 12. And while military service is no longer mandatory as it once was, it remains a future possibility for students. And as a decreasing proportion of Americans experience military service of any kind, there is always the opportunity to enlighten the uninitiated.
People seldom mention military service and education in the same breath. Marines, especially, are not considered to be a bookish lot. But both Mike and I will vouch for the fact that the Corps values education.
Mike originally hails from the Windy City. He tells how he was attending junior college in Chicago and flunked a course in philosophy. The result was elevation of his draft status to 1-A - prime draft bait. Mike didn't want to join the Army, so he enlisted in the Marines.
I had never planned on going to college but figured that if I hung around Monroe I would eventually be drafted. So, might as well get it over with. I didn't want to join the army, so opted for three years in the Marines instead of two years in the Army. Dumb? Some would surely say so. Maybe naiveté or a temporary touch of insanity. But being a teen-ager and unattached surely helps.
Hollywood depicts Marines as a bunch of big, tough, John Wayne types who end up with gorgeous women. The latter part is true, as we invariably do. But the first part is not - most of us were of average size, many of us below average size, and, speaking for myself anyway, not necessarily all that tough - just guys having something to prove, and willing to go the extra mile to do it.
My point is that the Marine Corps is not the anti-intellectual organization as sometimes depicted by the uninformed. Quite the contrary, the Corps encourages its Marines to continue their educations and, when circumstances allow, makes it possible to do so.
Mike found a "home" in the Corps and made it a career, attaining the rank of Warrant Officer. The kid who once flunked that philosophy course attained a Masters degree while in the Corps.
After my initial year in the Corps, Boot Camp, infantry training - all Marines are initially trained as riflemen - and Radio Operators School, I was assigned to Headquarters Squadron of the 2nd Marine Air Wing at Cherry Point, North Carolina. I found some extra time on my hands. Since I planned to go to college when I got out of there, I figured I might as well take up the opportunity offered by the Corps for a head start.
North Carolina State University at Raleigh would send professors over to Cherry Point for evening classes. It was convenient for Marines of all ranks, and dependents, to register and attend class in the evening.
So while my degrees are from University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Arizona-Tucson, and University of Californai-Berkeley, six of my undergraduate credits are from NC State at Raleigh. They didn't count in my UW grade point average, but they transferred as nearly a half semester of credits, courtesy of the Corps.
The old saw that "if you can't do anything else, join the military" is long outdated. Military specialties require mental as well as physical discipline. In today's world, some form of training/education beyond high school is required for any kind of success. It need not be a four-year baccalaureate. Math, science, technical training, and music for that matter, will yield advantages for those entering military service. I have no doubt that my early experience with the accordion is why I did well in those military competency exams that got me assigned to Radio Operators School. Any - even amateur - musician has an advantage in mastering the rhythmic sounds of the International Morse Code.
The GI Bill following WWII was legislation that contributed to the rising middle class and post war prosperity. Kids raised during the Great Depression who never dreamed of college had that opportunity after the war. The politicians jerked it out from under those of us who served between the Korean and Vietnam wars - probably figured because we weren't in combat we didn't deserve it. They reinstated it during the Vietnam War and made it retroactive but, unfortunately, it was on the backs of the Vietnam vets.
With the all-volunteer armed forces, educational benefits are attractive to those who would otherwise find high college costs hard or impossible to manage. That said, prospective enlistees are well-advised to prepare well prior to going into military service as well.
Military service and education - they are not mutually exclusive.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
Mike is a retired career Marine, and as Nov. 10 is the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, I asked Mike what he had planned for those dates. He replied that he has been asked to speak to students, K through 12 at the Blackhawk School District, regarding veterans.
Mike said he was in a bit of a quandary as that was quite an age range to address in one speech about Veterans Day, or any topic for that matter. I told him that I was contemplating a column about military service but had not yet decided how to focus it. As Marines invariably do, we started drinking coffee and telling lies - well, not really - just swapping stories about our experiences - mostly true, readers must understand.
Somehow, the topic of education came up, I don't remember just how. About that time, Dave Babler joined us and observed how the GI Bill had benefited him. Hmmm - military service, education, Mike's forthcoming speech to students, my forthcoming column - Bingo - problem solved, for me, and maybe for Mike. After all, education is relevant to all, K through 12. And while military service is no longer mandatory as it once was, it remains a future possibility for students. And as a decreasing proportion of Americans experience military service of any kind, there is always the opportunity to enlighten the uninitiated.
People seldom mention military service and education in the same breath. Marines, especially, are not considered to be a bookish lot. But both Mike and I will vouch for the fact that the Corps values education.
Mike originally hails from the Windy City. He tells how he was attending junior college in Chicago and flunked a course in philosophy. The result was elevation of his draft status to 1-A - prime draft bait. Mike didn't want to join the Army, so he enlisted in the Marines.
I had never planned on going to college but figured that if I hung around Monroe I would eventually be drafted. So, might as well get it over with. I didn't want to join the army, so opted for three years in the Marines instead of two years in the Army. Dumb? Some would surely say so. Maybe naiveté or a temporary touch of insanity. But being a teen-ager and unattached surely helps.
Hollywood depicts Marines as a bunch of big, tough, John Wayne types who end up with gorgeous women. The latter part is true, as we invariably do. But the first part is not - most of us were of average size, many of us below average size, and, speaking for myself anyway, not necessarily all that tough - just guys having something to prove, and willing to go the extra mile to do it.
My point is that the Marine Corps is not the anti-intellectual organization as sometimes depicted by the uninformed. Quite the contrary, the Corps encourages its Marines to continue their educations and, when circumstances allow, makes it possible to do so.
Mike found a "home" in the Corps and made it a career, attaining the rank of Warrant Officer. The kid who once flunked that philosophy course attained a Masters degree while in the Corps.
After my initial year in the Corps, Boot Camp, infantry training - all Marines are initially trained as riflemen - and Radio Operators School, I was assigned to Headquarters Squadron of the 2nd Marine Air Wing at Cherry Point, North Carolina. I found some extra time on my hands. Since I planned to go to college when I got out of there, I figured I might as well take up the opportunity offered by the Corps for a head start.
North Carolina State University at Raleigh would send professors over to Cherry Point for evening classes. It was convenient for Marines of all ranks, and dependents, to register and attend class in the evening.
So while my degrees are from University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Arizona-Tucson, and University of Californai-Berkeley, six of my undergraduate credits are from NC State at Raleigh. They didn't count in my UW grade point average, but they transferred as nearly a half semester of credits, courtesy of the Corps.
The old saw that "if you can't do anything else, join the military" is long outdated. Military specialties require mental as well as physical discipline. In today's world, some form of training/education beyond high school is required for any kind of success. It need not be a four-year baccalaureate. Math, science, technical training, and music for that matter, will yield advantages for those entering military service. I have no doubt that my early experience with the accordion is why I did well in those military competency exams that got me assigned to Radio Operators School. Any - even amateur - musician has an advantage in mastering the rhythmic sounds of the International Morse Code.
The GI Bill following WWII was legislation that contributed to the rising middle class and post war prosperity. Kids raised during the Great Depression who never dreamed of college had that opportunity after the war. The politicians jerked it out from under those of us who served between the Korean and Vietnam wars - probably figured because we weren't in combat we didn't deserve it. They reinstated it during the Vietnam War and made it retroactive but, unfortunately, it was on the backs of the Vietnam vets.
With the all-volunteer armed forces, educational benefits are attractive to those who would otherwise find high college costs hard or impossible to manage. That said, prospective enlistees are well-advised to prepare well prior to going into military service as well.
Military service and education - they are not mutually exclusive.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
