My dad was in the navy for 2 years in the late 1950s between conflicts. In fact, I was born while he was at sea. He had that patriotic trait of his generation recommending I join the military. We didn’t have any money to send me to college so he wanted me to join the ROTC and try to get my schooling paid for that way. Consequently, I applied to the AF ROTC the summer before starting High School. I took a day long battery of tests, and scored well, though I was weakest in the pilot’s section.
Soon after I received a letter from the Air Force congratulating me on my score but requiring me to go to the Military hospital in San Francisco. That was very difficult for me to arrange as a young teenager, but for a 15-minute exam, I spent all day to get there and back.
I checked out but it was all for naught; there were 2 years that ROTC was not active on most High School campuses due to the end of the Vietnam War and the Kent State massacre, and as luck would have it, I was in that window. There was no AF ROTC to join for the years I was eligible; I didn’t even have to register for the Selective Service because the Draft was also abolished during that time.
My Senior year in college I went to the Marines recruitment center and took a day-long battery of tests to become a pilot. Once again I scored well on everything but the pilot’s section, but it was high enough for the recruiter to tell me if I’d have my braces taken off, he’d get me into the program as soon as I graduated. As tempting as it was, I’d been wearing those braces for 3 years and was determined to complete the process, plus I had 2 engineering job offers from high profile companies come during the same week.
Ultimately, I never went into the military, nor did my siblings, nor did my kids. Also, after over a decade of flying as a student pilot, I finally completed the license requirements, but those early military flight tests were accurate, I was a dreadful pilot, even though I was a good athlete. I flew a couple more times before deciding to save my life and stop. It was probably a good thing I didn’t become a fighter pilot.
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