Daniel Garcia:  

My name is Daniel Garcia I graduated from Moody High in 1982. I used to be a tight-end on the Football team #87. I really was mainly involved in sports. I hung around with Herbert Bigby and Danny Cruz. After football, I really was involved in many activities in school. Well after I graduated from Moody High, I worked at Dominos Pizza, until my good friend Fred ask me to take him to this place off of Ayers, some plaza. Well by the time I knew it I was signing up for the US Navy. I married my first wife Cynthia Ruiz. Before I left Corpus. I left Corpus Christi, TX on 11/27/1984 got on a plane arrived in Great Lakes, ILL. I went to US Navy book camp and Hospital Corpsman School there for about six months. I then got my first duty station in Pensacola, FL. I stayed in Pensacola, FL for about 3 years. I got divorce from my first wife Cynthia Ruiz and married my second wife Carlita S Adams. I then got my second duty station to Camp Jejune, NC. I got to Jacksonville, NC and went to Fleet Marine Force School for about two months in Camp Johnson. Where I learned Marine Corps regulations. I then went to 2nd Fleet Service Support Group on the other side of Camp Jejune. While there I got trained in so many things: from Jungle warfare to Desert warfare survival, which would come in handy later. I pretty much learned how to set up a tent in every type of weather condition. And somewhere in between there I had my beautiful daughter Tabatha with my wife Carlita. I then decided to get station back in my hometown Naval Air Station Hospital Corpus Christi, TX. It was pretty good for a while there. Until Desert Shield and Desert Storm broke out. I got deployed with the 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Jejune, NC. I spent about 6 months in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It was hell, but I survive. Came back to NAS Corpus Christi, TX. I was one of the last ones so there were no parties or parades. Just my family. I separated from my 2nd wife Carlita and met a Beautiful woman in the Navy Reserves Regina Gaston, Regina and I had a handsome son Jovaughn Gaston-Garcia, Long story maybe I mentioned it later, but I stayed with my 2nd wife Carlita. By the last year, there in Corpus Christi I had my second beautiful daughter Naomi. I decided to go to Guam for next duty station. I got to Guam and found out it was a territory of the USA. It was real cool and nice, a real paradise. The only thing wrong was it was so far away from the states. I learned a lot there about running a hospital. I worked everywhere they would let me. I was fortunate to have my last child Daniel Jr. My next duty station was Naval Air Station Millington, TN It was located right outside of Memphis, TN. I had a blast there, good food and good music. A year later I was told that the Naval Hospital was going to be down graded to a Clinic. I was able to stay there. A lot of my friends had to get orders somewhere else. I helped with the transition. I learned to be a branch clinic far away from everything. The good thing was that BUPERS was moving down to the base from Washington DC. These are the guys a sailor calls to get orders to their next duty station. This was real cool, because I was told I could go anywhere I wanted to go. So, for me it was a no brainer. I asked to go back to Guam. When I got back to Guam it was like I never left. Most of my old friends were still there. I learned even more in running a hospital. I was stationed there when 9/11 happened. I was woken up by my boss at 2 am in the morning. It was horrific. We all got put in the highest alert ever. We were ready for anything, but saw no action. I also got to meet a lot of dignitaries both local and foreign. I found out Guam is a stopping point for people going to the western and eastern part of the world. I even got to meet a King and Queen of a couple of countries. that was cool. Well at about this time I was told that the next duty station would be the last one in my Navy Career. So I asked if I could back to the first duty station I had when I came into the Navy, Naval Hospital Pensacola. They told me okay. I got to Pensacola, FL May 2001. As soon as I got there I went to the department that decides if you are going to get deployed and I told them I wanted to be deployed where the action was. In Afghanistan. They asked me why, most everybody waits until they're called. I told them I had three years before I retired. I wanted to get it out of the way. Funny how the Navy is. They told me I was not going. They told me I did my share going to Desert Storm. So, I was put as the Supervisor of the Family Practice Clinic. So, I started planning my retirement. Now, I had been in the military for almost 20 years and went to a lot of retirement ceremonies. But, this one was going to be mine. So, I was going all out. So, about 2 months prior a big hurricane came through Pensacola and mess it up pretty bad. It took Pensacola about 6 months to fully recovered. But, my retirement came and went. So, I retired on 12/01/2004. I got a pretty good job working for FEMA managing the trailer parks they had for the people that were left homeless from the hurricane. But unfortunately, that job finished in about 3 months. So, I was jobless for the first time in 20 years. It was very frustrating. I could not get a job that would pay me my worth. Any job that was paying decent, would tell me I needed a degree to be considered for the position. The only job that I could get was working for a Cardiology Clinic as a Medical Assistant for $9.00 and hour. Aaaay, I had to pay the bills. I worked for this Cardiology clinic for about three years. I got a pay raise of about 0.75 cents in three years. I was given a title, Senior Medical Assistant. I trained all the new Medical Assistants that got hired. I also assisted the doct...Expand for more