Mike Halberg:  

EARLY MEMORIES Lauderdale Manors was a great place to grow up in the 60's and 70's. We had Bradley Field and the Middle River to the North to explore; to the West we had the woods along the railroad tracks before I-95 was built. To the East, along 8th Ave., before duplexes there were only pine trees and palmettos. Lauderdale Manors playground was the scene of many pick-up football games. Does anyone remember Coach Baker? Box Hockey? Then there was Ralph's Market on Sunrise, near Windmill Sprinklers. It was a fine place to stock up on candy, bottle rockets and smoke bombs, which we rolled down the floor of the bus the last day of school at Everglades JH. Eventually we started riding our bikes to Birch State Park and the beach and our world began to expand. POST HIGH SCHOOL After high school (started at St. Thomas but graduated from Dillard), I went to a small Midwestern college on a football scholarship but came home for the Christmas holidays and never returned. After a brief stint at BCC in Davie I joined the USMC with two high school buddies (Jeff & Paul) and was soon shipped off to Parris Island, SC for basic training. Because of my love for aviation I chose as my occupational specialty aircraft maintenance and for the next four years did just that, eventually ending up with a reserve training detachment at Cecil Field, Jacksonville. I was a "plane captain" working on the A-4 Skyhawk, the aircraft John McCain piloted and was shot down in. I had the opportunity to ...Expand for more