Johnny Bakane:
CLASS OF 1994
Page High SchoolClass of 1994
Greensboro, NC
University of North Carolina - WilmingtonClass of 1998
Wilmington, NC
Mendenhall Middle SchoolClass of 1990
Greensboro, NC
Saint Pius X SchoolClass of 1988
Greensboro, NC
Claxton Elementary SchoolClass of 1982
Greensboro, NC
Johnny's Story
Life
Well- I'm out of the Army after seven and a half years... and I've transitioned into corporate America! I've traded my combat uniforms for business suits and Hummers for a 4Runner. I'm really happy that I had the opportunity to develop my skill sets in the Army. Misty and I moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in September of this year.
Just a quick re-cap of where I've been from 1994- 2005:
1994-1998: I started out at UNCG for my freshman year of college. The next year was at Alabama. But for my junior and senior years, I came back to NC to attend UNC-Wilmington. I left UNCW with a BA in Anthropology and a proficiency in three languages in June '98.
1999: After months of selection boards and in-processing, I went into the Army in the first week of March '99. I attended Officer Candidate School and was Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in September of that year. OCS was one of the most challenging experiences that I have ever had. It was part Ranger school, part college fraternity, but all hard work. I have been on a couple deployemnts- to Korea and even Kuwait during Operation Enduring Freedom. I was a stone's throw from Iraq on 9/11, in a tent watching the planes flying into the Trade Center Towers... expecting to go across the border on a minutes notice.
There was never a dull moment in the Army. I held numerous positions in the Army from being an M1A1 "Abrams" Tank Platoon leader, Operations and Training Officer, Movement Officer, to being an M1A1 battalion Support Platoon Leader. I even worked as a Division Movement Control Officer during the first eleven months of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2002: I met a beautiful blonde haired, kindergarten teacher from New Mexico when I got back from Kuwait in '02. We got married a year later. She's wonderful, but sometimes I have to wonder what she saw in me. We moved to Germany in June of 2004 and back to the US in September 2006.
As for cars- I finally sold my 1978 Corvette. Remember that one? The I had for eleven years? Back in highschool it was white. You'd never have recognized it now anyways- it was black on black with side pipes. I sold it to get a new C5. Guess what? That one was white too! I can't seem to get away f...Expand for more
rom white vettes! I think the fastest I have pushed my Vette here in Germany is about 160mph. The Autobahns are a great way to get around. The unrestricted speed limits help make a normally long trip fly by!
We lived outside Frankfurt, in Germany, in a place called Wiesbaden. We are just a few miles from where the printing press was invented. Europe is a great place to visit, but living here is a different story. I learned to really appreciate what we have in the States after you have lived in another country. The best part about living in Germany was getting to travel around Europe. One summer, we went up and down the Rhine River going to wine festivals which are held yearly here. We spent weekends in Berlin, been to Christmas Markets in Frankfurt, the real OKTOBERFEST held in Munich... it was a lot of fun!
2006 has been full of surprises. The first one is the new addition to our family- Misty is due later this year with our first child. We've picked a name but that is about it. I am really excited about being a dad... working on cars together, models, etc.
My time in the Army wound down and it was a heck of a ride. I never thought I'd find myself atop an M1A1 tank, in the sands of the desert along the border of Iraq and Kuwait, or responsible for so many people and millions of dollars in equipment. I've decided in March to get out and get back into corporate America so that I can see my kid grow up.
See you on the high ground!
School
Well, I still can't see how I graduated... What truly counts in life is the positive impact that you have on others. A man's legacy is defined by the lasting results of his actions in this life.
Money... Cars... Houses... Material Objects- None of these things matter to the man with who defines his self worth from within. Why? Because you can take all these things away from the man who knows himself and he will still be the same man.
If we all knew this in school- would we have treated each other any better? I think yes- because lord knows we could not have treated each other any worse.
College
CHI PHI
UNCW...
The sun and the sand and a drink in my hand with no bottom and no shirt, no shirt, and no problems! No problems...
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