Joseph Clark:
CLASS OF 1970
Holy Angels High SchoolClass of 1970
Sidney, OH
Joseph's Story
After graduation, I went to BGSU, got a B.A. in a nowhere major, bummed around in Florida, back to Ohio, then joined the Navy in November 1976. Was stationed in San Diego, Gaeta (Italy), Norfolk, Guam, back to San Diego, back to Norfolk, and retired on May 1, 1999. I went back to college on the GI Bill, attended Old Dominion University in Norfolk, have a B.S. in Business Administration, concentration in Information Systems. There are absolutely NO good paying positions in Norfolk, since it's a buyer's market and the location of the largest computer and telecommunications station in the Navy.
I met a woman while stationed in Norfolk the first time, we dated for a while, then she was transferred to Bermuda, and a year later, came back to Norfolk an leave, and we got married in April 1983. We spent our first year as geographic bachelors, she in Bermuda and I in Norfolk, but after attending another technical school (Navy, not real world), we were stationed together in Guam, where we spent the next 4 years, and then San Diego where I was an instructor and made Chief Petty Officer, and then to Norfolk where I was assigned to a nuclear-powered cruiser that had just entered the shipyard for major overhaul and replacement of the 2 reactors. That was a most unhappy duty assignment and I was sent to shore duty after that, to run a small, but vital communications station operations facility that supported 28 generals and admirals, as well as the U.S. Second Fleet. My final tour was as the Information Systems Officer for Commander, Destroyer Squadron 32, and we were the flag for UNITAS 39-98, which was a cruise around South America, training the navies of the various countries there, as well as acting as ambassadors to the citizens of those countries. I've been to Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, Egypt, Israel, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, through the Straits of Magellan to Punta Arenas, Chile, to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and through the Panama Canal. I finally earned my Shellback status in July of 1998, crossing the line just off the northeast tip of Brazil. Of all the continents, I have not been to Australia or Antarctica. When I arrived home after the UNIITAS cruise, it was the beginning of the end of my marriage, and we separated in November 2001, and the divorce was final June 2004.
I moved back to Sidney in 2003, and lived in a duplex off Spruce Ave., then moved out to a farm on Cisco Rd., where I'm currently living. I have 2 beehives, I make my own beer and wine, I'm a ham radio operator and volunteer as Shelby County's SKYWARN weather spotter coordinator. We report to the National Weather Service in Wilmington and they then broadcast the information we sent to the various media resources. I shoot competitive shooting, no hunting. I am at 165 total donations of blood or blood products.
I've lost 2 brothers to heart problems, Paul died in 1984 while I was in Guam, the cause was determined to be a coronary artery inside his heart rather than on the...Expand for more
outside. The artery was crushed during a normal heartbeat at 4:00AM and he probably never woke up. Paul was just 3 weeks past his 18th birthday and had enough credits from Lehman to have already graduated. He was on the varsity cross-country team, skinny as a rail, but could run. Pete died in 2009 while in Oklahoma City, he had an enlarged heart, probably caused by asthma, and it was discovered while he was on active duty in the Air Force. He had been on the transplant list, then removed, and was just getting ready to go back on it and he had a heart attack, just 2 hours after seeing his cardiologist. He was buried in Graceland Cemetery with full military honors.
Another hobby I practiced for 11 years was kendo, the martial art of Japanese swordfighting. I have achieved the rank of 2nd degree, or dan. Because we do not wear colored belts or any other indicator of our rank, the rank of the opponent may or may not be known. It is irrelevant to kendo when you are fighting a match as to who is which rank, unless the match is structured for a particular rank. In a team environment, you may face the highest rank, 8th degree, or someone who has no rank, but the idea is the same. You fight as though your life depended on it. The idea is not to hurt your opponent, but to gain insight into your own self. It sounds strange to Western people, but kendo is very etiquette driven. You must strike perfectly, or as close to perfect as you can in one of the 8 designated target areas of your opponent's body, and to achieve that end, it's very difficult. Posture, footwork, hands, spirit, movement, all must flow together. If you look at some of the light saber fights in the Star Wars movies, you will see many elements of kendo. Of course, we don't bounce around, do flips, etc., we never lose sight of our opponent, and we must maintain focus on what we are doing. Due to various health issues, including rheumatoid arthritis, I am no longer practicing kendo.
So, now, I just do the things I want to do, but do not have a job. I live on my Navy retirement pension and my Veterans Administration disability allowance, and Social Security. I've been through 3 knee replacement operations (1 on the right knee, 2 on the left), an arthroscopic cartilage removal on the right knee, cataract surgery in both eyes, a replacement joint in my right thumb, and I've had my feet worked on several times due to various injuries or conditions that are just part of being me. Arthritis is slowly eroding me away, but as long as I stay active, I'll be all right. I do walks in the pool at the YMCA. I've
I've been to only one class reunion since 1970, and that was our 25th in 1995. Lot of people I didn't recognize, but after "reminding" me, then it came back to me. Because of my military duties, I wasn't able to come to many of the reunions, and I really wish I could have done so. The 25th was just 2 weeks after we lost Margie Sandvig, the first casualty of our class.
Hope everyone else is doing well.
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