Mike Kelly:  

Life I was born in Vienna, Austria on January 17, 1950 to Sam and Aranka Kelly. My dad was a U.S. civil servant. We moved to Muskogee, OK. in 1955. That is where my dad's family all lived. We moved to Anchorage, AK. for another civil service job while I was in the first grade at Washington Grade School. This was when Alaska was still a territory. After a couple of years we moved back to Muskogee where I lived until joining the Navy. I graduated from Muskogee Central High in 1969. I joined the Navy right out of high school and on July 28, 1969 I went to Boot Camp in San Diego, CA. company 534. I was stationed out of the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, CA. from 1969 to 1973. I was a Heavy Equipment Operator in Amphibious Construction Battalion 1. I did two tours in West Pac. The first one was in 1970, Feb. to May, in Da Nang, Camp Haskins South, Detachment November. I also spent four months in Yokosuka, Japan that year, June to Sep. The second trip was in 1971 taking heavy equipment to the Philippines by LST. I spent most of my time on the USS Fredricks, LST 1184. We went to, Japan, Hong Kong, Da Nang, Saigon and Sidney, Australia. I became a Shellback on this trip on Oct. 24, 1971. After I got out of the Navy in 1973 I moved to Provo, Utah. I have lived in Utah County, Utah ever since. I am married and have four children. A...Expand for more