Donald Bolster:  

, CA: Hamilton Avnet Electronics. I was first a branch product manager for passive and electromechanical products in Culver City, then to corporate product manager and eventually director of product marketing for passive, interconnect and electromechanical products. After 22 years in distribution of electronic components, I managed a master distributor company called IRC Tresco in Boone, NC, for 3-years, then National Distributor Manager for Cherry (switches) in Kenosha, WI for 4-years. I retired from Cherry Electrical Products in 2000, moved back to Boone, NC, and I have consulted for a few months, worked for a "dot com" company for a year and sold copiers/printers for a local office supply company for extra retirement monies. I returned to work at IRC (TT Electronics) as General Mgr. of TRESCO and retired again in 2009. Now, I keep busy playing golf, church activities, weekly distribution of food for our counties needy families & students and working at our log home and propery in the NC mountains west of Boone. Military After playing varsity basketball and partying too much at Riverside City College in Riverside, CA, I enlisted in the US Navy for 4-years. This began my training in electronics (A & B-schools at the Fleet Sonar School in San Diego, CA after Boot Camp). After A-School, I was assigned to an Antisubmarine Helicopter Squadron (HS-8) in Imperial Beach, CA, and became an SOA2 with Aircrew Wings by the end of my first 4-year enlistment. I returned to college with a new motivation to continue my formal education, and continued my Navy career in the Naval Air Reserves at Los Alamitos Naval Air Station in CA (HS-772). Sometime in the early 1960s, my rate changed from SOA2 to AX2, then later to AW2 and eventually AW1. I drilled with HS-772 through to the closing of Los Alamitos NARS in 1970 when we were reassigned to HS-84 drilling at NAAS Imperial Beach, CA, south of San Diego. When I moved to Eldora, IA, in 1973, I transferred to the Iowa National Guard in order to stay with aviation and helicopters, and became a Crew Chief (Spec 5) at the Waterloo Iowa Air National Guard station until the spring of 1975. Much too cold for me in Iowa, so I moved my family back to Southern CA and back to drilling with HS-84 now at North Island NAS on Coronado Island in San Diego, CA. I made E-6 (AW1) with HS-84 and retired from HS-84 in the summer of 1983. I was a Helocopter flight Aircrewman; ASW Operator in the HSS-1, SH-34, SH-34N, SH-3 choppers and as a Crew Chief (SP-5) in the Army Huey. Enjoyed my Navy and Naval Reserve career very much and Now I'm enjoying the medical, pension and friendship benefits resulting from my military career. I enlisted the year that the Korean war ended, and separated from the active duty squadron HS-8 just before Viet Nam. HS-772 and HS-84 were never recalled to active duty.I was just old enough to be a Cold War Veteran and I missed going into combat in our nations battles to remain free, but would have gone willingly at any time...!