Jack Kauzlarich:  

Graduating from Centerville High School in May of 1969 almost 50 years ago was an experience! I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps for three years from 1969 to 1971 at the age of 18. I felt my country needed me and I wanted to fulfill my patriotic duty as an American. The Marine Corps sounded as if it was the best fit for me in regarding the preparation to serve and fight in Indo-China (Viet Nam) which was almost a guarantee. My tours of duty allowed me to travel half way around the world. I served at San Diego and Camp Pendleton, California, briefly in Hawaii, Camp Foster, Okinawa, and Da Nang, South Viet Nam. My final duty station was with the inspector/instructor staff at the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Station with AFEES at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. There, I was involved with recruiting, funeral details and in charge of the Des Moines area Marine Corps "Toys for Tots Campaign" detail during the late fall of 1971. Following my infantry training at Camp Pendleton, I was schooled as a multi-fuel mechanic and motor transport driver. While on Okinawa and at the Port of Da Nang, I as trained and operated RK-040 articulating forklifts that were used in the movement of hazardous materials, munitions, and troops. The movement of troops in 6x6 multi-fuel trucks from one location to another was a major part of my job. While deployed overseas, I served with the 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Maintenance Battalion, 3rd Force Service Regiment, FMF Pacific. I received my honorable discharge from the Corps on October 31, 1971. After my proud and faithful service to the Corps, I acquired employment at the Union Carbide Plant in Centerville where I worked for several years. I then moved to the quad-city area and was hired in Moline, Illinois as a gang-drill operator at the John Deere Plow and Planter Works Plant. I was then laid off during the recession and we moved back home to our 25 acre farm annexed to the Sharon Bluffs State Park in 1983. After several weeks on the farm, I was offered employment with the United States Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Rathbun which I took. My job description there was to be a "tractor operator". I mowed the grassy dam areas, spillway, roadsides, and lagoons. I also operated a Vermeer tree spade and transplanted hundreds of trees from wood sites to various areas and campsites around the lake. While working for the Corps of Engineers, I sustained a very serious disabling back injury that required my first major reconstructive back surgery. During my rehabilitation period of one year, I decided to pursue m...Expand for more