John Burlage:  

Life After graduating from Hialeah HS, I completed a Naval Reserve recruit-to-airman program at Opa-Locka, then married my high school sweetheart (the former Janet Hartle). We mved to south-central Texas, where my family had relocated. After two years as a newspaper reporter, I went on active duty with the Navy -- and started a 25-year career. I became a photojournalist and public affairs specialist, with a "minor" in broadcasting. Assignments took Jan and me around the world, and to Washington, D.C., where I retired from the Navy as a master chief journalist. The Navy career left me a veteran of the Vietnam War and the Beirut peacekeeping force, and I put in tours aboard seven ships. I was able to parlay all my training and experience into a second career as a writer for a commercial publication called Navy Times, which is published primarily for Navy people and their families. Along the way, Jan and I raised two sons (she did most of the work because I was gone so much). She's now getting used to fu...Expand for more