Leland Malato:  

Life Born in San Jose,CA,Feb,'51;after a stint in the Army,came home to name-calling and ridicule.Lived in LA and Sacramento,now reside in Reno,NV-I teach firearms safety and methods of concealed carry w/a bus- iness partner.I am ultra-conservative,and I'm quite happy being that way! I'm also an ardent 2nd Amendment supporter as well as a patriot! I have little time for anyone liberal,as I view them all as "sheeple".I also play bass guitar and sing lead/backing vocals and have a classic blues-rock band here in Reno-all in all,I've been a musician for over 30 years now,and it's one of my major passions in life,and helps keep me focused and gives me a chance to not only be productive and happy,but to bring pleasure to others! I love to see people enjoy themselves,and it allows me to "give back" and put my hideous Vietnam War memories on hold for awhile... School To be perfectly honest,I HATED school,not to mention most of the people in it! The only reason that I even bothered to go was to get away from my mother,and,when he was around,my father.Most of the teachers sucked,especially Mr.Minor and Mr. Lucian Davis! Thankfully,I removed myself from this situation and went to the Haight in'67... Military I enlisted in Feb,'68;trained at Ft Knox,KY as an armor crewman(M113,M48 tank,M60 main battle tank);graduated from The NCO Armor School,Ft Knox,KY as a sergeantE-5; stationed in Germany w/3rd Armored Div.('68-'69);squad leader,2/8 Cav, 1st Cavalry Div,R of Vietnam w/CIB; drill sergeant for 2 cycles at Ft Sam Houston,TX,training medics.Hon- orably discharged at the Presidio, San Francisco,CA July,'70 I hope that the TRUE friends that I had in school will remember me not for the "person" that I was (i.e;shy,"inward",etc.),but for the person that I am today!!!-mind you,I NEVER wanted to "quit" school,but that due to my sadistic mother AND "father",I was basically forced to leave home just after my 16th b'day,and I went to Haight-Ashbury,where I met a LOT of young,disaffected people such as myself!-needless to say,the experience totally changed my life,and offered me a LOT of new opportunities,which then and later changed my outlook on life!!!-I came back home in late October,'67,but was NOT allowed back in school,which made me quite disappointed!...I then enlisted in the Army on my b'day,and on Feb. 20th,'68,I went to basic training at Ft. Lewis,WA-from there,I went to Ft. Knox,KY to become an armor crewman/armor recon NCO (SGT E-5 upon graduation). I then spent 1 1/2 yrs in Germany as a tank commander/gunner on the M-60 main batle tank w/the 3rd Armored Div,at the same "kaserne" (base) as Elvis Presley!!!-from there,I was sent to "C" Troop,2/8th Cavalry Regiment,1st Cavalry Div (Airmobile)in An Khe,Rep of So. Vietnam as a squad leader at the age of 18,doing my Nation's "bidding",as it were...yes,I killed my share of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army during more than a few "skirmishes",earning my Combat Infantry Badge,and the Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM)-then I came home to no jobs,and little caring by the general population...I have since "forgiven" in my heart and soul those who called me nasty names,just like they called my fellow soldiers.Now I'm a retired union Ironworker,having "worked the high iron" for almost 26 years,and am very happily married to my wife,Kathy,and had one daughter from my second marriage,who has 2 b...Expand for more