Richard Cole:  

Life I married Jeanette "Jaye" Vincent during our senior year of high school, at Wickliffe Senior High School, and we are still married. Our two kids, Richard Matthew (born 1970) and Katie Kristen (born 1973) both work with computers like mom. Matt lives with his wife, Amanda, in Chesterfield, Va. My three grandsons, fraternal twins Hunter and Tyler and brother Dane, live relatively close by, Katie lives in Tampa, Florida, and married Matt Roberts in 2012. I retired from all work on May 9, 2014. I'm spending my time riding and working on my motorcycles, including the restoration of two 1971 Honda CB175K5 Super Sports (my first motorcycle) to "like new," concourse condition for competitions in Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club contests for restored motorcycles. I'm still flying as a private pilot, and I am an avid photographer, motorcyclist (I now own a 2020 Harley-Davidson Tri-Glide Ultra), author, scale modeler (airplanes primarily), and a drummer with a classic rock band ("Four of a Kind"). I retired from federal civil service in August 2013. In my last federal position, I was a GS-15 civil servant, the top rank in the civil service system, and the Director, Public Affairs for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency -- the organization that oversees all arms control agreements between the United States and foreign nations like Russia, China, and others. I worked for about six months after retiring from civil service as a strategic communications contractor with Booz | Allen | Hamilton, one of D.C.'s most prominent consulting firms. Before returning to work civil service, I worked briefly for the General Dynamics Information Systems (originally Anteon Corporation) on a strategic communications job for the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine. (I helped design their uniforms for the aircrews and the paint schemes for Customs and Border Protection aircraft.) Before that, I was working for L3 Communications/MPRI as a communications/public relations consultant to the senior leaders of the U.S. Army, I was the Director of Communications for the National Wildlife Refuge System within the Department of the Interior. For two years before working for the Interior Department I was the editor in chief of a Navy magazine, which received 22 prestigious awards from various media organizations during 2000-2002. From 1998-2000, I was a civilian public affairs specialist for the Navy. Before working for the Navy, I worked as a civilian public affairs specialist for the agency which conducts arms control and verification inspections in the former Soviet Union (and did conduct them in Iraq some years ago) under various arms control agreements. I enlisted into the Air Force after graduating from Wickliffe in 1970. I first served as a medic. After returning from Vietnam in 1972, I became a wing historian. In 1975 I entered a commissioning program. I graduated with a BS in journalism from Troy State University (now Troy University in Alabama) and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the USAF. I went to flight training in 1978 at Mather Air Force Base, Calif., followed by electronic warfare officer training and B-52 combat crew training school and got assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. In 1982 I was medically disqualified from flying and I was assigned as the Chief of Public Affairs at Barksdale. In 1984, I was selected to attend Syracuse University to get my graduate degree. When I graduated, I was assigned to the Headquarters of the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. In 1989, I became the public affairs advisor to the Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. I retired from the Air Force in 1992 as a major (O-4). I've written two books on airplanes (what else??) and contributed photographs to 19 others. Along the way I got my pilot's license (Tony Christopher and I started the Aviation Club at Wickliffe) and still fly for fun. I also build model airplanes for museums. Some of my models are in the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, the Washington Navy Yard Museum, and the National Museum of Naval Aviation. School I attended East Clark Elementary School and participated in the enrichment program beginning in the second grade. (This later resulted in me skipping a year in school.) I took clarinet lessons and began studying French in 2nd grade. My favorite teacher, who I had a HUGE crush on, was redhead Carol Hess my music teacher. I went from East Clark to Collinwood Junior High School where I participated in the Honors Program (same as enrichment in elementary school. So, although I was in the 7th grade, for example, I was studying 8th grade material.) I tried out for the JV football team when I was in the 8th grade only to break my wrist in one of the first practices of the year. (Thanks Glen Pauley!) That pretty much ended my football career! However, Nick Bogias and I served as the team's managers for Coach Black. When I was in the 9th grade at Collinwood, I got a part in the school play, "George Washington Slept Here." I also switched instruments in the band from the clarinet to drums. When I began high school at Collinwood, I became the head of the drum section in the marching band. During my sophomore year, my father's company (Towmotor, later Caterpillar Lift Trucks) moved from Cleveland to Mentor, and my family moved from the Collinwood area to Wickliffe. When I left Collinwood in January 1969, I was in 10th grade. When I started at Wickliffe, they put me in the 11th grade. While at Wickliffe, I was a member of the band (although I didn't play much... we had too many drummers lots better than me!). I was sports editor for the yearbook (...Expand for more