William Zirbes:  

EARLY LIFE Born in Buffalo, NY in 1943. Lived in Orchard Park & East Aurora for a couple of years. My father worked at the Orchard Park Press which was created & owned by my grandfather Walter Benjamin Zirbes Sr. We then moved to Java Center to my grandfather's farm (mother's side). We lived there approx. 2 years & then packed up & left for Texas. My father was a medic in the army during WWII & had a dream of becoming a doctor. We settled in San Antonio, TX. There my father attended the Texas Chiropractic College. Upon graduation he interned for about a year with another Doctor. We then left Texas & moved to Tuscaloosa, AL where my father established the Dawn Chiropractic Clinic. For reasons unknown to me, we packed up & left Tuscaloosa & moved to Marion, AL where a new clinic was established. We rented a southern mansion from an Alabama senator for $50 a month on the stipulation that if he had to return to his estate, we would have to vacate the premises. There were two horses available & hundreds of acres to explore & my brother & I enjoyed a couple of good years there until my father became very ill. We then returned to New York, my brother went with my father & I with my mother, to live with her parents whom resided in Bergen, NY. Eventually my parents divorced. SCHOOLING: I entered the fifth grade at the Bergen school district in February of 1954. I was in Mrs. Mitchel's class. She was a great teacher, but Mr.Allen DeHond was the best. I do not remember the names of all the schools I attended as there were so many. I really hoped that Bergen would be the last school I would attend. But, We left to live in Avon, NY in 1955 halfway thru the 6th grade. A year later, we returned to Bergen. I graduated from BBCS in 1961. During my High School years I worked at the Thruway Restaurant near Exit 47 with a couple of my classmates. US NAVY SERVICE: I got a Draft notice in July 1964 but signed up with the Navy on July 30th 1964 before I had to report to the Army. I attended 9 weeks of Boot Camp at Great Lakes NTC in Illinois. I then went on to NATTC Memphis, Tennessee, for 1 year of "A" School and graduated as an Avionics Technician. My next duty station was NAS Lemoore, Calif. for Plane Captain School at VA-125 Training Squadron for 6 weeks. I then flew to Sacramento to catch a MATS flight (Military Air Transport) that took me to Clark AFB in the Philippines (a 16 hour flight with a stopover in Hawaii). Then a bus trip overland to get to NAS Cubi Point. O...Expand for more