Brian Mitchell:  

Here’s my post-high school story in case anyone cares: Let me go back even further. I spent the majority of my school years in Puyallup. If you’re familiar with the Park & Ride lot that’s near South Hill Mall today, that’s where my house used to be. Went to Meeker Elementary and Kalles Junior High and I would have gone to Rogers High School but we moved to Kennewick almost half way through my 9th grade year (Dec, 1980), so I went to high school over there. I remember it being a big transition going into a new school where I didn’t know anyone. I was lucky to take driver’s ed. as a freshman, so when most of my peers were taking it as sophomores, I already had my license. I joined the Washington Army National Guard on September 24, 1982 in Pasco and did basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey in the summer between my junior and senior years. We moved to Everett about 3 weeks after graduation and I lived there for 3 years. In the summer of 1984 I went to Indiana for my Advanced Individual Training (AIT). I began working on full-time active duty for the Washington Army National Guard on Valentine’s Day of 1985, first in Everett (2 years), then to Tacoma (Camp Murray) (3 1/2 years). Then a recruiting job opened up and they offered me a choice of Seattle or the Tri-Cities and of course I moved back to Kennewick. It was going to be just like old times, or so I thought. Boy, was I wrong. My first day there, my new boss told me I’d be working out of Grandview. Had I known that, I would have stayed put in Tacoma. I hated Grandview but toughed it ...Expand for more