James Ryel:
CLASS OF 1969
Canoga Park High SchoolClass of 1969
Canoga park, CA
California State University NorthridgeClass of 1977
Northridge, CA
Los Angeles Pierce Junior CollegeClass of 1974
Woodland hills, CA
Hale Junior High SchoolClass of 1966
Woodland hills, CA
Haynes Street Elementary SchoolClass of 1963
Canoga park, CA
James's Story
Life
I spent most of my life in the SFV. I got married in '74 to my future ex-wife and had 2 children. Who have moved out, finished college, have good jobs, etc. Lost our minds in '88 and moved to Florida. I moved back to West Hills in '89 and that ended it with wife no. 1, in '90. Met second and last wife at an army course in San Antonio, TX. Married in '92 and moved to Torrance. I really did it right this time. She had two children who have given us 3 grandchildren. All boys and , of course, they are extremely smart and talented.
Have done a lot of traveling: Europe, Thailand, Cambodia, Tahiti, Japan, all over the Caribbean, African safari in Kenya/Tanzania.
Favorite activity now is playing Monopoly with real houses.
College
I spent 2 years at Pierce Jr. College and received an A.A. degree. I kept that degree in a glass covered frame next to the toilet, with a sign "in emergency break glass".
I transferred to Cal. State Northridge where I received a B.A. in Biology. No one could ever explain to me why a biology degree was a B.A. and not a B.S. I continued on and received a masters degree in Environmental Health.
Workplace
My first jobs while in school were nothing spectacular. I was a boxboy at Thriftimart Market, on Platt Ave., an auto mechanic in several places.
My first real job was with the State of California as an Industrial Hygienist. My job was to inspect places of employment and ensure that employees were not exposed to toxic chemicals, dusts, loud noises, etc. The plan was to work there for a couple of years to get experience. I then went to work for Rockwell International, building B-1 Bombers, in Palmdale. Management didn't care about safety and I spent at least 50% of my time writing CYA memos. I spent another 40% of my time arguing with the same people about the same things everyday. This got old quick. When Northrop moved in next door to build B-2 bombers, I quickly got a job with them. You know, "the grass is always greener..." Well, there were way more weeds in that lawn and I think that is where the extra green came from. So, in '89 (after Florida) I went back to Cal/OSHA and have been there ever since. I am now a district manager.
Military
Enlisted in the ...Expand for more
Army in Feb 1969. This was to beat the draft :-). 9 weeks at Ft. Ord for basic Training. Went to Ft. Sam Houston, TX., for advanced training. Left with two specialties, Dental Lab Tech and combat medic. Immediately went to Viet Nam under orders to be a lab tech. That lasted for about 15 minutes when I got to the reception station at Long Binh. When I first got off the airplane, which had bounced off the runway 3 times as we weren't landing at LAX, I looked around and realized I wasn't in Kansas anymore. The humidity was so bad it felt like I was walking through a bowl of Jello. The smell was so bad, if you were not there I couldn't explain it to you. I and a number of others were told that we were now medics, regardless of our orders. I was assigned to the 23rd Combat Support Hospital and was attached to the 4/31 Infantry, in a place called Chu Lai, later went to Da Nang. This was a part of the Americal Division, made famous a year before by LT. Calley at a place called My Lai. I got on a helicopter with all my gear and joined my company which was out patrolling along the border with Laos. Because of the double canopy jungle we were never quite sure which side of the border we were on. No GPS in those days. Worst and scariest night was my last one. Six hours from getting on the "Freedom Bird" back to "The World" and we were attacked. After 12 months I left Viet Nam and was greatful that I only sustained one minor wound about half way through my tour. We were usually pissed off because they never defoliated our area of operation with Agent Orange. Someone was watching over us. Next, went to Ft. Benning, GA. for a few months, then got an early out to go to college. After college, I entered the Army Reserves. In Jan. 1991, I got orders for Dahran, Saudi Arabia for Gulf War 1, but the war ended and my orders were canceled. Damn it :-) :-) :-). The funny part was, the orders were never taken out of the system. So later when I called the Pentagon to find out where my annual training orders were (for San Francisco, damn it again), it took me an hour to convince them that I was in L.A. and not S.A.
I have just retired, as a Lieutenant Colonel, in June '07, after 31 years total service.
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