Mike Whitman:  

Life I started school as a Kindergardener with Ms Heart at the Little Red School House in Wauchula, FL. I went through 6 years at the old wooden Wauchula Elementary School before it was torn down. My mom was a school teachher there at the same time. I could never do anything wrong without getting caught. I learned how to do many things from sports to how to swim at the old pool near Zolfo Springs. I formed many of my most fond memories while living in Wauchula as well as made some great friends whom I miss to this day very, very much. I then went to Hardee Jr High School where I played football with coach Leon Sharp and was in the Little League All Stars a couple of years. We even went to the State Championship once in Tampa. I remember some great times in Wauchula with friends like, Frank Davis, Bobby Reddick, JET Tillis, Al Pace, Emory McClendon, Joel Davis & his fireworks stash, Buck Redding, Bobby Bellflower, Johnnie Purdue, & others as well as a few females like Marsha Himrod & Gloria Clavel. I can remember stories of many more friends but am limited in space. My school pictures bring back the fondest of memories. My parents both accepted career enhancing jobs in Tallahassee, FL when I was in the 9th grade. I hated moving away from Wauchula more than anything. Took me a couple of years to get over the loss of my childhood friends. In Tallahassee, FL, I attended Raa Jr High and then went to Leon High where I graduated as a part of the Class of 1969. I then went to Tallahassee Community College because the class sizes were smaller and then on to Florida State. In 1973, I graduated from FSU w/a BS degree in Industrial Arts Ed/Technology Ed & was Commissioned as an Officer in the US Army. I married a lady named Sandy from Miami Springs, FL. I attended Infantry Officer Basic, Airborne, Ranger, Sniper, Pathfinder Schools at Ft. Benning,GA. Then, on to Aschaffenburg, Germany for 5 years after a 6 month TDY trip to Viet Nam where I was a liason with Ranger company. WhoAhh! My first 2 children, Shawn & Kim, were both born in Germany. Made some lifelong friends (Dale Vonna) & had some fantastic adventures. My 1st Company Command was there at E Co. 703rd Maintenance Bn. After a successful time in Europe, I was sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD for Officer Advance School. Graduated top of class and was selected to work for 1yr in the Army's Training with Industry program at the Corporate HQ's for John Deere, in Moline, IL. GREAT JOB! My 1st marriage didn't work out as planned so divorced in'81. Then, went to the Army's Tank & Automotive Research Development Center in Warren, MI. I was sent to several foreign countries to spy on their technology & bring it back to the USA if possible in order to reverse engineer it. Exciting times! It helped us improve all of our US Military equipment. I also helped develop several weapon vehicles including the Fast Attack Vehicle for our Special Forces, the 10-ton M.A.N. truck & trailer that pulled all of our Nuclear Ground Launched Cruise Missles & Pershing II Missile Systems, the Small Unit Support Vehicle used in Alaska & the High Mobility Multipurposed Wheeled Vehicle(HMMWV or HumVee);now it's called the civilianized "Hummer". I married my 2nd wife Katy just months prior to going unaccompanied to Korea for a year where I Commanded the 520th Maintenance Company of the 194th Maintenance Bn. It was the best! I had Great times. Met & led some really great people. It was a great experience for me(Hey there Vicky). My next stop was Hawaii. That was 4 yrs of fun travel & adventure all over the Pacific. 1st attached to a Special Ops group on the hill at Ft Smith, I was sent on a few Black Ops missions from there. Then, was stationed at Schofield Barracks where I served in the 25th Division & in the Corpse Support Command. My most unusal assignment was to help develop the new MREs for the Army. For a short time, I was even the Vice Prsident's (George Bush) military liason. While there, I also had the opportunity to go back to visit Korea 4 times, Japan 3 times, Thailand 2 times, Alaska, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philipines, and other exotics places such as Midway Island a few times. I made some great friends in Hawaii & my son Gabe was born there. Later, while stationed in the 24th Division at Ft. Stewart, GA, my 2nd son with my 2nd wife,Tyler,was born. During the later part of my tour there, I became one of the very first soldiers sent to Desert Shield; the beginning of the Persian Gulf War. I even got to water ski in the Persian Gulf. Kool...During Desert Storm, my HMMWV ran over a land mine (IED) while our Division was attacking the Republican Guard forces in Iraq near Basra (remember the big right hook). Well, somehow, I survived & was considered 50% disabled. I also survived being attacked by some Iraqi Special Forces that had been bypassed by our fast moving Infantry on their way to Basra. Glad to say that all Americans w/me survived. After Desert Storm, I was selected to Command a Battalion in Europe. However, Pres. Clinton downsized the Armed Forces, so I was sent to Command the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in, Mt. Clemens, MI. I hated going back there with a passion. I was a trooper not a staff weenie. I declined the job. On 31 Dec'93, I retired as a Lieutenant Colonel & moved back to my home state of Florida. In Feb'94, I became the Director of Maintenance (Asst Super) for the Osceola County School District the ONLY reason I moved to Kissimmee, FL. In '96, I accepted a great opportunity & became President of WhitMart Corporation & Chairman of the Board of United Vision Corp an Internatinal Printing Press Remanufacturing Business. After 4yrs of Corporate World, I chose quality of life over quanity & taught 8th Grade Technology in Orlando for 8yrs. Hated it w/passion! Great teachers and librarian. All of us left. I stopped teaching in'07. Now, I'm back to working for myself, Govt Contracting and have recently undergone a divorce. All of my children have flown the coup, graduated from college or are currently attending. My desire is to move back to Tally to be closer to family as both my parents, both my younger brothers and my two oldest children from my 1st marriage have chosen to call it home. Nothing worse than being alone, so home I go as soon as my ranch sells. School My biggest crush in High School was on Patricia Perry. I still have a warm spot in my heart for her and will always wonder what could have been. College Streaking naked across Landis Green, panty raids, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Cheech and Chong, Intramural sports with Danny Mcknight, Pershing Rifles and its famous hell weeks, the FSU rifle team, the FSU bowling team, designing Go to Hell Gators buttons, the FSU Circus, the ROTC members being surrounded by VietNam War protesters during a Thursday drill as well as the Viet Nam Vet Cadre there who taught me...Expand for more