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Veteran Snapshot: Jack Robinson

Beauregard Daily News - 7/12/2018

July 10--As a boy growing up in Colorado, Robinson loved to read books and watch movies about adventures on the high seas. He especially liked the US Navy and anything involving aviation.

Robinson finally got the chance to make his dream of adventure on the high seas come true. In 1963, Jack got out of Hoehne High School in Trinidad, Colorado, and went straight to the US Navy recruiter to enlist.

After taking a battery of tests and passing a physical examination Robinson was sent to the United States Navy Recruit Training Center in San Diego, California, with a promise from his recruiter that he would be assigned to a special class in Navy Aviation.

Robinson remembers that his recruiter had told him that after a brief induction in Navy " boot camp" he would be off on an adventure to see the world. However, boot camp was a little bit more than a "brief induction."

Like all enlisted recruits Robinson was stripped of his civilian clothes and issued uniforms. He was given a thirty-second haircut, trimmed to the skin as part of the Navy way and given enough shots for immunity that no disease know to mankind could affect him.

Robinson's adventure had started at last.

He learned the art of scrubbing his uniforms by hand outside on a concrete wash table, hoping that the seagulls wouldn't get them soiled before they dried.

He also learned how to march in formation, how to fold clothes and make and remake a bunk to please his instructor.

Other things Robinson enjoyed in boot camp included learning how to shower and shave in three minutes, waking up at 3:00 a.m. for a fun fire drill, jogging in the cool of the early morning for five miles, sleep while standing up in the chow line for breakfast and learning the Navy Manuel.

Quickly the fun filled nine and a half weeks of brief induction into the Navy was over. Robinson was ready for advance individual trading. All of his test skills were high and as promised by his recruiter Robinson was sent to aviation school at Mofit Naval Air Station.

Mofit Naval Air station is located on the south end of San Francisco's Bay. It is best known for for its huge hangers which housed the Navy's fleet of blimps.

Here at Mofit Naval Air Station, Robinson received advance instruction on all of the Navy's propellor aircraft. After a year of intense training on the Navy's AD-6 and T-28, Robinson graduated as a Plane Captain.

"Captain Jack" was deployed overseas to the US Naval Air Station in Guam. Here he was assigned to the Sea and Air Rescue Unit. Robinson spent the rest of his tour of duty doing exactly what his unit's name indicated: search and rescue.

In 1967, Robinson received orders to report to Treasure Island in San Francisco. It was here that he was given a debriefing and also received an honorable discharge for his service in the United States Navy.

When Robinson got back to the states, he headed to Louisiana and got a job in the booming oil industry offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

Even though Robinson had planned on working a short time, it turned into a career which lasted until his retirement in 2006.

Robinson enjoys his retirement. He is an avid sportsman, especially deer hunting and fishing. He also likes to make "coffee call" at the local DQ where he gets to visit with his many friends and other veterans. Often he volunteers to drive veterans and friends to their doctor appointments.

If you see "Captain Jack" or any veteran, he would surely appreciate a handshake and acknowledgement of the sacrifice and the commitment veterans have made in the lofty endeavor of securing American liberty.

They are solely responsible for having protected our fortunate state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior or political views. And that is priceless act of service

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(c)2018 Beauregard Daily News, DeRidder, La.

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