Terry Shannon (IT) - Early Life

Early Life

Terry C. Shannon was born in Syracuse, New York, USA. At the age of 17 he dropped out of high school and enlisted in the US Army in 1969.

He served as a spook in Vietnam at a Radio Reconnaissance Field Station (i.e., the 330th RRFS) with the 509th Radio Research Group of the Army Security Agency (ASA), a branch of the National Security Agency (see NSA and/or SIGINT for explanation). During his two years (1970–1972) of Vietnam War service, Shannon was a computer communications and traffic analysis specialist. Using his training in cryptology and signal-intelligence, his job was to triangulate North Vietnamese radio signals, request an airstrike, and then return to the original frequency and listen for the enemy channel to "go off the air."

He was separated from the Army with an honorable discharge in 1972. After earning his GED, Shannon received his Bachelors degree from SUNY Empire State College. He was awarded the Bronze Star, about thirty years after separation, for his service in the Vietnam War.

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