Archie Van Winkle - Early Life and World War II

Early Life and World War II

Born March 17, 1925 in Juneau, Alaska, Van Winkle attended public school in Darrington, Washington. An ardent athlete, he captained both the boxing and football teams at Darrington High School, where he also played baseball and basketball. He entered the University of Washington in Seattle to study physical education, but left after a few months to enlist in the Marine Corps Reserve on December 14, 1942.

During almost three years of active duty, he served as an aviation radioman-gunner and mechanic, participating in the Solomons, Philippines and Emirau operations. On October 22, 1945, he received his honorable discharge.

He continued his studies in physical education for two years at Everett Junior College and for another year at the University of Washington. In March 1948, he rejoined the Marine Corps Reserve and became a member of Company A, 11th Infantry Battalion, in Seattle.

Read more about this topic:  Archie Van Winkle

Famous quotes containing the words war ii, early life, early, life, world and/or war:

    I realized how for all of us who came of age in the late sixties and early seventies the war was a defining experience. You went or you didn’t, but the fact of it and the decisions it forced us to make marked us for the rest of our lives, just as the depression and World War II had marked my parents.
    Linda Grant (b. 1949)

    ... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.
    Hortense Odlum (1892–?)

    Yet, haply, in some lull of life,
    Some Truce of God which breaks its strife,
    The worldling’s eyes shall gather dew,
    Dreaming in throngful city ways
    Of winter joys his boyhood knew;
    And dear and early friends—the few
    John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)

    We believe that civilization has been created under the pressure of the exigencies of life at the cost of satisfaction of the instincts.
    Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)

    Eventually we will learn that the loss of indivisible love is another of our necessary losses, that loving extends beyond the mother-child pair, that most of the love we receive in this world is love we will have to share—and that sharing begins at home, with our sibling rivals.
    Judith Viorst (20th century)

    I quietly declare war with the State, after my fashion, though I will still make use and get advantage of her as I can, as is usual in such cases.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)