John D. Altenburg - Childhood, Education and Enlisted Military Service

Childhood, Education and Enlisted Military Service

Altenburg grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where he attended Chaminade High School, before his parents moved to Detroit, Michigan in his senior year. While living in the Detroit area, he graduated from Redford St Mary's High School in 1962. From 1960 to 1965, Altenburg worked as a camp counselor at a Hamilton County, Ohio Catholic summer camp, Fort Scott Camps. He earned his B.A. in English and International studies at Wayne State University in 1966. He taught English at Cincinnati Elder High School from 1967 to 1968, the spring of 1970, and the 1970 Summer Enrichment Program.

He entered the US Army in June 1968, serving as an enlisted soldier at Fort Knox, Kentucky; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and finally Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta until honorably discharged in March 1970. He enrolled at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where received his J.D. in 1973.

He completed the Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course in 1973, and later the Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course. He was awarded a Master’s Degree in Military Art and Science by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1986, in conjunction with his completion of the Command and General Staff Officer Course. He completed the year’s study in National Security Strategy at the National War College in 1992.