Dad's Page

This is where Dad gets to put his stuff. It kinda like a "ME" wall, except in Cyberspace. Anyway, I won't bore you with meaningless links to pages that you probably don't want to look at, and NO you will not find porno, or other trash here. So, look around, and see if there is anything of interest too you.

I am an Amateur Radio Operator, otherwise known as a Ham Radio Operator...Don't know what that is; well, if you saw the movie "Independence Day" with Will Smith, at the end of the movie, the told the whole world how to kill the alien invaders using International Morse Code (dots and dashes). In the movie "Contact" with Jodie Foster (?), at the beginning of the movie the young girl is trying to make contact on a Ham Radio, and her Dad calls her Sparks. Well, my call sign is KS4OC, which is an Advanced Class license. That means that I have learned Morse code up to 13 words per minute, and a whole bunch of electronic theory, and some legal mumbo jumbo to keep me straight, took a few tests, and passed. The FCC issues the license.

This is what a Morse Code Key Looks Like.

This is the Marine Corps Rifle Expert Badge. I qualified for this badge 3 times in 4 years while in the Marine Corps.

If you can't tell, I am also a U. S. Marine, just not on active duty anymore (once a Marine, Always a Marine). Some folks don't care about that, and some that know me, and know that I only spent four years in the Corps and got out, wonder why I am proud of this fact. Well, truth is, I wasn't at first...I got out in 1980, and President Jimmy Carter had done his level best to keep the military down (though Slick Willie did a better job of demoralizing the military). After I left the Corps, I had a couple of jobs that were pretty bad, looking back a what I did in the Marines, the Marines didn't seem so bad after all. In 1983 I moved to South Carolina to attend College, where I met Rhonda, her Grandfather was a Marine in WWII, he took an instant liking to me, mainly because I was a once a Marine. More and more, when people found out that I had been a Marine, more and more doors where opened for me. College went well, I got a job immediately upon graduation, and my training in the Marines and in college was put to use. The wanted a strong, no-nonsense type person to do the job I was hired for, so the pay was GREAT, especially since my last job was minimum wage (in 1983, about $5.30 /hr) and this new job paid twice that. It seems that your past really does sneek up to haunt you. In 1989 ended up working for a guy who, as it tuned out, was a Former Marine, he got me promoted to a $45K/yr job. It's been 21 years now with the same company, and I still make decent money, and can look back and say that the Marine Corps helped me do it...SEMPER FI.

So, I made E-4, Corporal, while working on the AV8A, Harrier Jump Jet. I was attached to Squadron VMA-231. I travelled from Cherry Point, NC to Okinawa, Japan (via Hawaii) to Beaufort, SC, to Yuma, AZ. I was in Platoon 377 at Parris Island, SC in 1976. I was an avionics technician, working on anything with a wire/fuse/light bulb/or air tube (instruments) attached to it. Looking back it WAS fun, and best of all, I made some friends that will be friends for life.

After I married Rhonda, she was amazed by the fact that just about anywhere we travelled, someone knew me by name, either from work, or from the Marine Corps.

It is truly amazing how small the United States really is. We were in Lawton, Oklahoma, in the mall, when a guy from work walked up and shook my hand, then we were in Greenville, SC at an airshow, when a fellow former Marine walked up and shook my hand. Then at work, another Marine that was a mechanic on the Harrier, kept looking at me like he knew me, but wasn't sure, finally, I asked him if he had ever heard of VMA-231, a smile came over his face as he realized where he had seen me before.

The Band of Brothers is alive and well, and living in the United States, as well as in over 30 countries around the world (this is being written during Monica's War, otherwise known as the Kosovo NATO/military action.

Here are some recent photo's.

This is a photo of me and some Ham Radio Friends. From Left (facing) is Amy, David, Me, and back to the camera, is Don.

Our call signs, in the order listed above are: KF4HWH, KU4HX, KS4OC, AND KE4TTA. This photo was taken out the Amateur Radio Club May picnic in the park, May 15, 1999. Other photos to follow.

These pictures actually came from the Amateur Radio Club Web site. Thanks to the photographer. I stole these pictures without permission.

This is a picture of my wife, Rhonda and me at a wedding reception on December 9, 2000. Rhonda's call sign is KE4DIM.

This is a 1998 picture of our family. Roy does NOT like to smile in photos!!!

This great Calvin and Hobbs Comic Strip describes Roy's dislike of having his picture taken to a tee!!!

Click here to go to the Battle of Aiken Reenactment Page.

Click here to go to the Amateur Radio Club of Augusta Home Page.

Click here to go to my MARINE CORPS MOMENTS page.

Click here to go to Roy's page

Click here to go our General Stuff page

Click here to go to the Scoggins Coat of Arms Page

Click here to go back to our HOME Page