James Dunkelberger Dunkelberger

US Navy 1964 to 1973. Basic and Advanced Electronics Training. Served as a GCA (Ground Controlled Approach Radar Technician) in Nas Oceana Virginia Beach Va. and Naples Italy from 1965 to 1970. Served in Vietnam as a USN Adviser to the Vietnamese Navy. Established Radio Repair shop on a new base (ISB Cho Moi) on the Mekong River 1971. 1972 served as shipboard UHF communication technical supervisor on board the USS Oriskany CVA-34. Hired by Hewlett-Packard as an Electronics Technician in January 1973. Worked for HP from 1973 till 2003 as a technician, supervisor and manager.

Married 1970 and started family with first daughter born in 1974.
Retired from HP in 2003. Obtained CDL in 2003 and drove truck till 2008.
Retired again in 2008 for the last time. While doing all this I learned to fly and obtained a Commercial Pilot License. I live on an airpark (az82) in Overgaard, Az. where I indulge in flying my 1961 Piper Aztec and socializing in my C7 Corvette. When I'm not playing, I'm napping which seems to be more frequent now.

Well, things have changed a bit. Sold my plane and home on the airpark and moved to Mesa Arizona in November 2019. Second round of stints and covid in 2020. I am in far east Mesa almost to Apache Junction. I love the diversity of the neighborhoods and history of the area. The Sonoran Desert is thick, lush and beautiful. Usery Mountain and Park is nearby. The only drawback is the annual migration of snowbirds here...lol Joking, but it is difficult finding a seat at the bar at the American Legion and VFW in winter. I just go early and stay all day. Not really, but my wife, Pam, keeps commenting... I miss the plane, but all good things come to an end. I wasn't flying enough to stay proficient and starting to make small errors. I decided to not kill myself in my winged baby after 35 years of ownership. I now fly low in my Corvette, much more forgiving.

I still have family in Battle Creek and Holland. I get back to Michigan from time to time and have attended many of the reunions. See you at the next one.

I hope no one remembers this but I did try out for the football team once. Couldn't run, couldn't catch so the coach put me in at center during practice. After getting run over a couple of times I saw no future in it, neither did the coach. Golf, that was more my style, I thought. My classmates were semi-pros. So much for this 25 handicapper. In looking back I sort of drifted through High School without anyone kicking me in the butt. I did like electricity and scored pretty well on the Military Enlistment Tests. They guaranteed me Electronics school if I enlisted. US Navy here I come, no hunting the enemy with an M16 for me or draft worries. I was told to report for the Army but I was already in. Ironically I did go to Vietnam as an Adviser and was issued an M16, however I was not hunting the enemy and only shot the M16 during training.