Page 43 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2025 - Online Magazine

navy | vietnam

hit by a storm. Suddenly a white monkey
appeared out of the storm to stand at the
bow of the ship and guide it to safety on
the island. The island became known as
“Monkey Island.”) Jerry also remembered,
“Japan was the only place in the far east
where young girls wanted their pictures
taken with sailors.”

When Jerry’s time in the Navy ended,
“We headed back to San Diego on my last
cruise 1967. On June 5, I was discharged
from active duty. My parents were waiting
for me on the dock. My dad’s cousin lived
in San Diego, so we visited her while we
were there. After the service, I went back
to Hagerman and worked at a plumbing
company for about a year. I attended New
Mexico State University for two semesters.
In 1968, an Army buddy told me about
a good paying job in Seattle, so I moved
there for two years.

“I moved to Arlington, TX in 1970, where I
met and married my first wife. I attended
UT Arlington and graduated in 1974. While in college
I worked for Texas Bank and Trust Bank America
(now Visa). Our marriage ended after only five years.

“In 1978, I met up with a high school friend Robin
Erwin. She was also divorced and had one son,
Bill. By then, I was living in Denver, and she lived
in Roswell, NM. We married in 1979 and moved to
Lubbock in 2006. We had a good, long marriage, but
she passed away in 2013.”

Jerry found out about the Texas South Plains Honor
Flight at the Blue Sky Restaurant. He went on the
2016 flight and again as a guardian in 2017. The
Korean War Memorial was his favorite stop because
of “the lifelike soldiers on patrol and their reflection
showing up in the black marble walls next to them.”
He said he’d like to be remembered for “being a good
son, father, and family man—and that I served my
country.”

Lubbock Senior Link 43