SAMUEL J. (SAM) MARKS Lt. Colonel, USAF (Retired)

USAF OCS Class 57C, OC TSGT, 5th Squadron

I was born at Love Point, Maryland, which is a small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, about one hundred miles from Baltimore. I attended public schools in Stevensville, Maryland and two years of college in Baltimore. I entered the Air Force in 1951, and worked as a corpsman (flight surgeon's assistant) until I went into the related field of physiological training. I worked in physiological training until I was accepted for entry into OCS.

My first assignment after OCS was as a weapons controller (MSQ Controller) at Wakkani AB, Japan. Wakkani was an unaccompanied tour, and from there I extended and was stationed (accompanied) at Naha AB, Okinawa. From Okinawa, I was stationed at Hancock Field, Syracuse, New York, as a SAGE weapons controller. In 1962, I was reassigned to Southeast Asia (Saigon first, and then to Ubon AB, Thailand) still in the weapons systems controller field.

In 1963, after the SEA tour, I was assigned to Keesler AFB, Mississippi as instructor in the weapons controller field. In 1963, I was drafted into the Minuteman program as a launch control officer. While in the Minuteman program I attended AFIT and graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1969.

Upon graduation from the University of Wyoming, I was assigned as an Operations Branch Officer in the Minuteman program. While At Malstrom AFB, Montana, I was assigned as the Wing Safety Officer.

I was then assigned to Mangelson AFB, Korea as a battle director, again in the weapons controller field.

While in Korea, my wife died and I, of course, came back on emergency leave and asked for a transfer closer to home, so that I could be near the family. I had two girls to take care of. (Out of context, but better here than never . . . One of my daughters lives in Springfield, Virginia and has one son. She is a nurse practitioner. The other daughter lives in Tyler, Texas and has one son and two daughters. She is a counselor at the University Of Texas in Tyler.)

I was sent from Korea to Dover AFB, Delaware, where I served as the Quality Control Officer for C5 aircraft maintenance, until my retirement.

I completed the requirements for a Master of Education degree at Salisbury State University in 1979, and at the same graduation, my youngest daughter graduated from the nursing college.

I worked for the county government in various positions, and was appointed the Supervisor of Assessments in 1984 (Chief Assessor in other states), where I worked until my retirement in 1994.

Sam Marks