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Useless Trivia The world's first passenger train made its debut in England in 1825.
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Member Biographies :
Member Biography
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| Title: |
Biography of Richard D. Avery |
| By: |
Richard Avery
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| Bio: |
I was born in Los Angels in 1936 and moved to Corona, the birth city of my mother, in 1941. My father was a plumber and was an advisor to the Marines during WWII. He worked for Food Machinery Corp. and advised the Marines at Pendleton on how to operate the "Duck" personnel landing craft. I attended Lincoln elementary, Corona Junior High, now Corona Fundamental Intermediate School and Corona High School at the West 6th Street location. I attended Chaffey Junior College for three semesters before enlisting in the Air Force. I went through Basic Training at Parks Air Force Base in Pleasanton, CA and Tech school at Chanute AFB in Illinois where I was trained as a weather observer. I was assigned to Travis AFB in Northern CA for two years before receiving a compassionate reassignment to March AFB. I was there for two years before I was selected to attend Officer Candidate School in San Antonio, TX. From there, I was transferred to Harlington AFB, TX where I was trained to be a navigator. I was then sent to Mather AFB to become a Radar Bombardier. Assignments from Mather were by class standing. I selected to accept one of six assignments to Hickman AFB Hawaii and became a navigator on passenger C-118 aircraft20and transported military passengers to bases in Japan and the Philippines. When transportation was contracted to civilian jet aircraft, I became a navigator on C-124 cargo aircraft and transported cargo all over the Far East including Viet Nam. In 1966, I was transferred to Charleston AFB SC where I be came a navigator on C-141 aircraft and transported cargo to Europe, Africa, South America and the Far East including Viet Nam. From 1962 to 1971 I flew repeated cargo missions to Viet Nam and flew cargo and Air Evacuation missions which transported wounded personnel to hospitals in Japan and the Us mainland. In 1971, I received orders to train to fly the AC-130 Gunship in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia. Our primary mission was interdiction over the Ho Chi Minntraia, a series of roads that were used to transport supplies to the Viet Cong in Southern Viet Nam. I flew 138 missions and destroyed numerous trucks and other vehicles. My aircraft was subjected to numerous rounds of AAA fire and heat seeking missiles. Upon completion of my combat tour, I was reassigned to Norton AFB, CA in San Bernardino where I was stationed fron 1972 to my retirement in 1986. I received many service ribbons and medals for my service in the Air Force. My formal education consisted of an undergraduate degree in business from the University of Nebraska, Omaha in 1970 and a masters degree in education from Pepperdine University in 1973. After my retirement from the Air Force, I was a substitute teacher in the Corona Norco Unified School District for a little over 10 years where I taught Science and Math subjects to honors and advanced placement classes. I "retired" totally in 2004 and now travel and perform various tasks for the Corona Hosts Lions Club.
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