Upon
graduation from high school, Clay decided to join the toughest military
organization he could find. If it was good enough for John Wayne, then
it was good enough for him. He joined the United States Marine Corp. Clay
wanted to prove to himself that he had what it took to be a Marine, And
prove it he did. Clay completed basic training at Parris Island, S.C.
and went on to Advanced Infantry Training at Camp Geiger. After completing
his initial training, Clay was assigned as a student at the Marine Corp's
Communications & Electronic School in California.
Within his first 6 years in the Marines, Clay advanced to the rank of
Staff Sergeant and some of his awards were the National Defense Medal
and the Good Conduct Medal, which he received three times during his career.
Even though Clay's job was in
the Electronics field, he was still a Marine and each year he was required
to recertify at the rifle and pistol ranges, enabling him to maintain
his ranking as an Expert Rifleman. Twelve, fifteen and twenty mile forced
marches, with full field gear, were not uncommon at many of the stations
he was assigned. After his promotion to Staff Sergeant, Clay was again
transferred to the Marine Corp's Communications & Electronics School
to attend the advanced course in Electronic Radio repair. Some of the
additional duties Clay assumed while serving with the Marine Corp were
that of Career Counselor and Training NCO. During his many tours out in
southern California, Clay learned to ride and handle horses, western style.
This provided him the opportunity to participate in several parades with
the military mounted color guard.
During his service with the Marines, Clay traveled to many places overseas
like Japan, Okinawa and
South
Korea. Clay felt that he was fortunate to meet people from such diverse
cultures. He never frequented the areas most of his fellow Marines did;
instead he would find a small quiet place located away from the main areas
and just sit and watch and try to communicate with the local people. Clay
made many friends and learned much about their culture. He began to realize
that they were not that much different than we are. Sure they spoke a
different language, dressed differently and had different customs, but
they had the same wants and desires as most people in the world do.
After almost 12 years with the Marines, Clay decided that he wanted to
try something different with his life, so upon his discharge, Clay returned
home to continue his education.
