MILQUEST TEN QUESTIONS - TWO HOURS Dick Reynolds ACCEPTS THE challenge

MILQUEST
TEN QUESTIONS - TWO HOURS
Dick Reynolds ACCEPTS THE challenge

1. If you could change one thing about U.S. foreign policy, what would it be? Tone down the arrogant know-it-all attitude when invading a foreign country. We thought we could do it better than the French in Viet Nam and we couldn’t. Now we’re in Afghanistan after the Russians tried and pulled out after eight years. A well thought-out exit strategy should accompany this toned-down attitude. 2. If you had all the money in the world at your disposal to use for improving one thing for military people, what would it be? Establish the finest treatment centers possible for servicewomen returning from combat with PTSD. 3. If you could take one person from any era, any country, into battle with you, who would he or she be?

My former company commander, Anthony “Big Stoop” Palonis USMC

Note: Tony Palonis - what a guy! He passed away some years ago, retired in Florida with his wife, Alma. He was the CO of "Hog" company, 2/4 and I was the weapons platoon leader and later his XO for many months. He was a big man (over 6 feet and heavy) and had a very jovial personality and a great sense of humor. He got the name "Big Stoop" early in his career and called himself a Lithuanian Prince. We took the company to the field many times, did live fire excercises on the Big Island, and spent two months on Molokai testing some new tactical concepts coming out of Quantico. We also did a night attack on Molokai once. In WWII, Tony had served in one of the Raider Battalions (Under Carlson, I recall) and also on Guadalcanal. He was a MSGT then. He showed me a picture of himself on the canal. He had to be in his early 20s and said he was the youngest Marine MSGT in the history of the Corps. He was a superb infantry leader and taught everyone a lot, including the officers and staff NCOs. He was promoted to Major and became the 2/4 XO. All of this happened around 1960-1961.
4. Who is the military person you most respect? General Colin Powell. 5. What is the most important thing civilians can do to support their troops? Pray for them. 6. What do you most love about military life? The friendships made through the years with shipmates devoted to the same principles of patriotic service. 7. What is your military pet peeve? Seeing a sloppy uniform and/or someone needing a haircut. 8. What is the most important leadership principle? Setting the example. 9. What or whom is your most frequent military ghost? The alternate command post bunker on Hill 647 in Viet Nam. As the XO of our unit, I had to go into that bunker with a radio operator whenever there was an alert. I’m sure it would have withstood a mortar or rocket attack, but it probably was a death trap if the VC had come in over the wire. 10. What is your favorite project or organization that benefits military people and how can others contribute? Disabled American Veterans

Richard C. (“Dick”) Reynolds was born in 1934 in East St. Louis, IL and raised mainly in St. Louis, MO. In 1953, he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve as a private, and retired twenty-four years later as a Lieutenant Colonel. During his first twelve years, he served in infantry units as squad leader, platoon sergeant, platoon leader and rifle company executive officer. Later, he earned degrees in Mathematics and Engineering Electronics, as well as a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan. At the end of his military career, he also taught computer science and programming courses for two years at the George Washington University.
From 1977 to 1994, Dick was a System Engineer for Hughes Aircraft Company in Fullerton, CA and Brussels, Belgium. During this time, he worked on command and control system programs for Greece, Norway and Denmark, and on air defense projects for NATO, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Shortly after moving to Santa Fe, NM in the summer of 1994, Dick began a fourth career—fiction writing. His forty-plus short stories have appeared in such publications as Timber Creek Review, Skyline magazine, Barbaric Yawp, and Imitation Fruit Literary Journal. Two of his stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Dick has also published two novels, Averil, My Anchor and Mayhem in Mazatlan. He recently completed a third novel, Nightmare in Norway. He is currently writing a fourth novel called Filling in the Triangles. A collection of Dick’s short fiction is scheduled for publication by Milspeak Books, Spring 2010.
Just after retiring from the Marines, Dick took up mountain climbing. During the period 1974 to 2002, he scaled approximately 150 peaks in New Mexico, Colorado and California. He put this experience to good use from 1994 to 2002 as a member of Santa Fe Search and Rescue Group, performing on missions in the local Sangre de Cristo mountains.
Dick’s current passion is duplicate bridge. He is a bronze life master and a member of the board of directors for the Santa Fe Bridge Center, a club with over 250 active players.
Dick is married to the former Bernadette Borelli and they currently reside in Santa Fe. They enjoy traveling to Europe and many parts of the U. S. visiting their children and grandchildren.

“Shall we dance?”