Above & Beyond, 3rd Ed.: Former Marines Conquer the Civilian World

Introduction

The United States Marine Corps is the smallest unit of the four branches that make up the Armed Forces of the United States. In spite of its size and the relatively small number of people passing through its ranks, the Marine Corps produces a disproportionate share of this country’s leaders. It is because Marines are different from the rest of the population. They have a different mindset and have been taught to handle problems in a different manner. They are taught to find a way to solve the problem, regardless of extenuating circumstances. They do not make excuses or try to determine why it can’t be done.

This difference is apparent prior to the individual becoming a Marine. It takes an individual with a desire to be the best, and a desire to overcome all obstacles just to enlist in the Marines. No one who joins the Marines has illusions about what awaits them when they begin their training. They arrive for training with the One of the Few attitude and the Marine Corps training instills the self-control, discipline, self-assurance, and leadership skills that lead to high achievement later in life.

Other branches of the Armed Forces have elite units, the Marine Corps in its entirety is an elite unit. Everyone, regardless of military occupation in the Marine Corps, is in top physical condition, a skilled marksman, and prepared to fight. If you happen to visit a Marine base in the morning, you will see clerks, cooks, drivers, and others running and doing PT (physical training).

If there is a former Marine in your business you will never find a more loyal, focused, and driven boss, peer, or subordinate. Never mistake his or her politeness and respect as weakness.

What we have done is profile some former Marines who took that winning attitude and applied it to the civilian sector. In this book you will meet a mix of former Marines who are very successful in the civilian fields they have chosen. For anyone who is currently in the Marines or is thinking about joining, this book will show you that the sky is the limit once you have served your time and mastered the discipline and leadership skills that the Marine Corps instills. It comes down to using the same focus and tenacity that got you through either boot camp or officer’s basic training.

In this book you will read about some former Marines you already know and many you don’t know. You will meet reservists, one-termers and out, lifers, and a former Marine Commandant who is very successful in the private sector. You will find out a little bit about each person profiled, but as you read the stories collectively, you will see a camaraderie of many races, ages, and personalities that make up the Marines.

Another common denominator of the former Marines profiled is that each individual is giving something back through charities, foundations, and various nonprofit organizations.

One group of de facto Marines not included in this publication are the Navy Corpsmen. Many of these individuals became Corpsmen, then were transferred and attached to Marine units. A longtime friend, Ray Fredericy, joined the Navy but spent the last two years of his enlistment with a Marine Force Recon Unit. There are numerous Corpsmen who have won Medals of Honor, Navy Crosses, and Silver Stars for their bravery saving the lives of countless Marines. Not only did they provide life support, many times they stepped in and provided additional firepower to prevent the Marines from being overrun. Thank you to those Navy brothers who served as de facto Marines.

If you are a former Marine or have an interest in the Marine Corps, we strongly encourage you to explore the Marine Corps nonprofits profiled in this book. On their Websites you will find links to many of the other Marine Corps nonprofits related to individual units and methods for locating and reuniting with old contacts. Royalties from the sale of this book are being paid to the seven nonprofits profiled.

For myself and my colleague, Carolyn Butler Darrow, whose contribution to this volume was immense, this has been a great and very rewarding experience. We have made many new friends and have gotten to know many of those profiled personally. We would like to thank every participant along with many of the nonparticipants who assisted in providing referrals and support for the project. Along the way, we contacted more than 400 former Marines and spent in excess of 2,500 hours working on this book. As many of the participants know, much of that time was evenings and weekends.

—Rudy Socha

Michael L. Allen

My success in business is directly related to what I learned in the Marines while serving in Vietnam.

At the age of 20, Mike heard the call to serve his country and enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Mike went in with the attitude that he was going to be the best Marine the Marine Corps had. He was the top recruit in his boot camp class (Dress Blues winner and PFC). His positive attitude and gung-ho spirit continued after boot camp. He was promoted to Lance Corporal and Corporal meritoriously within 12 months of enlisting.

"While serving in Vietnam in 1967, I extended my tour for six months to change from being the company radioman to a fire team. A few weeks later, I was promoted to Fire Team Leader. The day I became a rifle company fire team leader, all three of my fire team members asked to be assigned to other fire teams. I was shattered. I knew I would have the best fire team in the company. I couldn’t believe they wouldn’t want to be part of it.

The company Gunny (Sergeant) heard what happened and talked to me. I’ve never forgotten his words, ‘It’s the best thing that could happen to you. You get to build your own team. Do it right and your fire team becomes the foundation of your future squad.’ I must have done it right because a few months later I was an E-5 (Sergeant) Squad Leader and my fire team members became my fire team leaders.

After Mike was discharged in June of 1968 (receiving an early out to return to college), he returned to college and graduated with a BA in Business from Michigan State in 1971. In September of 1975 he started Crown Mortgage Company.

Crown Mortgage Company is one of the largest privately owned mortgage banking firms in the U.S. They have had as many as 14,000 people making their house payments to Crown ($1,100,000,000) and expect to surpass that number in 2004. Crown closed approximately $400 million in new home loans in 2003.

"My success in business is directly related to what I learned in the Marines while serving in Vietnam. I used the same principle to build my company that I used to build my fire teams. I hired the best people and taught them how to do things the way I want them done. These people later taught their replacements how to do the job the way I taught them as they moved up to the next level in the company. The company grew as a structured cohesive team.

Although I carry the titles President and CEO, my main job responsibility is leadership. I do the strategic planning and lead the company through new concepts. I also move from one area to the next working different positions to help managers systematize every function.

In 1991, Mike attended graduate school at the University of Chicago but dropped out after six months. The Dean at the University of Chicago asked why he dropped out. He told him, They were teaching me how to run a big company and I am an entrepreneur. I do not want to run a large company. The Dean recommended him for the Harvard Graduate School Program For Entrepreneurs; OPM (Owners, Presidents and Managers). He graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Business in March of 1995.

Mike’s favorite charity is Opportunity International. Opportunity International uses entrepreneurial concepts to help the poorest of the poor help themselves. They make loans to the poorest of the poor (average $150) to start their own business. Then they train them, mentor them, and build support networks. Loans and dignity—not handouts! Crown supports many charities. The preference is charities focused on food (Chicagoland Food Pantry), housing (Bridge Communities) and education (Scholarship Chicago).

Mike and his wife Laura currently reside in Hinsdale, Illinois. They have two children, Melissa and Michael, and a granddaughter, Katie.

SEMPER FIDELIS

Photo Credit (right photo): Worline Studio

James H. Amos, Jr.

Never ask your troops to do something you wouldn’t do.

Jim Amos participated in the Marine Corps Platoon Leadership Corps program after high school. He attended college and spent his summers training to be an officer at Quantico Marine Corps Base, Virginia. Amos majored in political science, receiving his A.B. degree from the University of Missouri in 1968. In 1969, he found himself leading Marines into combat in Vietnam.

"What is paramount in my memory of Vietnam is a journey. The first part of that journey was the impact of arriving in Da Nang as a young green Second Lieutenant. I remember the first thing I saw was Marble Mountain dominating the terrain like a gray-white beehive rising abruptly out of the ground, except that the attending bees were helicopters appearing and disappearing like drones protecting some hidden queen within this hive of activity. I remember the heat that had a hidden presence that squeezed sweat out of every pore. I remember the dust, the heat, and the noise all made breathing a chore and added to the feeling of disorientation and fear. I remember thinking, here I am ready to do what a lifetime has prepared me to do. I am confident, yet scared. I am supposed to be a man and a leader of men, yet sometimes feeling like a little boy who would like someone to tell me what the hell to do. I felt like a trained Marine and yet somehow still like a civilian. I remember thinking, here I am in Vietnam, I don’t have a weapon, and I’m still wearing green stateside utilities that stick out like a sore thumb against the camouflage utilities everyone else was wearing. I felt like I even looked screwed up.

"The second stage of this journey came after my first firefight in April 1969 along the Cam Lo River just outside Dong Ha, Vietnam. It seemed to me to be an amazing revelation that these guys were actually trying to kill me. Up until that very moment I understood the intellectual possibility of dying but not with the incredible force of the smell, chaos, and intensity of actual combat. I will never forget that moment as long as I live. Along with all of the attendant emotions was also the new look of respect from the troops who recognized I had been ‘blooded’ and survived.

"Finally, in some odd migratory crucible, I remember finding myself standing at attention on a hot day in August of 1969 on a blistering black-topped parade deck in Da Nang. Here as part of what was being called Vietnamization, the Ninth Marines who had been the first in Vietnam would be the first out of Vietnam. I remember squinting at the Paul Revere as Navy Frogmen swam around the ship that was to take us back to Okinawa to keep saboteurs from blowing it up. I remember listening to General Nickerson who said, ‘The freedom we together have been fighting for we can continue to win . . . we will win.’ I remember listening to the chairman of the Da Nang Citizens Council review the history of Vietnam and then saying, ‘I want to thank you for your incomparable consequence to liberty and justice . . . never shall we forget . . . ,’ and then it was over. The Marines of Alpha, First Battalion, Ninth Marine Regiment, stood around looking at each other, unable to completely comprehend what was happening. Clean sheets, a bed, chocolate milk, and salads. An incomprehensible journey from home to hell and home again.

I am completely satisfied that without the incredible discipline, training, and culture of the United States Marine Corps that journey would not have happened. I have had many blessings in life but some of my proudest moments have been in the uniform of the United States Marines.

A veteran of two combat tours in Vietnam, Amos received 12 decorations, including the Purple Heart and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Amos made the very difficult decision to resign his Captain’s commission in 1973 after eight years of service and dedication. At that time, it was the most difficult decision of my life. I loved the Marines. It was part of my identity, and as I drove out that back gate at Quantico, I was wondering who I was and where I was going.

Immediately, Amos began work as an executive recruiter, and in a short time he and a colleague formed their own recruiting company. By 1984, he entered the franchising world, where he almost doubled Arby’s franchises (13,000 units to 23,000 units) in three years. Over the next several years, Amos worked for a consulting firm and led a multi-brand frozen food company. His career with Mail Boxes Etc. began in 1996 and quickly flourished. Under his leadership, MBE forged a dynamic strategic plan that culminated in the acquisition of MBE by UPS in April 2001.

In 2003, Amos created Eagle Advisory Partners, assuming the role as Founder and CEO. EAP is an investing and consulting group that buys, invests, and provides consulting services to high growth franchise concepts and those that have the potential to become growth companies through organic growth or acquisition and conversion.

In addition to his executive responsibilities, Amos is a successful published author. The Memorial, based on U.S. Marine involvement in Vietnam, was published in 1990, and in 1998 his second work, Focus or Failure: America at the Crossroads became available. His third book, The Millennial End Game, is in progress.

Additionally, Amos gives his time and talent in many other ways. He serves on the boards of Mail Boxes Etc., the University of Missouri, the MBE We Deliver Dreams Foundation, San Diego Opera, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, Marine Military Academy, Veteran’s Administration Corporation, Ken Blanchard’s Faithwalk Leadership Foundation, Alliance Franchise Finance, and Meineke Mufflers. He is also the Immediate Past Chairman and Board Member of the International Franchise Association.

The MBE We Deliver Dreams Foundation was founded in 1998 by Amos. By delivering the dreams of individual children at risk, this nonprofit organization strives to counteract the cycles of abuse, neglect, violence, poverty, and illness that compromise a child’s ability to grow and flourish physically, mentally, and emotionally. His dream was to create a foundation that would help nurture and preserve our most precious resource—the children of the world. And dreams do come true!

The very busy Amos family resides in the Nashville, Tennessee, area.

SEMPER FIDELIS

Photo Credit (right photo): Stahl Photographics

James A. Baker III

James A. Baker III, Marine and Secretary of State

After graduating from Princeton University in 1952, Mr. Baker served two years of active duty as a Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. His experience and reputation of being a former Marine has stayed with him since then.

"When I was Secretary of State, the Commandant of the Marine Corps at the time, Al Gray, asked if he could pay me a courtesy call. We had a nice visit in my office at the State Department. As he got up to leave, he said, ‘Mr. Secretary, I have a present for you.’ It was a box of business cards on a camouflage background that read as follows:

James A. Baker III

U.S. Marine

And Secretary of State"

After his two years of active duty as a Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, Baker entered the University of Texas School of Law at Austin. He received his J.D. with honors in 1957, and practiced law with the Houston firm of Andrews and Kurth from 1957 to 1975.

Baker’s record of public service began in 1975 as Under Secretary of Commerce to President Gerald Ford. Mr. Baker led presidential campaigns for Presidents Ford, Reagan, and Bush over the course of five consecutive presidential elections from 1976 to 1992. Mr. Baker served as the 67th Secretary of the Treasury from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. As Treasury Secretary, he was also Chairman of the President’s Economic Policy Council. From 1981 to 1985, he served as White House Chief of Staff to President Reagan.

James A. Baker III has served in senior government positions under three United States presidents. He served as the nation’s 61st Secretary of State from January 1989 through August 1992 under President George H. Bush. During his tenure at the State Department, Mr. Baker traveled to 90 foreign countries as the United States confronted the unprecedented challenges and opportunities of the post–Cold War era. In 1995, Mr. Baker published The Politics of Diplomacy, his reflections on those years of revolution, war, and peace.

Baker’s public service concluded with his service as White House Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor to President Bush from August 1992 to January 1993. In 2000, Mr. Baker led the legal team that argued the Florida election counts on behalf of President George W. Bush.

Baker received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 and has been the recipient of many other awards for distinguished public service, including Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson Award, the American Institute for Public Service’s Jefferson Award, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Award, the Hans J. Morgenthau Award, the George F. Kennan Award, the Department of the Treasury’s Alexander Hamilton Award, the Department of State’s Distinguished Service Award, and numerous honorary academic degrees.

Baker is presently a senior partner in the law firm of Baker Botts and Senior Counselor to the Carlyle Group, a merchant banking firm in Washington, D.C. He is Honorary Chairman of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and serves on the board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 1997, Mr. Baker was appointed the Personal Envoy of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to mediate direct talks between the parties in the dispute over Western Sahara.

Baker and his wife, the former Susan Garrett, currently reside in Houston, and have 8 children and 14 grandchildren.

SEMPER FIDELIS

Harvey Curtis Barnum, Jr.

(Medal of Honor Recipient) Through teamwork and taking care of your comrades, you can accomplish any task.

During the second week of his combat tour in Vietnam, H.C. Barney Barnum proved his courage and leadership skills in battle. On December 18, 1965, while most Americans were preparing for Christmas, First Lieutenant Barnum was assuming command of the rifle company he was attached to as an Artillery Forward Observer due to the deaths of the company’s commander and radio man. He took command and proceeded to direct artillery fire, call in air support, and direct counterattacks to overcome a force that was vastly superior in number. For these valiant efforts, First Lieutenant Barnum was the fourth United States Marine of the Vietnam War to be awarded the nation’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor.

I had been in Vietnam two weeks, been with my infantry company as its artillery forward observer for one week, was on my first operation and on the fourth day we were ambushed. That was the first time I was ever shot at. The company commander was killed. I took over and led the company against a force that was numerically superior, and as a team we were successful and defeated the enemy. That experience set the mold that has driven my life—through teamwork and taking care of your comrades, you can accomplish any task.

Barnum completed that tour of Vietnam and served another as an Artillery Battery Commander. He went on to serve a total of twenty-seven and a half years in the Marine Corps before retiring as a Colonel. His tours included five tours as an artilleryman, Guard Officer at Marine Barracks Pearl Harbor and Operations Officer Hawaiian Armed Forces Police; Weapons Officer at the Officer’s Basic School; Commanding Officer of a Recruit Training battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island; at Headquarters Marine Corps: aide to the Assistant Commandant as a Captain and Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Director of Special Projects and Military Secretary to the Commandant as a Colonel.

Barnum attended the Officers Basic School as a Lieutenant, U.S. Army Field Artillery School and Amphibious Warfare School as a Captain, U.S. Army Command and Staff College as a Major, and the Naval War College as a Colonel. In 2002, Mr. Barnum was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law from his alma mater St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.

While serving as Chief of Current Operations, U.S. Central Command, Colonel Barnum planned and executed operation BRIGHT STAR spread over four southwest Asian countries involving 26,000 personnel.

Barnum’s personal medals and decorations include Medal of Honor, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Combat V and Gold Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Army Meritorious Unit Citation, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Unit Citation, two awards of the Meritorious Unit Citation, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (silver).

Colonel Barnum retired from the Marine Corps in 1989. He entered the civilian public service sector as the Principal Director for Drug Enforcement Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In that position he developed policy to enable the military to train and support drug enforcement agencies in the war on drugs. In 1998, Mr. Barnum took a position as Community and Corporate Affairs Advisor for Arltec, Inc. Arltec owned and operated five Sheraton Hotels in the Greater Washington, D.C., area. He worked extensively with chambers of commerce and local civic action associations on behalf of the firm.

As a Medal of Honor Recipient, he served four years as Vice President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and two years as its President. As one of the Society’s senior officials he has traveled extensively speaking on the organization’s behalf.

On July 23, 2001, Barnum was sworn in as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs. In this capacity he is responsible for all matters regarding the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve including manpower, policy, budgeting, and mobilization. This entails oversight of more than 160,000 Naval Reserve and 100,000 Marine Corps Reserve personnel.

Barnum is married to Martha E. Hill of Parkersburg, West Virginia. The Barnums currently reside in Reston, Virginia.

SEMPER FIDELIS

James E. Bassett III

Entering the civilian sector, I soon discovered that the leadership I learned as a Marine was a life-changing experience and was invaluable in providing me with the experience and competence in dealing with complex and difficult situations.

James Ted Bassett III graduated from Kent School in Kent, Connecticut. Ted enlisted in the Marine Corps under the V-12 program and was sent to Yale to complete his degree. After graduating from Yale, he was sent to Parris Island for the enlisted ranks 16 weeks of boot camp. At the time, officer candidates had to complete boot camp and then qualify for Officer Candidate School, even if they were in a future officer’s program such as V-12.

Going through Parris Island gave me a great appreciation and understanding of the type of men I would be leading. We had the opportunity to know the men and they had the opportunity to know future officers on a personal level prior to rank and training separating us. I believe we had greater unit cohesion, confidence, and respect for each other as a result of this method of officer training.

Upon receiving his commission, Ted served during World War II in the Pacific as an infantry officer in the 4th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Presidential Unit Citation.

After his discharge from the Marines, Ted worked for nine years at Great Northern Paper. After GN Paper, Ted went to work for the Kentucky State Police and rose to become their Director and Deputy Commissioner for Public Safety for the State of Kentucky.

Entering the civilian sector, I soon discovered that the leadership I learned as a Marine was a life-changing experience and was invaluable in providing me with the experience and competence in dealing with complex and difficult situations. Many of the positions I undertook were with organizations that were in dire need of change, restructuring, and organizational discipline. I would not have been able to implement the necessary changes and achieve the same level of accomplishment if at an early age I had not been given the training and responsibilities that the Marine Corps provided.

On January 1, 1968, Ted went to work for Keeneland, America’s most famous thoroughbred institution. In 1970, Ted was elected President and in 1986, Chairman.

Keeneland is a combination thoroughbred race-course and sales company located six miles west of Lexington in the heart of Kentucky’s famed blue grass region. Unique in organization, Keeneland is a nondividend paying corporation. Directors serve without monetary remuneration. Profits are returned in the form of higher purses to horsemen, capital improvements, and annual giving to charitable, educational, and research organizations.

Keeneland provides superior year-round training facilities and annually conducts race meetings of the highest caliber in April and October. Keeneland hosts the world’s largest thoroughbred public auction. Average annual sales are $600-700 million with $150-200 million in sales overseas to more than 28 different countries. Thoroughbred sales are held six times yearly with two-year-olds selling in April, yearlings selling in July, September, and October, breeding stock in November, and horses of all ages in January. It is common at Keeneland events to see members of royalty, movie stars, and business tycoons from around the world. The grounds and buildings are listed on the National Historic Register and recognized worldwide for their intrinsic beauty and landscaping.

In 1998, Ted worked to form the Emirates World Series Racing Championship. In 1999, he assumed the Chairman’s position for the organization. He retired from Keeneland in 2001 after 33 years.

The World Series Racing Championship was created to bring the Sport of Kings into the next century and in line with all other sporting activities by creating a world horse racing championship. In March 1999, the inaugural championship kicked off under the lights of Nad Al Sheba Racecourse with the