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Pete Boesen Bio: Serial Number 1819441 Platoon 349 MCRD, San Diego, June 1958 Born January 6, 1940, in Minneapolis, MN. Graduated HS in June of 1958 I joined the Marine Corps reserve in February of 1958. Early enlistment prior to high school graduation offered a guarantee of Marine Aviation Mechanics training once out of boot camp. MOS 6481. Once boot camp was completed, I was shipped off to Jacksonville, FL for aircraft familiarization training. That was my version of 2nd ITR. After Jacksonville, I was shipped to Millington, TN (just outside of Memphis) for specialized helicopter mechanics training. That was a 16 week event. My permanent duty station was the Marine Corps Air Facility, New River, Jacksonville, NC. Home of the 2nd Marine Air Wing in support of the Second Marine Division located across the river at Camp Lejune. I enjoyed most of my tour there. We had a variety of assignments. Frequent exercises from the flat-tops USS Boxer, USS Valley Forge and the USS Thietus Bay (spelling?). Our war games were always played off the coast of Puerto Rico. One of our more interesting assignments was the installation of a new bell tower at the University of West Virginia. What an external lift that was! Our squadron, HMR 461, was equipped with the largest transport helicopters in the military. We could carry as many as 30 fully equipped troops. As we all remember, "vertical envelopment" was the single most effective method to get our Marines to where they were needed the quickest. We were also part of history. I was assigned to a crew that was responsible for the recovery of our original astronauts. You will remember it as "Project Mercury". We plucked them out of the ocean when they returned from orbit. I married my childhood sweetheart September 30, 1960. She spent the last year and one half with me in North Carolina. We lived in a 28 foot trailer at Camp Geiger trailer park (courtesy of the USMC). Our first son was born at Camp Lejune Naval Hospital on February, 1962. We have been married 45 years come September 30th. I was honorably discharged in March of 1962. During my down time in the Corps, I took classes on East Carolina College on my way to getting a degree in business. Once out, I hired on with Buick Motor Division, General Motors Corporation. While there I had the opportunity to gain more schooling at General Motors Institute as well as more night classes at the University of Minnesota. I spent nearly 10 years with GM prior to making the move to the retail side of the auto industry. I joined a dealership in Fargo, ND. I spent 33 years as the Honda-Nissan dealer in Fargo. My partner and I sold the dealership in October of 2001. At the insistence of my oldest son, we moved to Redondo Beach, CA. Once there, I was hired by an old friend of mine to run his Infiniti dealership in Monrovia, CA (just east of Pasadena 9 miles). I've now been here for over 3 years and I will retire and move to our home in Palm Desert, CA, on September 1, 2005. Once there, I have numerous jobs that I want to attempt, but, not until I take some time for my wife and I to unwind. I look forward to hooking up with all of the old troops from Platoon 349 whenever they are in the Palm Springs area.