Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2019

74 www.MPMcalendar.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com feature C harleston and the Lowcountry have a long tradition of military service. So many men and women have sacrificed to serve their country, yet so many stories are left untold. And, one of the most significant is how all these veterans transitioned from military to civilian life. Meet two of those veterans who shared a small portion of their stories. One is a “lifer” with a steady progression through the ranks and 30 years of service; the other is a “short-timer” who might have put in his own long military career save for a training accident that left him with knee and hip injuries that led to his medical discharge. STANWALKER Stanley (Stan) Walker graduated high school with a trade he’d learned from vocational courses – bricklayer – a job he claims he could still do today. Instead of pursuing a career as a brick mason, at the age of 17 he signed up for the U.S. Air Force. Soon after joining, he excelled at his job as a fuels specialist and quickly ascended to the rank of chief master sergeant, the highest non- commissioned officer rank in the Air Force. His assignments took him from home in Columbia to his first duty station at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter BY BILL FARLEY Transitioning to Civilian Life Stan Walker.