Wayne Memorial High School Alumni
Wayne, Michigan (MI)
Larry Johnston
Wayne Memorial High School
Class of 1963
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LARRY'S PROFILE
| First Name | Larry |
| Last Name | Johnston |
| Graduation Year | Class of 1963 |
| Gender | Male |
| Current Location | Fort Wayne, IN |
| Hometown | Wayne, MI |
| Relationship Status | Married |
| About Me | Life Born in Missouri but grew up in Wayne, Michigan. My parents moved north after the war ended when I was 3 months old. Needless to say, I don't remember much about Missouri. I attended the Wayne Schools System from Kindergarten through High School. After High School graduation, being undecided on a career and with the Vietnam War escalating, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Military I left for basic training on September 4, 1963, from Willow Run Airport (Detroit Metro Airport was still being built). The flight took me to San Antonio, Texas for 8 weeks of Boot Camp at Lackland Air Force Base. Basic Training was not as bad as I imagined (except for the Gas house experience…. Chemical warfare training burns really bad!!). Remember your yes sir and no sir was the best advice my Mom gave me and kept me out of a lot of trouble. In October 1963, I flew to Denver Colorado to start 6 months of Missile Electronics and Nuclear weapons training at Lowry Air Force Base. I Loved Denver. Lowry had beautiful mountains in the distance and I met a lot of fantastically great people. As a very homesick airman away from home at Thanksgiving, I was welcomed into a local home (Mr. & Mrs. Mowen) for a great Thanksgiving dinner and friendship. The local church people were great. I left Denver in April 1964 and flew to Orlando AFB, Florida for Combat Crew Training. I actually finally got to get my hands on the Mace Missile that up to now was only an academic reality. What an experience. My crew was sent TDY for 2 weeks to Patrick AFB at Cape Canaveral (Now Cape Kennedy). We trained on Launch Pad 21 but unfortunately did not get to participate in any real launches. My parents and sisters came to the base in September to drive me back to Michigan before I left for Kadena AB, Okinawa for 18 months. Got to spend 30 days at home with my family and then in October 1964, I left for Kadena AB, Okinawa in the Pacific just south of Japan. On an island that varies from 2 to 12 miles wide and 60 miles long, there are not a lot of places to go. Did as much sightseeing as possible; was able to visit Ie Shiema where Indiana war corespondent Ernie Pyle was killed in WWII and saw his monument. I visited many of the WWII battle grounds on the island. My future wife Sandy's dad was wounded April 22, 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa during WWII. What a coincidence that I would be on the island where 20 years earlier he almost lost his life. I was assigned to Launch Crew 32 and later to Crew 33 at Missile Sites 3 and 4 that were north of Kadena Air base. Was sent to driving school to get a military drivers license and became one of the Bus drivers to take my crew to and from the site. This was the Military’s way of saving money on bus drivers. Drive them there, work your 8 hour shift and then drive them home. Started out Working as a Flight Control Specialist (this meant I had to work in the 100+ degree Launch Bay instead of in the Air Conditioned Launch Control Center). It was such a blessing to be reassigned as a Launch Control Specialist (worked in the Launch Control center - air conditioned!) and then just had to talk via headset to the other team members in the Launch Bay during Missile count up. I left Okinawa in February 1966 and came home to Michigan for a 30 day leave before going to my next assignment at Holloman AFB, New Mexico My new job description was INERTIAL GUIDANCE TEST TECHNICIAN at the Gyroscope Test Lab for the Air Force Missile Development Center. This turned out to be a great job. Unlike the rotating 8 hour shifts (days, swing, and nights) in the Okinawa launch site, this was basically a 9 - 5 job working with civilian and military engineers. Had a chance to actually perform tests on the first Lunar Lander guidance system for the Apollo 11 moon trip. Exciting work! Left the military on September 3, 1967 and never regretted my decision to serve my country for 4 years. It was a lifetime of personal growth, learning and experiences that were truly priceless. I returned to Wayne, MI and joined General Electric as a Field Engineer for GE's mainframe computer systems. GE's Computer Division was sold to Honeywell Information Systems in 1970. While working a full time job, I went back to school under the GI bill and Graduated from the Computer Control Electronics course at DeVry Institute of Technology and later majored in Accounting at WCCC and Eastern Michigan University. In the early 1980's, I switched to software support for Honeywell's proprietary GCOS62 operating system until the introduction of Local Area Networks in the late 1980's. In 1995, I Joined IBM as a Senior Information Technology Specialist to provide technical support for both Novell and Microsoft networks. In 1968, I married Kay Osborn (WMHS class of 1963) and we have two beautiful daughters. Kay and I divorced and Kay and our daughters now live in sunny Arizona. My daughters are both married and they gave us 3 grandchildren. My second wife Sandy and I were married in 1985. Sandy is from Calumet in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Sandy has a son and daughter. Her son added 4 more grandchildren and her daughter 2 more to the f...(read more) |
Class of 1963 Alumni
→ Reunite with 37 class of 1963 alumni that have joined.
Lanny Henderson
Class of 1963
Dave Scott
Class of 1993
Lindsay Moore
Class of 2000
Tressa Witbeck
Class of 1991
Charles Chapman
Class of 1961
Mike Martin
Class of 1992
Tanya Halcomb
Class of 1983
Roy Young
Class of 1980
Dawn Sinclair
Class of 1989
Chris Manning
Class of 1973
Thomas Julin
Class of 1983
Jennifer Manakis
Class of 2002
Kimberly Berry
Class of 1989
Jamie Woolford
Class of 2005
Garry King
Class of 1966
Robert Roach
Class of 1987
Tammy Bradley
Class of 1987
Wendy Reinink
Class of 1983
Tom Ratica
Class of 1962
Greg Honeycutt
Class of 1982
Jayne Simmons
Class of 1988
Kelly Cato
Class of 1988
Heather Brothers
Class of 2003
Donna Jones
Class of 1977
Jeanette Knechtges
Class of 1957
Karen Stratman
Class of 1970
Diane Wagner
Class of 1984
Diane Ebeling
Class of 1986
Timothy Mays
Class of 1973
Lynn Stutesman
Class of 1972
Christopher Wentela
Class of 1990
Carl Mclaughlin
Class of 1979
Kevin Reynolds
Class of 1981
John Smith Adams
Class of 2001
Judith Dolfi
Class of 1980
James Fox
Class of 1954
Recent Class of 1963 Reunions
Plan a Class of 1963 Reunion for Free
Class of 1972 50th Reunion
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: May 14, 2022
Description: Registration will open on January 15, 2022. Persons can register and pay online at waynehighclassof1972.org or pay by ma...(read more)
All Class Charity Golf Tournament
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: May 14, 2022
Description: The price is yet to be determined, but around $65 per golfer. In conjunction with the Class of 1972 50th reunion weekend...(read more)