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Today's Featured Biography
Roy Harbour
Hobbies: Car Shows in my 1964 ½ red Mustang convertible. Riding Harley-Davidson and attending HOG rallies. Watching Pro and College football especially the Razorbacks. Computer Junkie, Past hobbies while in the Air Force was Skeet Shooting, hunting and fishing.
College: Community College of the Air Force, Bus Admin, Computer Science courses at South Arkansas Community College and course in Personnel Management at State University of New York.
Religious Preference: Baptist
A special EHS experience that I remember is: Leaving EHS to attend Fairfield HS for 6 months in Shreveport, LA. The course subjects at Fairfield was approx 1 year behind EHS, so getting “A’s for those 6 months was a snap. But upon returning to EHS, it seemed I was now 1 year and 6 months behind everyone else. Bummer! I was as lost as a goose in a snow storm!
Organizational Membership: Life member-Veteran’s of Foreign Wars, Life member-Disabled American Veterans, Member-American Legion, Member-Harley’s Owner Group(H.O.G.)
Military Service: 21½ Years, AR National Guard, Army Reserve, and United States Air Force.
Awards/Decorations: Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, 3 Air Force Commendation Medals, Two Presidential Unit Citations, 3 Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards, Air Force Good Conduct Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal with 2 bronze loops, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal(Quemoy Island Campaign), National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Longevity Service Award with 4 oak leaf clusters, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, Korea Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with 3 stars, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Bio: While still in EHS, I enlisted in the El Dorado Army National Guard at the young, young age of 15. Yes, I was underage to enlist, but in those days, one could get away with such things. Six months after reaching the age of 17 the military enlistment “bug” bit me again and I joined the Air Force in Oct 1955. I regretted not finishing High School at EHS so I immediately went to work to obtain my HS GED. Upon successful completion of my HS GED, I took and passed the College GED. I applied and received a Certificate of HS Completion from the State of Arkansas. I continued my education with the Community College of the Air Force in the Business Administration field. After Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX, I had the following assignments: Hamilton AFB, near San Francisco, CA. Itazuke AB, Fukuoka, Japan (southern island of Kyushu, Japan). It was there that I met my wife, Shizuko. We were married in Jan 57, which was not an easy task, ….that is, it was not easy because…to marry a Japanese citizen during those days took a lot of paperwork. In Jan 2007, we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. In Aug 58, our first child, Sherry, was born, and 14 months later, Oct 59, our second child, Terry, was born, both at the Itazuke Air Base Hospital. During the 4 years at Itazuke, I was assigned to the 35th Fighter Squadron. In Aug 1960, we left Itazuke Air Base and headed to Adair Air Force Station, near Corvillas, Oregon. In 1963 we were assigned to Texarkana AFS, at Texarkana, AR. In 1964, we were assigned to Ent AFB, Colorado Springs, CO., with duty in Cheyenne Mountain in a Civil Engineer Squadron that was blasting the tunnels and erecting the buildings inside of Cheyenne Mountain for the NORAD complex. Our third child, Daniel, was born in Dec 1965 at the Air Force Academy hospital during this time. In Jan 1966, before NORAD moved into Cheyenne Mountain, we transferred back to Itazuke AB Japan, which was the best base assignment one could hope for. I served as the Itazuke Base Suggestion Program Administrator for 3 years, then in 1969 received an assignment to Chanute AFB, at Rantoul, IL. In Jan 1971, I was sent to Bien Hoa AB, Vietnam and traveled to many other locations in Vietnam, such as Ton Son Nhut Air Base, Cam Rhan Bay Air Base, DaNang Air Base, and Long Binh Army Base, and several jungle outpost that I can’t remember what they were called. I moved my family to El Dorado and they lived across the street from Mom while I was in Vietnam for the entire year of 1971. My next assignment was from Hot and Humid Vietnam to the freezing cold of Wurtsmith AFB, at Oscoda, MI. From Jan of 72 to Mar of 74, we endured the cold weather of Michigan, then were reassigned to SAC Headquarters at Offutt AFB, NE. And wouldn’t you know it, it was cold there too! After 21 ½ years of military service, I retired from the Air Force on 1 Nov 75 and returned to
El Dorado.
I decided I wanted to work outdoors, so I attended the Oil Belt Vocational School in El Dorado taking the Heating & Air Conditioning course. After one year, we moved to Paris, AR, where I attended the second year of the Heating & Air Conditioning course at Arkansas Valley Vo Tech School in Ozark, AR. Then took a one year Welding course at Arkansas Valley Vo Tech School.
We opened an Air Conditioning business in conjunction with a Laundromat business in Paris, AR. During the eight years we lived in Paris, I also worked at Ft Chaffee near Ft. Smith in the Air Conditioning field when the refugee Cubans were housed at Ft. Chaffee. After 8 years, we sold the business and business property and moved back to El Dorado in Dec of 1984.
I then worked at General Dynamics in Camden until I was injured in 1989 due to a fall from a high height. Surgery took care of the fall injuries, but I decided my working days should come to an end.
And here I sat to this day, retired, enjoying the work I do for the EHS 57 Class. This endeavor keeps my brain cells from completely shutting down.
In 1996, our biggest heartache was the loss, at birth, of Dan and Gwyn’s first child, our 5th grandchild, Brandy Leigh Harbour. Brandy was a full term baby that got tangled in the umbilical cord during birth. Eleven years after surgery in 1997, I am a Cancer survivor.
Children and Grandchildren Info:
Sherry graduated from San Diego State University and obtained a degree in Accounting and has been a CPA for over 20 years. She worked for Cox and Gober Accounting in El Dorado until approx 5 years ago, when, at that time, she moved to Conway, AR and now works as a CPA for a land Developer/Building Contractor. Sarah, 26, her first child, graduated at UCA in Conway, and is working as an Insurance Underwriter in San Antonio, TX. Lorraine, 22, her second child, graduated from college at UCA in 2008 and plans to enter into the Medical field. Rachel, 18, her third child, skipped the 12th grade of High School and began her Freshman year at UCA, beginning with summer courses in 2006. Scott, 9, her fourth child, is a very smart boy and makes all “A”s.
Terry, after 2 years of college at AR Tech Univ in Russellville, spent her 20’s and 30’s taking care of her family. During that time, she also worked at the Paris, AR. Post Office for 13 years. Then, when she was in her 40’s, she decided to finish her college and get a degree as a Registered Nurse (RN). In May 2006, she graduated from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, AR. In Jan 07, she passed the state exam for her RN license. She is working in the Boonville, AR hospital. She still lives in Paris, AR as she married a local Paris man, Daniel Bradley, while we were living in Paris. Ryan, 20, her son, attended high school at the Subiaco Academy near Paris, AR, and is now attending the University of Arkansas.
Daniel (Dan) attended college at Jonesboro, AR and is a Computer expert. While in college, he met and married Gwyn Womble, who is now a teacher at Washington Junior High in El Dorado. All their children have many of their traits. Nicholas, 10, was one of the recipients of $1,000.00 by the Murphy Oil Corp. Nathan, 7, has received straight “A” grades in Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade. Alexis, 6, completed kindergarten in the ’07-’08 school year at Yocum. We see signs of “Genius” in her as well !!
I want to express my appreciation to all the ’57 classmates that allow me to “consider myself” a member of the 57 class of EHS. If I had it to do over again, I might have stayed in high school and gotten that HS diploma from EHS, before succumbing to the “military enlistment bug”. But then I might not have met my wife of 50 years. So I have no regrets, it has been a full and happy life.
Roy
P.S. My brother, Charles, who is 14 months younger than myself, and I were in the same grade through school because Dear Mrs. Brummett, 1st grade teacher at Retta Brown, loved me so much, that, she kept me with her in the first grade for two years. To all the 56 grads, who I started 1st grade with at Retta Brown, and moved on to the second grade, I would like to say….. “HA..I was the ONLY “lucky one” of our class to be with Mrs. Brummett for two years!” :-)
Roy
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