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Hiram Patterson

- I graduated from Millikin University in 1972 with BA in Biology. Was married during senior year and divorced in 1979. Graduated from University of Missouri in 1974 with MS in Public Health. After working for the Shelby County Health Department I moved to Springfield where I worked at the Illinois EPA in air pollution control from 1978-1983.
- Enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1979, transferred to the Air National Guard in 1981 and was commissioned as a Navy environmental health officer in 1983. I was on active duty from 1983 to 1992, and served in Hawaii, Okinawa, California (Long Beach), and Guam; traveled throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans. WWII history has been a great interest since I was 10 and the Navy gave me the opportunity to travel to many of the old battlefields and walk in the steps of our veterans, many of whom became our fathers.
- I moved to Dallas in 1992 and don't plan to move again. Worked for the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission for a year and then to Baylor College of Dentistry in 1994 where I am the environmental health and safety manager. With over 1000 employees and students, my job is always interesting.
- I married my wonderful wife, Susan in 2001. She is a published romance and mystery writer. We are avid Egyptology scholars and personally know many of the world's well known Egyptologists. We like to travel and visit with our soon to be 8 year old granddaughter. One of my hobbies is high power rocketry which Susan indulges me in - I shoot them while she writes her books.
- I am now a Captain in the Navy Reserve with 28+ years of service and have been mobilized 3 times since 2003. I did a tour in Iraq with the Marines in 2005-2006 and am now on my second tour in Iraq, serving on the joint service Army 18th Airborne Corps Surgeon's staff at Camp Victory (Baghdad). I've flown on many a helicopter ride as I've travelled throughout the country. I had the opportunity to visit the Iraqi prison where Saddam Hussein was hanged and walked up the last steps that he ever trod. Now cleaned up and almost looking brand new, I found it ironic that there was a piece of wallpaper decorated with childrens' teddy bears across from the gallows.

Unfortunately, I will miss our reunion as I will demobilize during that time frame. Have a great time and remember our classmates who have passed away over these last 40 years. I look forward to our 50th!

Update: I am departing Iraq on September 4th for Kuwait, then on to San Diego, and finally Memphis for demobilization in late September. My wife will be picking me up and we'll drive back to Dallas together. Iraq has been an interesting experience. I have been away for nearly 11 months and am looking forward to returning home. After a few weeks leave, I will pick up my civilian job where I left off. My boss and my temporary replacement will certainly be glad that I'm back. With 4 more years until mandatory retirement, I may get one more deployment and Susan has given me her permission; but wives are good at changing their minds!

Update on 4 April, 2012. I was recalled to active service for a 4th time in in May 2011. I was part of Navy Expeditionary Medical Unit Eleven (NEMU-11) and was stationed at Army Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany near Ramstein Air Base. We were part of an ongoing mission to support the Defense Wounded Medical Management Center (DWMMC) which took care of wounded servicemen and women from Iraq and Afghanistan and also to provide direct support to clinics and administrative departments.

I served as the Head of the Patient Affairs and Accountability Division. The two most challenging areas were in 1) patient movement where I dealt with wounded Coalition forces and U.S. government agency employers and contractors who either came to Germany for treatment of illness/injuries that couldn't be treated downrange and 2) physical disability evaluation boards for servicemembers where we prepared medical evaluation cases for formal reviews at Walter Reed Army Hospital which determined physical disability ratings and suitability for further service.

The best thing about Germany was all the travel opportunities available through the USO that I took full advantage of, traveling throughout Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech Republic. The 4 years of German I took from Ms. Baker and Mrs. Hewitt were put to good use. Learning the basics of French from some of our USO guides was also helpful. Also, my wife Susan was able to come out for two weeks at Christmas/New Years in 2010 and in April last year for our 10 th anniversary of which we spent a week in Paris and stayed at the French Army Officer's Club.

Finally, after returning to Dallas in June last year I bit the bullet and retired from the Navy on January 1st after 32 years of service. I was recalled to active duty 4 times between 2003 and 2010 so it was about time to retire, though I would have liked to have made it to Afghanistan. The best thing is drawing retired pay though I still have another 3 years at my Texas A&M job.

I look forward to seeing all of you at our 45th reunion. I'll be showing my wife around Decatur for the first time.

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