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Veteran credits Army training for success

Brunswick News - 3/20/2019

March 20-- Mar. 20--Today's veteran: James "Jimmy" Harper, 64

Born: Ocilla

Residence: Brunswick

Service: Army, 6 years, one month

Duties: Military police

Rank: Sergeant

Recognitions: Army Commendation Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Good Conduct Medal; Sharpshooter Badge

Duty stations: Germany, Hawaii, Fort Gordon and Fort Knox, Ky.

His story: After graduating high school, Jimmy Harper lived for nine months with his aunt and uncle, who was an Army command sergeant major working in the Pentagon at the time.

It was the time that he spent with his uncle that inspired him to enlist in the Army for three years.

He was trained as a military policeman, but he never participated in a road patrol during his time in the Army. Instead, his first duty assignment was in Germany where he worked in the administrative side of law enforcement. His job was to compile all the base incident reports and give all the serious ones to a commanding officer for daily review.

Harper also was given the responsibility of running the base bowling alley, a job he said enabled him to become a much better-than-average bowler.

It was during this time that he realized he wasn't interested in a career in law enforcement because he liked his responsibilities.

"Once I started on the administrative side, I realized I liked it more than performing patrols," he said.

The only time he worked on the enforcement side was to perform security when President Gerald Ford visited the base and the times he would escort prisoners from Germany to Fort Riley, Kansas.

He decided to enlist for another three years to accept a similar job working for the base provost marshal in Honolulu, Hawaii. He also ran the base bowling alley there, he said.

"I had six great years of military service," he said. "There was never any real combat during the years I was in."

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