Veteran Says “Goodbye” to TJ after many years of dedicated service as a Spartan.
On May 25 1966, a 19-year-old Carl Gray was drafted into the United States Army. The small town boy from Clay City Illinois was plucked from his comfortable surroundings for active duty in the Vietnam War (serving under General Colin Powell), and as a result found his calling.
“I don’t think I actually grew up until I was sent to Vietnam,” says Gray. “As a draftee, boot camp was totally different back then. Movies like Full Metal Jacket and The Boys in Company C come close to describing the way we were treated during basic training.”
Growing up in a working class family, with a mother as a homemaker and a father (who he lost at age seven) as a railroad worker, and later a stepfather who left school early to support his family, Gray decided not to follow in his parents’ footsteps, and stayed in the military.
“While I was in the army I traveled to many countries and saw many cultures,” Gray said. “Without the army, I would never have met my wife of 38 years.”
Due to military requirements, Gray was rarely able to complete college courses while he was on active duty, but instead of putting education on the back-burner Gray decided to go with a “non-traditional” college experience. “I’ve taken college courses with the University of Maryland, City Colleges of Chicago, Park College, University of Colorado, Denver University, and Columbia College in Missouri. I finally completed my Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with Columbia College, almost 34 years after taking my first college class.” While in college Gray majored in Business Administration with an emphasis in Computer Information Systems, and minored in History with an emphasis on United States Military History.
As a National Guard Advisor, Gray had a chance to work with a lot of young people and found that he enjoyed it, and after retirement he decided to work with kids again. “After serving in the army for 24 years, and faced with my sixth tour of duty, I decided to retire in Colorado as an Army First Sergeant. I applied for the JROTC Instructor Program and was certified to teach as a JROTC Instructor,” said Gray. “I taught my first year at Montbello. At the end of that first year, my predecessor decided not to retire as planned. Since there was a vacancy at Thomas Jefferson, I applied for that position and I’ve been a Spartan ever since.”
As a JROTC instructor, Gray’s duties include serving as a Drill Team Coach, Honor Platoon Coach, Color Guard Coach, Rifle Team Coach, training the Battalion Personnel Office, the Battalion Public Affairs Officer, maintaining the JROTC web site, and “…other duties as required.”
“I have a couple of teaching options that I am looking at after retirement,” said Gray. “Plus, I am still JROTC certified and Colorado licensed to teach for a few more years, so I may do some substitute teaching for JROTC.”
After retirement , Gray has an extensive list of things he would like to do and achieve while he still has time; including volunteering, teaching the elderly computer classes and genealogical research, and most of all traveling. “I would like to take a trip to my ancestral home in Gsteigwiler, Switzerland. It looks like a beautiful area. It’s situated between large lakes at the base of Jungrau Mountain.”
The retirement from TJ, it seems, is an opportunity for Gray to start another chapter in his life. “I’m sure I will miss some aspects of teaching,” said Gray. “Most of all, after all these years, I look forward to having some time with my family.”
