It is important always to have a goal you are striving to obtain. Life fritters away without the satisfaction and pleasure of experiencing and achieving multiple goals. My life has been a constant succession of goals. I have achieved many of them but not all of them. Here is a story of some of my goals and my effort to achieve them:
Learning to fly
As WWII commenced and my college classmates and I signed up to serve, my goal was to become a Naval aviator. But it required perseverance. I failed the Navy eye exam, then I failed the Army Air Corps exam, and then the civilian pilot training eye exam. I went back to the Navy and failed the eye exam once more. I was advised to get a case of carrot juice and a bottle of vitamin A pills, take them for a month, and then come to Boston for another eye exam. I followed their instructions, went to Boston, and passed the eye exam.
Achieving this goal made a significant impact upon my future life. Soon after, I was sent overseas to join VMSB-151 squadron on Wallis Island in the Central Pacific, eventually making our way northwest to Eniwetok Atoll, Engebi Island. After the war, I returned to civilian life. But in 1951, I was activated again for the Korean War where I served with the VMF-311 squadron in Pohang, Korea. Both Ted Williams and John Glenn came through our squadron for a period of time.
Completing the NYC Marathon at Age 96
This goal actually started four years earlier in 2013. The all-time oldest finisher of the New York Marathon was 93, and I set a goal of joining him in that record. However, at mile 6, I experienced severe exhaustion and withdrew to discover I was anemic and was sent to the hospital for a transfusion. The next year, at 94, I withdrew at mile 13 with severe back pains and took a subway home. In 2015, at age 95, I reached Manhattan at mile 16, but withdrew with leg cramps and took a taxi home.
In 2016 at 96, when I reached the Bronx at mile 20 with six miles to go and no pains, I knew I would make it and I did, to officially become the oldest finisher of all previous New York Marathons. In the scheme of things, it was not a significant goal, but a very satisfying one to accomplish. It was miraculously painless. At no time did I experience leg or back pains – only fatigue. Toward the end, my trainer Tom Mangan and Achilles volunteer Art Berman were of enormous help.
For the last six miles I held onto their jackets to steady myself. When I arrived at the finish line, about 11-1/2 hours after the start, the marathon director came forward and placed a ribbon and medal around my neck, saying, “Semper Fi, Marine” and this tired Marine colonel replied, “Do or die.”
Thus, ended my 50-year journey to complete the 26-mile New York City Marathon at 96 and become the all-time oldest finisher.
