Beaufort’s Pat Garrett, 81, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in Warren, Ohio in 1958. After Boot Camp at Parris Island and Infantry training, he entered the field of Aviation Supply. Not including schools, he moved 15 times during a career that spanned 39 years and saw him rise from boot enlistee to Colonel. Along the way he served two tours in Vietnam (Marble Mountain near Da Nang), three tours at MCAS Beaufort and in Hawaii, and others in Japan, Okinawa, Norfolk, Pendleton, El Toro, and Mechanicsburg, Pa., before his final tour as Assistant Chief of Staff for Supply and Services at MCRD Parris Island. He retired in 1997. Thereafter he was the director of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society in Beaufort for five years.
– Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 9. For nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.
