American Legion Beaufort Post 207 brings you Carl Gilliard, 74, who joined the United States Marine Corps in Charleston in 1970. After Boot Camp at Parris Island, he trained in avionics at Naval Air Station Memphis before being assigned to MCAS Beaufort. He then received additional training at Electronics Technical School at NAS Atlanta before his first duty assignment in Okinawa. He then returned to MCAS Beaufort as an instructor before an assignment to MCAS Yuma. His next duty was at Quantico with the Presidential Helicopter Squadron. Following that assignment, he went to NAS Millington for duty before returning to MCAS Beaufort.
While assigned to MCAS Beaufort, Desert Shield/Storm occurred and he was deployed multiple times aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), seeing duty throughout the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, as well as the Indian Ocean. In 1996, he retired as a Master Sergeant with 26 years of service. He then worked for Gulfstream Aerospace for a year before beginning a 26-year career as a field agent for Reynolds & Reynolds, providing IT support to hospitals and the auto industry; he retired in 2022. He’s been married to Rolanda for 45 years, and they have a son who is a Navy veteran and a daughter now in the Air Force.
Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207. For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.
