"I'm just having the time of my life in school. It's all coming full circle what I worked for, for 22 years...I'm just having a blast." (Audio interview, 26:03)

Michael Arndt

Michael Arndt at his retirement ceremony [6/20/1997] War: Persian Gulf War, 1991 Branch: Marine Corps Unit: 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion Service Location: Persian Gulf; Greece; Italy; Korea; Spain; Belize; Honduras; Panama, El Salvador; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); France; Parris Island, South Carolina; Camp Pendleton, California; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait Rank: Master Sergeant

In 1975, future Master Sergeant Michael Arndt was 20 years old and working at McDonald’s. Sick of flipping burgers, and drawn by the allure of the uniform and the promise of a college education, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Fifteen years later, he served in the Persian Gulf War with the First Marine Division. He separated from the service ten years after that, in 1997. Five years after that, he was in the process of taking full advantage of the GI Bill’s educational benefits.