The Optimist Club of Rolla
Friend of Youth Since 1964
USAF Airman 1st Class Optimist Don Olds
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Optimist Don enlisted in 1952 and spent the next four years in San Francisco, Denver, Minneapolis and Sioux City. At his final duty station in England at RAF Bentwaters he met Optimist Mimi Olds. Married in 1956, Mimi and Don lived on the middle floor of a 3 story house in Southwold on the English North Sea coast. Upon being discharged, he and Mimi returned to Minneapolis on a troop carrier ship and Don went to work for McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis. After a few years he moved to the Rolla area accepting a job with the new Federal Aviation Agency (now Administration). Among his many responsibilities, Don set up navigation systems for cross country aviation. Optimist Don was an aircraft electronics and radar systems technician for the United States Air Force.
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E-5 Navy Petty Officer Optimist Jerry Decker. Jerry spent a year and a half in the Iowa National Guard from early 1956 to fall 1957. He enlisted in the Navy for 4 years until discharged in October 1961. He spent the final year on Midway Island. Optimist Jerry was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and the Vietnam Era Service Medal.
Optimist Charlie Gill, 1966-69 US Army
Optimist Bob May served in the U.S. Navy from 1953-57 as an Electricians Mate First Class (EM 1) E6. Bob was assigned to the USS Newman K Perry DDR 883, a USN Destroyer based in Newport, Rhode Island. The destroyer operated in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean Sea. Optimist Bob earned the title of Shellback. The ceremony observes a mariner's transformation from slimy Pollywog, a seaman who hasn't crossed the equator, to trusty Shellback, also called a Son or Daughter of Neptune. It was a way for sailors to be tested for their seaworthiness.
Optimist Tim Davis, U.S. Navy
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Tim served six years in the Navy and was an Electronics Technician, second class. He primarily operated and troubleshot radio communications on a ship called a minesweeper. Tim was stationed in Texas and completed two deployments. The first was Hawaii and then Bahrain.
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Optimist Ron Warren, US Army
Optimist Dick Smith enlisted in the Air Force in May 1966. He served in Texas, Mississippi, New Jersey, Libya, Spain and Michigan. His most interesting assignment was in Spain. Most of his enlistment was with the 58th Air Rescue Squadron. He was a team member of the emergency rescue plan for the Apollo space capsule. If the capsule went down in the wrong part of the world, his team was tasked to retrieve the capsule. Fortunately, re-entry of the capsule was successful and Optimist Dick waited at the Mauritius Island in the middle of the Indian Ocean for two weeks. He was honorably discharged in March 1970.
Optimist Charlie Smith, USMC, 1996-2000
Optimist Charlie Smith enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in fall 1996. He completed bootcamp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. He later entered the fleet by being assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii as a Marine infantryman. Charlie was deployed to Okinawa, Korea, and Guam during his 4-year enlistment.
Optimist Elizabeth Liz Sperry, US Army - USAF
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Optimist Liz served in the USA Military Police Corps from 2000-04, then the USAF Security Forces from 2004-08. She served in New York, North Carolina, Texas and Colorado
In Remembrance, Optimist Bill Kickbush (left) and Optimist Chuck Remington
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Optimist Bill Kickbush, 1952-54 USAF. Optimist Bill served at the Optimist Club of Rolla President, 1990-91
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Optimist Chuck Remington was the Club's Charter President, 1964-65
Optimist Bill Bales (left), 1961-69 US Army
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Optimist Wally Craig, 1945-46 US Navy, Past Club President, 1970-71
Optimist Norman Cochran, 1942-45 US Army
For webpage updates, corrections and additions, please email Optimist Rob Barth, rbarthmail@gmail.com
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Last revised Veterans Day, November 11, 2019