Chris Carver’s family knew the military well.

“My Mom’s family consisted of four sisters and seven brothers, five of which fought in World War II,” he said.

“I can remember listening every night to Tokyo Rose for 30 minutes in grandpa and grandma’s living room as they tried to keep up with any news of their sons. By God’s grace all came home from the war. Only one was wounded, but survived.”

Carver, who was born in Carrollton, Ill., in 1940, was from a working-class family. His father cut railroad ties for the Illinois Central Railroad until his death in 1942. Carver’s mother was forced to move in with her mother and father. She eventually married Carver’s stepfather in 1944.

“My stepfather worked at whatever jobs he could find: The Illinois Power Co., REA, then a small appliance repair shop until the fall of 1953 when Pop started working on a farm at $35 a week.”

As it turned out, the lessons learned on the farm were valuable in Carver’s own military career. After graduating high school in 1958, and with no chances of employment except farming, Carver enlisted in the Army in July to, as he puts it, “beat the draft in August.” Farm life taught him to give “110 percent” to any task at hand, he said.

“My mom insisted that us kids become self-sufficient, which to her meant that we had to learn how to cook, clean, sew and be able to care for ourselves and each other. She didn’t want us to endure what she went through when my father died in 1942.”

Carver said he and his siblings grew up believing that God has a purpose for each of them; that they should trust Him to take care of their greatest needs; and that God helps those who help themselves.

“For most of my life I’ve always put God first, country second, and family third, living life ‘one step at a time, one day at a time.’”

According to Carver, he had no intention of making the military a career, but in 1961, with no immediate prospects of employment in sight, he re-enlisted for six years, thus committing himself to at least 20 years of military service.

Carver’s first seven years was in Air Defense as operator/repairman on Nike Missile defense. In 1965 he went into the Signal Corps, attending, graduating and teaching at Fort Monmouth (N.J.) Signal School and Center. That started him on a series of assignments, schools and educational opportunities provided by service schools taught by the Army, Navy and Air Force. Most of that was in electronics, but included repair, operation and management as well.

Those schools would eventually lead Carver to a degree in electronic engineering and allowed him to serve the next 14 years in assignments in some two dozen countries. He worked on military assistance projects involving the Indonesian military, Ethiopian military, and projects for Collins, Motorola and General Electric. In Carver’s opinion, his most demanding assignment was probably his last two years as First Sergeant, Hq. & Lt. Maintenance Co., 801st Maintenance Battalion, 101st Air Assault Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. Carver retired from the Army on Sept. 1, 1983.

Following retirement, Carver worked as a dispatcher for the Emergency Operations Center in Hopkinsville, Ky., until he went to work in sales and service for Capital Marketing Inc., Capital American Life. During that time he graduated from Austin Peay State University with a bachelor of science in electronic engineering. He retired from CMI in 1991. After that he worked for the Census Bureau, as an electrician, bowling center mechanic, and pest control technician. Then, “I finally retired in August of 2003 for the third time.”

Carver has been a member of American Legion Post 99 since 2008, the year he moved to Foley from Michigan and married his wife, Janet.

“She, it turns out, is God’s greatest gift to me. I became a member of Post 99 primarily through the efforts of Charles Boller, who was executive committee chairman at the time, and my wife, who was and is a member of the Auxiliary.”

Since July 2009 Carver has served Post 99 as Post Historian. In that position he preserves and compiles the Post’s records.

“There’s some great people there,” Carver said of Post 99. As for what Carver gets personally out of being a member of Post 99, he singles out the “fellowship” among the veterans and the dedication he sees in supporting those who are still serving in the military.

Post Commander Harold Bryson said of Carver, “Both of our careers pretty much paralleled. We are compatible; we see the big picture, and both of us retired as First Sergeants.”

Bryson encourages anyone wishing to join Post 99 to contact the Post at 251-943-3114 or him personally at 251-989-2485.

“I appreciate where I came from,” Chris Carver said, noting his family had little monetarily, but had food on the table, clean clothes to wear and a roof over their heads.

Another point about the Post Historian: “My father’s mother was full-blooded Iroquois. On my mother’s side, her grandfather was a Blackfoot Indian chief.”

According to Carver, for years now he has been supporting St. Joseph’s Indian School in the Dakotas.