It was November 22,
1963. I was a senior in
high school. The whole
world was stunned when
Lee Harvey Oswald shot
and killed the
President of the United
States. President
Kennedy was destined to
be one of the greatest
presidents of our time.
In his Inaugural Address
he offered the memorable
injunction:Ask not what
your country can do for
you-ask what you can do
for your country.
On March 18, 1968,
Robert F. Kennedy
announced his candidacy
for the nomination of
President of the United
States. It was an
uproarious campaign
filled with enthusiasm
and fun! They won
primaries in Indiana and
came to Nebraska where
the trail came through
my home town of
Plattsmouth. This would
be my first Presidential
election that I was able
to vote in. One thing
you could bet on this
day was Bobby Kennedy
was not going to get out
of Plattsmouth, Nebraska
without meeting Tom
Dittemore, and he
didn't. I'm sure also,
that he didn't remember
this event nearly as
much as I did, but this
day changed my life. Two
or three weeks later
after winning the
Nebraska primary Robert
F. Kennedy was killed in
the Ambassador Hotel in
Los Angles by Sirhan
Sirhan, June 5, 1968.
Both of these men
impacted my life as well
as many others. The
impact on me was that I
was more aware of what
was happening around me.
I paid more attention to
the way people were
treated by other people.
The way that local
government was run and
how the state as well as
the federal government
was managed.
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I served in the United
States Army for fifteen
years, two years was on
active duty in Germany.
The balance of the time
was active army reserve,
from which I received an
Honorable Discharge. I
had achieved the rank of
Sergeant First Class and
was serving in the
position of First
Sergeant.
I served as a volunteer
Fireman/ Paramedic on
the Plattsmouth
volunteer Fire
Department. The
Plattsmouth Department
was regarded as one of
the top organizations in
the state. I was in the
first graduating class
of Paramedics in the
state of Nebraska. Out
of thirty firemen in the
class, most from Omaha,
and three volunteers, I
was chosen to
participate. This was an
honor in itself, and I
felt this helped to
improve what was already
one of the finest rescue
squads in the state.
I have served on the
board of directors of
the Colorado Labor
Advocate, which is the
official newspaper for
organized labor in the
state of Colorado. I am
also past Vice President
of Carpenters local 1396
which was located in
Lakewood. I am also the
past President of
Carpenters local 1068,
as well as a delegate to
the old district council
of carpenters of
Colorado. I served as
trustee on the Rocky
Mountain Regional
Council of Carpenters.
Lastly I was a delegate
to the Mountain West
regional Council of
Carpenters.
