Upon graduation from Georgia Tech in 1959, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Marine Corps. He earned his Navy wings in 1964 and flew the F8E Crusader on 205 combat missions in Vietnam before he was shot down on November 11, 1966, while on a mission over the Quang Bình Province, North Vietnam. He was a prisoner of war until he was repatriated on March 4, 1973. He was awarded two Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars and two Bronze Stars. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1979 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.