USARC employee set to retire after 60 years of service

Photo By Timothy Hale | Hector Morales will retire in March 2013 with over 60 years of combined military and civil service. Morales, who works in the U.S. Army Reserve Command G-1 directorate at Fort Bragg, N.C., previously retired in 1981 as a sergeant major before joining the civil service ranks. Morales is a decorated veteran having served combat tours in both Korea and Vietnam.  

FORT BRAGG, N.C., NC, UNITED STATES

11.28.2012

Story by Timothy Hale  

U.S. Army Reserve Command

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Hector Morales has seen a lot in his 81 years.

From the tropical shores of Puerto Rico, the rugged terrain of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, and the more peaceful Army posts in the U.S., Morales is set to retire for the second time – after more than 60 years of service.

But Morales, who works in the U.S. Army Reserve Command G-1 directorate, doesn’t see himself as anything special after serving for so long.

“This is the greatest country in the world,” Morales said. “It’s an honor to serve.”

Born March 6, 1931 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Morales was the oldest of six children. While working as a stenographer in a sugar processing plant, he received his draft notice Nov. 20, 1951.

After completing basic training, he was shipped off to Korea where he was in for quite a shock.

“It was awful,” he said. “We were all draftees. I was scared, you know. I was only 20 years of age and away from home for the first time.”

Morales said that while he went out on combat patrols to engage the enemy, sometimes the war found him in the comfort of his base camp.

“We had incoming rounds falling on us when we were in the chow line!” he said.

Morales didn’t spend too much time away from serving the government. After a couple of years of selling insurance, he said he decided to join the civil service ranks.

Much like his time in uniform, his civil service career also gave him the opportunity to travel to many stateside posts before landing at USARC when it was originally located at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Ga.

Once the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure initiative closed Fort McPherson, Morales left his wife to tend to their home in Fayetteville, Ga. as he transitioned to Fort Bragg.

Morales said his wife of 57 years, Felicita, is eagerly awaiting his return to Georgia and will greet him with a “long honey-do list. Over 60 years long!” he said with a laugh.

But through it all, Morales said serving his country is what has made him stay this long.

“I liked the Army and I liked to serve,” he said. “Where ever they sent me, that is where I went. Military service has been good to me. If I had to do it over, I would.”

• Date Taken: 11.28.2012
• Date Posted: 11.28.2012 10:52
• Story ID: 98415
• Location: FORT BRAGG, N.C., NC, US