As I interviewed Jason S. White for this article, somehow the term "Renaissance Man" or a "Modern Day Renaissance Man" label popped into my mind. As you read the article you may or may not feel the same way. The definition of a modern day Renaissance man is a man who has acquired profound knowledge or proficiency in more than one field.

Mr. White speaks three languages fluently - German, Spanish, and Latin, and also speaks Vietnamese and French. Whether it was his military training and education or his education at the Milton S. Hershey School that has helped him develop his many talents remains to be answered.

Jason was born in Scranton, Penn., coming from a family with coal mining history: both his grandfathers were coal miners. Jason's father died at age 49 in 1955 and his mother enrolled him in the Milton Hershey School, Hershey, Penn., which he attended from 1955 to his graduation in 1963.

After Jason graduated, he and his mother then moved to California where Jason attended Fullerton Junior College, graduating with an AA degree in June 1966. On September 28, 1966, Jason enlisted in the U.S. Army and began a 20 year career which took him to such places as the Panama Canal Zone (1967-1968), Vietnam (1970), Okinawa, Japan (1973-1975) and finally West Germany (1978-1987). While stationed stateside, Jason alternated in assignments between Fort Ord, CA and Fort Bragg, NC.

Jason retired from the Army in West Germany in 1987 at the rank of Sergeant First Class (E-7); six months later he was accepted into the U. S. Civil Service system at Frankfurt and worked as a Finance Auditor and then as the supply technician at the Frankfurt Commissary. In 1994, Jason accepted a job offer from the National Park Service and returned to the states to work at Independence National Historical Park (INDE) in Philadelphia, Penn. In March 1995, Jason accepted an offer to work at Valley Forge National Historical Park (VAFO) as a maintenance clerk and worked at VAFO from March 1995 until his second (Civil Service) 20 year retirement on September 30, 2006.

In October, 2006, Jason was accepted as a resident at AFRH-W and resided there for five years until being accepted for a room swap and then moved from the DC campus to AFRH-G in December 2011. Jason became a resident of AFRH-G on January 4, 2012.

Jason's primary MOS (job) in his Army military career was in logistics and supply; one of his more interesting and challenging experiences was in assisting with the reactivation of the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord in 1975 and working in that division for three years until his assignment to West Germany. Memorable in those years were the annual Brave Shield Summer Field Exercises held at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin located in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. The entire division, consisting of 15,000 male and female soldiers plus various transport vehicles, tanks and full armament travelled by convoy for several days from the Monterey Bay area to the Mojave Desert. The exercises were always held in August of each year so we could experience the full heat of the desert, Jason remembers.

At AFRH-G, Jason enjoys learning about and exploring the local area and the surrounding states to Mississippi. He is also a participating member in three community organizations: Beauvoir (the last home of CSA President Jefferson Davis), the Ohr-O'Keefe Art Museum in Biloxi and Bellingrath Gardens located just outside Mobile.

One of the many reasons that Jason moved from DC to Mississippi is to be closer to his church, the Cornerstone Church of San Antonio, Texas. Jason also enjoys exploring east Texas especially the entire San Antonio – Dallas area which he finds to be incredibly beautiful.

"AFRH-G is the best engineered and most beautiful retirement home that I have ever seen or lived in and it is a daily delight to be living here on the beautiful Gulf Coast." Jason said.