By Christine Baldwin

AFRH-W Librarian

Arlan Reed came a long way since he graduated at the top of his 2nd grade class. His mother, who was a Native American from the Abenaki tribe in Vermont, insisted on a big party. So they had the party “in a village up North by a big river.”

When his brother joined the Army, Arlan was eager to join also. He was sixteen years old at the time and his uncle told him…don’t join the Army, GO NAVY! So Arlan did and he never looked back! He began his service on the USS Manatee as a carpenter. His last assignment was in damage control in Hawaii! When asked about the most memorable event he ever experienced, Arlan told about helping Chiang Kai-Shek move from China to Taiwan in 1949! Where was his favorite place to visit? Europe , because they have the best bread!

After he retired from the Navy on February 20, 1964, Arlan “worked awhile and wandered awhile.” He has been a prison guard and worked for a wiring company. ArlAn lived in Belize, built a home in Oklahoma and lived at the Naval Home in Gulfport! He came to AFRH-W in 1996 and considers it “very much home.” He is very close to a niece who he helped out when she was young. Now she is helping him!