Today's Featured Biography

 
Stephen Greene

Since the winter after we graduated from high school, I began a career as a pilot. I trained for a year to become an Army Aviator and military officer. I flew two combat tours in Vietnam, using up most of my 'nine lives.' After Vietnam, I trained other Army Aviators and provided air support for military units during the aftermath of Martin Luther King's assassination and the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968.

In January 1970, I left the military and enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. I earned my BA in 1974. Earning my Aviator wings and my diploma from UC are two of my proudest moments. I continued my flying career after graduating from high school. Since the winter following our graduation, I began my career as a pilot. I trained for a year to become an Army Aviator and military officer. I flew two combat tours in Vietnam, using up most of my 'nine lives.' After Vietnam, I trained other Army Aviators and provided air support for military units during the aftermath of Martin Luther King's assassination and the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968.

In January 1970, I left the military and enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. I earned my BA in 1974. Earning my Aviator wings and my diploma from UC are two of my proudest moments. I continued my flying career after graduation. I first worked for the FAA, then flew two fire seasons in Northern California, responding to forest fires. From 1978 to 1984, I flew out of Sausalito, providing traffic reports for KGO radio, ferrying tourists from Fisherman's Wharf, and working for all the Bay Area TV stations as a news reporter, supporting movies, TV shows, commercials, and VIP transportation.

For the last 29 years of my career, I flew as an Emergency Medical Services aviator, operating helicopters into and out of accidents, hospitals, and medical emergencies all over California. That ended on October 23, 2012. I left flying behind—alive, having killed no one, with a perfect safety record, and no violations. I divided my time between Ukiah, where I worked and was part of the community for ten years, and Marin County, where I have been since 1987. I now live full-time in Marin County. In 2023, the FAA awarded me the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of safety and excellence in flying. There have only been around 7,000 of these awards given to pilots in over 100 years.

I met Carmen in the spring of 1982, and she renewed my life and well-being. We were married on the beach at sunset in Fiji in 1987. Now that we are both retired, we are rarely out of each other's presence—a perfect marriage and life.

The joy of my life is our son, Skyler, born on our third wedding anniversary. He is an artist, a thinker, a citizen of the world, and a fine human being. He has lived worldwide, which gave me the opportunity to visit him in Italy, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Australia, and Estonia. He lives in San Leandro, which is much closer but less exciting to visit. He still works across the USA and around the world. He married his lovely girlfriend, Christina, on Valentine's Day, 2024, and they had a son, our grandchild, Forrest, in May 2025.

I had a wonderful time at our fiftieth reunion and our sixtieth. It seems those may have been the last. Thank you to Sue and the other classmates, over the years, for organizing great events to recall our youth and celebrate as we grow older. We may not have many more reunions since they occur every five years. It is both sad and an eye-opener to see all the classmates who have passed away. I don't recall if anyone died while we were in school, but dozens have since. How many of those classmates posted as missing may actually be gone? Where has the time gone? Looking back, much has happened in our lives, but it also seems to have gone by so fast.

Since I first wrote this profile, the biggest thing in my life—apart from being with Carmen and following Skyler as he travels the globe—has been returning to Vietnam. This was my third trip there, and I got out alive each time. The first two were in combat as a helicopter pilot. The last time, in March 2017, was to revisit a battlefield near the airstrip at Dak To, pronounced 'doc toe.' Near here, I fought in several battles during the summer and fall of 1967. It was also where I flew over Mike Mitchell from the class of '65 when he was killed. In November 1967, my unit, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, fought in one of the bloodiest battles of our involvement in the war. There are still three missing Sky Soldiers who died on November 19. During those battles, I flew into and out of the landing zone (LZ), where our men went missing. The Defense Department asked if I would return to the battlefield to help locate the LZ, which might provide solid evidence about what happened to our men. I was able to find the LZ. Now, the task begins—hopefully to locate our soldiers and bring them home.

Life is good for me. I am still healthy, at least for a 78-year-old combat veteran. I spend most of each day with Carmen. We adopted six rescue cats during the pandemic. Two of our cats have died from old age and congenital problems, but the other four—ranging in age from 13 to 3—are doing well, along with our lovebird, Marley. We attend about a dozen Giants games a year and watch the others on TV. We binge-watch all the Netflix shows, obsess over the current dilemmas facing our country, and enjoy every moment. graduation. I first worked for the FAA, then flew two fire seasons in Northern California, responding to forest fires. From 1978 to 1984, I flew out of Sausalito, providing traffic reports for KGO radio, ferrying tourists from Fisherman's Wharf, and working for all the Bay Area TV stations as a news reporter, supporting movies, TV shows, commercials, and VIP transportation.

For the last 29 years of my career, I flew as an Emergency Medical Services aviator, operating helicopters into and out of accidents, hospitals, and medical emergencies all over California. That ended on October 23, 2012. I left flying behind — alive, having killed no one, with a perfect safety record, and no violations. I divided my time between Ukiah, where I worked and was part of the community for ten years, and Marin County, where I have been since 1987. I now live full-time in Marin County. In 2023, the FAA awarded me the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of safety and excellence in flying. There have only been around 7,000 of these awards given to pilots in over 100 years.

I met Carmen in the spring of 1982, and she renewed my life and well-being. We were married on the beach at sunset in Fiji in 1987. Now that we are both retired, we are rarely out of each other's presence— a perfect marriage and life.

The joy of my life is our son, Skyler, born on our third wedding anniversary. He is an artist, a thinker, a citizen of the world, and a fine human being. He has lived worldwide, which gave me the opportunity to visit him in Italy, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Australia, and Estonia. He lives in San Leandro, which is much closer but less exciting to visit. He still works across the USA and around the world. He married his lovely girlfriend, Christina, on Valentine's Day, 2024, and they had a son, our grandchild, Forrest, in May 2025.

I had a wonderful time at our fiftieth reunion and our sixtieth. It seems those may have been the last. Thank you to Sue and the other classmates, over the years, for organizing great events to recall our youth and celebrate as we grow older. We may not have many more reunions since they occur every five years. It is both sad and an eye-opener to see all the classmates who have passed away. I don't recall if anyone died while we were in school, but dozens have since. How many of those classmates posted as missing may actually be gone? Where has the time gone? Looking back, much has happened in our lives, but it also seems to have gone by so fast.

Since I first wrote this profile, the biggest thing in my life—apart from being with Carmen and following Skyler as he travels the globe—has been returning to Vietnam. This was my third trip there, and I got out alive each time. The first two were in combat as a helicopter pilot. The last time, in March 2017, was to revisit a battlefield near the airstrip at Dak To, pronounced 'doc toe.' Near here, I fought in several battles during the summer and fall of 1967. It was also where I flew over Mike Mitchell from the class of '65 when he was killed. In November 1967, my unit, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, fought in one of the bloodiest battles of our involvement in the war. There are still three missing Sky Soldiers who died on November 19. During those battles, I flew into and out of the landing zone (LZ), where our men went missing. The Defense Department asked if I would return to the battlefield to help locate the LZ, which might provide solid evidence about what happened to our men. I was able to find the LZ. Now, the task begins—hopefully to locate our soldiers and bring them home.

Life is good for me. I am still healthy, at least for a 78-year-old combat veteran. I spend most of each day with Carmen. We adopted six rescue cats during the pandemic. Two of our cats have died from old age and congenital problems, but the other four—ranging in age from 13 to 3—are doing well, along with our lovebird, Marley. We attend about a dozen Giants games a year and watch the others on TV. We binge-watch all the Netflix shows, obsess over the current dilemmas facing our country, and enjoy every moment of life.

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