He was born to a lower middle-class family, in a normal household, in a normal town. He attended normal schools and graduated in the middle of his class after competing in all the normal sports as a middle of the pack athlete. One morning he woke up and, with no forethought or planning, decided to join the Army during a time when they were reviled and rejected. Thus began an amazing story of an extraordinary life, in an extraordinary time, achieving extraordinary things.