From the Beginning to Almost to the End: A Tale of Both Hardship and Success. The Life Story of Orbie L. Mays ENCM (E-9) S/W USN RET.

By Orbie Lee Mays USN Retired

About the Book
Orbie Lee Mays USN Retired was born and raised on a farm in the northwest corner of Alabama. His life is one of many hardships and setbacks, and the success he achieved in overcoming them. From the Beginning to Almost to the End shares his journey, from beginning his military career at seventeen to his final rank of E-9 master chief petty officer and his personal life after his thirty-year military career ended. With harrowing tales from his time during the Vietnam War and moments of levity and joy in his life at home and adventures traveling the world with his wife.
As a disabled Vietnam veteran, licensed private investigator, and general contractor, Mays has had a life filled with many roles and experiences. His memoir is a testament to anyone who may be struggling that you can overcome even the most challenging of obstacles.

About the Author
Orbie Lee Mays USN Retired began his military career at seventeen by joining the Tennessee National Guard. At eighteen, he joined the US Navy, where he attended many navy schools over the years. In Vietnam, he served during the TET offensive. He retired at the rank of E-9 master chief petty officer after thirty years. He went on to work as the plant operations supervisor for Sweetwater School District until his retirement.
Mays is an avid antique collector, having amassed a collection of antiques.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Jun 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887297996

Book preview

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The contents of this work, including, but not limited to, the accuracy of events, people, and places depicted; opinions expressed; permission to use previously published materials included; and any advice given or actions advocated are solely the responsibility of the author, who assumes all liability for said work and indemnifies the publisher against any claims stemming from publication of the work.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2023 by Orbie Lee Mays USN Retired

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission in writing from the publisher.

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eISBN: 979-8-8872-9799-6

From the Beginning

to Almost to the End

---

A Tale of Both Hardship and Success:

The Life Story of Orbie L. Mays,

ENCM (E-9) S/W USN RET.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author, Orbie L. Mays was born and raised on a farm in the Northwest Corner of Alabama. The son of a sharecropper, Orbie’s life story encompasses many hardships and setbacks that tells of his success in overcoming them. He grew up in the shadow of World War II, during a time many Americans struggled to have their basic necessities, including electricity and food staples. Later, his family moved to a large cotton plantation in the Northwest Corner of Tennessee. Work was hard and it was the time of segregation in the South. He would later begin his military career by joining the Tennessee National Guard at seventeen years old.  At the age of eighteen, he joined the US Navy. He applied himself and took advantage of the education offered by the navy while completing high school and college, and was very fortunate to attend many navy schools during his career. This book covers his experience through the Vietnam War where he served in 1967 during the beginning of the TET offensive. A Navy success story is written in these pages. He Retired after 30 years of active duty and at the rank of E-9 Master Chief Petty Officer. The Author took his family and traveled around the world, while also making many church mission trips. After retiring from the US Navy, he also retired from the Sweetwater High School District as a plant operations supervisor. He is an avid antique collector, having amassed a collection of antiques. If you value faith in hardship and diligence in hard work, this is a book for you. 

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I was born on a cool fall day in October 1939, near Hamilton, Alabama, in a two-room house. My father Walter James Mays and my mother Icie Mae Purser Mays named me Orbie Lee Mays. Many years later, I learned the name Orbie was an actual purse that was worn by Scottish men in the sixteenth century. I had an older brother James Roy Mays who’s sixteen months older than me. We were the only two boys among the four girls that my mother birthed.

As a young boy, I always seemed to find myself being curious and getting into some mischief. My memories of childhood started when I was about three years old. Once, I saw a little neighborhood girl squatting to urinate. I became curious because I had never seen such a thing. My father made it clear then that girls and boys were just different—he taught me something that I still respect. I got a good spanking for my curiosity.

My father had a hard time trying to find a job during those days. There were no jobs, and money was none. World War II was going strong. There were no radios, telephones, televisions, or any electrical appliances. We had no electricity. I can remember a government worker going from house to house issuing war food coupons. My father had to use the ration coupons to purchase flour, coffee, sugar, and lard (shortening). The majority of all food in the US