Ernest (Shina) Givani

After Hopedale High I attended the Draper Corporation Apprentice School and studied to become a tool and die maker. I joined the US Air Force in January 1953. I received my commission as a second lieutenant and my navigator wings in 1955. My first assignment was to Sacramento, California. There I met Nita, who was studying to become a registered nurse. She graduated in 1956, and we were married in 1957.

In 1960 I received my pilot rating and flew jet fighters for the next twenty-five years. In 1974 I received my bachelor of science degree. The highest awards I have received are the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Medal with fifteen Oak Leaf Clusters. We have lived in many locations throughout the world; the three years in Europe were especially gratifying.

I retired as a full colonel in 1980 and then went into the health insurance business, retiring in 1995. Nita and I spend the winters in Phoenix, Arizona, and the summers in the Reno, Nevada, area. We are healthy, not wealthy, and enjoy our family, traveling, and, of course, playing golf.