Mr. Murray Arnold Kitei-Shodan Black Belt Danzan Ryu Jujutsu / Hikari Ryuza Ryu Jujutsu® Hikari Ryuza Ryu Do Kan®
Mr. Arnold I was born in 1925 in the small town of Lancaster, Ohio. My family survived the "Great Depression" better than most families. My father served in the Army during World War I and received a pension because he had been exposed to Mustard Gas. He was also employed as an engineer for the Ohio Fuel Natural Gas Company so we got by fairly well. Martial Arts was not a part of our vocabulary, but in High School I did participate in wrestling, boxing and football. In my junior year the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
Many of the guys thought they In 1943, I graduated from High School and three weeks later I was at the Great Lakes Navel Training Station the largest single training facility for the U.S. Navy and is a thousand miles from the nearest ocean. Great Lakes Naval Training Station, located in North Chicago, formally opened in 1911. There I went through 16 weeks of Boot Camp Training. Then I was sent to the Alameda Navel Station for intensive Aviation Machinist Training where I worked on all types of Aircraft. After that, I was sent to the Santa Rosa Navel Air Station and was assigned to a Carrier Aircraft Service Unit. This Unit provided Pilots with their final training before being deployed on board an Aircraft Carrier. From Santa Rosa I was sent to San Diego where I was assigned to the USS Hollandia which was a Casablanca class escort carrier, the USS Hollandia was an escort aircraft carrier with the mission to "Carry planes and our troops to the Far Pacific." Marine Pilots flew from our ship to Okinawa. We also replenished Admiral Halsey's large carriers with air craft for those last big strikes on Honshu. We had Marine Pilots and planes aboard on the trip from Guam. Along with three other CVE's, we proceeded closer to Okinawa. We were about 120 miles south of the island, while the other CVE's were within 60 miles of Okinawa. The planes aboard the other CVE'S flew to an airstrip on Okinawa. Japanese suicide planes attacked some of the other CVE'S, but they survived. We knew it would be dangerous, but we went to the same area, 60 miles off the Island without mishap. Our Marines flew off the Hollandia in near record time and then we got out of there. During our time near Okinawa we saw a number of unidentified planes on Radar. We thought one of those planes was a Japanese bomber, but no enemy planes attacked us. There was plenty of fighting going on around us, so we were in potential danger. For that operation, we became entitled to a Battle Star on our Pacific Theater Ribbons. We then went to Pearl Harbor and then back to Guam. This is where we joined a replenishment group and provided planes, pilots, ammunition and fuel to Admiral Halsey's CV's, battleships, cruisers and destroyers. They were sailing along the coast of Honshu, bombing and shelling Japanese Territory. We made three trips from Guam to within 200 miles from Honshu. Planes flew off the Hollandia to the big carriers and we took aboard their damaged planes and took them back to Guam. We received another Battle Star for that operation. On our last trip, the Atomic Bomb was dropped and the Japanese surrendered. After that, we returned to Guam. The Navy didn't know what to do with us, so we had beer parties on the beach. Then we were sent to Pearl Harbor where we took on board the survivors of the USS Indianapolis and returned to the States. We were off the Japanese coast when the Atomic Bomb was dropped. My ship returned to San Diego and I was then sent to Alameda in 1946 and was discharged from the Navy. I returned to Ohio for a while and then moved to Florida and later back to Ohio. Then I decided I would go back to California. In 1948 I bought a 1938 Ford and set out for the Golden State traveling over Route 66. I went to work for Pacific Telephone in Martinez. While there, I played semi pro football and in 1950 became the team's coach. My job with the Telephone Company took me all over the State. I worked in several different departments which included Telephone Installation, Directory, and Marketing Sales. I finally settled in Sacramento in 1966 as an Administrative Manager and was responsible for Real Estate sights and office design. During my time with the Company I was involved in many
community activities which included: I retired after 35 years with the Company. Wanting to take advantage of my Administrative Manager background I decided to go into Commercial/Industrial real estate. I went to work for Ritchie and Ritchie Corp. headquartered in San Francisco California. They wanted to expand and with the position of Vice President, I opened their office in Sacramento California in 1987, I left Ritchie and Ritchie and went into business for myself as Arnold and Associates. In 1988 I moved to Penn Valley California. Current activities I am involved with include: I've been with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office as a volunteer for about 11 years. I completed their training academy in 1999 and that's when I got into Martial Arts. The Sheriff decided the Volunteers should have some self defense training. So he contacted Grandmaster Crimi who had over 40 years in the Martial Arts at that time and had many Martial Arts ranks and honors. He had also taught defensive tactics to Law Enforcement for many years. Grandmaster Crimi's defensive tactics course is certified through the Peace Officers Standards of Training (POST) and the California Department of Justice. I remember my first class in the Grandmasters Dojo. When I stepped into the large room with all of his Awards and Plaques on the walls, there was almost a spiritual feeling. I knew that this was not only a special place, but these were special people who would be working with us. I have been with Grandmaster Crimi and Professor Geary for over 11 years. I now have my Black Belt and extremely proud to have accomplished that Rank. It has given me confidence, an incredible sense of responsibility and assurance that I can handle myself in any situation I will continue to learn with Grandmaster Crimi to be a better citizen and person following the Creed of Hikari Ryuza Ryu Jujutsu® and the Martial Arts. One last thing,
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