Hackett Global Marketing

I was always searching, but didn’t know why. I could have settled for things as they were, but didn’t. If you have been searching for your place, then read on.             (This is another story from the book)

I was searching for years. I fought to get on the Chrysler assembly line in Detroit Michigan. During that time (early 1960′s) DETROIT was the MOTOR CITY, home of the big four, and MOTOWN, home of the new urban sound. That was when America was the leader of the automotive industry – if it rolled and it was made in America it came from the Detroit area. Working at the plant was a way into middle class. At that time, a “strong back” and a good work attitude supported many families in America. We had a strong manufacturing base then.
I was young and healthy and in my last year of high school. Work on the assembly line, once it got into full production was (60 cars an hour) and required “constant movement”. On the personal level that meant I had one minute (60 seconds) to complete my assigned task. If I finished in 45 seconds I had a 15 seconds break before I had to do it all over again. The level of physical effort was based on the function that had to be performed. As a new hire, I had to work my butt off. I quickly learned how to conserve my energy just to make it through an 8-hour shift.
I looked around and noticed how the senior people dealt with that constant movement. Seniority (more time at the plant) meant an easier job function. They were paid more, but locked into the same repetitive grind, no matter what the task. Single or married with children they were locked into the factory life cycle because they got hooked on the spending cycle – buy this, buy that, and work overtime to try and catch up with the bills.
While working on the assembly line, I found a way off the line. I joined the military, to use the GI Bill to go to college. I left before “mass production” was replaced by “outsourcing”. That is when the C.E.O.’s became more concerned about increasing profits and their bonuses, than the environment, reinvestment in the plant and equipment, and loyalty to long time employees.

If you are still reading this, you may still be searching. You may be looking for a way to make a little more cash, until pay day. You may hate your job, or the people you work for, but you feel stuck.

You need to become your own C.E.O. (Chief Executive Officer). One of my mentors, the late great Jim Rohn produced a tape seminar titled “Take charge of Your Life”. You need to take charge, to change your life, or stay stuck.

My next search for better led me to seek “small business ventures”. Even when I was well established – college grad, military officer, working for the Department of Defense. I was still looking for something, for the next phase of my life. I looked at traditional franchising, but I found the cost to be too high. The least expensive franchise I liked, cost $40,000 and that was just for the franchise fee. That didn’t include cost of any equipment, property, or personnel.
Network Marketing was another option. Start-up cost were a lot lower, but you had to really work hard to build an organization, for it to be worth it. There are many good companies with good products and services. I always loved the personal development programs, the seminars and the great motivational tapes.
Some of the core values of the Empower Network require daily work on your self-improvement, reading and listening every day. Blogging is good for me because it allows me to express myself and use some of those skills I developed as an Army Staff Officer many years ago.
I looked at the Free Training Tapes and I looked at the information about the industry. Social Media is the buzz word, seems like everyone is on line. And it doesn’t look like things are going to slow down any time soon. GOOGLE, FACE BOOK, You-Tube, and LinkedIn and YAHOO are household names. I didn’t know about ALEXA – the web information company that ranks web sites, based on worldwide traffic.
At the time of this writing the EMPOWER NETWORK, site ranked in the Top 600 in the World and in the Top 200 in the United States. WOW! Dave and Dave (co-founders of the company) didn’t attend a traditional university they went to the “College of Hard Knocks” and graduated with a MBA (Major Business Attitude) with Swag.

Do your research. The Bible says search and you will find.  This is just some of my story. This has been straight talk, beast mode. The train is leaving the station, will you get on?
H.G.M.

Internet comments
Patrick Batty
Hey Earl, Thanks man, Great post.
So many people need to make a change in their situation.
Yet, only a few ever do with a real commitment.
The champions are the ones that dust themselves off,
Pick up the pieces, and make massive changes in their situation.
Thanks for posting

Earl Hackett
Thanks for your comments Patrick. I have found that if I didn’t like something, I would figure a way to change things. I knew that if I went into the military, I could be able to go to school under the GI bill.
I never knew it would give me a wider view of the world. Most do one branch of the military and they are done. I did Air Force and Army.
I was searching when I ran across the Empower Network. What I found was my talent for writing. Next step is a Blog Novel.

Long life is a gift from GOD. Good health is an additional blessing. Money can buy you the best health care, but it doesn’t guarantee long life.

I am now a senior citizen 60+ and starting the next phase of my life; retirement. Now that I don’t have to punch the clock to get a pay check I have time to reflect and punch the key boards.
If I could do it all over again, I don’t know if I would change it, because it all led me to this point. Maybe, I can give you something to change the direction of your life, by sharing some things I learned along the way.
I love watching good movies. A relevant story or even a song can make an impact, if you are ready to let it affect you. You may have seen the movie” The Family That Preys “. The basic story is about two older women (good friends for over 20 years) and their families. One woman, Alice, played by Alfre Woodard, sacrificed a lot for her two daughters, and missed a lot of life, to support them. The other woman who was wealthy, Charlotte, played by Kathy Bates talked her good friend Alice into joining her on a road trip. But she didn’t tell her friend that she had an illness that would end her life in a brief period.

As they started their road trip, the dying woman asked her good friend a question a couple of times, “Alice are you living, or are you just existent? On the car radio in the background, and during the end credits were these words to this song:

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder. You get your fill to eat, but always keep your hungry.
May you never take one single breath for granted? God forbid love ever leave you empty handed. I hope you still feel small, standing by the ocean.
When one door closes, I hope another always opens. And when you get to chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. I hope you dance. I hope you never fear the mountains in the distance, or settle for the path of least resistance.
Living might mean taking chances, but they are worth the taking. Love might be a mistake, but it’s worth the making. Give heaven more than a second glance, and if you get a chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. I hope you dance.

After 40+ years of work, retirement is great. Not punching the clock (retirement) is a great feeling. But if someone showed me how to make enough money to retire early, I would have jumped on that a long time ago. If I had enough money I would be working on my bucket list. I’m not there yet.
As a two-time military veteran, college grad, decent husband, and caring father, what will be my legacy be, outside my immediate family? The heroes that I read about, made differences in other people’s lives: people like Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, and Les Brown. If I introduced you to some of their friends and a cash flow system that made you money, would you do the same for others?
My mom who never had much money, worked (took the bus) into her 80′s. I think it helped her to live longer. She lived to be 90 years young. I knew she gave birth to 14 but the fact that she was the last of 33, is why I do, what I do. Who is going to write about your family history?
I now have 60+ years of life experience, if you are a senior you should have 60+ years of life experience also. If all you want to do is sit on the porch, don’t, because they will be carrying you away soon. Get off your butt if you can, and do something while you can.
Speak to the younger folks, if they will listen. Get some of these young folks to show you how to get started on the internet. Just remember that MONEY TALKS and BS WALKS.
This had been straight talk, beast mode. What will it take for you to get
up off the couch or your rocking chair?

H.G.M.

                                                               Internet comments
Alesha
Hey there Earl, love this post! My dad is 65 years old, swims laps in the morning, cycles and runs like he’s in his twenties. There are no excuses!
Earl Hackett
Thanks for your comments Alesha. I wondered why they called it the “golden years”. Maybe some poet was thinking of golden hair. I think gray or bald is a little more accurate. (Most people don’t have a pile of gold). I prefer to think that with age, comes wisdom. For the few that get a chance to put it in writing, it’s a chance to drop nuggets of gold, from a lifetime of experience.

Today is my day (April 21). Celebrations are in order.

Birthdays are so special because they are so personal. I was born on the 21st of April many, many years ago. However, I was not the only person born on that day. Other people were also born on that day, but I don’t know them, they probably don’t know me either. We can search through the internet for some of the famous people that were born on the same day we were born, to form a kinship.

As I got older, I would also use this day as a day of reflection. Young folks have called me an “old head” or “OG” for some time now. Hopefully those terms are a show of respect for having reached a certain age. Whenever I hear the term, my response is always the same. “Everybody doesn’t make it”.

A lot of the people I grew up with, in “The Big D: Detroit” are no longer here. Some died, due to illness or accident. Some choose the fast life and died through violence or drugs.

I even lived through the Vietnam War, and was considered a Vietnam Era veteran, even though I went to Germany. A lot of folks never made it back home. I grieve for those who are no longer here. I remember them, but I celebrate life. Life is precious and not to be wasted.

As I think back on past birthdays, I remember certain birthdays more than others. We key in on the numbers and sometimes on the events that happened on that special day. I remember 13 because that number represents passage into being an “official teenager.”

I reflect back to 18, because that age represents official responsibility. Young folks say, “I’m grown now, I’m 18.” That is considered the start of young adulthood. The next milestone is 21. At 21 we look at that age as being a legal adult. Time to get “officially drunk”.

At 19, I was in the military service. And I became a man, a legal adult (age 21), on the African Continent. I was stationed at an US Air Force Base in Libya, and served under the base commander, then Colonel “Chippie James” who later became the first African American, Four Star General for the United States Air Force

As a baby boomer we looked at 30, as being part of the establishment or over the hill. When I got there, I was glad to be able to “look down the hill”. After that, I looked at each ten-year period as a milestone.

I remember the birth of each of my children. I was not in the waiting room; I was in the delivery room, helping to bring them into the world. I grew up in an environment of too many baby daddy’s and wanted to break that cycle. My oldest son, Edward was born in Philadelphia. My daughter, Nicole was born in a German hospital and my youngest son, Matthew was born in a military hospital at Ft. Bragg North Carolina (home of the Airborne).

When I got older and wiser, I discarded some old misconceptions. Men do cry in the dark. We just don’t do it as much as women, because we don’t want to appear weak. However brave do men cry for their comrades who die.  When you look at the world and tragedies involving the young and the innocent like Boston and New Town and the things we do to each other it should break any heart. Sadness and grief is a human condition.

I always called home for my birthday because I was away in the military. That was my way of saying Hi, I’m still here. If you happen to read this, do that (like, comment, and share). I’m blogging on the internet because I have had a unique life experience and I’m sharing because it helps my own personal development.

When I went to college “back in the day”, we used punch cards for the main frame computer. Now kids carry carry computers in their back pocket, in the form of a smart phone. And things are still changing, so I’m still learning. The bottom line is: “Thank God I’m still here” another year.

H.G.M. Is for Hackett Global Marketing.
Have Great Mindset,                                                                                                                        Had Great Mentors.                                                                                                                              Have God’s Mercy                                                                                                                                Because I’m still here

Internet comments

Azam Hamdoon
Happy birthday Earl 🙂 Have a great one, and great story by the way.

Deirdre Powell
Great post Earl. Happy Birthday! I love the way you tell your stories. Being a Baby Boomer myself, I appreciate your post. Life is precious, people don’t always act like they think it is. Glad someone still does. Blessings!
Sheena
Happy Birthday Earl!

Tereza Kumric
Happy Birthday Earl! Thanks for sharing your special day with us!

Earl Hackett
Thanks for your well wishes and comments.

To Edward, Nicole, and Matthew this is what Dad has been doing! You called it “that blogging thing”. My birthday gift to me, and surprise to you, is putting your name in ink; on a blog and in a book. How is that for a little family history?

It’s how you finish the game that counts.​

Albert Mensah started from a hut in a little village in Ghana West Africa. He is now one of the top motivational speakers in the world. I started from a mother on welfare and survived the mean streets of Detroit and graduated from the hallowed halls of Drexel University. Between it all, I traveled to seven countries on three continents and served in two branches of the military. Your start does not have to be your end.

​

When Mensah graduated from college he worked as a bar back in a fancy hotel. Bar backs wore the black bow ties and black suits and cleared the glasses off the tables. He took them back to the dish washer and refilled the racks behind the bar so the bar tender would always have fresh glasses. His next promotion was as a dish washer, they were paid hourly instead of living on tips. Each job for him was getting him into the American culture.​

Work experience and work ethic will take you places you never dreamed of. One of the bar patrons noticed Mensah’s and asked why he was always working so hard. Mensah told him that he had just graduated from college and that he was from Ghana West Africa and he had to work somewhere. That chance encounter lead to Mensah being offered a sales rep position with the local Yellow Pages sales office.

When he was hired, he told the former bar patron, now branch manager that he was going to become “rookie of the year”. The manager laughed, but he didn’t know about the power of intention, perseverance and determination. When you start anything have a clear intention and declare it. When you do, you hold yourself accountable and the powers of the universe will come into play.

Dave Wood one of the co- founders of the empower network talked about the power of intention at my first convention in Denver CO. The rest of the leaders talked about it also and I heard about it at the beginning the $15 K Formula which became the Team Building Formula. You got to get your “mind right” before you get your “money right”.

When Mensah started selling yellow page advertising he started with the small accounts. He found it hard to ask for a $2,000 ad because that was more than he was making at the time. But he sold the smaller amounts on such a consistent basics that he made up in numbers what he lacked in skill. Jim Rohn, the young farm boy did the same thing when he first got started in sales; he made up in numbers what he lacked in skill.

Again, hard-work and the right attitude got him noticed. The manager told him that he had potential and started to work closely with him to smooth out the rough edges. Before the year was up Mensah was rookie of the year.​

Mensah realized that if he knocked on enough doors he would make $60,000 a year as one of the top salesmen. As a result, he stayed with the company for 15 years. It didn’t take long for Mensah to make more in one year than his father had with 15 years in the Ghana Army. America is still the land of opportunity for those willing to hustle.​

When the door of opportunity opens for you, will you walk in or will you wait? Would an additional $3,000 to $5,000 a month in addition to whatever you may be doing right now be enough for you get started?

Are you willing to spend the time and the energy to learn what you need to learn? Are you willing to invest in the training programs that give you the technical knowledge and the sales philosophy behind internet marketing and direct sells? Are you willing to stay the course and attend the events until you get the results you want? This is just just me talking straight, no chaser. What is your story?

H.G.M.

Internet comments

​

Sheena

Yes, determination and persistence will take you places.​

Earl Hackett

Thanks Sheena for your comments. Mensah started from a hut in Ghana West Africa and he became a top motivational speaker (in America). He got to that position by “determination and persistence”.​

I started with Empower Network as a recent retiree looking for something to keep my mind active after a unique career path. My determination and persistence will take me to the published author status someday. But more importantly, I get to continue a family legacy.​

Mom was about basic survival, and she was a rock. To me she will always be the country girl from Mississippi who knew how to cook. She never learned how to drive but didn’t let it stop her. She was an independent woman who caught the bus everywhere. I was always amazed that she would catch the bus to work at the age that most would be retired (in her mid eighties). Mom gave birth to 14 kids and raised many grandkids along the way.

I learned the rest of her story at her funeral. She had told the story of her mom passing when she was only eight. At the age of 90 mom passed on to glory, and because I blog, I get to tell the rest of her story. Her father that she never really knew was a Native American who kept count of all his children and when mom was born in 1919 she was the last of 33. I’m about the arrival and I come from good stock.​

Jim Rohn once said, That’s my mountain, and I will climb that mountain, or you will find my dead body on the side (of the mountain). A do or die, not try, is the only way to go, if you want to blaze a trail!! That’s my determination, what is yours?

A comrade in arms, brought back remembrances, almost forgotten. The first time I saw her, she was in the middle of a business conference with a military flight suit on, at the Philadelphia International Airport. She was the guest speaker of the 30th annual Minority Enterprise Development Week in Philadelphia. It is commonly referred to as MED Week.

With a dynamic approach, like shock and awe she quickly got the audience’s attention. I identified with her right away, because I was a former military officer. She wore the military flight suit because she was the first African American Female Combat US Marine fighter pilot. She flew Cobra attack helicopters during two tours of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During her presentation, she talked about what it took to just become a female fighter pilot, then she talked about surviving actual combat. In the military, we are trained to accomplish the mission and as leaders to also take care of our comrades.You can accomplish great things if you are willing to try.

She changed out of her military uniform, on stage, into business attire. Vernice Armour is now a business coach and author. She is a very inspirational speaker and business coach, however that military bearing and that “can do attitude “never goes away.

While attending college after my first year, I noticed a poster for the R.O.T.C. program (Reserve Officer Training Corp). I had already survived my time in the military and knew the routine. My brief time in the Air Force (almost three years) was ended when I took a hardship discharge to take care of my dad who had a stroke. I had escaped the auto assembly line in Detroit Michigan by joining the United States Air Force but returned home to take care of family. He got better and a friend stepped in to take care of him, so I could go to school under the GI bill.

Vernice wrote Zero to Break Through – “The 7-Step,Battle Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals That Matter”. In addition to being a decorated fighter pilot she was Camp Pendleton’s 2001 Female Athlete of the Year and Strongest Warrior winner. She was also the first African American female on Nashville’s motorcycle police squad. And she was also on the San Diego Sun Fire professional women’s football team.

Vernice said she was inspired to set an example and to show others what’s possible, when you don’t quit. Vernice was my second exposure with a history making military person. As a young buck sergeant in the US Air Force I was assigned to Wheeler Air Force Base in Tripoli Libya during the base closure. The infamous Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was forcing the US out of the country.

That base commander was Colonel Daniel “Chappie” James, who was a Tuskegee Airman who fought in the Korean and the Vietnam War. Wikipedia stated that he was known for his patriotic speeches. I was exposed to one of his speeches “up close and personal” as part of a small group of young airman that came to his office to complain about some things. I went on to Germany, got out and went to school under the GI Bill. I later became a Second Lieutenant in the US Army and “Chappie” became the First African American Four-Star General of the Air Force.

In business as well as war, we must build a reliable team around us if we expect to win. Vernice talked about how important team effort played in combat, on the police force and on the football field. In her book Zero to Breakthrough she covered consciousness and awareness, preparation and the lack there of – procrastination, discipline and execution, obstacles and challenges, fear and focus. Bottom line, never give up because your breakthrough is just around the corner or over the next hill.

If you are trying to go it alone, who has your back when trouble comes along? What are you going to do, when they are shooting at you? In corporate America, someone always wants your position or they are jealousy of what you have. In any network marketing or affiliate business you get paid to help other succeed. You may seem like you are along at your key board, but you are not.

You are empowered to do your own thing, to follow your own passion, but you become an integral part of the whole. One person is barely recognized, on the internet but take an army of a couple hundred thousand blogging every day and big daddy GOOGLE listens and gives you rank. The more rank YOU get, the better YOUR exposure. This has been straight talk, beast mode. Is this your breakthrough?
H.G.M.

Internet comments

Charlene Burke
She is certainly an inspiration to me and I will be checking out her book today! Thank you for sharing.
Charlotte Clausen
Hi Earl That was awesome. Must admit I didn’t know of her, so glad you shared this. It’s exactly about how you use your inner force, to do and get, what you wish for. Thank You.
Larry Rivera
As they say, Team work makes the Dream work. No one can do everything by themselves. Even the most successful people in the world had a team they worked with. Awesome article, thanks for sharing.
Stephen Rosario
Great blog post Earl. I appreciate the suggestion on the book. I’m going to drop it on my list to read later on. Love the blog, I’ll be back to check it out, again soon!

Lynn Brown

What an amazing woman Earl, and your tribute is so detailed and very informative of all that Vernice accomplished and how it contributed to so many people. Thank you for sharing.

Timothy Gardiner
This is very inspirational. I appreciate this Mr. Hackett. I am an Army veteran myself, and I enjoyed your Blog. And I am sure you have a strong clientele of people who love your blogs. And I know you will be good at whatever you set your mind to. But remember there is no time like the present, to get business going, and there is no such thing as the perfect time, we both been around long enough to know better. It was a pleasure talking with you. To your success, be blessed.

Earl Hackett
Thank you for the comments. There is an old military saying: If you been around for a while; you survived the fight, the battle or the night and you are still alright; every day, above ground, is a good day!

What do you do, when the missile locks on, and you are about to be blow up, somewhere in the sky? After the initial pucker in the lower regions, you suck it up, get it together and go through all the defense maneuver you practiced. You try to remember the books and the training you received over the years. Your life may even flash before your eyes. Rob Waldo Waldman did what he needed to do, and he lived to tell his story.

On April 28, 1999 Waldo was on a real-world combat mission in support of Allied Force Operations in Europe. As an F-16 fighter pilot he and his group were flying a support mission for an F-117 stealth fighter group that were assigned to take out some strategic targets in downtown Belgrade.

As they approached the forward edge of the battle area everybody put on their game face. Two minutes into the battle area, Waldo’s radar goes off, alerting him that trouble was headed his way. He couldn’t see the actual missiles because it was the middle of a night time operation. What he could see, were the two huge red flame fireballs representing the flame trail of two surface to air missiles headed towards him.

As he retold the story to Chris Widener in the “Made for Success series”, you could hear in his voice the excitement of the moment. It was a moment he would never forget. It was kill or be killed and he had to execute a defensive movement or that would be his last flight. Mistakes in the air during combat, tend be fatal.

Short of combat, there are times when things become very critical. It’s the do or die of life, and business. It’s, I got to do this, or I’m really going to pay the price. It could be your moment of glory or your moment of defeat. It may not be physical death, but it hurts just the same. It’s what do I do now, or where do I turn?

If you lose your job and you have a family to support, and you have no savings, and you have a house that you are about to lose, that’s stressful. If you are a single parent, and the job lays you off suddenly, and you don’t have any money, and you can’t feed you kids, or keep the lights on, that’s stressful. It feels like the missile of misfortune is headed your way. Too much stress even kills.

Waldo went through the procedures he had trained for; out run the missile or out maneuver it to break the radar lock of the missiles. The danger is not over until something explodes. The missiles blew up about 1,000 feet from his aircraft. Close call, but not fatal. He said that at that moment, he felt like he had defeated the most dangerous threat of his life. However, he still had a job to do and he continued the mission.

He regained his composure and returned to the flight pattern. Another two missiles locked on, same fatal danger, but this time it felt a little different. He remembered how good he felt when he avoided the other two, so his confidence was higher. He was still in danger but he was able to react a lot quicker to avoid the danger.

In life and in business when you overcome situations you gain more confidence when you survive the problems. If every time you start something and you quit when the going gets rough you cheat yourself out of getting stronger for the next challenge. How often do you encourage a toddler to keep trying to walk even though they may fall down a lot? You keep pushing UNTIL they walk.

If you start with the empower network how long do you stick with it? You stick with it long enough until YOU get it. Period. Do the work, attend the events and someone will notice. Lock arms and get plugged in. The people you hear making big money started some- where and they just continued to grow with the high commission structure system.

One unique individual with prior online experience set company and industry records. How else can you explain how Vic Strizhus became the number one earner in the company? He earned $710,000 in his first thirty day (his results are not typical they are exceptional – see the income disclosure statement). He had “a lot of prior on-line experience” and he was able to take advantage of the the high ticket educational products. This has been straight talk, beast mode.

H.G.M.

Internet comments

Garry

It’s hard to compare combat to blogging… but it scares me sometime… and your post, puts it into perspective. Thanks Earl.

Movie Trailers Rule

Great story Earl and a powerful lesson within. Everything gets easier the more you do it, so you have to go into it with a ‘no-quit’ attitude and stick with it until you “get it”. Thanks for sharing this!

Sherry Parks Starnes

Great post Earl. I had not heard the story of Rob Waldo Waldman and it’s an amazing one. We must do whatever it takes when put into difficult situations. He relied on his training and experience and that’s what we have to do as well. Thanks for sharing.

X Ray Cat

Thanks Earl. Loved the story and how you compared it to business and life in general. And I absolutely agree, every combat you have in life and in business is a learning opportunity and I have learned from my own experience, that universe doesn’t put any obstacles in our way that we couldn’t overcome. He’s just testing us, to see if we are worthy of our dreams 🙂 Heck yea, we are, but we have to show it. The Universe will not just take our word for it.

Becky

The comparison here are so powerful …Too many times we give up too soon which prevents us from seeing our true potential and reaching our goals. Trails and tough times do make us stronger – when we reach the other side we’re thankful for the strength gained. Thanks for sharing this – I look forward to the next one 🙂

Sheena

Awesome stuff Earl, Thanks for sharing.

Earl Hackett

Thank you for your comments. Rob Waldo Waldman (Lt. Col. Ret.) survived combat and became a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and a key note speaker. He is also the Founder and President of the Wingman Foundation, a 501(c)(3) who’s mission is to raise awareness for soldiers, veterans and their families in need.

I went home to Detroit to visit, and saw the movie “Detroit” with my sister Diane. We are both old enough to remember, we were there when it happened 50 years ago. I was living with my dad and she was with mom and my other brother at the time. I was actually home alone when it happened because my dad was out of town that weekend.

The numbers are still staggering; over 2,000 buildings were destroyed, over 7,000 people were arrested, 1,100 injuries and 43 people were killed. The vast majority of damaged buildings were never replaced. I left the city the next year by joining the military. I would come back to visit over the years, but it was never the same.

The riot began with the raid of a illegal bar ( it was called a blink pig) on the west side. Police had conducted other raids without incident, but this time they were surprised with the amount of people that were there. It was six times more than normal. The people there, were throwing a party for two returning veterans who has served in the Vietnam War according the details in the 8-Page Commemorative Section of the Detroit Sunday Free Press; Written by Bill McGraw, Detroit Free Press special writer, and others.

It was hot summer night, and many people were outside witnessing the long process of seeing people carried off in the paddy wagons. Bystanders joked with the bar patrons at first, but the crown grew angry and rowdy as the white cops kept carting off the Black bar patrons.

A couple of people agitated, and someone in the crowd, threw a bottle. A line of police quickly moved toward the crowd, then backed away. That hesitation, and other missteps  caused a chain of events that resulted in 5 days of destruction of which the city has never really fully recovered.

From that point on, windows started breaking and people started looting.  The police were issued riot gear and loaded shotguns but “told not to shoot the looters”. Even during the first several hours after daylight, the police did not shoot anyone and they only made a few arrest. I always wondered how things got so far out of hand, now I have a good idea why.

Mayor Jerome Cavanagh and Police Commissioner Ray Girardin took a very controversial approach of using restraint, at first. Maybe, they were thinking about the recent (1967) Newark NJ riot in which 26 people were killed. Or maybe they were thinking about the (1943 Detroit two-day race riot) that happened at Belle Isle in which 34 people were killed. Or maybe they didn’t want to appear weak by losing control of a major city. They knew that the Detroit Police force, the Michigan State Police and the Michigan National Guard were also mostly White and most of the residents of Detroit were Black and the outcome would not look good in the news.

The first fire started in a 12th Street shoe store and the fire crew battled it with no harassment at 8:24 a.m. By early afternoon blazes raged out of control up and down 12th Street. At some fire scenes residents helped the firefighters and at other locations the crowd threw rocks and bottles. At one point, the fire department radio dispatcher relayed a command from the fire chief to withdraw from all areas that didn’t have police protection. That’s when things really got hot!

With the temperatures being in the high 80’s and winds in  15 m.p.h.range it whipped the growing flames and and spread the embers around the city.  Johnny Lee Hooker, the late blues singer, who lived in Detroit sang ” The Motor City is Burning” and it was. Many of the 34,000+ fans at Tiger Stadium saw the smoke, but were not told the cause of the smoke. The announcer just told the fans to avoid certain streets, when the doubleheader game was over.

There was a media blackout at first because the Mayor and the Governor wanted to gain an upper hand first. When the story finally broke, people in the suburbs moved their cars up into the driveway and grabbed their guns. Police and residents in the suburbs like Grosse Pointe and Dearborn stood ready to defend their borders.

At the Fox Theater (in downtown Detroit) on Sunday, Martha and the Vandellas were the headliner for the “Swing Time Review”.  When Martha Reeves got the word she told the audience, and they all left calmly. In my mind, I will always remember the Fox Theater, as “the place for the Motown Review” where all the Motown stars performed in person. To me, the 1967 Detroit Riot was an incident that forever changed the city.

At 2:05 p,m, the police commissioner called for the State Police and at 4:10 the Governor called  for the Michigan National guard. But, by 4:30 p.m. firefighters had abandoned a 100 city block area along 12th Street area because they didn’t have police protection. Now Detroit was really out of control. At 9:07 the first sniper fire was reported, then other people started dying.

Governor Romney finally reached out to Vice President  Hubert Humphrey  Monday  morning and by the afternoon, President Lyndon Johnson ordered  4,700 Army Paratroopers into the Detroit area. As a young high school student, it seemed like a bad movie, seeing tanks and Army troops rolling down the streets I rode my bike on.

The US Army troopers diversity, skill, no-nonsense demeanor and strict discipline quickly gained control of the East Side. About 40% of the paratroopers were Vietnam veterans and 25% were African American. At that time the National Guard was know as weekend warriors and were trigger happy back in the day. They got paid to drill, “one weekend” a month, and attended a “two week training” each year. They became “real warriors” during the Gulf War. How did I know? I learned the difference, when I was active duty Army, stationed at Fort Bragg NC. many years later.

As I read the newspaper article about how the Federal Troops gained control of the “East Side” I realized that the streets named ( Kercheval, Van Dyke, Vernor, Chalevoix, East Grand Boulevard and Mack Street)  were some of the areas I traveled on with my bike. I was walking distance to Belle Isle Park (but I didn’t know the history of it). My friends  James M. , Greg H. and Bugs and I  were always on the go. I was discovering the world as I knew it, a few blocks at a time. I didn’t get a car until I got a job on the assembly line later that year.

“Detroit –  the movie” centered on incidents at the Algiers Motel on Woodward Ave. By the end of that incident, three young Black men – Carl Cooper, 17; Fred Temple, 18 and Auburey Pollard 19 were dead, and several of their friends, plus two White women from Ohio had been assaulted during a brutal lobby interrogation …. all evidence pointed to an execution and not a shootout with police.

The catastrophe was an economic disaster; 2,509 stores were looted or burned including 611 food markets, 537 cleaners and 285 liquor stores and 27% took place in Black-owned businesses. About 388 families were displaced near the stores and shopping areas when the fire department was instructed not to do anything without police protection.  The fire department responded to a total of 3,034 calls.  The vast majority of damaged buildings were never rebuilt.

I may come back to settle down, but it won’t be in the city. The downtown area is going through gentrification but I like the open spaces of the suburbs. Will there another riot as bad at the 1967 event? I don’t know. Many things have changed and yet many things remain the same.

H.G.M.

Military service is a unique experience.

Once you go through it, you never forget. The training, the travel, and the time away from family and friends affect the service member and their family. As a two-time military veteran (Air Force & Army), I have first-hand experience.

I was in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. I missed the combat but I had friends that didn’t. Some came home and some didn’t (R.I.P.) Freedom is not free – many paid the price. During this time period in America most of my class mates were being drafted into military service. If you are a Vietnam Era veteran I’m sure you remember the mood of the country in the 1960′s and early 70′s.

I still remember basic training, AIT, and my assignments. At age 19, I took my first air plane ride from Detroit Michigan to San Antonio, Texas. I also spent time in Nevada, followed by 90 days at Wheeler AFB in Tripoli, Libya during the US base closure there. Then I spent almost two years at Sembach AFB, in Southern Germany.

During this time, Detroit was really the MOTOR CITY – Home of the big four – Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and American Motors. While in my senior year of high school, I started working on the second shift at the assembly line at Chrysler. The money was good but the work was hard – basic level manual labor. Always observant, I looked around and noticed too many, worn out old workers stuck on the line in support of their families. My way out was to join the Air Force, to use the GI Bill.

I remember the separations from family and friends while in the service – years overseas and other parts of the country. But I learned to make friends and I always wrote home. Think about all the friends you made from different parts of the world. It’s been many years for me, but I have photos to refresh my memory. Some of you still keep in touch with people you met while in the military.

I received a hardship discharge from the Air Force to take care of my dad who suffered a stroke while I was in Germany. After a year, a friend of his took over and I went off to college in Philadelphia under the GI Bill. While there, I ended up going through the Army R.O.T.C. Program there.

While in the Army, I spent time at Ft. Lee VA, Ft. Bragg N.C. and three years on Army posts in Germany. I even took the Border tour between East and West Germany and saw miles and miles of two story fences, land mined areas, kill zones and guard towers.

Things have changed, but I still remember. I saw first-hand why everyone wants to come to the land of opportunity and freedom. I did 10 years in the Army along with 3 years in the Air force that’s 13 years total – no 20-year retirement, but I gained a wealth of priceless experience.​

Do you still have a military mindset? Accomplish the mission and take care of your men (family). Do you have kids over 18 that are looking for a job but spending hours and hours on the internet, or their smart phone with mobile internet access? Do you need additional funds to send them to college? Do you still need additional funds to pay off your own student loans?​

Communication has advanced so much in the last twenty years. How much time do you spend online? Do you have a Face Book, and LinkedIn account, Twitter, Instagram, etc.? More importantly, are YOU getting paid off all this technology?​

Are you up to the challenge? Can you take that “can do attitude” to help someone in your circle of family and friends who needs additional income? Do you personally know a disabled vet that can use a computer key board. There is a way for them to generate income off the internet?​

Are you a military spouse, holding down the home front while your other half is off fighting somewhere? Information is power, use it to your advantage. Get the info. Having served as an Air Force Sergeant and an Army Captain request you take your time – recon the material. If you accept the mission, the Team is ready. This has been straight talk, beast mode.

H.G.M.

                                                           Internet comments

Sheena

Awesome stuff Earl, Thank you for everything you have done.

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Sue Price

Hi Earl, I have never been in the military but I know people who have. I get Vietnam was very tough. We had Australians there supporting the US as I’m sure you know. I do have a “can do” attitude. Thank you for sharing some of your journey Earl.

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Deirdre Powell

Great post Earl, thank you for your service to our country. A can-do attitude is so important. Thanks for sharing your story.

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Sherry Starnes

Great post Earl and thank you for serving our country. You asked some very great questions that will really get people thinking. What is it that we really want? People don’t know what they want. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome story.

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Earl Hackett

Thanks for your comments. I joined the military for an opportunity to escape the assembly line. What I discover was The Thin Red Line that changes the ordinary Joe into the GI Joe. That “can-do attitude” gets drilled into the heart and the brain. We train to maintain in any type of weather or terrain. And even as I age, I will always remember the stage, where duty and honor always stand, against the rage.

Sam is the name that showed me more of the world, than I ever knew.

In case you haven’t figured it out, that’s “Uncle Sam”. Sam opened my eyes and my mind, so much that I had to take a second look. I was born and raised in Detroit Michigan during the time it was the Motor City. If it rolled off an assembly line, it came from the Detroit area. It was also the home of Motown, the newest hippest urban sound.

In my last year in high school, I decided that I was going to get a job on the assembly line. I had worked my first summer job, at a Howard Johnson Restaurant and liked the idea of having earned my own money. I was now living with my dad, and was on my second childhood. I didn’t know it then, but I was co-parented. My first nine years, was with my mom and my brothers and sisters. Mom went into the hospital and we were sent to live with our different fathers. Mine decided to keep me with him, and I felt like I was raised as an only child for the next nine years.

Before Sam appeared, my world was limited to there I lived, and the people I knew. I was working on the assembly line and felt like a human machine. This was before automation and the work was pure manual labor. At the beginning of the model year, things seemed OK because there were gaps in the line. But when they got to full production, with NO gaps, that was sixty cars rolling off the assembly line every hour. That was about 400 cars per shift. And I worked the second shift. That meant about 800 cars a day were produced for the plant, I worked in.

We only had two 15 minute “relief breaks” and a half hour lunch break. The only time the line stopped was when there was a production problem and during the 30-minute lunch break. Some workers would even sabotage things to get the line to stop. You had one minute (60 seconds) to finish whatever your task was, before you had to do it again. You learned to work efficient so you could have a little time before the next vehicle arrived.

I didn’t want to condition myself, to continue, to do that. The older guys around me started off with the hard tasks then with seniority, transitioned into the easier positions. They then became locked into debt, and family responsibilities. But I wanted more, so I figured that if I wanted more, I had to do more, and going to college was my way off the assembly line. My problem was how do I pay for it! So, I decided to join the United States Air force. It wasn’t until many years later that I found out how fortunate I was to be accepted in the Air Force instead of the Army or the Marine Corp, especially during the Vietnam War.
Sam introduced me to different people, in different parts of the world. My first ever plane ride, was to basic training, in Lackland AFB in Texas. To the new-recruit basic training is a shock to the system. I now realize it was designed that way, to break all the old habits and build unity. In reality, it’s a quick weeding out process, to find out fast, who won’t fit. The worst thing and biggest fear in basic training is being faced with being “recycled” (doing basic training all over again).
My first assignment was to a radar site, in Tonopah Nevada which was in the middle of nowhere. It’s the mid-way point between Reno in the North and Las Vegas in the South. To me, coming from Detroit and landing there, was like landing on the moon. Once you get away from the city, it’s all desert.
I did a 90-day tour in Tripoli Libya, North Africa, where the United States was closing the air base there? I continued to develop a world view when I was then sent to Germany, as I became a product of the cold war in Europe. Years later I returned to Germany, but this time as an Army Officer. I was now a part of the Seventh Army Training Command, the place where the Army came to train in Europe.
When I blog, it brings back memories of times pass. It’s my record that I was here on this earth. I didn’t retire with 20 years of service but I did do 13 – three as a NCO and ten as a commissioned officer. I traveled and met a lot of people. What I learned is that no matter where you go, people want to raise their families in peace, whether in America or the Middle East. Yes, I studied war, now it’s time for peace. This had been straight talk, beast mode. H.G.M.

Internet comments

Dr. Steve Sheiner
Great story Earl. I think a lot of people share the same story. Different journey, but the same story. Congratulations for getting home safe and for finding a new path. Thanks for sharing this.

Rodney
Thank you for your service Earl. I grew up in a military town with an Air Force Base called McClellan Air Force. It’s now shut down and everything is different. I also appreciate you sharing some of your story with us.

Rory Singh
I been reading your blogs for a while now. Thank you for your stories. When I was a teenager I almost joined the Air Force but one of my cousins thought that I wouldn’t like it because I had to follow orders all day. I thought about what he said, and realized that was true. The only reason why I wanted to go there was to be able to get my pilots license (and experience) on their dime. My 19-year-old son attended cadet (Army and Air force) for years and now is looking to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces, but not now, because he has epilepsy. He thinks he is a tank guy. Thank you for your post about how Uncle Sam influenced your life.

Tara Woodruff
Earl I love this!! Thank you for sharing your experience and this aspect of your life. I am laughing at myself for not having a hint, who Sam was. When I saw your post title, I was expecting a sweet old man that took you under his wing. What I found, was a 200 year or so old man, that gave you his wings 🙂 Love it and thank you again Earl!

Daphne Dobson
Great post Earl! Thank God for Sam! I absolutely love your stories! I too was wondering who was this Sam fellow you were talking about. I love what you say about, no matter where you go, people want to raise their families in peace. Thanks for sharing!

Earl Hackett                                                                                                                                Thanks for comments. I have learned that discipline can be taught, but respect must be earned.