Believing in Me

About the Book

As a 115-pound teenager drafted into the United States Army during the Korean conflict, Donald Huard was laughed at, taunted, and bullied by other recruits. He met his military responsibilities effectively, however, facing the potential for a military court martial during one tour of duty before his honorable discharge in 1954. His is an interesting soldier’s story. Determined to get a college education, Don used the GI Bill to get his associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. Then, with the firm support of his wife and four children over a very long period of seventeen years, he managed to meet the requirements for his master’s and PhD degrees in psychology with minors in both criminology and business. His is a very successful story of constructive determination. How does one recover at the age of fifty as the loving father of four teenagers grieving the loss of their mother? How does he rebuild his own life following such sadness? Eventually, Don met Margie, the wonderful lady who enabled him to live again. In this book Dr. Huard, who is now in his mid-eighties, stresses two of his personal survivor stories from fifty years ago. One is about his military training and his Alaskan adventures; the other is about his conflict with the administrative hierarchy at a major state university in his own hometown.

About the Author

Donald Huard was only eighteen years-old when he was drafted into the United States Army in 1952. Frail, six feet tall but weighing only 115 lbs., Don was taunted and ridiculed by other recruits through eight weeks of infantry training followed by eight more weeks of heavy weapons combat development He was assigned as an infantryman to be sent to Korea. The orders for his unit were changed, however, and Don was sent to Kelly Air Force Base in San Marcos, Texas for special training as a fixed-wing aircraft mechanic. Two years of military service were spent in Central Alaska servicing airplanes used to support a Geodetic surveying team of engineers as they created maps of Alaska prior to its statehood established in 1959. Released from the Army in 1954, Don took advantage of the GI Bill to earn an Associate in Arts degree and a Bachelor of Science degree at Arizona State University. Given the opportunity to work as a research laboratory assistant, he continued to pursue his higher education toward his ultimate goal of finishing a doctorate degree that was awarded in 1971. At the age of 28, Donald Huard began teaching at the University as a lecturer in psychology with his newly acquired master's degree in experimental psychology including graduate level minors in business and criminology. Meanwhile, as he worked towards his doctorate degree he accepted a teaching position at Phoenix Community College where he served as a professor of psychology and behavioral statistics for 38 years. His Emeritus status was established as a retiree from the Maricopa Community College District in 2004. His successful academic has earned him a listing in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers since 2004. Dr. Huard first wife died in 1981 ending a 23 year marriage. He and Marie Fournier Huard raised four children. His present marriage of 36 years is to Margaret E. Huard, who also raised three children. Donald and his wife “Margie” are proud grandparents and great grandparents of a total of 38 children. Grandpa Don and Grandma Margie live happily in Prescott Valley, Arizona.