Robert F. McCollum

(OCTOBER 31, 2024, BIO FOR ROBERT F. McCOLLUM AKA BOTTOM GUN)

MY NAME IS ROBERT F. McCOLLUM AND I AM AN 88 YEAR OLD VETERAN BORN ON JULY 16, 1936 WHO HAD THE HONOR AND PLEASURE OF SERVING TWO CAREERS OF US GOVT. SERVICE IN BOTH THE US NAVY AND DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS WHEN I RETIRED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA) IN NOV 2005.

 MY JOURNEY TO SERVE THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD STARTED WHEN I VOLUNTEERED TO FULLFILL MY 8 YEARS OF OBLIGATED MILITARY SERVICE WITH AN OBLIGATION TO SERVE TWO YEARS OF ACTIVE DUTY DURING THAT PERIOD 71 YEARS AGO ON AUG 12, 1953 JUST BEFORE I ENTERED MY SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL AND WHEN I WAS 17 YEARS OLD AND NEEDED MY MOTHER'S PERMISSION TO JOIN THE US NAVAL RESERVE.

I SERVED MY TWO YEARS OF OBLIGATED ACTIVE DUTY IN THE US NAVY FROM A RESERVE STATUS SHORTLY AFTER GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND IT WAS FROM 1954 TO 1956. BEFORE MY 8 YEARS OF OBLIGATED MILITARY SERVICE ENDED IN 1961 I DECIDED TO VOLUNTEER FOR ACTIVE DUTY AGAIN.

I WAS FINALLY RETIRED IN 1981 AS A CHIEF PETTY OFFICER (CPO).  MY LAST 20 YEARS OF ACTIVE DUTY IN THE NAVY WAS HIGHLIGHTED BY 14 YEARS OF SUBMARINE DUTY AND 6 YEARS AS A NAVY RECRUITER. 

I GRADUATED FROM SUBMARINE SCHOOL IN JUNE OF 1961 AND QUALIFIED IN SUBMARINES ON A DIESEL BOAT IN LATER 1961 AS A TORPEDOMAN'S MATE AND MOVED INTO THE NUCLEAR SUBMARINE FORCE  IN 1963 AND BECAME A LAUNCHER TECHNICIAN.

I COMPLETED 15 POLARIS/POSEIDON DETERRENT PATROLS IN THE 60's AND 70's ON THREE DIFFERENT NUCLEAR POWERED SUBMARINES, JOHN MARSHALL SSBN 611, SAM HOUSTON SSBN 609, AND CASIMIR PULASKI SSBN 633.   THIS DUTY PROVIDED ME WITH THE OPPORTUNITY OF BEING ABLE TO SPEND TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF MY LIFE UNDERWATER WHILE MAKING 60 DAY DETERRENT PATROLS.

IN 1973 THE NAVY CAME OUT WITH THE NAVY COUNSELOR RATING AND I WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL SELECTEES INTO THIS RATING.  I SPENT MY LAST SIX YEARS IN THE NAVY AS A CHIEF NAVY COUNSELOR ON RECRUITING DUTY.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF MY NAVAL CAREER WOULD BE:

•         THREE YEARS TEACHING AT INSTRUCTOR TRAINING SCHOOL FOR SUBMARINERS WHO WERE ASSIGNED TO TEACH THEIR SPECIALTIES AT SUBMARINE SCHOOL, NEW LONDON, CT.

•         BECAUSE OF MY OUTSTANDING RECRUITING ACTIVITIES I WAS SELECTED AND TRANSFERRED TO FRANKFURT, GERMANY TO SERVE AS A NAVY RECRUITER FOR EUROPE.

THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY RECRUITING DUTY WAS RECRUITING MY OLDEST SON, SCOTT, INTO THE NAVY IN 1978 AS AN AIRMAN RECRUIT AND SEEING HIM RETIRE 20 YEARS LATER IN 1998 AS A LT. COMMANDER.

AFTER RETIRING FROM THE NAVY IN APRIL OF 1981, I STARTED MY 24 YEAR CAREER WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AS A GS-4 CLERK-TYPIST AT THE VA MEDICAL CENTER IN LA JOLLA, CA. 

ONE YEAR LATER I WAS SELECTED TO JOIN THE NATIONAL CEMETERY ADMINISTRATION AND ENTERED THE ONE YEAR TRAINING PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL CEMETERY DIRECTORS AS A GS-5.  MY TRAINING FACILITY WAS THE RIVERSIDE NATIONAL CEMETERY (RNC) IN RIVERSIDE, CA.

I WAS PROMOTED TO GS-7 AFTER TRAINING AND SERVED AT RNC FOR ALMOST ANOTHER YEAR.

PROMOTION TO GS-8 CAME IN MY FIRST ASSIGNMENT AS DIRECTOR OF THE NEW BERN N/C IN NORTH CAROLINA.

NINETEEN MONTHS LATER I WAS PROMOTED TO GS-10 AND TRANSFERRED TO THE LITTLE ROCK N/C IN LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS WHERE I SERVED FOR ABOUT 28 MONTHS BEFORE BEING PROMOTED TO GS-11 AND TRANSFERRED TO THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL CEMETERY OF THE PACIFIC (NMCP) IN HONOLULU AS THE ASST. DIRECTOR.

SHORTLY AFTER MY ARRIVAL TO THE NMCP I WAS PROMOTED TO GS-12 AND SERVED AS THE ACTING DIRECTOR FOR A YEAR UNTIL A NEW DIRECTOR WAS HIRED AND I THEN REVERTED BACK TO BEING HIS ASST. DIRECTOR.

MY NEXT ASSIGNMENT TOOK ME TO THE FORT LOGAN N/C IN DENVER, COLORADO WHERE I SERVED FOR FIVE YEARS AS THE DIRECTOR BEFORE BEING TRANSFERRED TO THE FORT SNELLING NATIONAL CEMETERY (FSNC) IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.  I WAS ABLE TO ADVANCE TO GS-13 AND GS-14 WHILE STATIONED AT THE FSNC AND SERVED AS THE DIRECTOR  FROM 1999 TO 2005. 

IN 2005 A GS-15 MEMORIAL SERVICE NETWORK (MSN) DIRECTORS' POSITION OPENED UP IN DENVER, COLORADO THAT I WAS OBLIGATED TO APPLY FOR BEING A GS-14.  I  WAS SELECTED FOR THIS POSITION AND MADE THE TRANSITION FROM MINNEAPOLIS TO DENVER TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER LOOKING THE ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATION OF 25 NATIONAL CEMETERIES SPREAD THROUGHOUT 10 STATES.

I LOST MY WIFE OF OVER 47 YEARS, JUDITH, TWO WEEKS AFTER ARRIVING IN DENVER AND THAT MADE ME DECIDE TO RETIRE  IMMEDIATELY AND HEAD TO CALIFORNIA BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER JILL, WHO WAS VISITING ME AT THE TIME OF HER MOTHER'S DEATH, TOLD ME SHE WAS NOT LEAVING COLORADO WITHOUT ME.

SHORTLY AFTER ARRIVING IN SAN DIEGO, IN 2007 I  STARTED MY VOLUNTEER DUTY  WITH THE RETIRED SENIOR VOLUNTEER PATROL (RSVP)  OF THE SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPT AND SERVED IN THAT CAPACITY FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.

MY YOUNGEST SON AND HIS WIFE PRESENTED ME WITH A NEW GRAND DAUGHTER ON SEP 6, 2006, AND SHE WAS NAMED AFTER MY LOVELY WIFE OF OVER 47 YEARS, JUDY. 

MY GRANDDAUGHTER JENNA MADE ME A GREAT GRANDFATHER ON FEB 4, 2014, BY BRINGING JACK INTO THE WORLD.

SOME OF THE KEY TRAITS I LIKE TO THINK THAT I POSSESS AND THAT DRIVE ME ARE HONOR, INTEGRITY, DIGNITY, RESPECT, TRUST, AND PROFESSIONALISM. 

I WAS A LIFETIME MEMBER OF THE BOSTON LODGE OF ELKS #10 (BPOE #10) UNTIL I RECENTLY DECIDED TO CANCEL MY MEMBERSHIP BECAUSE OF MY BEING A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT FOR OVER THE PAST 18 YEARS AND NOT SPENDING ANY LEISURE TIMES AT AN ELKS CLUB.

I AM A LIFETIME MEMBER OF THE DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS (DAV).

I AM A LIFETIME MEMBER OF SUBMARINES VETERANS, INC. AND A MEMBER OF THE HOLLAND CLUB WHOSE SUBMARINE VETERAN MEMBERS WERE “QUALIFIED IN SUBMARINES” MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO.

I AM A MEMBER OF THE FLEET RESERVE ASSOCIATION (FRA)

I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH WHEN  PEOPLE I ASSOCIATE WITH ARE DRIVEN BY THE SAME TRAITS THAT DRIVE ME.  AS I CELEBRATED MY 88th BIRTHDAY THIS PAST JULY 16, I PRAYED I WOULD TO BE AROUND FOR A WHILE LONGER SERVING AS A VOLUNTEER AT THE MT. SOLEDAD NATIONAL VETERANS MEMORIAL HONORING OUR NATION'S VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES. I HAVE BEEN A VOLUNTEER AT THE MT. SOLEDAD NATIONAL VETERANS MEMORIAL FOR OVER THE PAST 11 YEARS.

MY 52 YEARS OF US GOVERNMENT SERVICE AND OVER 13 YEARS OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE IN SAN DIEGO:

08/12/1953:  Enlisted in the US Navy Reserves when 17 years old to fulfill my 8 year military obligation.

09/1954 – 09/1956: Volunteered for active duty and Naval service during this period and included serving on the heavy cruiser USS Baltimore CA-68 from 12/14/54 to 4/13/56 and making an 8 month WESPAC cruise in 1955. Released from active duty in 09/1956 but returned to active duty in 1961.

04/2/1961 – 06/14/1961:  Attended and graduated from Basic Submarine School and served on a diesel submarine until moving into the nuclear submarine force in 1963.

11/29/1963 – 09/30/1966:  USS John Marshall SSBN 611 – 6 deterrent patrols

01/27/1967 – 01/5/1970:  Instructor at Instructor Training School, Submarine Base, New London, CT.

02/3/1970 – 02/8/1972: USS Sam Houston SSBN 609 – 4 deterrent patrols

03/30/1972 – 11/29/1974:  USS Casimir Pulaski SSBN 633 – 5 deterrent patrols

01/25/1975 – 04/1/1981: Served as a Navy Recruiter with Navy Recruiting District (NRD) Boston. Was the Recruiter in Charge (RINC) for the Plymouth Recruiting Station, the Hyannis Recruiting Station and because of my outstanding recruiting  activities I was selected and transferred to Frankfurt, Germany to serve as one of  2 Navy Recruiters for Europe.

04/1/1981 – Retired from the US Navy and in January 1982 I started my long career with the Department of Veteran Affairs as a GS-4 Clerk-Typist at the VA Medical Center in La Jolla, CA.

01/1982 – 01/1983 – GS-4 Clerk-Typist, Building Management, VA Medical Center, La Jolla, CA.

01/1983 – 01/1984 – GS-5 Cemetery Director Trainee, Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, CA.

01/1984 – 11/1984 – GS-7 Assistant to the Director, Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, CA.

11/1984 – 06/1986 – GS-8 Cemetery Administrator, New Bern National Cemetery, New Bern, N.C.

06/1986 – 11/1988 – GS-10 Cemetery Administrator, Little Rock National Cemetery, Little Rock, AR.

11/1988 – 01/1992 – GS-11/12 Assistant Director/Acting Director, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, HI.

01/1992 – 03/1996 – GS-12 Cemetery Director, Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, CO.

03/1996 – 03/1999 – GS-13 Assistant Director, Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN.

09/1999 – 09/2005 – GS-14 Cemetery Administrator, Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN

09/2005 – 11/2005 – GS-15 Memorial Service Network III Director, Denver, CO

This position made me responsible for the administration and operation of 25 national cemeteries spread through out 10 states.

11/2005    Retired from Veterans Affairs two weeks after arriving in Denver because I lost my wife of over 47 years unexpectedly on Veterans Day weekend 2005 and that caused me to retire immediately and head to California.

I started my many years of volunteer duties in San Diego by attending and graduating from the San Diego Police Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) Academy in October 2006 and serving until June 2008.

In June 2013 I joined the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association (MSMA) as a volunteer and initially served as the Saturday Docent before becoming the volunteer who maintains the grounds and walls of the Memorial in a pristine condition.  As of Oct 31, 2024,  I continue to carry out my volunteer duties  as the Mt. Soledad Memorial Caretaker 7 days a week.

I was honored by the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association by being selected as the Mt. Soledad 2020 Veteran of the Year.

At the end of 2021 I was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award Certificate and a Letter of Congratulations for achieving 4,000 hours of volunteer service to our great community and country. Both documents were signed and from the President of the United States (POTUS).

As of Nov 1, 2024, I continue to serve the MSMA as the Mt. Soledad Memorial Caretaker.