I was born in a small town called Hillsville, located in Carroll county in Southwest Virginia in 1959 and was raised by a dedicated and retired marine and a wonderful mother who has left us and now an angel in heaven as of August 24, 2015. My father joined my mother in heaven on September 15, 2020. I have a sister who is the only red head in the family. I served with the U.S. Army from 1979-1992. Upon receiving my honorable discharge as a Sergeant, I transitioned to civilian life eventually finding myself working for the cemetery system taking care of our nations veterans and their families. I got married on February 27, 1999 to my loving, devoted and wonderful wife Dawn Marie and we live in Alexandria, Va. I was working for the Department of Veterans Affairs at Quantico National Cemetery from Oct 6, 2003 with my last day there on June 14, 2013.On June 17, 2013, I started working for the Department of the Army as a Cemetery Representative at Arlington National Cemetery. The Department of the Army not only manages Arlington National Cemetery, it also manages the Soldiers & Airmens Home National Cemetery in Washington, DC. As of July 27, 2015, I am in a new position as a Quality Assurance Specialist for the Quality Assurance Division at Arlington National Cemetery, taking photos of headstones and markers for the contractors to review, and once approved, the photos are uploaded to our website, (ANC Explorer find a grave link) so the families can view, as well as checking in incoming headstones for accuracy. Disclaimer...The Find A Grave site that I am a member of, is a hobby and for personal use only, I do not work for Find A Grave. This does not have anything to do with my employment at Arlington National Cemetery and does not hinder my performance of duties as an employee of Arlington National Cemetery. In no way does it affect my tenure of my hours performing my work at Arlington National Cemetery. I do not go to work to take photos for Find A Grave. I do not volunteer for Find A Grave. I do not use this site for personal gain or profit. I like doing this because it interests me, and I pride myself on the information I put in, is factual, complete with BIO's and photos of stones or markers and people associated with each gravesite which completes the Find A Grave page for each individual, which what this is all about (that is If I know all of the information, have photos, etc.) I do not do this to upset people, I just believe in being thorough and making things right and complete and looking nice for people to say "Wow" that's so cool that Patrick did this for us and we didn't even ask". I find it rewarding to know I did something right and complete for the loved ones of our dearly departed, for that's what Find A Grave is all about. I know that my parents would be so proud of me for my dedication and hard work on this site. My parents rest at Court 7 at Arlington National Cemetery.