Couple bonded through service celebrates 60 years

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
Two high school sweethearts who married young and then bonded through the armed services celebrated 60 years of marriage on Oct. 10. 
Ronnie Mills and Mary Mills first met while both were attending Newcastle High School in the late 1950s. The two quickly fell for each other and began a relationship that would stand the test of time. 
“I had joined the Navy before I even finished high school,” Ronnie recalled.
He said that he had made the decision early to join the Navy, noting that at that time it seemed like everyone was joining some branch of the military service. His brother was also in the Navy, Ronnie said. Although he worked on submarines and not planes, Ronnie was kind of following in his brother’s footsteps when he decided to join. 
“I left for boot camp in August of 1958 and proposed to Mary while I was at boot camp.” 
While in boot camp, the couple wrote each other every night, strengthening their relationship and readying for the next step in their life, marriage. 
Once Ronnie returned home from boot camp, Mary said, they went to Colorado to get the blessing of her parents before returning home and marrying the next day, with Ronnie wearing his dress blues. 
Ronnie then left for Norman, Oklahoma, to attend Airedale school. Mary joined him about a month later, and the couple lived on base for a few months. 
While in school, Ronnie learned to repair airplanes to become an airplane mechanic. 
As Christmas neared, the couple relocated to Millington, Tennessee, so Ronnie could work at the Naval Support Activity Mid-South base. The couple lived off base there, near other military families, for about three months before heading west. 
Mary recalled that she enjoyed the traveling although she could not do it today. 
“We were able to come back home (Newcastle) as we were heading to California,” Ronnie said. He noted that their first stop in California was the Naval Air Station Point Mugu, which was once a missile-testing facility. 
While at Point Mugu, Ronnie said, he ended up on the admiral’s airplane and was able to rack up an astonishing 1,100 flying hours as crew chief. Ronnie also spent time at Port Hueneme, California, which is located roughly 20 miles from Point Mugu. 
“Mary would take me to base and I would jump out, get on a plane and she would wave as I would fly away,” Ronnie said. 
Although the couple had to rely on each other significantly while away from family, Mary said, they also made friends that they stayed in contact with for years after Ronnie left the service. 
Ronnie served a total of three years and one month in the Navy. During his service he traveled to several islands as crew chief, including Hawaii, Wake Island, Midway Island, Christmas Island and Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. 
“As the crew chief in the cockpit, I was responsible for taking pictures as we prepared to land on different runways,” Ronnie said. “I remember that the runway at Enewetak went into the water on both ends.” 
He noted that Enewetak was also used to test the atomic bomb and there were ships from World War II rotting away in the ocean surrounding the islands. 
“One time when we flew into Wake Island, we encountered a civilian airplane that had to stop there on the way to Japan to refuel,” Ronnie said. “I remember that they had lost their air conditioning. Talk about a bunch of wet people.” 
While in the service, the couple also welcomed two boys to the family, Chris and Craig. Ronnie was on duty when Chris was born. 
“The neighbors tried to catch him, but they couldn’t find him in time,” Mary said. “When he got to the hospital, it was like, ‘Congratulations, you have a boy.’” 
They noted that Ronnie was able to be present for Craig’s birth. 
Upon Ronnie’s discharge from the Navy in August 1961, the couple returned to Newcastle to raise their family. Ronnie went to work as a diesel mechanic for Mary’s father and drove a school bus for 30 years. Today the couple still resides in Newcastle.