Interviewed by

Halle Rudman and Ruby Warner

"I think the military made me grow up...I learned that there is a lot more to life than just having
a good time or being a good sports figure or whatever. There's more to it than that,

there's love to give, there's life to give..."

~ Max Money (29:37)

Max Money's Story:

Max Money is a U.S. Veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War and was on active reserve for twenty years afterwards. He grew up in St. Helena, California, in the Napa Valley district on a ranch. He attended Stanford University before signing up for the draft.

After graduating college, he decided to join the Marine Corps, which were looking for officers. There, he became a 2nd Lieutenant after serious training in boot camp in Quantico, Virginia. In boot camp, he learned from his platoon sergeant that "sometimes you have to take a chance and go the wrong way or disobey an order if it’s going to save lives." (8:23) After he completed the beginning of his training, he was promoted to the platoon leader of a reconnaissance platoon at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. There he learned the tactics and strategy of war. Being part of the Navy, Mr. Money spent a lot of time on ships and in a submarine, training.

During his time in the military, he made many long-lasting friendships. A close high school friend of his, Bob Jurish, was called overseas, but never came back. This was a hard loss for Mr. Money.

After the war ended, he decided to stay in the Marine Corps on active reserve for twenty years. Only a few times did he get standing orders; once during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and another time during 9/11, but he never had to go into combat.

When he retired from the military, he went back to school and got a teaching certificate, along with a master's degree in education, and met his wife. He taught in schools in California for some time, then moved to Vermont where his wife was from. When the Vermont school system shut down, he came to Cape Cod to teach at Barnstable High School, Falmouth High School, and Cape Cod Tech. Overall, Max Money finds that the military taught him many important life lessons and that he is happy that he could give back as a schoolteacher.