When Brian Whit Compton of Demopolis ended his career in the Navy he had obtained the rank of a two-star admiral and the command of thousands of men.

Compton feels that the military was an important institution in defining his character and that it could do young men a lot of good joining the service.

Compton got into the Navy after college at a time when he says many people were signing up for officer school to avoid being drafted.

Compton was sent off to Annapolis Navy Academy for officer training and, while he didn&8217;t enjoy much of his time there, he stuck through it and graduated.

After graduating the Academy, Compton began flying for the Navy. He says that this is when he really began to enjoy himself in the service.

Compton flew missions in the Korean War but says he never really worried about getting hurt in combat.

After several years flying missions as a pilot, Compton said he was sent back to school.

Compton was then sent to the Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered carrier. According to Compton, he was pushing bombs when the Vietnam War first really started. Compton later had a tour in Santo Domingo and then returned as a skipper of a squadron in Vietnam.

From there Compton was sent to War College and there was pipelined to nuclear power school to take command of the Nimitz. He was the first commander of the Nimitz class ships were he learned a lot about commanding sailors.

Compton feels that the emphasis on teamwork and cooperation are some of the biggest things he has taken away from his time in the service.