Overcoming Obstacles

Michael Yarborough is a 64-year-old veteran who now resides in Garner, North Carolina. He was originally from Louisburg, North Carolina. Growing up, he was the 7 of 12 kids. Living in Louisburg, the area did not have a lot of options since it was a small rural town. College wasn’t pushed so most individuals graduated from high school and went to work at a factory. He knew that he wanted to do more than live a simple life, so he joined the military. 

Before joining the military, he married young. At the time he had four children while later having two more. He was barely making ends as a private in the Army. Receiving only $952 a month, he knew he needed more to make ends meet. He worked his way up and retired as a E6 or a Staff Sergeant.

In June of 1977 he graduated from basic training as a 31U or Mobile Scriber Equipment. His job taught him how to set up communication equipment. He set up an electronic communicator by placing the equipment on a military jeep. The equipment then relays a signal to another tower. This is an important job because sometimes soldiers can be without power, and they cannot speak to anyone about their whereabouts. This technology will allow anyone to communicate anywhere despite the location.

His first duty station was in Hawaii. When he was in Hawaii, and was deployed several times to Iran. The deployments occurred about every month. After his first contract ended in the military, he switched to the reserves to spend more time with his kids. In 1983 he joined the reserves and the police academy. During the 80’s there was a weight and height requirement to become a police officer.  Unfortunately, he did not meet them; the requirements were to be at least 5’10 and weigh more than 150 pounds.

He went on to work at the prison while being employed as a reserve soldier.. His unit was in Louisburg; it was the 113th Field artillery unit. He taught other soldiers how to use communication equipment. No one in the brigade knew how to use the equipment except him. In the active army soldiers perform their duties daily unlike reserves, where they perform their duties once a month. Once the brigade found out that he knew how to use the equipment, he started to teach others in the brigade. This was important work in the reserves, because if a national disaster takes place, they need to communicate to the emergency operation center.

The mission in Korea stood out to him the most. He remembered receiving a call saying that the soldiers were not able to communicate with their family back home and that they needed help. He was able to get soldiers in Hawaii satellite signal that was transmitted from Korea to Hawaii. Soldiers had to take turns one by one using the phone with the transmitter. After each call was made, he had to speak with an operator to switch the signal over. This allowed the operator to hit a switch allowing Sergeant Yarborough to connect the phone to the states.

Overall, the military has taught him to accept challenges despite the task. He is knowledgeable in the field of signal and among other subjects but credits most of his knowledge to Vietnam vets. They taught him everything he knows, he says. He loves helping others and even volunteers his time with the local boy scouts. Despite his age, he continues to work. He is a part time real estate agent, owns a tax business, completes home inspections, and completes home renovations.

Written by Marasri White – 2/25/22