Background

Darrel (left) with his twin brother, Carrel. Carrel was killed in Vietnam on September 10, 1968

• Born in his Granddaddy Bush’s farmhouse near Andalusia, Alabama along with his four brothers.
• Darrel and his brothers chopped and picked cotton, cropped tobacco and hoed peanuts to earn money.
• With six children and after eight years of determination and hard work, his mother received her teaching degree from Troy State University in 1965.
• They moved to Fort Walton Beach where Darrel graduated from high school in 1967.

Education

• Kindergarten - Ninth grade: attended school in south Alabama
• High School: Choctawhatchee High School, Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Graduated in 1967
• College: Troy State University. Graduated in three years in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree in History and a degree in Social Science
• Graduate School: Pepperdine University, Malibu, California. Master of Arts Degree in Human Resources Management. Completed course work in 1980 and comprehensive examples in 1981

United States Marine Corps

• Commissioned as 2nd Lt. in April of 1971
• Infantry Platoon Commander
• Reconnaissance Platoon Commander, Reconnaissance Battalion
• Adjutant Reconnaissance Battalion, VMO 6
• Naval Aerial Observer, VMO-6
• Adjutant VMO 6
• Company Commander Force Supply Company
• Operations officer Force Reconnaissance Company
• Executive Officer Logistics Support Unit
• Associate Professor of Naval Science Miami University. Taught three years at university
• Officer in Charge Marine Corps Base Club Systems
• Operations Officer Marine Corps Depot Maintenance Activity, Albany, Georgia
• Norway Project Officer

Special Schools

• U.S. Observation School. Awarded Naval Observation Wings
• U.S. Naval Club System School, Pautuxate, Maryland. Honor graduate
• U.S. Army Air Borne Course - parachute qualified, Fort Benning Jump School
• U.S Naval School Diver Second Class - SCUBA qualified, San Diego, California
• U.S. Naval Gunfire Air Spotter, Naval Amphibious School, Little Creek, VA

Special awards

• Certificate of Appreciation from President Georgia Bush
• Meritorious Service Medal from Secretary of the Navy for the Norway Project
• Certificate of Commendation from the Inspector General of the Marine Corps
• Navy Achievement Medal from Vice Admiral James D. Watkins, Commander Sixth Fleet
• Naval Club Management School, Honor graduate and first in class

Civic Accomplishments

• Base Chapel: Darrel and Linda were the Youth Directors for two years.
• Albany Symphony: served as Vice President of Symphony Board and as Chairman of Fund Raising
• Kiwanis: President of Artesian City Kiwanis Club
  President of Lee County Kiwanis Club
  Lt Governor of Division Three of southwest Georgia
• Anchorage: Board of Directors

Businessman

Darrel and Linda began purchasing investment properties while Darrel was still an active duty Marine. Their part-time investment became a full-time business. Today, Darrel and Linda own businesses and manage their properties in four of the five counties that make up House District 137. Darrel is president of the Board and joint owner with Linda of Radium Country Club.