Former air traffic controller learned how to keep his eye on the target

By R. Kurt Osenlund, BucksLocalNews.com

Harry Niemann is modest about his military service. His tenure overseas was no shorter in length than those of most vets, but he insists he didn't see any action while positioned in Japan as an air traffic controller after the Korean War. But even though his tour of duty wasn't exactly harrowing, this 77-year-old has still done more for his country than most citizens ever will, and he's managed to parlay the lessons he learned in the Marines into an honorable protocol for everyday success. At his home in Holland, Niemann divulges the details of his time served and the prosperous life that's followed.

Born in Philadelphia in 1932 in the heart of the Great Depression, Niemann is the son of Harry II and Helen, who forked over less than $5 in pocket money to pay for his delivery in the charity ward at Jefferson Hospital. Niemann has two siblings: Charles, who now resides in Cherry Hill, and Gloria, who lives in Quebec City in Canada. He graduated from Philadelphia's Olney High School in 1949 with ambitions to attend college, but the horrific state of the economy put a damper on his plans. He took a job with an aluminum manufacturing company – a dangerous, difficult and boring position he immediately describes as “the worst job you could ever imagine.”

After toughing it out for two years, Niemann underwent a major upgrade, enrolling at Notre Dame University in 1952. While attending the prestigious school (from which he'd later graduate cum laude), Niemann joined the Platoon Leader Corps, the Marines' equivalent of ROTC that required he attend two six-week summer camps in Quantico, Va. while completing his education. In 1955, the same year he obtained his Bachelor's Degree, Niemann began basic officer's school in Quantico, an intense program that whittled 1,200 hopefuls down to 750 in a matter of six months. The following year, he finished two months of radar controller training at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Fla. before being shipped off to Korea.

“I landed there on April Fool's Day, of all days,” Niemann says, “and it was a joke on me, let me tell you. The base was a desolate, horrible place. I couldn't tell if the barbed wire was meant to keep people out or keep us in. It was total isolation.”

Since the Korean War was over, Niemann and the rest of the remaining Marines moved to a Naval Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan after two months. It was there that he would spend the rest of his tour of duty. As a radar control officer in the Marine Air Control Squadron (MACS), Niemann worked closely with fighter pilots, practicing maneuvers and simulating situations in which the aircrafts would close in on enemy targets.

“There was no enemy,” Niemann says. “I never even shot a rifle. But you still never knew when somebody would be coming in on you over there. That's even true today.”

During his time with the Marines, Niemann also visited exotic places such as The Phillipines, Okinawa and Hong Kong, be it for R&R or various training procedures. He returned to the United States in June of 1957 and remained active in the Reserves, eventually earning the rank of Captain.

“I learned discipline, organization and the ability to take orders from a superior without question,” Niemann says of the lessons bestowed upon him while in the service. “Being in the Marines teaches you a lot, but one of the main things it teaches you is that you can't be an individual in combat.”

Niemann notes that the motto of the Marines is Semper Fidelis: “always faithful.” It's a code of conduct to which he's held firm throughout his post-military life. On July 27, he'll have been married 52 years to his wife, Joanne, whom he met in Wildwood, N.J. in 1953 and wed when he returned home from Japan. He and Joanne have four children – Michael, Margaret, Ann and Brian – whom he supported while maintaining a 40-year career in the insurance business. He retired in 1997 as the underwriting vice president of a general accident insurance company in Philadelphia.

Today, the Niemanns enjoy traveling – they've visited nearly a dozen countries over the last 15 years – and spending time with their 11 grandchildren. Niemann also has a full roster of additional activities, which include serving as the vice president of the Liberty Bell Chapter of the First Marine Division Association; being a member of the Patriots Division of the Marine Corps League; serving on the Northampton Township AdHoc Advisory Committee; visiting the Northampton Tennis and Fitnees Club six days a week; and volunteering with Senior Adults for Greater Education (S.A.G.E.), through which he tutors Council Rock students.

“The Marines taught me how to set goals, organize myself mentally and physically, stay disciplined and keep my eye on the target. I applied that not just to business, but to every aspect of my life,” Niemann says, modestly, of course.