It's fine, no worries, sorry for the lag in replies - assignments, once more.
How old were you at 9th grade? I'm guessing about 15/16? So about year eleven in the UK? Lots of my family left school around that age too to work for their families around that time, I guess nowadays with rules and restrictions the earliest you can leave is 16, soon to be 18 when the law changes.
The Navy must've been a real eye-opener, travelling the world must've been great. I'm still searching between the MOD and civilian jobs, both areas specialising in science. But I'm not sure yet, still got university to battle.
Hahaha, nope sorry, never met them, I'm sure they're lovely people like you though. :)
As always, all the best.
Your friend,
-E.C.Cooledge. :) x