Craig Wojtowicz

February 11, 1951 – July 16, 2014
    U.S. MARINE CORPS

CWO-5 Craig F. Wojtowicz USMC (Ret.)

Aug. 1969 - June 1999

30 Years Tour in Vietnam as a rifleman

He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and reported to MCRD San Diego, California in August 1969.

He completed Infantry Training in December 1969 and was deployed to Vietnam in March of 1969.

He came back from Vietnam in March 1970 and was stationed on Treasure Island (between San Francisco and Oakland, California).

Craig started his career in Finance with the Corps at Treasure Island. They were transferred to Camp Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii in May 1974.

They left Hawaii for Camp Pendleton, California in May 1978. Craig was selected as a Warrant Officer in June 1981 and reported to Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia in February 1982.

He was lucky that his brother and sister-in-laws, Bob and Lynette Suman were stationed at Quantico, so Pam was able to visit him. After graduating, he returned to Camp Pendleton for 5 more years.

During this time, he was given a one year Sabbatical to attend school full time and finish up his BA in Finance with a Minor in Business.

He graduated Suma Cum Laude from Chapman University in Orange, California in June, 1986. He was then transferred to the Marine Corps Finance Center in Kansas City, Missouri in 1987.

He was promoted to Branch Head and managed all centralized payments and collections for the Center with an average Disbursement of $500 million and Collections of $300 million every 30 days.

Craig was transferred back to Camp Pendleton in 1992 and was there until 1995 when he was sent to Okinawa, Japan.

Craig was selected for CWO-5 in 1995. He was the first ever CWO-5 for the Marine Corps in the Finance Division. He was promoted in Okinawa with a large promotion ceremony and party.

His wife Pam and cousin Arica Johnson were able to fly over and attend the ceremony and spend a couple of weeks with him.

Craig’s last tour was at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. He was there from January 1996 to June 1999, when he retired after 30 years.

He was at the top of his field. He received a number of Distinguished Awards and Medals over his 30 year career.

\