As a veteran of three wars, retired Sgt. Maj. Jack Jaunal has racked up 33 years of military service and a stack of 22 awards that begin with a Purple Heart Medal.

Jaunal, who will preside as grand marshal over Burien's Fourth of July Parade (see separate story on Page 1) was prompted by World War II to enter the military as a teenager.

Two decades later, he worked in Burien as a Marine recruiter from 1964-67. He and his family stayed in Burien until 1971 so his two sons could graduate from Highline High School.

"World War II was on and everyone was going off to war," Jaunal said recently. "By the time I was in high school, girls were the majority on campus."

Jaunal had his sights set on the Marine Corps, but they wouldn't take him because of his childhood bout with tuberculosis. So he enlisted in the U.S. Maritime Service as a merchant seaman.

"They weren't so picky," Jaunal said. "They had people who would go to jail if they didn't become a merchant seaman. We even had a World War I veteran in his 50s. Jack London said merchant seamen were the alley cats of the world."

After serving as a merchant seaman from 1944 to 1945, Jaunal joined the U.S. Army and was in the infantry for seven years. He continued in the military after World War II and his enlistment obligation ended because he liked his work.

"I believe if you're fortunate in life, you get to do what you want to do," Jaunal said. "Very few people stop to think about how many lives you may have saved. Your primary mission may be whatever your [military] objective is, but your secondary mission is to take care of your troops."

He switched to the U.S. Marine Corps in 1952 when the Marines no longer considered past tuberculosis an impediment to enlisting. As a Marine during the Korean War, he participated in seven campaigns and was wounded.

In Vietnam, Jaunal went on patrol even though that was something a first sergeant - his rank at the time -- typically did not do.

"The idea was to show them a first sergeant could go on patrol," Jaunal said. "You got the crew a little bit tighter."

His book, Vietnam '68 Jack's Journal," published in 1989, is based on his experiences in Vietnam, including the Communist Tet Offensive and the battle at Cam Le.

While serving in Vietnam with the First Marine Division, Jaunal was promoted to sergeant major, the highest rank for enlistees. Sergeant majors serve as the right hand of the commanding officer in larger units such as battalions.

When Jaunal retired from the Marine Corps on May 1, 1978, he was serving as Sergeant Major of the Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. Sergeant major of either of the two fleet marine forces, Atlantic or Pacific, is the highest post a sergeant major can attain.

Of all of the roles Jaunal filled in the Marines -- communicator, artillery gunnery sergeant, reconnaissance man, recruiter, a tour with the air wing, monitor at two atomic tests in Nevada -- the one he prizes most is that of sergeant major.

"Your main focus is taking care of the enlisted men," Jaunal said. "You would take care of some guy who's got a pregnant wife and is under orders, or grab some guy who's going bad."

Among his many tasks, Jaunal might give advice to the commander on personnel, handle investigations and serve as a troubleshooter. On some occasions, he was his commander's representative to other commanders.

After retiring, Jaunal earned bachelor's and master's degrees in history. He went on to teach history, often about the Vietnam War, at such colleges as Highline Community College.

Jaunal currently is a history instructor, a job he finds particularly satisfying, part-time at Pierce College.

Jaunal attributes surviving three wars to luck: "If I had to do it over again I wouldn't do a thing different because I'm sitting here talking to you."