BY ANTONIO FLORENCE, Freshman
BLYTHEWOOD -- Veteran Orenthia J. Florence served in the Navy for more than 28 years. Serving his country with honor and respect, wearing a uniform to show his heroism and badges to show his accomplishments. He has certainly proven himself as someone to be admired.
"It was the biggest thing I'd ever seen"
Florence was born and raised in Tifton, Georgia, with his mother, father, sister, and brother. On a warm summer evening he and his family took a trip to a local harbor. There he noticed something that caught his eye.
“I always remember seeing my first naval ship, it was a Cruiser, biggest thing I’d ever seen in my life, ” Florence said.
He said he was interested in seeing a Destroyer.
"I always wondered what it would be like just to be on one of those giants for once," Florence said. "My brother (Jermaine Florence) wasn’t as thrilled to see a bunch of ships lying on the water.
“I didn’t find it as interesting as my brother did,” Jermaine said while laughing .
Experiences
Florence entered the Navy when he was 17 years old.
“When I first started, they made me wake up at six in the morning, one hundred push-ups in a row, and gave me a lot of motivation. Constantly going to bed knowing someone will come in the dorm screaming and yelling gets annoying after a while,” Florence said
“We traveled all over the world, Guam, Europe, and so much more," he said. "Eating spectacular foods, meeting new people, and having a blast.”Of course we still had to take care of business."
He has almost traveled to each continents, excluding Africa and Antarctica. There was never any thing happening in Africa or Antarctica so we never went, he said.
Retirement
Years of long service came to an end as Florence retired from the Navy. After retiring Florence married a wonderful woman, Rosalyn Major.
"I was filled with joy and excitement. I was extremely happy to see him walk through the front door, I just couldn’t help myself,” Rosalyn said.
Soon after marrying, the Florences a had a son, and named him Antonio because of Orenthia's brother's middle name.
Florence and his family moved to Columbia, South Carolina.
“I enjoy living in South Carolina, interesting culture, warm weather, and so much history."
"I will always remember representing my country with honor," Florence said.
