HARLINGEN — Robert Dollard’s battalion commander from his 1972 class called him in Florida to remind him to report to the school’s alumni reunion.
More than 300 MarineMilitaryAcademy graduates returned to their former home and alma mater for MMA’s “50th Anniversary” Alumni Reunion, taking place this weekend.
“My father was a career Marine and I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Dollard said.
He arrived at MMA in 1968 when he was 13 years old.
“When I left as a 17-year-old, I was ready to take on the responsibilities that became my life,” Dollard said. “I was prepared in a way that I didn’t even realize how prepared I was until I looked back.”
Dollard, like many cadets, continued on to college. He paid his way flipping cars on the West Coast and eventually became a lawyer in California and retired in Florida.
“Everything is possible if you work hard enough, treat people fairly and build teams — the core values that MMA teaches,” Dollard said.
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