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At the age of 17, Eric Nevatie came to the U.S. as an immigrant from Finland in May of 1965, with aspirations of becoming a commercial artist. He didn't speak English very much at all, and being surrounded by Finnish-speaking people in the Los Angeles area, he realised he wasn't making much "head-way" in learning English. With his extensive background in the Finnish Merchant Marine fleet since the age of 14, he tried to join the U.S. Navy. The Navy wouldn't take him due to his lack in English skills, however, the U.S. Marines didn't have that problem since, where he was destined to go, there was more shooting than talking. Eric became the only Finn known in history to speak American English with a Vietnamese accent. His Platoon Leader (Lt. Jud Blakely) said that he spoke more Finnish than English. Also, Eric probably was the only man to be drafted by the Finnish Army while serving in the U.S. Marines, engaged in combat in Vietnam, but he stayed true to the Marine Corps instead, to the end.
Point Man International Ministries
since 7/31/98