This is my biographical contribution to our family website - it's written with gratitude to previous contributors, and to Gordy for his hard work in starting and maintaining the site.

I view my life as three distinct phases: Rural, Military and Business. My Rural life began in 1941 when I was born in Winona, MN, to George and Gertrude (Kamrowski) Goetzman. I helped my parents work their 500 acre dairy farm, hunted game when I could and finished college. Things were relatively care-free and simple back then. 

After graduating from Winona State College in 1963 with a bachlor's degree in physical science and math, I joined the U.S. Air Force and my Military life began. I attended Officer Training School at Media AFB, near San Antonio, TX, and graduated in 1964 as a shave-tail second lieutenant. After a couple training schools in electronics and crew coordination, I was assigned as an underground nuclear Mace missile crew commander at Bitburg AB, Germany. Life had become radically different from the simple, stable rural existance. Before leaving for Germany, I married my college sweetheart, Evelyn (Lolly) Haskett. Our daughter, Canda Rani, was born during our nearly four year assignment to Germany, and we still managed to tour a few other European countries while there - Belgium, France, Denmark, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg and East Germany.  

After several more stateside training bases, our next permanent assignment was to Blytheville AFB, AR, where our next daughter, Nicolette Ember, was born. I now had a captain rank and was an Electronic Warfare Officer (spook) aboard the B-52 bomber. We spent about six years at BAFB - during which time I had multi-tours to S.E. Asia. I flew a couple hundred combat missions over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia - in the B-52D aircraft - out of Anderson AFB, Guam, and Utapao, AB, Thailand, and was promoted to the rank of major.  

I tested and was accepted to the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, to work on a master's degree in management. After graduation we were sent to Offut AFB, near Omaha, NE. There I flew in the Strategic Air Command's Airborne command post (Looking Glass) as a Logistics Staff Officer. I attained the rank of lieutenant colonel while at OAFB and was re-assigned to Grand Forks AFB, ND, as  the Wing Staff EWO Evaluator/Instructor. 

We froze at GFAFB for two years before I volunteered to move to Ft. Worth's Carswell AFB, TX. I was the Wing Simulator instructor and evaluator for two more years and decided to end my military career in 1984 at 20 years. We decided we'd make our fortune in real estate in the great state of Texas. After the Medina assignment I said I'd never live in Texas, but the warmer weather was too inviting. 

During this next life phase as Business entrepeneurs we started the CHA Management Company in Weatherford, TX. We intended to invest in and rehab rental property. We owned, operated and sold over 200 units in several areas - but, unfortunately, after this fast start  the real estate market went bust and we spent much of our time managing property for others. We are still in our recovery mode, but hope to work a couple more apartment complexes before retiring altogether.  

Our daughters both got married during this phase - Canda to Doug Vinson and Nicki to Gene Mason. We're now multi-grandparents and are really enjoying our enlarged family.

Genealogy has been my passion for over 25 years - and my family collaborated on organizing the 1995 First Götzmann Family Reunion in Winona, MN, and Onalaska, WI. Sisters Gayle, Greta and Gwen and cousin Dick were prime movers behind that event. We've also started a Götzmann DNA Surname Project with the Family Tree DNA website (http://www.familytreedna.com/). With DNA testing that we were able to discover many genetic cousins throughout the US and Europe. The Lou, Ron, Armin, Dan, and William family branches have all been found through the tests.

 I've found genealogy research to be one of the most satisfying endeavors of my three phases of life.