76 (English) Military to Civilian Transition with Victor de la Flor
Victor de la Flor was born in Passaic, NJ and partly raised in Orlando, FL to Peruvian parents who recently arrived to the USA from Lima, Peru. As a child, he was very much into the military, art, design and entrepreneurship. He decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of 20 in order to get a change of pace in life and pursue his desire for world travel. He chose the Military Justice job field which he felt would provide him good work experience over time. What was supposed to be a 4-year enlistment, turned in a 20-year Marine Corps career, mainly credited to the exceptional leadership and guidance he’s received. He completed an Associate degree in General Studies, a Bachelors degree with a double minor in Business and Psychology and in process of completing a Master’s Degree in Project Management.
Some notable points in his military career were his selection to be a part of a deployment team to Iraq in support of the Global War on Terrorism; Applied and selected to the Warrant Officer Program, undergoing a 4-month long rigorous infantry-centric Platoon Commander course at The Basic School in northern Virginia, taking him from Enlisted to a Marine Officer; Conducted and attended Professional Military Education events at historic battle sites such as Pearl Harbor, Okinawa Japan, Wake Island and Petersburg National Battlefield; and was in charge of running a regional funeral detail, providing military honors and escorting fellow Marines to their final resting place, which is by far the biggest honor he’s ever had during his entire military career.
Victor has been stationed in Rhode Island, San Diego CA, North Carolina, Japan, Hawaii and finally settling back in San Diego, CA as he begins his retirement from the Marines after an exciting 20-year career. He’s had the opportunity to see parts of the world and explore Qatar, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Thailand, South Korea, China, Indonesia, Greece, Italy, Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands and of course, Peru (many times).
In 2020, Victor took to his art, design and entrepreneurial skills and invented a uniform item called UnderCoverClip, which is now carried by retail military and tactical stores worldwide.
In 2022, he decided to make his passion for art public, when he agreed to do a portrait commission for a friend, which then led to several more art commissions, participation in art shows, presenting at Fleet Week San Diego Art Exhibition, being a featured artist at the Oceanside Museum of Art and now becoming a sponsored artist attending and participating in a veterans and indigenous art exhibition being held in Chicago in 2023.
In 2024, he has plans to take his own pilgrimage and hike the Inca trail.
Victor strongly believes in continually acquiring knowledge and passing it on to the next generation. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t think back to the sacrifices his parents made when coming to the US, and keeps that in the back of his mind in everything he does. He lives by the motto “ People can take away your time, your money and your patience, but never your knowledge.”
He currently lives with his wife and three children in Southern California.
Art Instagram: @VTDelaflor
UnderCoverClip IG: @UnderCoverClip
Mentioned in this episode:
www.UnderCoverClip.com
www.InkantaShop.com
YouTube channel “ The Green Logbook”
https://youtube.com/@thegreenlogbook
Ways to support the podcast:
Give us a review on Apple Podcast
Become a Listener Supporter, see link in bio
Visit our Online Store and help us change the narrative with our t-shirt: “ El Mejor Amigo de un Peruano es otro peruano.” Also available in feminine (“ peruana” ) and gender-neutral (“ peruanx” ) versions
Follow Peruvians of USA Podcast on IG: @peruviansofusa
Like our page on Facebook!
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/peruviansofusa/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/peruviansofusa/support