Where did you live growing up?
"Port Hueneme, CA; Williamsburg, VA; San Jose, CA; New York City, NY; San Diego, CA; Alexandria, VA; and Yokohama, Japan."
"We moved about every two years, except for our time in San Diego. We lived in San Diego for four years, which was great. I went to fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh grades there. Even so, I went to three different schools there. We moved to a different house after I finished fourth grade. So I went to a different school for fifth and sixth grades. And then I changed schools to start junior high school."
Was it easy making new friends when you moved to a new place?
"It would take me a little while, but it wasn't hard. There is a lot of camaraderie among military kids. I remember being in Japan and looking at this guy thinking he looked familiar. One day we were in the cafeteria at school and he said, 'I thought the same thing about you.' It turns out we had been buddies when we were eight or nine years old and living in San Diego. It was a wonderful moment. It was so out of context that it took us a moment to figure out how we knew each other."
How did you feel about the military lifestyle - deploying, relocating, making friends?
"Growing up, we moved from coast to coast about every two years. When I was very young, it was an adventure. I loved the monumental scope of packing everything up and driving across country - staying in hotels or camping out. It was all very exciting."
"But as I got older and started going to dances and wanting to hold hands with girls, then I really disliked moving intensely. I disliked the idea of it. You move to a new place and you'd be a stranger, be the outsider for two, three, or four months. After I got settled in, I always liked where we lived."
Check out Chapter 9 of Military Kids Speak to "hear" more from Mark Hamill about:
- what activities he was involved in as a child
- what he learned from being raised in a military family that made him successful now
- what his biggest challenge was and how he handled it
- how he got the part of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy
- where to write to Mark
One of my favorite stories was how Mark got a drama club started at his high school in Japan. Just because an activity doesn't exist when you arrive doesn't mean you can't get it going!
Here are a few final words of advice to other military kids from Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill:
"Take your experience and make it work for you, because you are unique. Maximize the opportunities you have that civilian kids will never be offered. Be proud of your parent's service and know you are special."
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