second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps via the USMC Officer Candidates School. While waiting for the Corps to assign him, he passed the Certified Public Accountant exam. After officer training at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia, Ryan went on to serve briefly as a Marine infantry platoon leader. However, his military career was cut short at the age of 23 when his platoon's helicopter, a CH-46 Sea Knight, crashed during a NATO exercise over the Greek island of Crete. The crash badly injured Ryan's back. Surgeons at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland inadequately repaired his back. This led to a lengthy recovery process (during which he became addicted to pain medications) after which, complete with a permanent disability and wearing a back brace, he left the Marines. He passed his stockbroker's exam and took a position with Wall Street investment firm Merrill Lynch's Baltimore office. Ryan's parents died in a plane crash at Chicago Midway International Airport 19 months after his crash in Crete. He developed a fear of flying that persisted for years. The film version of The Hunt for Red October changed Ryan's educational background to being a 1972 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. As Red October is sailing into the Penobscot River in Maine, Ryan says he grew up in that area. In the film it is also said the helicopter crash happened in his third year at the Academy and he finished his senior year from his hospital bed. The film version of Patriot Games also implies that he is a graduate of Annapolis by briefly showing a certificate on the wall of their home. In the Amazon Prime television series, Jack Ryan, Ryan's Ph.D. is in economics rather than history. Civilian career While managing clients' portfolios, Ryan began to invest his own money, banking on a tip he had received from an uncle about the workers' takeover of the Chicago and North Western Railway, making about $6 million off his $100,000 initial investment. He did so well that one of Merrill Lynch's senior vice presidents, Joe Muller, came to Baltimore to have dinner with him, with the objective of inviting him to the firm's New York City headquarters near Wall Street. Also present is Muller's daughter Caroline, nicknamed Cathy, then a senior medical student at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. They immediately fall in