TRANSCRIPTION
Why did you decide to join the
Air Force?
Well, I signed up right out of high school. My brother was in the Army, and I wanted to join the Army with him.
He told me that if I joined the Army that I was sure to see combat, and I
didn't know if I was ready for that so I just decided to join the Air Force
instead.
What did your family think about you going to war?
They were OK with it because they knew that I wasn't going to see combat, but they were still sad about me leaving because my brother was in the Army and both of us were going to be away from home.
Where and how long was your training after you signed up?
Right after I had signed up they took me in right away for basic training at Lackland Air Force Base. Training was eight weeks and it was really hard. I thought I wasn't going to make it in the beginning. I was so glad in the end when it was all over.
When did you leave home and how was your journey to where you were stationed?
As soon as training was over and I was so glad that I finished training in one piece, we were stationed to Osan, Korea. We traveled in a plane. We had to make one stop in Hawaii. For some reason they didn't let us get off the plane when we got to Hawaii. No one knew why but we didn't ask questions.
Did you take anything important with you?
There was really nothing that I had that was important to me to take. The only thing I had to take was clothes.
Where were you stationed?
I was stationed in Osan Air Base, South Korea. It was really exciting going to Korea because I had never been away from home and to go somewhere so far was really interesting.
How old were you when you went to South Korea?
I left in June when I was 18 to Osan, South Korea. I celebrated my birthday over there, which was so much fun. Me and my friends went out to a bar for a couple of drinks for my birthday where I met the most beautiful Korean woman named Peggy there.
Did you see combat during the war?
No, I did not see combat. That's the reason that I joined the Air Force because I didn't want to see combat. My brother had told me if I joined the Air Force then I wasn't going to see combat, so that's why I joined the Air Force.
What did you do while you were over there in Korea?
I supplied winter clothes such as sweaters, jackets, boots, pants and all the warm clothing in boxes for the soldiers that were fighting in the Vietnam War. After they were all packed then I would drive them in a big truck to the base where they would ship them to the soldiers that were in combat.
What did you do for fun while you were over there?
What I did for fun while I was over there was to go to bars and have drinks with my friends. We also liked to go dancing which was just like the dances today. We would go on a regular basis. While I was there I constantly kept seeing Peggy. We liked to go dancing together and spend as much time as we could with each other.
How was it at night when everyone was about to go to sleep?
We would sleep in tents. There were six men to a tent. During the winter it snowed a lot and it was really cold so we used heaters to warm ourselves up at night. We would sleep in layers of clothes to keep our bodies warm. During the summer, it was really hot and there were so many mosquitoes that we had to use repellants to keep ourselves protected, or else they would eat us alive.
What was your food like?
Some of the food was good but sometimes it was horrible. For breakfast we would have pancakes and eggs. For lunch and dinner we would mostly go out to eat at Korean restaurants. Korean Food
was the best food that I had ever tasted compared to the food that the base had made us eat.
Did you make any close friends that you still know today?
I met a lot of friends over there. Almost everyone over there was friends. My closest friends over there were Sally, Lincoln, and Sergeant William F. Foy. When we came back from Korea I was still in touch with them but as the years went by I began to lose touch and to this day I don't talk to anyone of them today, but I have been wanting to see if I could get in touch with them to see how they are and what have they been doing.
How long were you over there and did it go by fast?
I was over there for 13 months and it sure went by fast. I returned in July when I was 19 because I had celebrated my birthday in Korea. I thought it went by really fast because by the time I went Korea it felt like I was on my way back home.
When did you return home after being there for 13 months?
After being in South Korea for 13 months I finally was going to come home. I came home on March 31st and my parents were so happy that I was coming back home.
Were you excited to come home?
I was so excited about coming home because I had missed home so much. The only reason that I didn't want to come back home because I had so much fun. I was going to miss everything about being over there especially Peggy.
