Page 90 - Stand Down Vietnam

I didn’t like the bushes or snakes, so I thought I’d go
for the air force. Plus, I was following my dad’s
footsteps.

After I’d been in for a few years, got married and had
three children, two daughters, and a son. My oldest
daughter, Vicki, married an air force crew chief for
tankers; he had a total of twenty-four years.

My second daughter, Jill, got mad at her mother one day
and off she went to join the army. My son, Eddie, did
not join the military, he did not follow the family
tradition.

I went to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio,
Texas, for boot camp. After boot camp, I went to
Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, for
tech school. After tech school, I was transferred to
Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. I spent about
two years there until I volunteered to go to Vietnam.

I was in Bien Hoa, South Vietnam. After Vietnam, I was
transferred to Mather Air Force Base in California then
to Holliman Air Force Base in New Mexico. I did a lot
of transfers while in the air force.

My knowledge of the Vietnam War was limited until I
turned eighteen. I went into the military at age

nineteen. We’d set there watching the nightly news
with Huntley-Brinkley, that’s where I learned about
Vietnam.

I don’t recall talking about Vietnam with friends or
schoolteachers. I remember the stories about the
Marines and Khe Sanh. That left a lasting impression
on me.