1 00:00:33,140 --> 00:00:39,460 So my name is Bryce Honeywell, and I'm here at Paul Bachelors' House in Betty Bachelors in 2 00:00:39,460 --> 00:00:47,740 Enfield, Connecticut. And we're going to be interviewing Paul, and he's going to tell us a little 3 00:00:47,740 --> 00:00:54,620 bit about what he did in the service. The Paul. Well, say state your full name and date 4 00:00:54,620 --> 00:01:06,560 of birth and Paul Dean Batchholder and August 2nd 1933 and your branch of service and 5 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:19,100 US Air Force and your highest rank and second class and you were in the data birth the times 6 00:01:19,100 --> 00:01:25,960 you were in the service. What was their good time span there? It was a Korean style of the Korean War. 7 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:37,440 Oh, okay. Because the Korean War started in 15. Yeah. And that prompted me to enlist. Yeah. 8 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:48,240 I was only 17. Oh, okay. I had to get my mother's permission to join. Yeah. She was pretty 9 00:01:48,240 --> 00:02:02,300 But then she said after talking to her brother, Stanley, with him, he suggested that I 10 00:02:02,300 --> 00:02:09,220 call and gave me some tips on how to behave, because he was in the service before he was 11 00:02:09,220 --> 00:02:11,680 He was in Second World War, 12 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:26,700 another uncle, Carol, within both the state wars and Second World 13 00:02:26,700 --> 00:02:27,180 War. 14 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:35,020 But they were very helpful in documenting me on behalf. 15 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:35,760 Okay. 16 00:02:35,940 --> 00:02:36,340 That's good. 17 00:02:37,140 --> 00:02:38,920 What were some of the tips that gave you? 18 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:41,800 They said yes sir. 19 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:50,000 They've been through that. So your early days of the service now tell 20 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:56,380 me where you went the basic training. Samson Air Force Base in Finger Lakes region of New 21 00:02:56,380 --> 00:03:10,440 New York. Like Geneva is where we serve. Okay. And in May it's kind of cool. Northern New 22 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:27,340 the air force opened up the sense of air force base in 1950, so it was prior to that 23 00:03:27,340 --> 00:03:36,680 it was a naval installation and the Navy moved out, the air force moved in. 24 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:36,820 Yeah. 25 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:44,580 Now that's where they trained all the Air Force people at that time, for basics, or the 26 00:03:44,580 --> 00:03:48,300 ones that were Ohio and East. 27 00:03:48,460 --> 00:03:48,760 Okay. 28 00:03:49,180 --> 00:03:49,380 Okay. 29 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:49,960 Yeah. 30 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,780 And the ones west of Ohio, how went to Lankford? 31 00:03:55,100 --> 00:03:55,420 Okay. 32 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:55,760 Oh. 33 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:56,960 Yeah. 34 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:58,340 So I was told. 35 00:03:58,620 --> 00:03:58,820 Yeah. 36 00:03:59,120 --> 00:03:59,240 Right. 37 00:04:00,180 --> 00:04:04,520 So what was the basic, did you go into with anybody from your town? 38 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:05,080 No. 39 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:05,360 No. 40 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:06,580 It was just you. 41 00:04:06,900 --> 00:04:07,200 Yeah. 42 00:04:07,580 --> 00:04:08,260 Yeah. 43 00:04:08,860 --> 00:04:10,820 Where was the recruiter at the time? 44 00:04:11,740 --> 00:04:14,800 He was in Manchester, New Hampshire. 45 00:04:15,020 --> 00:04:15,360 Okay. 46 00:04:16,420 --> 00:04:30,180 I went to Springfield to Manchester, New Hampshire, and I tried to get the Navy, but they said 47 00:04:30,180 --> 00:04:34,980 and I had a preference, you know, they wouldn't allow me into it. 48 00:04:35,060 --> 00:04:35,420 Okay. 49 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:40,020 And I was about to join the guard troopers. 50 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:40,940 Yeah, all right. 51 00:04:41,340 --> 00:04:44,100 So I said, I'll take the air force. 52 00:04:44,380 --> 00:04:44,660 Okay. 53 00:04:45,060 --> 00:04:45,180 Yeah. 54 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,620 And it was exciting time. 55 00:04:48,820 --> 00:04:49,600 Yeah, I bet it was. 56 00:04:50,220 --> 00:04:55,060 So, so we had to travel to Manchester before you went to New York 57 00:04:55,060 --> 00:04:55,420 or something. 58 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:57,380 They, they, how'd you get there? 59 00:04:57,380 --> 00:05:10,900 Oh, well, I went to King New Hampshire from Springfield, and then from King they blessed 60 00:05:10,900 --> 00:05:22,360 me over to Manchester, that's where I took my oath, and then from there they blessed 61 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:37,800 So to Boston, I took an overnight train of Pullman, a sleeper track, and we went from Boston. 62 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:51,220 We went up into Canada and over into Buffalo area, and then back again into Geneva. 63 00:05:51,220 --> 00:05:55,880 Yeah, yeah, and so it was a line we arrived in 64 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:59,420 Samsung at 4 o'clock in the morning. Oh my goodness 65 00:05:59,940 --> 00:06:07,960 So there were with the other air force people on the train with you? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, all recruits. Okay 66 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:09,840 How many you think there were? 67 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:12,200 I would say they're about 68 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:17,460 16 16 16 oh, that was a good group 69 00:06:17,460 --> 00:06:23,400 Yeah, it was because we took up several cars of the Pullman. 70 00:06:24,300 --> 00:06:29,880 Now, once you got to your basic training, how many was in your group of trainees? 71 00:06:32,140 --> 00:06:45,660 Well, there was 22 in the group I was, and the 4 o'clock in the morning, the barracks 72 00:06:45,660 --> 00:06:58,720 was needed. Oh no. And so we had to make our beds. Yeah. And kind of pinched me. And they 73 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:07,660 said, okay, you hit the sack. Yeah. When I were here, they came in and I read the case 74 00:07:07,660 --> 00:07:19,040 Okay, up on the parade. Oh my goodness. Yeah. So it's still in the dark. Yeah. And it was, we 75 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:26,300 got on a parade, still in civilian force. Yeah. Okay. And we had a march around the parade 76 00:07:26,300 --> 00:07:37,900 We're back to bed and we were issued Army uniforms because Air Force hadn't got all 77 00:07:37,900 --> 00:07:40,740 the blues made yet. 78 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:41,400 Yeah, okay. 79 00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:45,920 So my first uniform was a U.S. Army. 80 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:46,540 Okay. 81 00:07:47,420 --> 00:07:48,140 Yeah. 82 00:07:48,460 --> 00:07:54,540 It was, it took some time to get Air Force uniforms. 83 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:55,120 Yeah. 84 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:55,180 Yeah. 85 00:07:55,380 --> 00:08:00,200 So you said there was 20 in your group, were there other groups of 20 like in different 86 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:01,600 barracks and stuff like that? 87 00:08:01,820 --> 00:08:02,000 Okay. 88 00:08:02,580 --> 00:08:02,740 Yeah. 89 00:08:03,340 --> 00:08:04,840 We were on one floor. 90 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:05,200 Yeah. 91 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:09,980 We were on the second floor of the barracks. 92 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:10,220 Yeah. 93 00:08:10,620 --> 00:08:10,720 Yeah. 94 00:08:11,060 --> 00:08:23,060 And the first floor where there were good guys and they had a good sergeant taking care of 95 00:08:23,060 --> 00:08:23,320 them. 96 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:24,160 Yeah, okay. 97 00:08:24,180 --> 00:08:25,500 The one we had, 98 00:08:27,860 --> 00:08:33,500 he was quite questionably a tough guy. 99 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:34,660 Okay, okay. 100 00:08:34,900 --> 00:08:35,040 Yeah. 101 00:08:35,660 --> 00:08:38,580 But I was so enjoying it. 102 00:08:38,700 --> 00:08:38,880 Yeah. 103 00:08:39,380 --> 00:08:39,440 Yeah. 104 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:44,700 Now was it kind of a rude experience that did they swear at you and yell at you and stuff 105 00:08:44,700 --> 00:08:45,000 for? 106 00:08:45,100 --> 00:08:45,500 Yeah. 107 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:47,380 I don't ever hear. 108 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:48,040 Yeah. 109 00:08:48,260 --> 00:08:48,820 I swear. 110 00:08:49,100 --> 00:08:49,420 Okay. 111 00:08:51,340 --> 00:08:54,720 There were, it got within two inches of your face. 112 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:54,900 Oh. 113 00:08:54,900 --> 00:09:07,860 Yeah, you know that a lot of things could that you yeah, it kind of break it down. Yeah, right. All right. Time to break it. Yeah. So, um, so how long did we there? 114 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:17,580 You do calisthenics and oh, yeah, we did learn how to shoot a gun in the soap and you know, I just turned out pretty well. 115 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:20,520 Yeah. 116 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:22,740 You've done that before, right? 117 00:09:23,260 --> 00:09:23,420 Yeah. 118 00:09:24,700 --> 00:09:26,460 We've issued them once. 119 00:09:26,700 --> 00:09:27,020 Oh, yeah. 120 00:09:27,460 --> 00:09:32,880 And so we would ensure it's moving targets. 121 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:33,220 Yeah. 122 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:33,700 Yeah. 123 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:34,480 Yeah. 124 00:09:34,740 --> 00:09:37,260 And so I did get sharp fuel on that. 125 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:37,900 Oh, good. 126 00:09:38,140 --> 00:09:38,700 Good for you. 127 00:09:40,530 --> 00:09:48,790 So in years later, my son said that you like to go out and target, right? 128 00:09:48,970 --> 00:09:49,250 Yeah. 129 00:09:50,310 --> 00:09:55,950 And so I hadn't lost my touch of being saturated. 130 00:09:56,390 --> 00:10:01,710 So you develop those skills and they say, ready, don't they? 131 00:10:02,010 --> 00:10:02,610 Yeah. 132 00:10:02,770 --> 00:10:03,750 Like riding your bike. 133 00:10:03,910 --> 00:10:04,130 Yeah. 134 00:10:04,570 --> 00:10:04,670 Yeah. 135 00:10:05,010 --> 00:10:05,690 And then interesting. 136 00:10:06,150 --> 00:10:06,210 Yeah. 137 00:10:06,810 --> 00:10:07,570 Good for you. 138 00:10:08,330 --> 00:10:10,770 So how long was basic training back then? 139 00:10:11,610 --> 00:10:15,350 Well, it was 16 weeks. 140 00:10:15,850 --> 00:10:16,030 Oh. 141 00:10:16,030 --> 00:10:22,430 But I had a break in between because it got pneumonia. 142 00:10:22,610 --> 00:10:23,650 Oh yeah, hold on. 143 00:10:23,890 --> 00:10:25,930 They spent time on the hospital. 144 00:10:29,010 --> 00:10:30,770 They served me well in the hospital. 145 00:10:30,970 --> 00:10:31,590 Good, good. 146 00:10:32,050 --> 00:10:38,650 And it got me well enough that I started out with flight number 158. 147 00:10:39,130 --> 00:10:42,390 And then the flight number 220. 148 00:10:42,690 --> 00:10:43,090 Oh, okay. 149 00:10:43,470 --> 00:10:43,590 Yep. 150 00:10:43,590 --> 00:11:07,430 Yeah, right. They kept on running no matter whether I was in basic training or not. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Wow. So, um, so once you, once you completed basic training, um, did you take any testing to see what you were good at so they can give you a school? 151 00:11:07,430 --> 00:11:18,090 You know what? The old trick, do we have any electricians in there? So some of you raise 152 00:11:18,090 --> 00:11:22,250 your hand, turn the light off, please? Yeah, 153 00:11:25,510 --> 00:11:34,430 they tested us and I found that I trained 154 00:11:35,170 --> 00:11:46,810 Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. I worked on the first operational aircraft I worked on was the P-51. 155 00:11:47,230 --> 00:11:51,410 Oh, you worked on airplanes then. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. 156 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:57,200 Then right after I started 157 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:07,120 were down to P-51. I read designation as F-51. Oh, okay. All fighter. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 158 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:15,640 The P is pursued. Yeah. And have this the fighter. Oh, okay. Now, what base was this 159 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:24,760 at? With the training for that? Login to the National Airport. Login? You went down there, 160 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:25,960 And then that's where you were stationed? 161 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:37,260 I was stationed at Boston University and our training facility was at Logan. 162 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:37,700 Really? 163 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:47,720 So we'd have to take the subway from right across the red sucks field to take it all the 164 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:49,640 way into the airport. 165 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:50,040 Yeah. 166 00:12:50,220 --> 00:12:51,040 Isn't that interesting? 167 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:55,600 thing. And how many of you were in that training group? 168 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,220 Yeah. I mean like there was 20, 30, 169 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:13,140 or 40 or 60. Oh my goodness. Big group. Yeah. And so what did you learn about P-P-F-51s? 170 00:13:13,140 --> 00:13:22,720 Well, the, uh, uh, more than, uh, uh, engines, yeah, okay, yep, oh, wow, good for you. 171 00:13:23,660 --> 00:13:25,720 So that, how long was that training? 172 00:13:26,900 --> 00:13:28,020 Uh, that was a year. 173 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:28,600 No, a year. 174 00:13:28,740 --> 00:13:29,000 Okay. 175 00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:29,520 Yeah. 176 00:13:29,820 --> 00:13:30,280 Yeah. 177 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,920 So, uh, in a while, I was at that training facility. 178 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:35,460 Yeah. 179 00:13:35,900 --> 00:13:43,120 I saw the, uh, the last game between, uh, the reds, uh, blast red shocks and the blast 180 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:52,740 and Braves. Oh, okay. Yeah. Wow. So that's a little history. Right. Side hit straight. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Who won the game? 181 00:13:53,420 --> 00:14:12,520 I'm sorry. Yeah. And that is why Boston Braves moved out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, God. Isn't that something? So that. So you did that for a year. And so did you ever fly on any of these planes. That's a single engine one in the trainer. Yeah. 182 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:23,840 So I did not fly in the P5, we did some of the basic trainers, we had a 183 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:27,960 BT13 and a 184 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:29,900 BT19, it's a basic trainer. 185 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:33,620 Okay 186 00:14:33,620 --> 00:14:37,060 We were we were not a taxi on man. Oh 187 00:14:37,940 --> 00:14:39,600 Southern and 188 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,160 They didn't have no luck to start. Yeah 189 00:14:43,740 --> 00:14:44,260 they 190 00:14:44,260 --> 00:14:46,580 had an 191 00:14:46,580 --> 00:14:47,660 Nursery star 192 00:14:48,450 --> 00:14:50,910 So you crank up the 193 00:14:51,260 --> 00:14:57,880 the inertia yeah, border and get it up to a high wind. Yeah 194 00:14:57,880 --> 00:14:59,860 and you are more like 195 00:15:05,820 --> 00:15:07,520 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 196 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:11,380 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 197 00:15:13,540 --> 00:15:14,200 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All 198 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,840 fleas and that for wind them up too many times. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. 199 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:23,940 To get the engine going. I think that's something. Yeah. I thought, how did that, um, so did 200 00:15:23,940 --> 00:15:26,980 And did you, what was your job in that process? 201 00:15:28,380 --> 00:15:38,120 Well, my job was to learn how to make needles for it, how the engines operate, the difference 202 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:51,180 between an inline or a V engine or a radio engine and how you maintain those types of engines. 203 00:15:51,180 --> 00:15:54,380 So, how did you get the engine spinning before it started? 204 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:08,080 The inertia style, you wind up mechanically on the side, you remember the old tractors 205 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,500 you'd have to turn the crank on the front of the aircraft. 206 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:12,160 Right, right. 207 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:14,380 It was the same thing in the aircraft. 208 00:16:14,380 --> 00:16:14,500 Yeah. 209 00:16:14,700 --> 00:16:14,960 Okay. 210 00:16:15,300 --> 00:16:24,220 You get this inertia going, and hopefully when the stack wasn't pushed, the engine would 211 00:16:24,220 --> 00:16:24,520 run. 212 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:25,080 Oh. 213 00:16:26,580 --> 00:16:28,780 So your job was to crank the engine over? 214 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:32,480 Or sometimes I'd be in the cockpit. 215 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:33,160 Okay. 216 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:35,100 And so we trade off. 217 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:35,400 Yeah. 218 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,020 And you get the plane already for the pilot to come out and fly it. 219 00:16:39,060 --> 00:16:39,120 Yeah. 220 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:39,260 Okay. 221 00:16:39,260 --> 00:16:52,780 So one of the engines, in every once in a while, we would flip the shocks, being that 222 00:16:53,620 --> 00:17:01,780 we'd get the engines going so fast that it would break loose and you'd end up taxing 223 00:17:01,780 --> 00:17:02,420 the airplane. 224 00:17:02,580 --> 00:17:06,460 Okay, so that's what you learned to do, is to kind of put the plane in the positions for 225 00:17:06,460 --> 00:17:06,880 the pilots. 226 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:15,380 Well, it wasn't intended that way, okay, it was a devil that made it, got me to do it. 227 00:17:15,540 --> 00:17:17,720 Yeah, yeah, oh gosh, and that's something. 228 00:17:18,540 --> 00:17:23,320 Oh good, so what did you do with that training after you finished that, that year of training, 229 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:23,940 where did you go? 230 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:32,300 We went to, she didn't feel, oh she knew it, I heard of that, yeah, yeah, and in Illinois. 231 00:17:32,300 --> 00:17:32,680 Yep. 232 00:17:33,070 --> 00:17:47,260 And that's where we learned to repair a 28 cylinder engine and specialize in carburetion 233 00:17:47,260 --> 00:17:49,420 on that particular engine. 234 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:49,900 Okay. 235 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:50,900 Wow. 236 00:17:52,500 --> 00:17:57,420 Again, it was all good material. 237 00:17:57,780 --> 00:17:57,940 Yeah. 238 00:17:58,240 --> 00:17:59,440 What kind of engines were they? 239 00:18:00,580 --> 00:18:01,400 Yeah. 240 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:01,740 Oh, right. 241 00:18:01,820 --> 00:18:02,300 Windy engines. 242 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:02,740 Okay. 243 00:18:02,980 --> 00:18:03,140 Yeah. 244 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:05,620 And so, 245 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:24,590 front engines were the 28 cylinder, and so that was fun, it was nine, four rows 246 00:18:24,590 --> 00:18:31,530 of banks of engines, one behind the other that made up the 28 cylinder. 247 00:18:31,770 --> 00:18:32,230 Oh, wow. 248 00:18:32,950 --> 00:18:33,770 Interesting. 249 00:18:34,330 --> 00:18:43,110 It was interesting, particularly if you had to pull a cylinder in the middle and there's 250 00:18:43,110 --> 00:18:49,910 an hourly and you run between the handlebars, you know, and then pull a cylinder, and again. 251 00:18:50,270 --> 00:18:55,910 So you learn to rebuild the engines and stuff like that and all that work on them, wow. 252 00:18:59,490 --> 00:19:03,510 So how long were you in Chinook? 253 00:19:04,230 --> 00:19:06,270 We were there for three months. 254 00:19:07,490 --> 00:19:12,310 And then I was reassigned to West Gover for space. 255 00:19:12,450 --> 00:19:13,210 Oh West Gover. 256 00:19:13,370 --> 00:19:14,210 Did you choose that? 257 00:19:14,810 --> 00:19:14,890 No. 258 00:19:15,270 --> 00:19:15,370 No. 259 00:19:16,130 --> 00:19:16,430 Okay. 260 00:19:17,870 --> 00:19:21,350 Again, when they said you're going to be over there. 261 00:19:21,630 --> 00:19:21,750 Yeah. 262 00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:22,310 Yeah. 263 00:19:22,870 --> 00:19:24,370 It was a question. 264 00:19:24,690 --> 00:19:24,870 Right. 265 00:19:25,130 --> 00:19:27,470 Anywhere you were going, even if you didn't. 266 00:19:27,650 --> 00:19:27,790 Yeah. 267 00:19:28,170 --> 00:19:28,630 Okay. 268 00:19:29,470 --> 00:19:30,730 So, what did you do it down? 269 00:19:31,130 --> 00:19:37,470 So, you learned to repair engines at Chinook, and then you went to Westover, and what was your 270 00:19:37,470 --> 00:19:38,830 responsibilities there? 271 00:19:39,030 --> 00:19:50,690 Well, we worked on the heavies, the 400 aircraft, C97, the double-decker. 272 00:19:56,790 --> 00:19:58,990 What do you mean double-decker, what does that mean? 273 00:19:59,550 --> 00:20:11,630 It was the main flight deck and then sleeping quarters were in the lower part of the pilot 274 00:20:20,630 --> 00:20:34,990 Yeah, yeah, so what was that a transport plane yeah, so I had you could have put a lot of stuff in there and the transport different places 275 00:20:34,990 --> 00:20:38,890 Yeah, yeah, could you put like jeeps in there and 276 00:20:41,630 --> 00:20:52,870 It was not until we got the C-124, that you could put jeeps in, and C-74, they had 277 00:20:52,870 --> 00:21:04,550 the C-74, the same as the C-124, except the bottom half of the aircraft on the C-74 didn't 278 00:21:04,550 --> 00:21:04,930 exist. 279 00:21:04,930 --> 00:21:15,830 You have a really long landing gear so they can take an edge of transport and an engine from 280 00:21:15,830 --> 00:21:16,870 one place to another. 281 00:21:18,010 --> 00:21:30,050 You pull the engine under the aircraft, under an elevator, and then put the engine on 282 00:21:30,050 --> 00:21:33,470 the aircraft and fly it to wherever it is. 283 00:21:33,470 --> 00:21:34,930 Oh, and that interesting, yeah. 284 00:21:35,530 --> 00:21:35,790 Wow. 285 00:21:36,290 --> 00:21:42,390 Now, did you get the fly with the engine sometimes so you could mount it in another airplane and whatever? 286 00:21:42,930 --> 00:21:43,050 No. 287 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,460 I never followed that engine. 288 00:21:48,620 --> 00:21:48,780 Yeah. 289 00:21:49,980 --> 00:21:53,080 But my job was to load them. 290 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:53,840 Load them. 291 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:54,200 Okay. 292 00:21:54,980 --> 00:21:56,780 And that's pretty technical, too. 293 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,920 You got to make sure the weight is balanced in the plane and all that. 294 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:01,300 Yeah. 295 00:22:01,780 --> 00:22:01,900 Yeah. 296 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:11,300 Well then you went to Chinooka did that and what was your next step after that? 297 00:22:11,580 --> 00:22:20,460 Well I worked on the same aircraft on the Burle and the Air left, really, T-74, 298 00:22:22,660 --> 00:22:24,080 I mean 299 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:31,020 1954 by me. Yep. And so I worked on burlant airlift. Yeah. Okay. 300 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:37,820 Even though it was after the start of the burlant. Yeah. 301 00:22:38,900 --> 00:22:52,160 It was still using most of the C-54s to continue feeding the people in West Burlant. Oh, okay. Yep. 302 00:22:53,020 --> 00:22:59,780 So they had all kinds of supplies, food, and medical stuff, and everything, yeah, yeah, 303 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:02,900 oh wow, wow, that's what a thing to do. 304 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,420 So where were you stationed when did you did that? 305 00:23:07,980 --> 00:23:09,140 I was all west over. 306 00:23:09,340 --> 00:23:10,080 Oh, west over. 307 00:23:10,220 --> 00:23:13,300 So they flew from west over to Germany, didn't they? 308 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:16,560 Did they have to refuel those pant planes and flight and everything? 309 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:18,820 They didn't have refueling. 310 00:23:18,820 --> 00:23:27,540 Oh, okay in flight refilling at that time, so they'd fly the west over they would fly 311 00:23:28,420 --> 00:23:32,480 over to Iceland and from Iceland 312 00:23:34,890 --> 00:23:42,720 over to Europe wherever whatever station. Yeah. Yeah. Oh wow. It was hip hop. Yeah. Yeah. 313 00:23:44,220 --> 00:23:48,760 Wow. So we have to west over. How long did you do that job? 314 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:59,920 I was at three times. Oh, oh, three times. Okay. Yeah. But it was a heavy aircraft. Yeah. 315 00:24:00,780 --> 00:24:04,480 That we worked on all the time. Okay. Okay. Yeah. 316 00:24:05,380 --> 00:24:07,240 So it was 317 00:24:07,860 --> 00:24:11,080 It's hard to remember. Oh, yeah. Yeah. 318 00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:15,360 Right. And then you then you mentioned earlier that 319 00:24:16,260 --> 00:24:20,080 Before we started you went to Greenland. Yeah, I was yeah. 320 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:36,580 But before we got that assignment, we were sent to Florida for training, and then 321 00:24:36,580 --> 00:24:41,120 from Florida, back to Westover, and then to Greenwood. 322 00:24:41,980 --> 00:24:45,260 Now what kind of training did you get there in Florida? 323 00:24:47,220 --> 00:24:48,980 Survival training? 324 00:24:48,980 --> 00:24:50,840 They had a big, 325 00:24:53,160 --> 00:25:03,660 cooler, huge ice box that you worked in, so your body used the cold 326 00:25:03,660 --> 00:25:04,180 temperature. 327 00:25:04,420 --> 00:25:05,040 Oh, okay. 328 00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:05,640 Interesting. 329 00:25:07,260 --> 00:25:12,060 That was, it was put in beach international airport. 330 00:25:12,260 --> 00:25:12,580 Okay. 331 00:25:13,700 --> 00:25:14,920 That's where it was. 332 00:25:15,860 --> 00:25:16,080 Yeah. 333 00:25:16,220 --> 00:25:17,940 I guess you have, you need a cooler down there. 334 00:25:17,940 --> 00:25:23,080 Yeah, yeah, so how long did that last? 335 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:25,660 That was only about three months. 336 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:26,280 Oh, okay. 337 00:25:26,420 --> 00:25:28,400 And then it went back to Westover. 338 00:25:28,620 --> 00:25:28,760 Yep. 339 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,320 And then we flew from Westover. 340 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,880 We took off from Westover. 341 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:44,860 And as I sent the aircraft, I noticed one engine quit in the aircraft. 342 00:25:45,140 --> 00:25:45,300 Yeah. 343 00:25:45,300 --> 00:25:58,980 I'd have to take off. So we turned around, went back and we got another C50 for it and started 344 00:25:58,980 --> 00:26:14,340 out and we got up to Maine and we had to land in Maine and for all the equipment I put 345 00:26:14,340 --> 00:26:22,780 another C-54 because one we were having replacement was having mechanical problems. 346 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:24,160 Oh, okay, yeah. 347 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,420 I took a three-hour craft to get to L.A. 348 00:26:26,420 --> 00:26:27,040 Oh, gosh. 349 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:28,320 Yeah, yeah. 350 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:29,120 Wow. 351 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:34,060 And so, you know, what was your responsibility up there in Greenland? 352 00:26:34,620 --> 00:26:37,400 I was assigned to Air Rescue. 353 00:26:37,660 --> 00:26:37,900 Oh. 354 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:38,860 What's it? 355 00:26:38,860 --> 00:26:45,940 And so repairing engines, general repairs of the aircraft. 356 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:50,220 Now when you say air rescues, what's that involved? 357 00:26:51,420 --> 00:26:52,940 You worked on seed planes. 358 00:26:53,220 --> 00:26:53,680 Oh, OK. 359 00:26:54,260 --> 00:26:55,120 Seat planes. 360 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:57,500 Trifidiums. 361 00:26:57,640 --> 00:26:57,960 OK. 362 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:13,740 from an SA 16, they had a big ski on the hull, a huge ski, it was on the hull and I had 363 00:27:18,580 --> 00:27:24,040 Okay, so when they land on the ice cap, it would stay even. 364 00:27:24,220 --> 00:27:25,500 Oh, okay, yeah, yeah. 365 00:27:27,020 --> 00:27:29,320 Did you ever fly in one of those? 366 00:27:29,860 --> 00:27:30,780 Many hours. 367 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:31,300 Oh, really? 368 00:27:31,580 --> 00:27:31,920 Oh, really? 369 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:35,260 We would go out on the rescue mission. 370 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:35,660 Yeah. 371 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:40,070 I'll try to spot a downed aircraft. 372 00:27:40,450 --> 00:27:41,190 Oh, yeah. 373 00:27:41,190 --> 00:27:53,690 and whatever. And it's funny how your eyes play tricks on you. I see it. I see it. Yeah. Yeah. And they turn around. There's nothing there. Oh gosh. Yeah. Yeah. 374 00:27:55,310 --> 00:28:06,650 Like a morage or something. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, isn't that something? So how did you adjust to that environment? I loved it. Did you? Okay. 375 00:28:08,890 --> 00:28:21,850 The day I arrived was on my birthday and had a huge snowstorm as we came into Greenland. 376 00:28:22,350 --> 00:28:26,590 Now your birthday, you said that's coming right up, was that in August 2nd? 377 00:28:26,670 --> 00:28:27,850 That's when they had the snowstorm? 378 00:28:28,390 --> 00:28:28,590 Yeah. 379 00:28:28,730 --> 00:28:29,270 Oh my goodness. 380 00:28:29,270 --> 00:28:30,030 Yeah. 381 00:28:30,930 --> 00:28:40,370 You grew into, you can't tell them, but anyway, again, I was aircraft maintenance, no matter 382 00:28:40,370 --> 00:28:49,670 whether it was hydraulic or sheet metal or mechanical engines or hydraulic, whatever it was. 383 00:28:51,190 --> 00:28:53,050 You did the job. 384 00:28:53,250 --> 00:28:53,510 Okay. 385 00:28:53,790 --> 00:28:54,170 Oh, wow. 386 00:28:58,390 --> 00:29:03,510 Now, how many people did you have in that work group? 387 00:29:04,550 --> 00:29:18,910 There was in our shift there was about 15 for our group and then there was another group 388 00:29:18,910 --> 00:29:20,390 of 15 mechanics. 389 00:29:20,390 --> 00:29:29,530 Yeah, and whatever they might be a hydraulic specialist. Well, okay. It might be a propeller specialist. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 390 00:29:30,330 --> 00:29:31,130 Oh, good. 391 00:29:32,430 --> 00:29:37,010 So you've learned that yeah, and then you had different shifts probably you were you worked certain shifts 392 00:29:37,710 --> 00:29:42,610 And then they know the group would take over or something like that. Yeah, okay. Yeah 393 00:29:44,990 --> 00:29:45,470 mostly 394 00:29:48,830 --> 00:29:49,310 in 395 00:29:51,250 --> 00:29:56,530 And that is a Miami of the North. 396 00:29:56,870 --> 00:29:57,370 Okay. 397 00:29:58,710 --> 00:29:59,910 So why? 398 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:00,740 And they call it that. 399 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:18,170 Okay. And so it was the warmest. Yeah. Yeah. So then come January 400 00:30:18,170 --> 00:30:26,610 first. We had a huge storm and our barracks were tied down by steel cables. 401 00:30:30,260 --> 00:30:33,320 My bunk was on the 402 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:43,300 And on the side and with the wind, the actual would lift the whole barricade out. 403 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:43,720 Okay. 404 00:30:44,100 --> 00:30:45,540 Doesn't it like a quancet hut or something? 405 00:30:45,820 --> 00:30:47,540 No, it was a record building. 406 00:30:47,660 --> 00:30:48,140 Oh wow. 407 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,680 And so it had these cables all over for that. 408 00:30:53,020 --> 00:30:53,160 Yeah. 409 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:54,360 Roof. 410 00:30:55,180 --> 00:30:59,380 And it could keep the ceiling from blowing away. 411 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:00,420 Isn't that crazy? 412 00:31:00,420 --> 00:31:03,920 Wow. One good thing they thought of that, I guess. 413 00:31:05,740 --> 00:31:17,220 So while I was there, the contract that came in to fill the new operational tower for 414 00:31:17,220 --> 00:31:29,140 a landing, they got this tower made, and the inspectors came to look at it. They used 415 00:31:29,140 --> 00:31:38,540 the wrong rivets. Oh no. So they had to one by one pull the trillion rivets out of the 416 00:31:38,540 --> 00:31:46,640 tower control tower. Oh my goodness. And put in the right rivets. Oh my. Which kind of smile 417 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:55,700 you said not everybody can be perfect. Oh my goodness. So that if you didn't have the right rivets 418 00:31:55,700 --> 00:31:57,860 It would probably hold up or somewhere. 419 00:31:58,220 --> 00:31:59,800 Yeah, yeah, my gosh. 420 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:10,160 Kind of like recently, there was an incident on the, uh, uh, what was it, that, uh, submarine? 421 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:17,940 No, the, uh, rule of course, oh, yeah, yeah, you know, use the right, uh, uh, skill, uh, 422 00:32:18,260 --> 00:32:19,140 for that brace. 423 00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:20,520 Oh, crap. 424 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:21,020 Yeah. 425 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:21,480 Yeah. 426 00:32:23,580 --> 00:32:24,100 Yeah. 427 00:32:25,140 --> 00:32:25,220 Okay. 428 00:32:25,220 --> 00:32:38,320 Okay. But in that January storm, it blew five aircraft from there more. Oh my goodness. 429 00:32:38,460 --> 00:32:49,300 Through one over a mile backwards. Whoa. And Navy, the CBs had to come up and blow, take care 430 00:32:49,300 --> 00:32:54,140 Yeah. Oh my goodness. Wow. It's a pretty rugged weather up there. 431 00:32:54,660 --> 00:33:00,760 You know, we were right across the fjords from the agricultural reds first church. 432 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:03,100 Oh, okay. Western hemisphere. Yeah. 433 00:33:03,740 --> 00:33:07,000 And the ruins were across the fjords. 434 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:11,920 Oh, okay. So you got to do a little sightseeing up there when you're up there? 435 00:33:12,100 --> 00:33:14,280 Not much. Yeah. Yeah. 436 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:14,400 Yeah. 437 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,440 I got a busy, another choice. 438 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:16,880 Yeah. 439 00:33:18,740 --> 00:33:19,980 It was interesting. 440 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:20,500 Yeah. 441 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:21,280 Oh, like that. 442 00:33:22,140 --> 00:33:24,340 We've been reviewing movies. 443 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:24,940 Yeah. 444 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:31,680 I took the agreement and it showed, oh, you took the movies up there? 445 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:32,220 Yeah. 446 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:32,760 We took more. 447 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:33,160 Oh, okay. 448 00:33:33,900 --> 00:33:36,180 And I have reviewed all of it. 449 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:36,400 Yeah. 450 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:36,500 Yeah. 451 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:44,620 But my son and grandson were, I just spun some of the movie film that I made. 452 00:33:44,780 --> 00:33:45,000 Yeah. 453 00:33:45,140 --> 00:33:46,100 Oh, and then interesting. 454 00:33:46,340 --> 00:33:46,480 Yeah. 455 00:33:46,820 --> 00:33:46,960 Yeah. 456 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:47,800 Wow. 457 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:50,400 I got to really live that again. 458 00:33:50,620 --> 00:33:50,840 Right. 459 00:33:51,020 --> 00:33:51,160 Right. 460 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:51,640 Yeah. 461 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:53,600 Kind of neat. 462 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:58,120 So, how long were you assigned somewhere else after that? 463 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,180 We went to the ice gap. 464 00:34:01,580 --> 00:34:01,800 Oh. 465 00:34:02,260 --> 00:34:03,560 How far away was that? 466 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:14,320 It was the ice cap was right at the edge of the base at that time and now there's no ice cap in that region. 467 00:34:15,540 --> 00:34:24,760 But anyway we got to go up and get an airplane that could stuck on the ice cap. 468 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:36,300 Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. We had to dig it out. And so I've got some of the material I use in 469 00:34:37,020 --> 00:34:45,460 working on the ice cap. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. They say, yeah, when they project, they said, 470 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:50,800 just keep it here. Okay. Yeah. I still have that gear on. Okay. 471 00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:51,200 huh? 472 00:34:53,480 --> 00:35:00,080 Still have the mopping bag. Yeah. That's sleeping bag. Me? That's sleeping bag? Yeah. Yeah. 473 00:35:03,780 --> 00:35:07,540 Well, it's not like you'd need it up there. We're doing a polar ice cap there. Wow. 474 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:15,880 So, um, so we re-signed somewhere else afterwards? So, is that the end of your four years or what? No, I 475 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:20,760 I went, we were back to West Shore. 476 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:22,460 Yeah, back to West Shore. 477 00:35:22,700 --> 00:35:27,200 Then from West Shore went to Otis Air Force Base. 478 00:35:27,460 --> 00:35:28,320 Oh, that's on the Cape. 479 00:35:28,720 --> 00:35:29,240 On the Cape? 480 00:35:29,340 --> 00:35:29,480 Yeah. 481 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:35,460 And spent two years on the Cape. 482 00:35:35,780 --> 00:35:37,820 Was that a Navy base? 483 00:35:38,380 --> 00:35:39,420 How was combination? 484 00:35:39,980 --> 00:35:40,400 Oh, okay. 485 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:41,500 Combination, okay. 486 00:35:42,900 --> 00:35:44,280 Otis Air Force Base. 487 00:35:44,280 --> 00:36:04,860 And then there was a part of it, the Navy, and the rescue side there, and then the jet fighters were on the other side of the same base. 488 00:36:06,340 --> 00:36:07,380 What kind of jets were they? 489 00:36:08,620 --> 00:36:17,240 Back then it was F-A-G-Six, F-A-N-E-Six, and I never got to work on those. 490 00:36:17,420 --> 00:36:18,000 Yeah, yeah. 491 00:36:18,140 --> 00:36:19,560 These stayed with the propeller planes. 492 00:36:20,020 --> 00:36:20,160 Yeah. 493 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:22,400 Very good. 494 00:36:22,860 --> 00:36:36,200 And it was really cool, and they gave us special gloves, and I still have the clothes 495 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:37,860 I worked on the ice cream. 496 00:36:40,100 --> 00:36:48,880 My hands one day were so bitterly cold to get the aircraft out of the ice cream. 497 00:36:50,080 --> 00:37:02,140 I went in and I said, Commander, I said, I need some dry cloth and can't have them. 498 00:37:02,140 --> 00:37:10,100 Well, this curl was in the aircraft warming himself up. 499 00:37:10,100 --> 00:37:10,220 Yeah. 500 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:17,220 So I looked at the commander and he said, give him new clothes. 501 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:17,640 Yeah. 502 00:37:18,140 --> 00:37:18,360 Now. 503 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:18,740 Yeah. 504 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:20,460 Oh my gosh. 505 00:37:20,700 --> 00:37:20,920 Yeah. 506 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:23,040 Oh gosh. 507 00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:23,700 That's something. 508 00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:24,060 Yeah. 509 00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:24,660 Yeah. 510 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,600 Well, that's like he had a heart for you airman there. 511 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:30,840 They were working out in the cold. 512 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:41,420 So we get the aircraft off the ice cap, or I should say, ready to go off the ice cap. 513 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:55,240 The day that they were attaching, it's over a mile to get the aircraft off the ice cap at the 10,000 foot level. 514 00:37:56,140 --> 00:38:05,540 You know, here you try to get air, under you get the aircraft in the air, and we had 515 00:38:05,540 --> 00:38:14,140 this time where you couldn't see the airplane, you could hear the engine. 516 00:38:14,140 --> 00:38:19,580 Yeah, yeah, and the aircraft got stuck half 517 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:27,020 mile away and so we had to walk through the 518 00:38:27,020 --> 00:38:32,020 snowstorm, towards the noise, oh my goodness. 519 00:38:32,260 --> 00:38:40,120 We got within, I would say, 30 feet in aircraft and they got the aircraft moving. 520 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:44,400 So we had to walk back to where we started. 521 00:38:44,540 --> 00:38:45,200 Oh gosh. 522 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:55,240 Yeah. Yeah. So it was an interesting time up there. But anyway, we during that time we were sent 523 00:38:55,240 --> 00:39:07,200 back to the base and we were on C-47 aircraft and that's 20 engine airplane. Okay. We were sent 524 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:13,920 back to the base and then they asked for volunteers to go back on the ice cap. Here I 525 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:21,880 Oh, you did. Yeah. Yeah. I really loved that. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Good. So what'd you have to do? 526 00:39:21,980 --> 00:39:31,340 We're asking another play or something. We still had work to do. Oh, I see. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. 527 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:39,720 That was an experience that I said, I gotta go back there. Yeah. Yeah. 528 00:39:39,720 --> 00:39:54,080 Good for you. You are a valuable valuable employee then. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. And how many of you were doing that on that kind of assignment? 529 00:39:54,980 --> 00:40:05,440 I think there were 10 of you. Yeah. Now, you said you had a mummy bag and stuff. Where'd you sleep and stuff were up there? 530 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:18,780 on the ice. We had a, we dug all into the ice cap. Okay. So we slept inside the nickel 531 00:40:18,780 --> 00:40:22,740 of the surface. Okay. Oh wow. Whoa. 532 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:29,320 It's like a, yeah. Well, I guess that's good for 533 00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:36,420 you that you embraced it. Yeah. Yeah. He did. So then you said you went to West over. I mean, 534 00:40:36,420 --> 00:40:40,360 I mean, not whatsoever. You went to oldest and what did you do there? 535 00:40:41,140 --> 00:40:42,660 Again, more maintenance. 536 00:40:42,900 --> 00:40:43,800 Okay, maintenance. 537 00:40:44,140 --> 00:40:46,320 Yeah, okay. 538 00:40:47,060 --> 00:40:48,180 SA-16. 539 00:40:48,460 --> 00:40:48,600 Yeah. 540 00:40:50,420 --> 00:40:57,280 And so the rest of my career was always with the rest of your career. 541 00:40:57,380 --> 00:40:57,560 Yeah. 542 00:40:57,900 --> 00:40:58,160 Okay. 543 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:20,140 and then I got out of the service and I was looking for jobs. Nothing really appealed to me so I was like, okay, back in the year, of course, my second hitch was, 544 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:25,140 I worked on heavies. 545 00:41:25,140 --> 00:41:27,000 and heavies? 546 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:31,500 I call it a twin engine and four engine. 547 00:41:31,700 --> 00:41:32,240 Okay. 548 00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:33,160 Yep. 549 00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:34,340 I see. 550 00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:34,840 Okay. 551 00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:42,720 And so we're going to see one 24, C97. 552 00:41:43,260 --> 00:41:43,620 Okay. 553 00:41:44,340 --> 00:41:44,560 Yeah. 554 00:41:44,980 --> 00:41:45,640 All right. 555 00:41:47,300 --> 00:41:51,340 And I specialize in, again, 556 00:41:51,340 --> 00:41:54,000 and collaboration on those engines. 557 00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,480 Are they quite a challenge to work on? 558 00:41:59,920 --> 00:42:01,980 Oh yeah, yeah, they were. 559 00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:08,420 It was one of those things that you accept 560 00:42:08,420 --> 00:42:12,600 what assignment you give and go for the best. 561 00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:16,040 Now what were you in charge like rebuilding the carburetors 562 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:18,840 and adjusting them for adjustments? 563 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:20,120 Yeah, oh wow. 564 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:31,820 taken the coverage. We're talking about this line, about this deep end. 565 00:42:34,380 --> 00:42:35,740 We're talking 566 00:42:35,740 --> 00:42:36,500 about the 567 00:42:39,310 --> 00:42:51,170 end. So I love that job because I said your ability to say this is run with 568 00:42:51,170 --> 00:43:00,690 the engine and this is what's wrong with the carburetor, so you learn to turn the carburetor 569 00:43:00,690 --> 00:43:08,490 apart, do the repairs, put it back together, and reinstall it in the aircraft. 570 00:43:09,070 --> 00:43:09,270 Wow. 571 00:43:09,270 --> 00:43:10,790 Now, where are these? 572 00:43:11,050 --> 00:43:12,530 I should have another set for all of you. 573 00:43:12,850 --> 00:43:13,350 Where are these? 574 00:43:13,450 --> 00:43:14,570 Prep with the engines, too? 575 00:43:14,970 --> 00:43:15,430 Yeah. 576 00:43:15,710 --> 00:43:15,970 All right. 577 00:43:16,910 --> 00:43:16,990 Yeah. 578 00:43:19,250 --> 00:43:23,850 Well, I was really worried about any other time. 579 00:43:23,850 --> 00:43:23,990 Oh. 580 00:43:27,250 --> 00:43:29,570 But more tomorrow, perhaps. 581 00:43:29,810 --> 00:43:29,930 Yeah. 582 00:43:31,450 --> 00:43:32,190 Okay, Paul. 583 00:43:32,310 --> 00:43:38,230 So you're still at rebuilding carburetors on prep with the engines. 584 00:43:38,230 --> 00:43:40,650 Do you remember the name of the engine or the model? 585 00:43:42,250 --> 00:43:43,690 R43-60. 586 00:43:46,490 --> 00:43:58,070 And when the R43-60 was a kind of a like the last engine of Recipes that Pratt did, then 587 00:43:58,070 --> 00:44:00,310 they switched to jet engine. 588 00:44:02,990 --> 00:44:12,890 And our skies that were put to all the driven aircrafts, they'll never fly, a lot 589 00:44:12,890 --> 00:44:13,470 we knew. 590 00:44:13,710 --> 00:44:17,810 We are right, right, yeah, yeah, we're not interested in that. 591 00:44:17,810 --> 00:44:30,890 with the prop bivinear crack, the altitude that you flew at was generally in the 13 to 14,000 foot level. 592 00:44:31,430 --> 00:44:38,830 And not like today when you're flying into the 30,000 foot. 593 00:44:38,830 --> 00:44:50,990 Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. So, but you never worked on jets. So, yeah. I was not in the airport. Not in the airport. Okay. 594 00:44:51,970 --> 00:44:59,330 So now you got out of the airport and then you rejoined and you were at Otis. 595 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:15,900 You went to Otis and then what happened? Okay, they transferred me to Downer, a temporary 596 00:45:18,720 --> 00:45:29,300 four dicks, okay, and there's McWire Air Force Base, and the four dicks were all connected together, yeah, okay. 597 00:45:29,880 --> 00:45:42,300 And so that was in a maintenance squadron down there, and there was too many people to count who was who. 598 00:45:42,300 --> 00:45:54,620 Well, it was interesting, more supply, or it didn't supply it, or aircraft, and it was 599 00:45:54,620 --> 00:45:55,900 a repair at that point. 600 00:45:56,260 --> 00:45:56,500 Okay. 601 00:45:56,820 --> 00:45:56,880 Yep. 602 00:45:58,480 --> 00:45:58,620 Hmm. 603 00:45:59,140 --> 00:46:07,280 So, it was an interesting job, but not quite as interesting as going green ones, or 604 00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:13,620 Yeah, I bet. Yeah, that was must have been real challenge to do some of those rescues. Yeah. Yeah, yeah 605 00:46:13,620 --> 00:46:18,980 Then I that ends my service. Yeah, my first edge. Yeah 606 00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:22,680 So what year was that you remember the year or? 607 00:46:26,360 --> 00:46:26,800 Okay 608 00:46:26,800 --> 00:46:37,240 Yeah, and then you said you you've you've re listed. Yeah. Yeah. Now how was the second hitch was that quite a bit 609 00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:44,560 different from the first one? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 610 00:46:48,390 --> 00:46:50,470 Oh my goodness. Yeah. 611 00:46:52,330 --> 00:47:01,670 Yeah. Yeah. Oh wow. And so it was much different. Do you remember the year you were down there in 612 00:47:01,670 --> 00:47:09,950 Marshall Islands? 1958. 1958, okay. Yeah. And what was your your responsibilities down there? 613 00:47:12,290 --> 00:47:13,490 Okay. Yeah. 614 00:47:21,610 --> 00:47:23,850 And we talked. Yeah. 615 00:47:26,780 --> 00:47:33,320 I was selected forever in the month. Oh, okay. Yeah. 616 00:47:35,900 --> 00:47:46,640 from all the troops. Yeah. I told me one day to report to the base commander. Yeah. 617 00:47:47,340 --> 00:47:52,620 Getting a class A uniform because the base commander wants to talk to you. Okay. Yeah. 618 00:47:52,620 --> 00:47:55,780 I thought, myself, what did I do? 619 00:47:55,860 --> 00:47:58,360 Oh, I didn't do wrong, yeah, oh, God. 620 00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:14,540 So anyway, I got there, the base commander, and there was a nice apple of my navy there, 621 00:48:14,540 --> 00:48:14,840 No. 622 00:48:15,240 --> 00:48:22,420 And there was a general from the Army and a general from the Air Force were all there. 623 00:48:22,780 --> 00:48:31,760 And they got talking to one another, and they said they were having trouble with their 624 00:48:33,140 --> 00:48:37,120 airplanes on the parking strip. 625 00:48:37,580 --> 00:48:37,980 On where? 626 00:48:38,220 --> 00:48:41,540 The parking strip of where they parked here. 627 00:48:41,660 --> 00:48:42,060 Oh, okay. 628 00:48:42,180 --> 00:48:42,300 Yeah. 629 00:48:42,300 --> 00:48:52,260 Yeah. And I said, part of me, the problems you're having is that the aircraft are parked 630 00:48:52,260 --> 00:49:08,280 in the wrong direction, because people never worked as much looking at the corrosion level on the 631 00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:21,680 section of the aircraft. Yeah. Yeah. Facing me on coming salt air. Yeah. You'll be better off. 632 00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:26,920 Oh. Because that's where you inspect the engines all the time. Yeah. 633 00:49:26,920 --> 00:49:26,980 What? 634 00:49:27,300 --> 00:49:35,940 The corrosion control is there, so the next day, all the aircraft from the whole field, 635 00:49:36,780 --> 00:49:38,820 they passed them in the other direction. 636 00:49:39,720 --> 00:49:40,020 Okay. 637 00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:51,480 And so as we look, they do mean a word for that was there, they threw me to a way for an 638 00:49:51,480 --> 00:50:00,220 attend a vacation. Oh, and they're wonderful. Yeah. So that was that was good. Well, 639 00:50:00,220 --> 00:50:10,140 some of the things you didn't know why. I went into I didn't go much on the beach as I went 640 00:50:10,140 --> 00:50:16,560 And then into housing, you know, local community. 641 00:50:16,840 --> 00:50:17,760 Yeah, yeah, okay. 642 00:50:17,860 --> 00:50:25,640 And so I got to see how they lived in a way that was the super rich. 643 00:50:25,940 --> 00:50:26,700 Right, right. 644 00:50:27,080 --> 00:50:28,120 Right, right, yeah. 645 00:50:28,520 --> 00:50:28,860 Oh, good. 646 00:50:29,300 --> 00:50:29,440 Good. 647 00:50:30,640 --> 00:50:36,220 So, uh, oh, I think we're trying to think of, hey, hey, hey, hey, come, 648 00:50:36,580 --> 00:50:37,080 Air Force Base. 649 00:50:37,180 --> 00:50:37,720 One that, hey, come. 650 00:50:37,720 --> 00:50:49,540 Yeah, that's the airport space there, yeah, it's the one in right right in Hawaii. Yeah. Yeah, but we flew from 651 00:50:51,540 --> 00:50:56,900 Travis Air Force base over to here. Okay, and then I think I 652 00:50:59,600 --> 00:51:06,320 Travel all the way into the Marshall Islands. Oh, oh, and then back yeah, so 653 00:51:09,540 --> 00:51:16,360 13 hours from Travis Air Force Base just to get to Hawaii. Yeah, I don't know. I 654 00:51:16,360 --> 00:51:16,760 mentioned. 655 00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:23,380 Right, right. Yeah. Not nothing 656 00:51:23,380 --> 00:51:29,900 speedy about those. Right. So what's that trip to Hawaii? Was that a pleasure trip or 657 00:51:29,900 --> 00:51:35,100 leave? And then again, you were stationed in the Marshall Islands after that, right? 658 00:51:35,100 --> 00:51:36,840 Yeah, I was before and after. 659 00:51:36,980 --> 00:51:37,520 Oh, okay. 660 00:51:37,800 --> 00:51:38,680 Oh, okay. 661 00:51:38,940 --> 00:51:44,260 And so, it was a while I was in Marshall Island. 662 00:51:44,440 --> 00:51:44,600 Yeah. 663 00:51:44,940 --> 00:51:51,200 I was awarded several awards from growing aircraft. 664 00:51:51,640 --> 00:51:51,780 Yeah. 665 00:51:51,980 --> 00:51:52,460 Oh, wow. 666 00:51:54,670 --> 00:51:54,870 Yeah. 667 00:51:55,330 --> 00:51:58,810 Other places for the work I did. 668 00:51:58,990 --> 00:51:59,530 Yeah, wonderful. 669 00:51:59,910 --> 00:52:00,110 Yeah. 670 00:52:00,350 --> 00:52:00,910 Good for you. 671 00:52:01,530 --> 00:52:05,110 So, in the book that I have there, 672 00:52:05,110 --> 00:52:11,950 that it shows, uh, uh, uh, may receiving several different awards. 673 00:52:12,250 --> 00:52:12,430 Yeah. 674 00:52:13,090 --> 00:52:14,130 You're on the left. 675 00:52:14,130 --> 00:52:16,730 We've been receiving, uh, what, what, what award is this? 676 00:52:16,870 --> 00:52:18,830 A new, uh, ever in a month award. 677 00:52:19,090 --> 00:52:19,410 Okay. 678 00:52:20,110 --> 00:52:28,950 And, uh, the, the, uh, the current one here is, uh, presenting it to me for, uh, uh, maintenance 679 00:52:28,950 --> 00:52:40,730 where I did and which was a surprise to me that the work I did deserve this much. 680 00:52:40,910 --> 00:52:41,150 Right. 681 00:52:41,610 --> 00:52:46,730 And that was in the Marshall Islands, or from, I guess, I was at an enemy time, of that. 682 00:52:46,730 --> 00:53:02,490 And this is a war presented to several airmen, I saw it included by Grumman Aircraft Corporation for the work that we did on the aircraft. 683 00:53:02,490 --> 00:53:17,430 and you can see the chrome and the representative who again came in an award for the work I did to maintain their craft. 684 00:53:25,370 --> 00:53:35,550 That was the Operation Heart Tag and Operation Heart Tag 1, but this is all on the Operation 685 00:53:35,550 --> 00:53:36,170 Heart Tag. 686 00:53:36,430 --> 00:53:36,650 Okay. 687 00:53:36,650 --> 00:53:36,850 Okay. 688 00:53:36,950 --> 00:53:37,130 Okay. 689 00:53:37,310 --> 00:53:39,730 This is a bomb blast. 690 00:53:40,730 --> 00:53:42,490 And this was an aircraft. 691 00:53:43,610 --> 00:53:49,090 I mean, this ship was USS Oopera Island. 692 00:53:49,770 --> 00:53:57,130 And when this bomb blast went off, I was saying, I bowed in this aircraft, this ship. 693 00:53:57,390 --> 00:53:57,610 Wow. 694 00:53:58,330 --> 00:54:05,870 And I looked down, and I, before the blast went down, the water was at the 13th Fort Laudeline. 695 00:54:05,870 --> 00:54:06,950 Yeah. 696 00:54:07,810 --> 00:54:17,990 And after the blast, which this is all water, after the blast, I went down and I saw the 697 00:54:17,990 --> 00:54:19,730 one foot water line. 698 00:54:19,910 --> 00:54:20,270 Wow. 699 00:54:21,110 --> 00:54:26,110 So that main water we were in, is now here, 700 00:54:28,950 --> 00:54:37,020 so years later, I went to Washington, DC. 701 00:54:43,530 --> 00:54:44,170 The 702 00:54:47,340 --> 00:54:57,490 senator from Illinois said, you're talking about this one shot, and I told him that 703 00:54:57,490 --> 00:55:01,830 I was on that ship when this blast went on. 704 00:55:03,850 --> 00:55:05,470 Why did they put you so close? 705 00:55:07,800 --> 00:55:08,440 Who knows? 706 00:55:09,380 --> 00:55:11,440 We were first ship out from Grand Shell. 707 00:55:11,440 --> 00:55:17,380 Now today, give you any protection, mask, or earplugs, or... 708 00:55:17,380 --> 00:55:17,540 No. 709 00:55:20,940 --> 00:55:27,360 They were testing to see if we were resounding, I guess. 710 00:55:27,660 --> 00:55:28,160 Wow. 711 00:55:29,100 --> 00:55:37,760 But anyway, when we met this senator, I said I was on that ship, 712 00:55:38,820 --> 00:55:50,560 He said, well, he pointed to a guy saying he had a table point, so he said, that guy 713 00:55:50,940 --> 00:55:54,040 was in the same ship at the same blast. 714 00:55:54,420 --> 00:55:54,620 Wow. 715 00:55:55,340 --> 00:56:04,880 So I went over and talked to the guy and he was on the bridge and I was on the ball. 716 00:56:04,880 --> 00:56:13,600 and I said, what did the commander say? He said, I think we're a wee bit too close. 717 00:56:14,480 --> 00:56:22,000 Oh gosh, whoa. Now did you get the water pour onto the boat? No, no. 718 00:56:22,360 --> 00:56:32,740 You were far enough away? Yeah, it was actually the sky was like this before the blast. 719 00:56:32,740 --> 00:56:39,300 Yeah, and this is a shockwave. Oh, okay. Oh, that's a shockwave. Oh, well, 720 00:56:42,160 --> 00:56:46,140 it's quite 721 00:56:47,640 --> 00:56:50,860 the thing to live through. Yes, I imagine. 722 00:56:51,380 --> 00:56:59,120 Well, I witnessed a total of 28 atomic bomb blasts. Now, were they super loud two years? 723 00:56:59,340 --> 00:57:01,880 Oh, and you didn't have any air protection? No. 724 00:57:01,880 --> 00:57:07,860 So Paul, that was quite the picture of the atomic bomb thing, and how many tests were 725 00:57:07,860 --> 00:57:10,560 you involved with, were you watching that? 726 00:57:11,560 --> 00:57:12,080 28. 727 00:57:12,500 --> 00:57:12,880 28. 728 00:57:15,700 --> 00:57:19,480 Now, what was your duty on the ship there when we- 729 00:57:19,480 --> 00:57:21,040 I was on the ship only one. 730 00:57:21,220 --> 00:57:21,720 Oh, okay. 731 00:57:22,060 --> 00:57:23,640 The rest of us all land. 732 00:57:23,880 --> 00:57:24,160 Okay. 733 00:57:24,160 --> 00:57:35,060 And so we would prepare for the blast by taking our footlakers and taking them off the deck 734 00:57:35,060 --> 00:57:47,420 and put them on top of our bunks because the level of anavitac was so close to the water level 735 00:57:47,420 --> 00:57:56,780 They were afraid by the blast itself, it would blow the water right over the island. 736 00:57:57,180 --> 00:57:57,720 Oh my goodness. 737 00:57:58,460 --> 00:58:11,180 So we were at a beach, I told, as the top rim of the volcano, so on the ocean side, 738 00:58:11,180 --> 00:58:22,460 The water keep, I kept on eroding under the island and on the lagoon side it started 739 00:58:22,460 --> 00:58:35,700 building up so over centuries and you know the island probably will move over because 740 00:58:35,700 --> 00:58:40,000 it's been washed away on one side and building up the island. 741 00:58:40,000 --> 00:58:43,640 Was that because of the tide chips or because of the atomic bomb? 742 00:58:46,060 --> 00:58:47,740 Okay, yeah, yeah 743 00:58:48,920 --> 00:58:49,520 Wow 744 00:58:50,200 --> 00:58:50,800 so 745 00:58:51,920 --> 00:58:57,880 These these so what were some of your duties as far as repairing engines down there in the Marshall Islands? 746 00:58:58,380 --> 00:59:01,080 Were you doing that too? Oh, yeah, okay 747 00:59:01,080 --> 00:59:04,960 My loyal thing to do. Yeah 748 00:59:10,000 --> 00:59:13,760 Now, what kind of a plane did they drop the bombs out of for these tests? 749 00:59:14,700 --> 00:59:30,190 They had all kinds of aircrafts, they had, I think, I got pictures of them in the aircraft. 750 00:59:31,170 --> 00:59:40,270 I did a slideshow and in the slideshow I showed the different aircrafts that were out there 751 00:59:40,270 --> 00:59:45,670 and the B-52, you have that picture? 752 00:59:46,170 --> 00:59:46,170 Yeah, 753 00:59:49,490 --> 00:59:52,050 I think it's in all the... 754 00:59:52,050 --> 00:59:53,610 Talk about the first couple pictures. 755 00:59:53,610 --> 00:59:59,970 This picture here is the... 756 01:00:01,490 --> 01:00:15,150 Okay. Um, be, uh, be fifty two, and that had ten engines. Um, original. Um, uh, I was just, uh, 757 01:00:18,130 --> 01:00:24,490 thirty six. I'm sorry. Yeah. It was, be, be thirty six. Okay. Ten engines had six, three 758 01:00:24,490 --> 01:00:28,530 six pushery engines and four jets. 759 01:00:29,230 --> 01:00:29,510 Wow. 760 01:00:30,030 --> 01:00:43,250 And every morning, these B-36s and B-52s and other aircraft of that era would be at one 761 01:00:43,250 --> 01:00:47,330 end of the runway, warming up at three o'clock in the morning. 762 01:00:47,530 --> 01:00:48,010 Oh, wow. 763 01:00:48,010 --> 01:00:59,290 And my 10 was at the other end of the runway, the first 10 from the end, and they were 764 01:01:01,650 --> 01:01:11,830 sat warming up at 3.5 in the morning, and they would end up being about 10 to 20 feet 765 01:01:11,830 --> 01:01:22,690 a bugged your tent. Oh my goodness. What a roar. Oh yeah. Yeah. So I was going to say, you know, 766 01:01:24,250 --> 01:01:30,610 open up the tent fire. What about it? Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. But it was an interesting 767 01:01:30,610 --> 01:01:39,970 one of the things that happened. This guy when he landed it and we talked he was on the same 768 01:01:39,970 --> 01:01:50,270 America after I was in. And we got on to the ground and headed for a tenderly. And he says, 769 01:01:51,050 --> 01:02:02,730 I'm going to get out of here. I'm not saying. And so I could like to know. But he didn't 770 01:02:02,730 --> 01:02:09,770 So he grabbed a boat out 771 01:02:12,040 --> 01:02:22,420 of the water, and he started heading towards the east. 772 01:02:24,870 --> 01:02:32,010 So the navy watched him, and he said, oh, he was raising the ramp out of gas. 773 01:02:32,790 --> 01:02:42,310 and then told him back he didn't make it up. Oh gosh. Oh and that's something. Yeah, but 774 01:02:43,510 --> 01:02:48,450 So what are these other pictures? What's that picture down below there that just below the airplane? 775 01:02:52,730 --> 01:03:03,370 Yeah, this is one of the test aircrafts or shots they did. That's a rocket, isn't it? 776 01:03:03,370 --> 01:03:18,350 Yeah, they food up and it was a mini-air explosion, so they fired this off and the testing 777 01:03:18,350 --> 01:03:30,090 was the effects of the re-the-cogs, radioactive plants, and that was what this test was 778 01:03:30,090 --> 01:03:30,390 about. 779 01:03:30,390 --> 01:03:40,330 It's like the rockets on the 4th of July and they send up or this was a little bit bigger than the 4th of July right now. 780 01:03:40,330 --> 01:03:41,130 Yeah, yeah. 781 01:03:41,550 --> 01:03:42,210 All right, that. 782 01:03:44,870 --> 01:03:50,690 But we had no protection from radiation. 783 01:03:56,310 --> 01:04:01,450 I was assigned to a 784 01:04:03,500 --> 01:04:12,960 radio active decontamination group and I think this 785 01:04:15,550 --> 01:04:20,930 picture here is how 786 01:04:20,930 --> 01:04:29,670 I always team contaminated the aircraft that flew through the radioactive clouds and we wore 787 01:04:29,670 --> 01:04:35,510 no protection gear whatsoever to start no longer fatigue your nerves. 788 01:04:37,130 --> 01:04:44,530 And I don't know whether they knew what they were doing or not, but I assumed they did. 789 01:04:44,830 --> 01:04:45,050 Yeah. 790 01:04:47,360 --> 01:04:55,760 So, I have a really, really active detector in that bag over there, and I'd like to talk 791 01:04:55,760 --> 01:04:57,740 about that radio icon. 792 01:04:58,740 --> 01:04:59,020 Okay. 793 01:04:59,180 --> 01:05:00,240 We'll talk about that now. 794 01:05:00,620 --> 01:05:01,020 Yeah. 795 01:05:01,320 --> 01:05:01,680 Okay. 796 01:05:02,780 --> 01:05:12,420 This is a radiate detector that I wore during the session and after each time in class, 797 01:05:13,060 --> 01:05:23,880 we turned in our radiate detectors and they were, it's like an X-ray and it's how many, 798 01:05:23,880 --> 01:05:38,640 how much radiation your body absorbs, and we would take, we'd take it where this 799 01:05:38,640 --> 01:05:47,860 radiated detector in the front, and the bond blast would be back on you. 800 01:05:47,860 --> 01:05:48,240 Yeah. 801 01:05:51,040 --> 01:05:54,540 This detects how much radiation passed through your body. 802 01:05:54,720 --> 01:05:55,400 Oh my goodness. 803 01:05:56,560 --> 01:06:01,300 So, we would turn these in after every test. 804 01:06:01,600 --> 01:06:01,780 Yeah. 805 01:06:04,300 --> 01:06:13,900 The last bomb test, they would already get a sound of the island, so they never asked me to 806 01:06:13,900 --> 01:06:15,020 turn in by radio. 807 01:06:15,100 --> 01:06:15,980 Oh, okay. 808 01:06:16,300 --> 01:06:16,420 Yeah. 809 01:06:16,420 --> 01:06:26,120 So, I don't know where the film is so good inside this reactor, and that's what you were 810 01:06:26,120 --> 01:06:27,220 last 811 01:06:29,650 --> 01:06:29,890 of last year. 812 01:06:29,910 --> 01:06:30,010 Wow. 813 01:06:30,250 --> 01:06:42,310 Usually, when we witnessed it, my blast, we were laying on our stomachs in the sand, and 814 01:06:42,310 --> 01:06:58,790 with your eyes closed and you have started looking directly down at the sand, well when 815 01:06:58,790 --> 01:07:05,770 the bottom blasts went off, I saw the bone structure of my elbow. 816 01:07:06,290 --> 01:07:06,570 Really? 817 01:07:07,450 --> 01:07:07,810 Wow. 818 01:07:09,090 --> 01:07:11,510 It was like looking at an X-ray then. 819 01:07:12,070 --> 01:07:12,110 Yeah. 820 01:07:12,390 --> 01:07:12,730 Yeah. 821 01:07:13,690 --> 01:07:27,670 And so this time I went to Washington, the senator from Illinois said he talked to a guy 822 01:07:27,670 --> 01:07:29,850 and he was making the president say, 823 01:07:32,510 --> 01:07:36,190 saw his bone structure at one of the shots. 824 01:07:36,190 --> 01:07:47,330 And afterwards I went up to the center and I said, I witnessed this thing, and it would 825 01:07:47,330 --> 01:08:00,330 be all of us would be laying on the ground and I were feet toward the planet area. 826 01:08:02,710 --> 01:08:11,290 But I was not too far from the hangar, and one of the blasts was so powerful that it 827 01:08:11,290 --> 01:08:17,170 moved the hangar doors right off the hangar. 828 01:08:17,270 --> 01:08:17,790 Oh my goodness. 829 01:08:18,410 --> 01:08:23,110 Well, you didn't have any year protection though. 830 01:08:23,510 --> 01:08:23,690 No. 831 01:08:26,330 --> 01:08:28,890 They didn't provide you as much. 832 01:08:28,890 --> 01:08:30,850 So, do you have hearing lost in the day? 833 01:08:32,030 --> 01:08:38,810 I had a little bit and I've recovered most of it. 834 01:08:38,810 --> 01:08:39,150 Okay. 835 01:08:41,040 --> 01:08:43,440 The VA gave 836 01:08:45,650 --> 01:08:47,250 me hearing aids. 837 01:08:47,650 --> 01:08:48,410 After 838 01:08:52,340 --> 01:08:56,460 a while it creates another problem with my ears. 839 01:08:56,800 --> 01:08:56,940 Yeah. 840 01:08:56,940 --> 01:08:57,000 Yeah. 841 01:08:57,300 --> 01:09:09,160 There's a wax buildup, so intense, that I started having a severe hearing, so you're 842 01:09:09,160 --> 01:09:14,640 back up into my inner ear and I said, okay, that's enough of that. 843 01:09:16,020 --> 01:09:21,000 So I took it out of myself, no war in the days. 844 01:09:21,080 --> 01:09:21,440 Right. 845 01:09:22,120 --> 01:09:22,240 Okay. 846 01:09:22,240 --> 01:09:27,260 Okay, now you're down to national hours, would this the end of your tour and the Air Force? 847 01:09:27,940 --> 01:09:28,540 Pretty much. 848 01:09:28,900 --> 01:09:29,540 Pretty much. 849 01:09:29,580 --> 01:09:29,860 Okay. 850 01:09:30,340 --> 01:09:30,440 Yeah. 851 01:09:31,560 --> 01:09:36,440 Was there anything else that you'd like to share, people you meant, people that were 852 01:09:36,940 --> 01:09:38,020 mentors to you? 853 01:09:39,640 --> 01:09:46,040 Well, first, my first stage, because I quit high school, 854 01:09:49,090 --> 01:09:52,350 my father died when I was 50. 855 01:09:52,350 --> 01:10:00,250 Yeah, and I couldn't get my life back together. Yeah, that's why I joined the air. Okay, I think you know 856 01:10:02,870 --> 01:10:09,250 When I was at Boston University a professor in his wife took me under there 857 01:10:09,750 --> 01:10:14,130 Yeah, and got me my G.E.D. Oh good 858 01:10:14,130 --> 01:10:20,370 For the world of me. Yeah, I can't remember their name. Oh, wow 859 01:10:20,370 --> 01:10:30,150 I wish I could thank them since then I had accomplished two years of college. 860 01:10:30,290 --> 01:10:30,890 Wonderful. 861 01:10:32,810 --> 01:10:43,330 One of those things happens that you run away from one thing and you run into a couple 862 01:10:43,330 --> 01:10:48,070 of people who think you were something. 863 01:10:48,070 --> 01:10:50,750 Yeah, yeah, right, right. Well, that's important though. Yeah. 864 01:10:57,130 --> 01:10:57,530 Yeah, 865 01:10:59,630 --> 01:11:03,870 yeah, oh, yeah, sounds it. 866 01:11:03,870 --> 01:11:08,930 There was much older than I saw it. Yeah. There are chances of being alive today. Right. Right. 867 01:11:08,930 --> 01:11:09,570 quite small. 868 01:11:11,930 --> 01:11:16,390 Now, are we involved with any veterans groups or? 869 01:11:16,450 --> 01:11:29,250 I was an American Legion, and it became a point that I wasn't attending me, and it was 870 01:11:29,250 --> 01:11:42,350 like originally the really fee to the American Legion was quite reasonable, but then they 871 01:11:42,350 --> 01:11:54,190 kept up and finally I said, I can't afford to join my membership and they couldn't understand 872 01:11:54,190 --> 01:11:54,590 that. 873 01:11:54,590 --> 01:12:04,410 Yeah. Now, your wife was saying that you're signed up for a trip to Washington with the 874 01:12:04,410 --> 01:12:09,130 veterans. They still go down the Washington to visit the monuments. And what do they 875 01:12:09,130 --> 01:12:20,230 They call that group, it's a group of, I can't remember the exact name, but a group that 876 01:12:20,230 --> 01:12:35,330 says Southwest Airlines, you fly, Southwest Airlines down, and they tour the monument, 877 01:12:35,330 --> 01:12:42,270 miss and stuff. But I can't take you away. Yeah. Yeah. 878 01:12:45,310 --> 01:12:50,290 I'm going to take your grandson. You can't. You can't. Oh, you can't. Oh. 879 01:12:50,830 --> 01:12:56,250 Oh, okay. Yeah. Somebody can go over there. I'm signed up. Yeah. Okay. 880 01:12:56,250 --> 01:13:08,110 Okay, so having a situation of three, two bands on the call line, yeah, yeah, right. 881 01:13:08,870 --> 01:13:18,330 And the sign of the daughter of one, yeah, yeah, out of four, yeah, right, how do you 882 01:13:18,330 --> 01:13:18,990 pick one now? 883 01:13:18,990 --> 01:13:20,070 That's too bad, yeah. 884 01:13:21,090 --> 01:13:27,790 Well, I'm sure that it'd be quite a privilege for you to go down there and it was one of 885 01:13:27,790 --> 01:13:32,950 your family members, and hopefully you take some lot of pictures and stuff, and I'm 886 01:13:32,950 --> 01:13:36,870 sure they can understand that you only have to pick one, I think. 887 01:13:36,870 --> 01:13:48,770 And so it would be nice to do that, but in a few days I'm going to be 90 years old. 888 01:13:49,710 --> 01:13:56,790 And so I don't have that much more time to do a thing like that. 889 01:13:56,790 --> 01:13:57,070 Right. 890 01:13:57,890 --> 01:14:09,010 You take that amazing tape and inch, inch, inch, inch, inch, and tape is only 100 inches 891 01:14:09,010 --> 01:14:09,490 line. 892 01:14:09,790 --> 01:14:09,970 Right. 893 01:14:10,930 --> 01:14:11,230 Sorry. 894 01:14:11,610 --> 01:14:13,250 I'm at the other end of that. 895 01:14:13,350 --> 01:14:13,670 Right. 896 01:14:13,910 --> 01:14:14,050 Right. 897 01:14:14,330 --> 01:14:14,430 Yeah. 898 01:14:14,790 --> 01:14:14,870 Yeah. 899 01:14:16,290 --> 01:14:22,690 Well, I want to thank you very much, Paul, for sharing your lengthy air force experience 900 01:14:22,690 --> 01:14:23,110 here. 901 01:14:24,810 --> 01:14:33,450 And thank you, White Betty, for sharing your home together here with us, and being able 902 01:14:33,450 --> 01:14:34,290 to share your experience. 903 01:14:34,310 --> 01:14:35,310 I really appreciate it. 904 01:14:35,650 --> 01:14:42,470 And I thank you for participating in the Veterans History Project, and also the SEPA TV. 905 01:14:43,330 --> 01:14:44,110 Oh, thank you. 906 01:14:44,170 --> 01:14:45,190 Oh, thank you very much. 907 01:14:45,690 --> 01:14:46,210 All right. 908 01:14:46,370 --> 01:14:46,930 God bless you. 909 01:14:47,310 --> 01:14:48,110 Thank you for your service. 910 01:14:48,450 --> 01:14:49,130 Thank you.