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Service Reflections of MST2 Edmund Reardon, U.S. Coast Guard (1977-1981)

Service Reflections of MST2 Edmund Reardon, U.S. Coast Guard (1977-1981)

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In the 1970s, while trying to complete my undergraduate degree at Penn State Univ., I ended up on the Dean’s “other” list. With my academic career teetering on failure, I became interested in other options for my future.

The original GI Bill was in place but would soon be changed to the newer version where matching funds were promised. I delayed-enlisted before the deadline at the Pittsburgh, PA recruiting office, which offered billets for either Cape May, NJ, or Alameda, CA. Interested in further travel, I opted for CA.

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Service Reflections of SSG John Cihak, U.S. Army (1969-1989)

Service Reflections of SSG John Cihak, U.S. Army (1969-1989)

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Truth be told, I went to get away from home “a Payton Place” My parents were not the best, and I was the oldest; I had to get up, cook breakfast every day, go to school, then to work and home to cook dinner, wash dishes and help my brother and sisters with their homework, then I could do mine. This was five days a week, and on weekends I did my chores and went to work, still doing the cooking and laundry. I also paid my parents to rent to live in the garage with an old car that did not rum, sleeping on two-foot lockers. There was physical abuse and sexual abuse in this family.

My BIO father was a drunk in the USAF; his law was his leather belt using either end and a 2×4. When my parents separated, I had to stay with him and two sisters; my brother and one sister went with my mother. My father once threw me out the 2nd story window for talking to my mother, telling her how we were doing (remember, we were not allowed friends as we thought this was normal). On top of all this, my mother was sleeping around with my uncle (my father’s brother), so I wanted to get away.

I had an uncle John who had been in the Marines during WWII, and so I went to get in; they turned me down, not believing my age, and those of us who went to Nam knew the Army took anyone who had teeth, two eyes, two ears, four limbs with all five on each, and anyone who could shout, so my life began well by Payton Place and hello Vietnam I volunteered for the draft early with my friend Don.

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Service Reflections of A2C Charles Jones, U.S. Air Force (1955-1959)

Service Reflections of A2C Charles Jones, U.S. Air Force (1955-1959)

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In July 1955, the day after my 17th birthday, a long-time friend, Mac Viars, and I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, and before the day was over, we were on a train headed for Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas.

Our original plan was to enlist in the Navy, but the Navy recruiter told us we couldn’t go until later. The Air Force recruiter said we could leave “today,” so that was decided. We needed a parent’s signature on an Air Force form when we enlisted. At that time, my mother was living in Baxter Springs, Kansas. So, Mac’s mother signed my mother’s name on my form.

After completing a physical exam, swearing in, and some paperwork, we boarded a train at Union Station in St. Louis wearing jeans, white T-shirts, “throw-away” shoes, and a few packs of cigarettes. We counted on getting all new clothes when we got there, and that did come true.

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Service Reflections of Capt Bill Darrow, U.S. Marine Corps (1963-1983)

Service Reflections of Capt Bill Darrow, U.S. Marine Corps (1963-1983)

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Both my parents were in the Navy during WWII. My Mother was one of the first WAVES, and my Dad was a POW at Bataan and an officer in the Navy. I have three brothers who were all in the Navy during the Korean War. During my grade school years, I attended Peekskill Military Academy in NY and was further schooled at home with Calvert School. I graduated from High School in Belvidere, NJ.
At 17, I briefly attended a Business School in Pennsylvania but soon got bored. Then, I decided to join the Navy and carry on the family tradition. There was a long narrow hallway in the post office where the recruiters were located, with the Navy recruiter on my right and the Marine Corps recruiter on my left. I stood in the hall between the two offices. Turning to my right to go into the Navy recruiting office, I noticed that the Navy Chief was wearing a soiled uniform. Next to him was a coffee pot that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since the Spanish American War. He was overweight and didn’t seem to be too interested in the young man beginning to enter his office. Just before I walked into that somewhat messy office, I heard someone with a deep, commanding voice speak to someone else he called Corporal. I turned and saw the most chiseled-faced, lean man with a very short neat haircut and wearing a shirt with creases in it that could cut your finger on. I couldn’t help but stare at the very clean office with posters of fighting men, jets, carved Marine Corps logos, and an NCO sword hung neatly on the wall. Another man with fewer stripes on his shirt walked across the office

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Service Reflections of SSgt Charles Stringer, U.S. Air Force (1966-1972)

Service Reflections of SSgt Charles Stringer, U.S. Air Force (1966-1972)

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I was not able to attend college immediately after graduating from high school and began working as a carpenter for local construction companies. Many of my friends were in similar situations and were considering the military or had already joined. The more I thought about it, the more sensible it became. My lifelong love of airplanes and my private pilot training gravitated me toward the Air Force.

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Service Reflections of GMM1 Tom Bateman, U.S. Navy (1976-1989)

Service Reflections of GMM1 Tom Bateman, U.S. Navy (1976-1989)

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I had always wanted to join the military. I was raised on WWII movies, built military models, listened to stories from my uncles and just loved the thought of it. As a child I had thought I would join the Army and I would be a Tanker. I had a pair of army fatigue coveralls that I wore all the time. My Mother said I would only take them off to be washed. Over my teenage years, my uncle Don (EM1 WWII SeaBee) told me about his service in the Navy. That, his love of our country and it’s veterans along with his Civic Pride is what confirmed my choice in military service and steered me from the Army to the Navy.

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Service Reflections of CWO3 Joseph Loiseau, U.S. Coast Guard (1969-1990)

Service Reflections of CWO3 Joseph Loiseau, U.S. Coast Guard (1969-1990)

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In 1968-69, I was in my senior year of high school when the Vietnam War was still raging. I knew the likelihood of being drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam was pretty good. I neither wanted to go into the Army nor to Vietnam. My best option was to check out the U.S. Coast Guard. That’s when I discovered there was a six-month waiting list for the Coast Guard. I went down to the Coast Guard recruiting station in January 1969, signed the enlistment papers and continued my high school education.

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Service Reflections of CMSgt Jerry Ball, U.S. Air Force (1961-1991)

Service Reflections of CMSgt Jerry Ball, U.S. Air Force (1961-1991)

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I was born and raised in Myra, West Virginia. It was known for being the hometown of Brig. General Chuck Yeager. Yeager was a role model and hero to many in our local community. I joined the Chuck Yeager Civil Air Patrol Flight from 1957-1958 and was exposed to the drill and flight time in an L-17 aircraft. I had the opportunity to attend the CAP Summer Camp in 1957 at Clinton County AFB, Ohio, and experienced a flight in a C-119 Flying Boxcar. I left the summer camp with several hours of exposure to the Air Force Crash Fire Rescue Program, which steered me towards wanting to pursue crash-fire rescue. I took the Air Force entrance exam before graduating from high school. At that time, I was also working for $5 a day as a helper at an International Harvest Dealership, mostly attending to engine rebuilds and preparing vehicles for paint.

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