STORY BEHIND THE PLAQUE
MSgt Elliott Wayne Carmack, U.S. Air Force (1961-2003)

My decision to join the Air Force was influenced by the following:

FAMILY: My maternal uncle enlisted in the Army at Camp Blanding, Florida, in 1942, shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack. He was assigned to the Army Air Corps. He was stationed at Keesler Army Airfield (Keesler Field), Mississippi, until his honorable discharge as a Sergeant the following year due to a service-connected injury sustained while working on military aircraft. My father was too old for military service, but worked in federal civil service at military bases during and following World War II, initially at Drew Field in Tampa, Florida during the war, and at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia after the war, a base I visited as a child.

NEIGHBORS: I spent most of my childhood at and near Tampa, Florida, home of MacDill Air Force Base. Two of my closest neighborhood families had sons, much older than me, who joined the Air Force, both of whom had Air Force careers. One retired from active duty as a Master Sergeant and returned to Florida with his family. His parents resided directly across the street from my parental home, and I used to mow their lawn. The other was discharged from active duty as a Staff Sergeant, went to college to get his degree, and then joined the Air Force Reserve as a commissioned officer. (He and I later visited MacDill AFB together shortly after I joined the Air Force.) His parents resided just up the road, and I used to mow their lawn and do other yard work as a teenager.

HIGH SCHOOL: Every year at my high school in Brandon, Florida, an Air Force recruiter would visit and conduct a seminar with senior boys who volunteered to participate (I did). This included vocational aptitude testing with individual scores shared with the participants. I was still age 17 when I graduated in June 1961, and I wanted to enlist in the military; parental consent was required due to my age, but although my father agreed, my mother did not. I turned 18 in late September and decided then to visit all the service branch recruiters in my city. The Air Force recruiter had my vocational aptitude test scores and advised me that I would be eligible to attend electronics tech school. He then asked me what high school courses I had completed. While doing so, I mentioned a high school band (music), at which point the recruiter then encouraged me to consider auditioning for an Air Force Band, two of which were located in Florida. He advised me that if I passed the audition, I would be stationed in my home state immediately after completing Basic Military Training. I passed the audition, enlisted, completed Basic, and was assigned to McCoy AFB, Florida, where I had previously auditioned.

Lackland AFB, TX (October 1961 – December 1961) – Basic Training (Squadron 3724, Flight 1634).

McCoy AFB, FL (January 1962 – December 1962) – 538th Air Force Band.

TDY: Homestead AFB, FL; MacDill AFB, FL; Orlando AFB, FL; Patrick AFB, FL; Hunter AFB, GA.

Ellsworth AFB, SD (January 1963 – July 1966) – 695th Air Force Band.

TDY: Grand Forks AFB, ND; Minot AFB, ND; Malmstrom AFB, MT; Francis E. Warren AFB, WY; Offutt AFB, NE; Walker AFB, NM; March AFB, CA; Oxnard AFB, CA; Vandenberg AFB, CA; K. I. Sawyer AFB, MI; French Consulate, Beverly Hills, CA; Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Robins AFB, GA: Air Force Reserve (July 1966 – October 1967) – Inactive Reserve status, followed by a long break in service.

Manchester Armory, NH Army National Guard (May 1985 – November 1991) – Troop Command/S-4 for 6 months, then 39th Army Band.

TDY: Ft. Devens, MA; Camp Drum, NY; NAB Little Creek, VA (US Army ElUSent School of Music); St. Croix, US Virgin USlands.

Otis ANGB, MA (December 1991 – September 2003) – 567th Air Force Band.

TDY (active duty) McGhee Tyson ANGB, TN (1994) – USAF NCO Academy at I.G. Brown Air National Guard Training and Education Center (6 weeks; graduated).

My initial enlistment was for 6 years, 4 years of which were to be served on active duty, with the remaining two years scheduled for Inactive Air Force Reserve status. I was recently married, had been promoted to Staff Sergeant (E-5), and was considering reenlistment for another 4 years of active duty conditioned upon an overseas assignment. I volunteered for two European locations and extended my active duty by 9 months. No transfer occurred; the GI Bill was passed into law. I decided to end my military career, return to my home of record (Tampa, Florida), and attend the University of South Florida (where I graduated in December 1969).

I later enlisted in the NH Army National Guard as a Sergeant (E-5), where I served from 1985 to 1991. I then transferred to the MA Air National Guard as a Staff Sergeant (E-5), where I remained from 1991 to 2003 until my retirement as a Master Sergeant (E-7) at age 60.

Noteworthy was that I enlisted and was sworn into the Air National Guard on December 7, 1991 – the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. Also, throughout my military career of 24+ years, I never reenlisted; after initial enlistments (Air Force, Army NG, Air NG), I simply extended my enlistments (less paperwork for personnel, I suspect).

In September 1985, Hurricane Hugo, a Category 5 hurricane, hit landfall in the US Virgin Islands, causing major damage. Shortly thereafter, two Army National Guard Bands were sent TDY to the islands as part of a humanitarian effort. I was with the 39th Army Band from New Hampshire (the other unit was from Colorado). St. Croix, as I saw it, looked like a combat zone, with most infrastructure destroyed. Buildings and cars were flattened, and power and communication lines were downed. My unit was housed in a still-standing, small hotel on St. Croix. We were advised that there were not enough rooms to house all of us as there was only one bed per room.

The VI Army National Guard brought us some sleeping bags, and we were then housed two per room, one soldier with a bed and the other with a sleeping bag on the floor. The SFC (E-7) with whom I shared a room was kind enough to swap the bed with me on alternate nights. I saw a lot of poverty on the island, some of which surely preceded the hurricane. The local American Legion provided a barbecue outing for us soldiers on the island. I vividly recall a small woman who approached me and asked me to get her a hotdog for her child, although no child accompanied her. I initially responded by pointing her toward where the food was being prepared, and she then advised me that the food was only for those of us in military uniform. I quickly got her a hotdog as requested. As she walked away into the distance, I saw her hand the hotdog to a small child. To this day, I regret that I lacked the foresight to get her two hotdogs!

During the Cold War, the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, occurred from October 16-28, 1962, while I was stationed at McCoy AFB, FL. McCoy was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) Base with B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers, aircraft that had to be evacuated from McCoy to make room for fighter aircraft, which were then flown in from various Tactical Air Command (TAC) and Air Defense Command (ADC) bases, along with their ground crews. US Army ground troops were bivouacked in tents at McCoy during the crisis, which added to the military presence.

This scenario was replicated at other Air Force bases throughout Florida. Fighter aircraft sorties toward Cuba and the US naval blockade were being flown around the clock. The functions of my unit (538th Air Force Band) were suspended, and many of our airmen were reassigned to other units. As an A2C (E-3), I was assigned to the BOQ, where fighter pilots were housed. I was tasked with awakening fighter pilots at various intervals in preparation for many of these sorties. Troops at McCoy during this crisis, whether married or single, were confined to base; there were no passes. This confrontation is widely considered to have been the closest the Cold War came to escalating into full-scale nuclear war. I had just reached my 19th birthday a few weeks before the crisis began.

As a Florida native and still a teenager, I much preferred my initial active duty assignment at McCoy AFB, FL, as a member of the 538th Air Force Band. I was only 90 miles away from my family home. I spent many weekends back and forth. My subsequent, much longer, and least favorite duty assignment was at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, where long, severe winters were commonplace.

My favorite National Guard assignment was at Otis ANGB, MA, as a member of the 567th Air Force Band. I commuted on weekends from my home in New Hampshire at the time. I still maintain contact with some of the airmen with whom I served, although mostly on Facebook.

At my current age (80), I reflect upon all three: the Air Force, Army National Guard, and Air National Guard. I mostly reflect upon the good times and experiences, the travel, and the airmen and soldiers with whom I served during my 24+ years.

I was barely 18 years old when my military career began in the Air Force. I left active duty at age 22 and was a civilian for the next 19 years. My biggest achievement was my ability and decision to resume my military career at age 41 and retire at age 60 – as an Air Force Master Sergeant with 24+ years total service, including my Army National Guard years. I am proud to have worn the uniforms of the United States Army and Air Force. Some milestones along the way included graduation from the following NCO schools: Primary Leadership Development Course (Army – Honor Graduate), Advanced NCO Course (Army), and NCO Academy (Air Force).

I would probably include two certificates:

Cold War Certificate signed by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. This one reminded me of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which occurred while I was on active duty at McCoy AFB, FL.

Viet Nam War Certificate signed by State of Maine Governor Janet Mills, which was awarded to Maine residents who served on active duty (including non-combat) during that time period.

There are too many to list, and too many years have passed to remember some names and events (I am 80 years old as I write this). I do not presently wish to single out a single individual or a few while overlooking others.

Two individuals stand out from my active duty years: Gerald (Jerry) Tucker from Orange Park (near Jacksonville), FL, and Richard (Dick or Mac) McConnell from Cedar City, UT. We were all young airmen stationed together with the 538th Air Force Band at McCoy AFB, FL. We had a lot in common; we all played clarinet and saxophone and were about the same age. We established a close friendship and spent much of our off-duty time together.

Since my family home in Tampa, FL, was only 90 miles away, one or the other would sometimes accompany me on weekend passes to Tampa, where we would occasionally double-date younger girls with whom I grew up. I also spent a weekend as Jerry’s and his family’s guest in Orange Park.

Our unit was deactivated at the end of the year that I was stationed at McCoy AFB, at which time Jerry was transferred to Torrejon Air Base, Spain, while Dick and I were transferred to Ellsworth AFB, SD. I maintained contact with Jerry via postal mail (no PCs, internet, or email back then). Later, Dick and I were introduced to and dated two ladies who worked at the Ellsworth AFB elementary school; they also shared an apartment in nearby Rapid City, SD. Dick and I were also roommates (on-base) at the time, so roommates dated roommates, whom they eventually married. Dick was my Best Man, and I was his. Jerry reenlisted, which extended his tour in Spain. Upon discharge, he returned to Orange Park while I was residing in Clearwater. We got together a few times before I learned that he was involved in a severe motor vehicle collision; while driving his car, he swerved to avoid hitting an animal in the road and then collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle. Jerry was in a coma, from which he failed to recover. He was transferred from the hospital to a nursing home. I lost a true friend then and only recently learned that Dick passed away a few years ago.

Robert (Bob) Hooker, Army veteran and Air National Guard retiree: He and I both served in the 39th Army Band, although during different time periods. We actually met years later when we served together in the 567th Air Force Band, Massachusetts Air National Guard. Bob and I have had ongoing contact since our respective military retirements. He served as Best Man at my wedding to my wife, Julie. Although I have been able to maintain contact with some of my other National Guard (both Army and Air) friends, I would like to establish contact with those friends from my active duty Air Force years (1961-1966), although some are deceased.

During my Air Force active duty in the 1960s, my unit flew from our home station at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, for a short TDY tour. We marched in a parade in Boise, Idaho, having traveled from Mountain Home AFB to Boise via military bus. At the conclusion of the parade, our commanding officer advised that any of us who wished to remain in Boise for the rest of the day could do so.

Still, we needed to report back to Mountain Home AFB in time for our plane’s scheduled departure back to Ellsworth AFB the next day. Several of us remained in Boise, but we dispersed into smaller groups. We went to several bars (the drinking age was 20 for beer), and most of us had too much to drink. We broke into groups of two that evening, and two of us decided to head back to Mountain Home – a distance of over 50 miles, and we were all on foot! The only way back was to walk and hitchhike (poor planning, for sure). My buddy, Carl Sheppard, and I walked and walked for hours, but there were few cars, and our hitchhiking attempts were futile. As the night hours passed, we were so inebriated that we feared we would never make it back to Mountain Home in time for our scheduled flight. We foolishly and unrealistically started talking about going AWOL and heading north to Canada! All we could see on either side of the highway was what appeared to be tumbleweeds.

Finally, one more car passed us, slowed down, sped up, and finally stopped. We ran toward the car; the driver was an airman heading back to Mountain Home AFB. His two passengers were from our unit, who jokingly (or seriously) had told the driver not to pick us up. We all made it back to the base, had a brief night’s sleep, and boarded our aircraft with a hangover. Never again!

After completing my active duty Air Force enlistment, I attended and graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa with a BA in Sociology. I then began a long criminal justice career, including juvenile and adult probation, working for courts and state agencies in Florida, Connecticut (briefly), and New Hampshire.

My career also included child protective services (Florida) and adult protective services (New Hampshire). I am now retired from the State of Florida, the State of New Hampshire, and the US Air FUS and reside in the State of Maine.

I belong to American Legion Post 56 in York, Maine.

Examples of my military influence include the attainment of self-discipline, work ethic, camaraderie, and respect for others of differing backgrounds and worldviews. With the assistance of the GI Bill, I was able to attend and graduate from college and purchase my own home. I now benefit from a military pension, especially from Tricare health coverage for my family and myself. I miss the close friendships, some of whom have become friends for life.

Take advantage of the many educational opportunities. Consider a military career. If you have served on active duty but do not wish to spend 20 years doing so, consider joining a military Reserve or National Guard unit. You will be glad you did. You could earn the benefits of the GI Bill (education and home purchase), Tricare (healthcare for family and self), and a retirement pension.

The memories were already there. However, my recent discovery of Together We Served has helped me document my memories and put them into perspective. To be able to share these memories with others in this forum is great.