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The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Service Reflections of COL Robert DeCubellis, U.S. Air Force (1968-2006)

Service Reflections of COL Robert DeCubellis, U.S. Air Force (1968-2006)

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I had several friends who served in the Air Force, including Dick Berghorn and his K-9 Rommel at Pleiku AB. My uncle Ed served in the Air Corps in England in WW II, and my uncle Art served in the US Navy but didn’t get overseas before VJ Day.
As the Vietnam War began to spool up in the mid-’60s, I knew the draft would be hot on my tail as I was graduating college, so I decided to pick my own destiny versus being drafted. I also came from the baby boomer generation following WW II and knew the value of serving. When my grades slipped in 1966, I got tapped for a pre-induction physical in Minneapolis. It was right out of a scene from Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant,” that’s popular every Thanksgiving….). I actually witnessed the USMC take inductees that day to fill their shortfall in enlistees.

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Service Reflections of SMSGT Ronald Radliff, U.S. Air Force (1964-1991)

Service Reflections of SMSGT Ronald Radliff, U.S. Air Force (1964-1991)

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I grew up as an Air Force brat. Our travels took us to Germany shortly after WW-II, France in the mid-50s, and a number of states here and there. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until I was in college that I actually started and completed two consecutive years in the same school.
The college I attended was a junior college. I was studying to be an electronics technician but didn’t graduate as I hadn’t taken all the required courses. I soon found that there was a recession going on and not a job of any kind to be found and the reality of the draft was a very serious part of every young man’s life. Volunteering for the military became the obvious next step, but which one?
I was hoping to get into a technical career field in the military. The Army and Marines seemed like I would have only two chances of a technical field. Slim and None. This left the Navy and Air Force as the obvious choices. I ruled out the Navy as I had no desire to spend any time at sea, let alone extended periods, so the Air Force was my choice.
At that time, my younger brother was out of high school and going nowhere with prospects that looked even less optimistic. I convinced him to go talk to the Air Force recruiter with me. After all the necessary paperwork, the recruiter told us we’d have to come back to take the AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Test). He scheduled us for the afternoon of November 22, 1963. A historic date indeed. President Kennedy was assassinated that day in Dallas. The recruiters were all gathered around the TV which was playing quite loudly in the next room to where we were taking our tests. The glass partition between the test room and the TV didn’t muffle the sound at all. What a stressful afternoon that was.

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White Buses by Jack DuArte

White Buses by Jack DuArte

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During World War II, Sweden was sandwiched between Finland and its ongoing war with the Soviet Union and Norway, which fell to the Nazis in the earliest days of the war in Europe. Somehow, throughout the war, it managed to maintain its neutrality – but that doesn’t mean the country or its diplomats did nothing during that time.  The Lifeline in the Final Days of WWII A Swedish noble, Count Folke Bernadotte, was among the most active. He managed to negotiate a prisoner exchange, getting...

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Service Reflections of LTC Guy Edmondson, U.S. Army (1982-2010)

Service Reflections of LTC Guy Edmondson, U.S. Army (1982-2010)

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As a young man, I had no father figure in my life. My father passed away at the early age of 37 (I was 7 at the time). As I was entering my teenage years, my mother dated a retired Air Force Colonel who got me thinking about joining the military. I joined the ROTC Corps in high school and was mentored by a World War II veteran and a Viet Nam veteran, both retired Master Sergeants.
During my senior year in high school, my mother married the man who I consider to be my father. He pushed for me to continue my education in college. With his help, I got through college in only four and a half years. William “Chile” Childers assisted in putting my gold bars on and received my first salute. In exchange, he got a 1932 silver dollar from me.
In essence, it was not one person that influenced my decision to enter the service, It was a host of people. My high school instructors, a retired Air Force Colonel (Robert Hull) and my dad. All were equally responsible for my career.

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Capt Richard Gerry, U.S. Air Force (1964-1970)

Capt Richard Gerry, U.S. Air Force (1964-1970)

Has Together We Served helped you find and reconnect with someone you served with? If so, please describe how this happened and what this meant to you. Please add any specific memories of this person and a photo if available.:

This is my response to my friend Robert Pryor’s post.

Friday, June 20th, 1969, is a day I’ll never forget! In two weeks, I would be on that Freedom Bird heading home.

I was Air Force Captain Dick Gerry, the Air Liaison Officer (ALO) and Forward Air Controller (FAC) at Song Be, Phuoc Long Province, assigned to MACV Advisory Team 67. I flew the O-1 Bird Dog, and my call sign was Rod 11. Approaching the end of my tour, I had more than five hundred combat missions under my belt.

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Service Reflections of SSGT Robert Floyd Jones, U.S. Air Force (1966-1976)

Service Reflections of SSGT Robert Floyd Jones, U.S. Air Force (1966-1976)

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After one semester in our local “community college” (Edison Junior College), my grades were below the minimum to avoid the draft. Shortly after that, I received a draft notice. Having had relatives in the military, I was resigned to the fact I would have to serve, and I wanted to select a “specialty” that would help me after I had served my country. There was nothing in the Army I wanted to pursue, and I visited my Air Force Recruiter for his input.

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Service Reflections of Capt Rockford Willett, U.S. Air Force (1980-1992)

Service Reflections of Capt Rockford Willett, U.S. Air Force (1980-1992)

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My oldest brother served in the Army from 1964 – 1967 and survived a tour in Vietnam as a combat medic. I figured if he could do that and come back alive, I could do better in the US Air Force. I was married for about 18 months, quit a full-time job to “go back to school,” hated going back to school, and got a job as a “courtesy clerk” at Kroger. Although I had a lot of experience in stage lighting, no jobs were panning out for me in that area. Then I remembered my brother’s experience with the Army and decided to visit an Air Force recruiter and see what it was all about. I still remember the recruiter – TSGT Steiger.

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Service Reflections of SMSgt John Ridlehoover, U.S. Air Force (1957-1983)

Service Reflections of SMSgt John Ridlehoover, U.S. Air Force (1957-1983)

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When I graduated from high school, I knew I did not want to go to work at the main source of employment in my then, hometown. Namely one of the 5 or more “Cotton Mills” that employed a large percent of the population of the town. I had an uncle who had gone to West Point for a period of time, did not graduate, but did go into the Army as a 2nd Lt. He would come home on leave in a nice car from places like Texas and other locations and I said to myself “The military will be my ticket out of here”.
Plus the draft was still in effect. I did not think I wanted to get drafted into the army, so I enlisted in the Air Force. When I enlisted I did not necessarily do so with the intention of making a career of it but after Tech School, I was sent to Scotland where I met my future wife. After my tour there, I had five years invested so I thought why not just stay for the long haul!

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Service Reflections of COL Earl Honeycutt, U.S. Air Force (1966-1998)

Service Reflections of COL Earl Honeycutt, U.S. Air Force (1966-1998)

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There are a variety of reasons for me joining the US Air Force. When I graduated from high school in May 1965, my best friend Jimmy Cooper joined the AF the next day and tried to convince me to go with him to Lackland. Jimmy may have convinced me had we had a plan, but he showed up one afternoon and said he was leaving on Friday and said–“Let’s go in together!”
Guess it was a little too quick and too much of a surprise for me. After working for six months and buying a Corvette, I received a letter from my local draft board instructing me to report for a pre-induction physical.
In 1966 about 50,000 men were being drafted each month! Having scored well on the AF test taken in high school, I decided to enlist and receive guaranteed training in electronics which was a new frontier at the time as far as I was concerned.

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Service Reflections of Sgt James Holzier, U.S. Marine Corps (1965-1969)

Service Reflections of Sgt James Holzier, U.S. Marine Corps (1965-1969)

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I was influenced by the girl that I was dating, her father was a full-bird Colonel in the Army by the name of Col. Austin Yerks. He felt that with Vietnam, it was a patriotic thing for me to do. I was planning to go into the Air Force with a buddy of mine, but at the truly last minute, I got off the bus and went to a Marine Corps recruiter. Joined on my birthday, August 18th, and never missed not joining the Air Force except for the extra pay that they received for uncomfortable living conditions in Vietnam and their unlimited supply of food.

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Service Reflections of SSGT Michael Bridge, U.S. Air Force (1986-1995)

Service Reflections of SSGT Michael Bridge, U.S. Air Force (1986-1995)

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Growing up I had always wanted to join the Navy. I love ships and pretty much had my heart set on the Navy after High School. During High School, I ended up getting involved in some things that started me down a path that would have ended poorly for me if I continued on it. I knew that I needed to get away from the things I was involved in and get my act together.
During my senior year, I went down to the recruiting office and spoke with the Navy recruiter. He ended up really being just a total jerk who only wanted to meet his quota and didn’t offer me anything at all. I was very frustrated with this and felt that if he represented the Navy, I didn’t want anything to do with it. I spoke with my father about it and he recommended that I speak with the Air Force recruiter.

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