The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Service Reflections of Sgt Max Reynolds, U.S. Air Force (1975-1981)

Service Reflections of Sgt Max Reynolds, U.S. Air Force (1975-1981)

I graduated from high school on May 23, 1975, and I had originally planned to attend Vincennes University to become a Conservation Officer. My dream was to be a police officer, but I could not afford the tuition at the time. In June 1975, SSgt Terry Johnson, USAF Recruiter, called from his office in Logansport and asked me to come over and talk with him. He provided me with the option to join the USAF as a Security Police officer, with the guarantee that after Basic Training, if no SP positions were available, I could cross-train to another field or process out with an Honorable Discharge. I figured Uncle Sam would always need cops, so I headed to the AFEES at 141 S. Meridian in Indianapolis on July 10, 1975, for my physical and took an oath to serve, protect, and defend the United States as a member of the USAF Reserve. I went home to finish my work schedule and returned to Indianapolis on October 2, 1975, where I went on active duty in the USAF.

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

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

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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