Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes
In a world where storytelling has been our link to the past since the days of cave drawings, there exists a timeless tradition. It's the art of passing down knowledge, and for Military Veterans, it's a crucial piece of their legacy. Join us on the Veterans Archives Podcast, where we dive deep into the heartwarming and awe-inspiring stories of those who served, no matter when or where.
Here, Veterans get the chance to be the authors of their own narratives. Through guided interviews in a relaxed and safe environment, they paint their experiences with their own words and unique voices. The result? A memory card in a presentation box, a precious gift they can share however they please.
But that's not all. These stories find a secure home in our archive, a treasure chest of experiences for future generations to explore. The best part? It's all a gift to the Veteran – our way of saying thank you for their service.
Tune in to the Veterans Archives Podcast, where history, heroism, and heartwarming tales come to life.
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Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes
A Veteran's Odyssey: Alan Hatfield's Life from Perry to Military Service
What if you could hear firsthand what it was like to experience the Cold War from the front lines? Join us as Alan Hatfield, a dedicated veteran, recounts his incredible journey from his childhood in Perry, Michigan to his military service overseas. Alan paints a vivid picture of his formative years filled with family camping trips, high school activities, and lifelong friendships. He shares how his early interests in woodworking and auto mechanics set the stage for his future career paths and the strong bonds he formed with his siblings.
Alan takes us deep into the heart of his military experiences, beginning with the rigors of boot camp and Advanced Individual Training in Texas. He offers a gripping narrative of his time stationed in Germany, highlighting moments of Cold War tension such as witnessing a Russian bomber escorted by American fighters. His stories of camaraderie, discipline, and resilience bring to life the day-to-day realities of serving during such a pivotal period in history. Alan's recollections of strategic exercises and the pride of achieving the 'golden barrel' showcase the dedication and teamwork that defined his military career.
Transitioning to life after active duty, Alan reflects on his long-standing service with the National Guard, his career at the postal service, and his unwavering commitment to community and veterans' organizations. As an ambassador for Operation Injured Soldier, Alan continues to serve and inspire by promoting activities and events that support fellow veterans. His message is clear: staying active, engaged, and dedicated to community service is vital. Tune in to hear Alan's powerful testimony and learn how he balances professional responsibilities with personal fulfillment, always with the support and love of his family.
Today is Monday, september 23rd 2024. We're talking with Alan Hatfield, who served in the United States Army. Morning, alan, good morning. Well, we're glad to have you here and we're going to start out really simple. I'm just going to ask you when and where were you born?
Speaker 2:I was born in Owasso Memorial Hospital in Owasso, michigan, february 3rd 1957.
Speaker 1:All right, so you are from the Owasso area, then Perry area.
Speaker 2:I grew up in Perry.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, all right, so talk to me a little bit about your childhood. What was it like to grow up? Allen Hatfield in Perry Michigan.
Speaker 2:I was middle class. I think my mom and dad would have been middle class. They both had jobs. My dad worked at a John Bean plant in Lansing for over 30 years. He, my dad, worked at a John Bean plant in Lansing for over 30 years. He worked on fire trucks and cherry pickers, tree shakers, and then my mom worked for MEA School Teachers Insurance until they both retired out.
Speaker 1:Okay, do you have any siblings?
Speaker 2:I have a younger brother His name is Paul and then my oldest. I have an older brother, kenny. He's four. He's four years younger, older than me. Then I had a sister, that was uh.
Speaker 1:She was killed in a car accident when she's 19 years old oh, okay, yeah, all right, let's talk a little bit about your family. When you think about your mom, what's like one of your favorite memories of your mom.
Speaker 2:She always made sure that me and my brother had something to eat. You get down to the table, you got to eat what's on your plate, Uh-huh. And then she always had good meals and my mom and dad had great ideas for cooking making homemade donuts.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:And my mom liked to cook that fried Spam.
Speaker 1:Oh, really, really. Yeah, I got to be honest I like Spam.
Speaker 2:I don't know if that's a popular thing to say yeah, it is, it's fine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really good. It's really good.
Speaker 2:She worked and me and my brother went to school. We walked to school every day and walked back and we lived right in town, so we were always home before they got home. Oh, okay, yeah, All right, kind of the original latchkey kids right, and then we did a lot of camping with travel trailer clubs. Uh-huh, we were in two different travel trailer clubs. We'd go all over the state of Michigan during the summer and then we'd have one national camp out a year at a different state or even in Canada.
Speaker 2:And the whole family would go, me and my mom and dad and my brother would go. And my sister when she was growing. She would go with us too, before she got into high school and started getting a job and everything before she was killed.
Speaker 1:Okay, what about your dad? What's some of your favorite memories about him?
Speaker 2:Going fishing, A lot of going fishing. Every time we went to a campground we always had our fishing poles and me and my brother would always go down to the lake and go fishing with them and sit by the campfires.
Speaker 1:That's incredible, oh yeah. That's great that you have those memories. And then what about your brothers and your sister? What are some of the things that you did as kids and some of the things you remember that were great and some of the things you remember that weren't so great? Oh.
Speaker 2:No, I don't remember. We did some of the things. My brother was a lot older so when he got out of the house he was just gone. He quit school and did homeschool until he went to Michigan State to get his high school diploma. Diploma he had to go there, but uh, back in the back in the day okay and then, uh, there wasn't a whole lot of him, but my sister, she always went camping with us until she got into high school and then, sorry, that was me and my brother okay and then that's me.
Speaker 2:My brother was always together with my mom and dad. Yeah, until we both got of age and my mom and dad let up going camping, they still went camping A lot of us. We had a job, I had a job. My brother always went with them camping when I got in a job, before I got into the military. So, he took over my job at Elias Brothers at Frandor.
Speaker 1:Oh, I remember that store, I remember that place.
Speaker 2:He took over my job when I went into the military for busboy dishwasher.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, so I'm assuming you went to school then there in Perry.
Speaker 2:I graduated in Perry All right, Class of 75. What was school like for you? It was a lot of fun. When I got up more in the 10th grade, I remember small grades from elementary school, 6th grade and girlfriend and girlfriend.
Speaker 1:All the important things right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, then got up in the 10th grade and was more involved with FFA for the whole. All the way through 12th grade was all involved with the future farmers.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So a lot of fun and woodworking. I did leather making in high school, auto mechanics took a course there, and mostly baseball and flag football.
Speaker 1:What was your favorite part about high school?
Speaker 2:Being with my friends. Yeah. Doing things with them after school. Then we'd go running around town or, if they had cars, we'd pile the cars and go do whatever. Oh, that's incredible.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, and do you still stay in contact with many of those friends?
Speaker 2:Most still. There's one of my best friends. He'd known me and my brother since he was four years old. He'd come down to our house, walk down the street. He was four years old. He'd come down our house, walk down the street, ask his mom if he could go down our house and go play with us and he'd come down our house. And he lives in uh, wesley chapel in florida by zephyr hills and, uh, we're very much in contact with him and we've stayed at their house before and now we have a travel trailer we park right next door and hook up and hook up to and we spend time at least. Uh, we've been every other year, but there's times every year the last two years, one after another to go down to florida and we always make a stop there for about 11 days and then I got my, my son and girlfriend and three grandchildren in pensacola, on the other side of state, so we go camping there in the front yard, oh, okay, yeah, still camping.
Speaker 1:Then, oh yeah, we're still camping. Sounds like that's in your.
Speaker 2:Even out in the backyard we camp.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh, yeah Well, sometimes you got to do what you got to do. Oh yeah, so you get through school, you graduate from high school, yep, and then what happens?
Speaker 2:And then I went into the military. After six months I had a six-month delayed entry into high school.
Speaker 1:What made you?
Speaker 2:decide to join the military. I think somebody had said something to me why don't I check into the services? Or we had a. I think somebody might have came to the school and told us about it. So when I went to Owasso I seen a video for each other, a weapons system. I wanted to be on, I said I want to be a crew member, and I was. Eight and a half years, that's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1:That doesn't happen to everyone.
Speaker 2:I'm at MOS for eight and a half years.
Speaker 1:Okay, and why the Army? Was it just the video that you saw, or is there a reason?
Speaker 2:Well, the Navy don't swim.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:The Marines. I tried, but the math test was I only went through general math at school, so that was all I passed. I said that was good enough to pass to get my credits for high school and I went into the Army. Okay.
Speaker 1:All right, and so you were on delayed entry.
Speaker 2:So you had that six months to kind of goof around From June to December to get rid of my pass my job over to my brother and the car that my dad had bought me to get transportation and he took over that when I left for the military.
Speaker 1:Okay. Did you find it difficult to stay out of trouble in those six months? Because I know that I got in a little bit of trouble in my delayed entry.
Speaker 2:We always like to party and drink, and drink, drink out of sight.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:We used to play cards, or we used to get in our cars and run up and down the streets of Lansing yeah, one-way streets. Yeah, playing chicken with the lights.
Speaker 1:You ever cruise down Washington Avenue. Was that still a thing in that town?
Speaker 2:More of Saginaw and Oakland that I remember, okay, but we knew where the streets were and where they went and everything we could find our way around Lansing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think that that was a.
Speaker 2:Over on campus. We go over campus and, of course, being guys, always look to the girls.
Speaker 1:Check out the girls right, right back then.
Speaker 3:Well, this is perfect time right, because they were just getting back to school.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah no, that's yeah, that's good. So tell me a little bit, you, you, uh, you went to where'd you go to? Basic training? At fort knox kentucky okay, tell me what that was like when you arrived in. Uh, you got off that bus into basic training.
Speaker 2:They lined us up, we got in processing everything. I think I don't know if it was the same day or the next day we had our beds and everything that I can remember and then we got in line to start processing in and the shots and everything. Back then it was a gun type deal, yeah, and it had like 18, 19 shots. They put it up to your arm. You didn't dare to move, otherwise it could rip your arm. But back then, yeah, kids, uh, the guys crying in the barber chairs with their hair I know I had shoulder-length hair, I was gonna ask you that so my brother being church boys.
Speaker 2:We grew up in church, my mom going to my mom and dad, uh, wednesday nights and sunday morning and sunday nights we had long hair okay to our shoulders so were you one of the guys crying in the chair? I gotta ask yeah, I was just. Oh, it brings tears to your eyes. You're crying like oh man, it took so long to grow it like that and have it like that.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, it looked cool yeah.
Speaker 2:Me and my brother did a lot with my mom and dad in church before I went into the military, so we Perry Baptist Church, then we went over to Owasso. About 73 is when my sister and my cousin was killed in that car accident. Okay, so you lost your sister and your cousin and my cousin and my cousin was killed in that car accident.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you lost your sister and your cousin and my cousin.
Speaker 2:My cousin was 21 years old and my sister was 19.
Speaker 1:Can I ask what happened?
Speaker 2:They were out on a babysitting job. I was home alone with my sister finishing up driver's training. My mom and dad, my younger brother, went all the way out to cherokee, indian reservation on camping and my sister and cousin pulled out from a grand river an m52 that goes to langsburg and they pulled. They turned south toward perry and two drunks came over the hill at 125 miles an hour and hit him from behind. Didn't even know know what hit him. It threw my cousin, 21,.
Speaker 2:She had graduated from Michigan State University special education, and then my sister. She was working with my mom at ME school teacher's insurance. Well, my cousin was dead on arrival in Owasso and my sister was taken to McLaren Hospital in Flint and was on a life support machine until they could get a hold of my mom and dad, which they had all points bulletin up and down the eastern seaboard for my mom and dad. And they left a note at the campground. And I had another friend, which was a girl, that we went camping with her mom and dad and she stayed with me and my mom got the note and called home and I couldn't hold it. I had to tell her.
Speaker 2:I said you need to get home and luckily she made arrangements. Her brother, my mom's brother, was at the airport to pick her up, to take her to the hospital, and then it was one or two days later then decided to take. She was brain dead completely, so take the machine off. And then she passed away.
Speaker 1:Do you ever, you ever like, think about what might've been? I mean, your cousin was going to be a special ed teacher. I'm sure your sister, your sister, had plans.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, my sister would have had plans to raise a family and do things. She was still doing things with her friends from high school so she didn't go to college, but she was friends with her high school. In high school some of the girls worked with her so she was always in contact with her friends or girlfriends from high school days. Graduation yeah, I said she would have loved my kids and my grandkids. I know she would have. Oh, yeah, yeah, she, she would have loved my grant, my, my kids and my grandkids.
Speaker 2:I know she would have oh yeah, yeah, she would have, so she would have loved all them things.
Speaker 1:But her birthday was on 9-11, when she was born, okay, yeah all right my, uh my wife's mother was born, I believe, 9-11 as well so it's always it's always a remembering day.
Speaker 2:I look at her picture every day and say something to her. I look at my mom and dad's picture. They've been gone since 2008 and 2009.
Speaker 1:Did you find that being involved in church helped with that? I think it did A lot of it.
Speaker 2:We were into church camps every year, summer camps and winter camps. We'd go up north up at Fairview, michigan a church camp up there that the Baptist Church uses up there Camp Marical name and then we'd have summer trips and everything's in in camp and we did stuff with the church during the summer.
Speaker 2:so, yeah, it helped a lot yeah, like I can imagine being around people that share your faith and that yeah, and family and friends and perry were always there to comfort us and be there with us, even with me and my brother. Yeah, so yeah it was. It was a hard thing, but now, since that was 73, so 74, they put that blinker light up there. My aunt and uncle sued the state of Michigan. That's how they got the blinker light there.
Speaker 1:So my grandfather was killed at that intersection. He was hit by a bus, and then my grandmother was involved in a head-on collision on M52. She worked in Owasso and she was on her way to work, so that whole stretch is dangerous.
Speaker 2:And another thing my mom's mother, my uncle or her brother, was taking his mom to doctor's office in Owasso. Just before you got to the corner he had to stop for some reason. He had one of those vans that had the engine mount wasn't in Owasso. Just before you got to the corner he had to stop for some reason. He had one of those vans that had the engine mount, wasn't in front of it Right, and he had to stop fast. And my grandmother was 102. And he was taking her right around 100, taking her to the doctors, and she flew out of the window and went underneath the van.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:So that's all three in one corner. Yeah, intersection within 13 miles from home. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, I think they say most accidents happen very close to home.
Speaker 2:Yes, yep.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, oh yeah. So let's go back to boot camp. So you were at boot camp. You're getting your head shaved, they're giving shots. How many people passed out when they got those shots? Because that was like a thing when I went to base.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah, I think if there was two or three that passed out because they didn't like this, just seeing the gun itself pushed up against you, I'm like no, but he just couldn't move and we had. I think one or two.
Speaker 2:maybe that didn't make it through basic by the time I got there Because we had even went out of a pup tent. We had slept in pup tents and went out and stayed overnight and it was four inches of snow on the ground when we woke up. So it was January, february when I went through basic training. December at the end of December, because we had to decide to either take leave 18-day leave or you couldn't stay home, stay at the base and work in the mess hall the whole time. I said nope, go home.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't blame you. What was your basic training or boot camp experience like for you then? I mean, you had been camping with your family, so you knew how to be outdoors.
Speaker 2:But what about the rest of it? The rest it was, uh, it got to be a lot more exercise. Yeah, because basic training you had, the more disciplined, more, uh, listening to orders and not talking back. Talk back, otherwise the drill sergeant was. He was right there in your face.
Speaker 1:How was that for you?
Speaker 2:It was scary, but you didn't always. Yes, sir, no, sir, yes, drill sergeant, because he was an E7, so sergeant first class, and the helper, the assistant, was a staff sergeant. So you learn discipline real quick. Yes, did what they told you to do, what they wanted you to do, or sit and wait.
Speaker 1:A lot of people joke about it, but hurry up and wait is a real thing.
Speaker 2:That's all throughout the military service. Hurry up and wait.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you have anything that stands out in your memory about basic training?
Speaker 2:Yeah, when it got really cold, the temperature got way down there. They would have us go to the, go to another empty barracks, a wooden barracks, World War II barracks, and do PT inside calisthenics. Inside of that it was even colder yet.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:With our gym gear and our field jackets. And I remember the drill sergeants if somebody did something wrong or said something, we'd have to stand on the line. Everybody stands on that line. Right. And then go outside, went outside, the drill sergeant would tear that barracks apart, everything, and then you had so much time to put it all back together, get dressed and be ready.
Speaker 1:Everything was a test, wasn't it? Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:And it got better to where the drill sergeant wasn't doing it anymore, because I was in the best platoon for my company. I had the best drill sergeant.
Speaker 1:You pay the price at the beginning, but it pays off at the end right oh yeah, yeah. So how long was basic training for you then, is that? Nine weeks is it nine?
Speaker 2:weeks I don't know if it's, or maybe I think eight or nine weeks. It was yeah, because then I, when I left there, I they said you're gonna go where it's nice and warm, sunny and warm.
Speaker 1:They didn't say desert right el paso texas for four years it's sunny and warm in el paso, texas. Oh yeah, so you went to. Uh, you went to ait then in fort bliss texas okay, and what, what, uh, what was your mls?
Speaker 2:well, 16 romeo, okay, balkan crewman okay, 20 millimeter gatling gun balkan.
Speaker 1:Now there's something I haven't heard in a long time.
Speaker 2:Balkan crewman. Okay, and that's what you wanted to do. That's what I wanted to do that's what I wanted to fire that weapon, since I want to be on a gun crew, which I was so let's talk about ait, um, and for those who don't know, that's advanced individual training right and that's where you learn the job you're going to do that.
Speaker 2:So you learn the job and you learn all the basics of tearing a, a rifle apart, putting them back together. You, you know, learn things. You had to learn a lot of knowledge, you had to have a lot of knowledge that you learned on different things and everything. But yeah, it was more challenging on AIT because most of the time you stayed right there on the post in your barracks around the area. You didn't, they wouldn't let you off post until you got closer to the end of the ait.
Speaker 2:I think it was ait, it wasn't a lot different from boot camp. Then was it no, not really, because you were still learning in the learning process of doing stuff and getting better at it all right, and then so you uh, you get through ait.
Speaker 1:It sounds like you did okay there, uh, and then what?
Speaker 2:where'd you go? I didn't get into trouble. Well, that's a good thing. Kept, kept a strays, all. Then I transferred over to biggs army airfield. Right there, uh, el paso texas okay and it was a. It was a different post, co-located with fort bliss texas all right they had a big runway there and I was a battery. I was a battery clerk so I got because I had some little typing scales, not not enough to take it in in high school when I was cletton.
Speaker 2:No, right but I could use the typewriter and I could do. I could do reports as some report uh, the duty roster okay, the duty roster together and get mail.
Speaker 1:I was a mail clerk too so there's some advantages to that work, right, oh?
Speaker 2:yeah, because I ended up being a battery clerk when I got to south korea.
Speaker 1:Okay now, how long were you so? Did you go to south korea? When, when?
Speaker 2:you were still stationed at fort bliss or four years at fort bliss, okay, and three of us that we either lived together or we stayed together or did things together. All three of us enlisted for six years. So each year we have $762 extra bonus money.
Speaker 1:That's a lot of money. That's a lot of money.
Speaker 2:Yeah, back then it was a lot of money Like okay, and I wanted to try to get to Hawaii, they said my MLS it was too full. So all three of us went to Germany.
Speaker 1:Okay, and where were you at? In Germany?
Speaker 2:I was at Swybrooken, down at the bottom of Germany, down at the French border, right on the French border, where the Marriott line runs across. Back in the World War II it was the. Marriott line.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was down there. I was there for two and a half years. Okay, what was that like? It was? Scenery could have been just like Michigan. The weather was like Michigan. They still had their seasons like Michigan Snow and ice in the wintertime and hot and dry in the summer and rain but it was beautiful in the fall. It had so much trees and green, but it was beautiful in the fall. It had so much trees and green. But it was beautiful to be in germany plus, uh, our, our base was up on the. Our tax site was up on the air force base. But at first we had a concern down in town to where we have a building with all the equipment in, before they moved it up to a secure position up on the air Force Base. And one of the first summer I was there, we were walking down through there getting ready to bring out our systems out of the barn and get it and start working on doing maintenance on it. Pmcs, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep, I remember that term, I remember that one, yeah.
Speaker 2:And we heard loud noises going above us and it was a TU-95 Russian bear bomber being escorted across international airspace. Wow. Right above our heads were two F-5 Freedom Fighters on the wingtip and an F-4 Phantom following it. Making sure no shenanigans happened.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I said that was something interesting. Like probably never see that one again. That was the first time because, being in germany, that's when the wall and the fence was up and you could still see east germans and in west germany go down the audible autobahn and if they were parked along the side of the road they were taking pictures of a military installation off in the distance. Oh, wow, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's pretty incredible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then the next following year it was Carter and Reagan. Yeah. When the American hostages got released after 444 days.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Because they had to come back to Germany before they went to the United States, flew to the United States. That was another thing that happened while I was in Germany.
Speaker 1:Okay, did you get to see them land or anything? Only on television? Oh, okay, because they were up in Frankfurt.
Speaker 2:We were 200 miles south.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And we did enough. Our defensive positions were out at the end of the runway and we would take our weapon systems, which was a towed Vulcan. It would hold 500 rounds of live ammunition or training rounds. It was towed by a M561 Gamma Gold articulated vehicle. Back in the day.
Speaker 1:And that's like one of those buses that that is split and yeah, yeah and that thing could swim in water uh-huh possible because they they did that kind of training in el paso.
Speaker 2:I've seen it at a lake in el paso, texas, like okay, I really didn't want to be in one because the water's right there by the end, but you got pumps running to keep it running and the wheels keep it moving. So it can's a vehicle that can swim. But that was our home. That's where we either. We rolled in the back of that because they had a driver and the squad leader always had the front seat and the rest of the crew sat in the back seat towing the gun system.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And that's where we either slept there or you slept out on the ground covered up, do you do a lot of like FTXs, exercises and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:In Germany we did a lot of exercises going out to our gun positions, because you always went out to the same position, to where two different positions? Because you would follow an asphalt trail to the top of the hill that the farmer's land was on both sides. So you didn't, and that's the only one place we could sit. I'll point our guns out toward France, so we're always out looking that way from the air base, because the airstrip was not too far from the back of us and I always saw aircraft wreck.
Speaker 2:There was a lot of airplanes flying around all over the place during them exercises. We went on and then there was uh ground firing. We went to a place called bomb holder germany to ground fire our weapons as static targets and then once a year we'd go up to uh keel, up to the baltic sea, and for two weeks we'd go up there and fire our ground web, our weapons out over the ocean, and one of the times they had we had to stop firing because there was a russian submarine being escorted out of the area in front of our guns.
Speaker 2:24 guns online uh-huh and each of them was spaced apart. So when we had to fire it on an airplane which was called an ov10 bronco, pulling us, pulling a sleeve right and the sleeve would go to a ball, then the sleeve would be back. There have all those sensors so when the gun got to the firing stake, on one side you radiate and it'd give you a lead angle to the, to the next stake and you could hit that target. All right, and our battery had the best gun when I was over there.
Speaker 1:So you're the best platoon in the basic training. You get the best gun when you're deployed and the best squad.
Speaker 2:And what they gave for a prize was a golden barrel for that year, until the next firing to the Baltic. Live fire up at the Baltic Sea. Oh okay, and we would participate back when a reforger was going.
Speaker 2:It was called reforger yeah when they would take all the equipment out of barns and stuff storage and get them prepped up and ready to go to war positions. Uh-huh, I took a trip down to the folder gap down on the czech border, where that would been the main, main avenue that Russia was come over into West Germany with the big tanks and everything. And then I took a trip to the battlefield of Verdun. That was a World War I cemetery. They had over 250,000 Americans buried there. Wow, that's a big number.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Quite an experience to be there. Yeah's a big number. Yeah, yeah, quite an experience to be there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, kind of solemn.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, oh yeah. It was real quiet and peaceful. You could look into the windows of the big memorial and see skeletons stacked up on top of skeletons.
Speaker 1:Oh really.
Speaker 2:And then they had an area that I remember to where they had a trench that was covered up. Bayonets were sticking up above it. It was a whole regiment that was buried in artillery fire. It had the Bob Warrior fence, it had smit protection above it and sides to where all you could do is look at it and a whole regiment was buried alive during artillery. Uh, barrage, what they bombarded yeah, yeah, that's all.
Speaker 2:That's all history and everything so kind of brings a little seriousness to what you're doing too right, yeah, but uh yeah, it was a quite experience to be in germany, but I love the country. A lot of beer drinking, yeah, yeah, a lot of october fest. It isn't just october either they love their beer, don't?
Speaker 2:they love to drink warm beer yeah lunch break beer yeah, I don't understand warm beer you know, and and they had their place is called pull its eyes. Yeah, so you didn't, you didn't. If you're driving a pov there, it would have been like another soldier's POV. He left country and left it with somebody. You better do what they say. They pull you over because they would step out and they have those little submachine guns, the Uzis.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they don't mess around you better take a breathalyzer test right there too, they don't mess around, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:And down in the town that I was stationed at, they had a federal prison there. And down in the town that I was stationed at, they had a federal prison there.
Speaker 2:So it was like 60 to 80 foot high walls right downtown. There had been some Americans that got in trouble. There was two of them that they got a German girl and they raped and killed her. They were in that prison for 39 years until they got done with german time and went to fort leavenworth after that if they were still alive, right. And we had two, two gis friends that were in the same battery.
Speaker 2:We have a three-story building, barracks building, and right above the hill of course, was a nco club. So it was go there, would he walk up the steps to go drink beer? Yeah, and, and they came back one night and got in an argument, black and white, and they were watching tv or did decide on which one they wanted to watch, and it was the black guy that went behind the white one and stabbed him 19 times with a knife, walked out of the building and turned himself into the MPs and before I left Germany the stabbed guy had over four surgeries done to keep him alive before he was sent back to the States. Just that's something to happen.
Speaker 1:Well and it's interesting because I've seen these types of things before. It was over over watching tv. Right, it wasn't anything important.
Speaker 2:No but oh yeah, as back then it was in the security was, I was, uh, our army concern was on one hill. That's where the barracks were, and that's where the post headquarters was and that's where we would do, uh, running pt up and down the hills and anything on post and everything. They had a bowling alley, they had a gym and a movie theater, so it had everything all right there for us. And then they had the whole. The town was in in between and then. And then the other hill was the air force base, okay, and they had a. They had a beer factory in the same town too. Not surprising, not surprising at all.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so did you make a lot of good friends there while you were in Germany then?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah yeah, any of the units I made good friends with. Yeah, because we were so close-knit together. Right, we were always a team.
Speaker 1:Yeah Now. Do you still stay in contact with any of those guys?
Speaker 2:Some of the National Guard guys. I do Uh-huh Because I was in the National Guard for 23 years after I got out of the active duty got done with active duty.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:All right, and there's two guys in American Legion. They knew where I was stationed at in South Korea.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh was stationed at in south korea, uh-huh and so and, and one of the friends, veterans, he is going to see his son at the same same camp. I was in south korea really for two weeks and he's there right now in south korea. Like what a coincidence is that? Like I know, and then I another veteran, you know, he was just down the road from me in germany, so he knows the area. I was stationed in germany, so yeah, it's.
Speaker 1:It's interesting because you run into people who served in some of the places and you can find out how it's changed. Oh yeah, a lot about how it's the same still yeah, right, that's what I.
Speaker 2:I'll ask him when he gets back if anything's changed. And and his son knows where my unit, my unit, still is today, with uploaded weapon systems on 24 7, because during Korea had, that's how it was.
Speaker 1:Right, right, cause that could be a pretty dangerous area.
Speaker 2:When they call it. When they blew the horn, we would have to go the weapon systems would. The guys would get their gear, put them in a track and get right out to the war positions ready to lock and load. Yeah. And the rest of the company would have about two hours to get packed up and ready to lock and load. Yeah, and the rest of the company would have about two hours to get packed up and ready to go.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh so let's talk about that. You did some time, you did a couple years in germany, uh, and then um, where'd you go from there?
Speaker 2:I came back to fort hood, texas, first, first kf uh-huh and I was on a weapons. I was on a weapon system there and Okay.
Speaker 2:And I was a platoon leader on a headquarters platoon which was more your maintenance vehicles and everything. So I was in that platoon and that was hot and dry, but then it was like you get away from the post and it was just like Michigan the weather lakes and trees and grass and lakes. So it was a beautiful run. Nice Took a UZ. We went with some friends and I was married back to the first wife. We took some trips to Austin to go see their family and friends and come back and mostly stay around and go out on the lakes After duty hours. Go out on the lakes and get away from post, right. So your first wife was a Texasxas gal. Yes, her father was military.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right.
Speaker 2:And how long were?
Speaker 1:you married five, five and a half years. Any kids?
Speaker 2:three, oh goodness, I had three. One, one, we one was born before germany uh-huh born in 77. The other one was born in germany and he was 80 born in germany. And uh, he has a birth certificate says born abroad, because you're american citizen born abroad right right and so, and then I had. My daughter was being born not too long before I left germany because wife had gotten into some trouble and got had to go back early. So I okay.
Speaker 2:Six months prior to my rotation I had to leave Germany, so another my daughter was born.
Speaker 1:First daughter was born okay and what are your kids doing today?
Speaker 2:uh, the one lives down with his girlfriend in Pensacola with three grandkids okay and then, um, my other son. He's an expediter going around the United States, expediting from Alabama. He comes up to Michigan, then goes back down and goes out to Texas or the East Coast, the West Coast, he expedites. And then my daughter lives in Jackson. Okay, she's working at a, she got married and she has a son. Oh, and they work together. Bp stations. Oh, subway stations, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, that's nice that they're kind of out doing their thing Then we had one together. Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:Because she had one from another guy.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I had my three, so that was a ready-made family already until we had the one together With your current wife.
Speaker 1:Yeah, with my current wife. Okay, all right, so you're back in Texas. Yep, your daughter's born, yep. How do you end up in Korea?
Speaker 2:That was my last tour.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:My last tour to be stationed, I was divorced with three kids. Okay. And my first wife's mom and dad took care of my, raised my children while I was gone to Korea, South Korea.
Speaker 1:Right, because that's unaccompanied regardless, right? Yes?
Speaker 2:oh yeah, unless you're married to a Korean.
Speaker 1:Right Not going to do that right.
Speaker 2:Sometimes. That's when I got Korea that seemed like a lot of them wanted to get married to a GI so they could have a free trip back to the United States. Right right, but yeah, that's about what it was back then. But we were a pretty tight-knit group in South Korea too.
Speaker 1:Okay, how long were you in Korea then?
Speaker 2:14 months Okay.
Speaker 1:And what was that experience like for you? I guess you're making friends again, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a monsoon You'd have to deal with the monsoons. When it rained, it pours right and it was hot and dry. Uh, there was snow. In korea, winter times, there would be snow. There could be snow on the ground, but not a whole lot. But we went out in the field there was.
Speaker 2:There was snow on the ground when we woke up, or even in camp there was okay because you have a village right outside one gate and then the other side is is, uh, the main camp, camp casey, with the village all along that. So it's all all right there together, but not too far from the dmz okay, and that's. That was part of your, your mission, right was in case something happened in case something happened, our, our weapon systems would go fully lowered up to the war positions okay and then we had our headquarters in the korean zone, which they would have if you got.
Speaker 2:The korean guards would not let you through if they blew the horn and you'd have to stay on the other side one side or the other before you could even move to get to the unit. If you're cut off and you were cut off until they open up the gate for you, right?
Speaker 2:right, all for security oh yeah, oh yeah yeah, so you, uh, you rotate out of korea, you go back to texas I came back, I rotated, I out, processed their oakland, came back to oakland and went to el paso te, texas, for about two and a half weeks to get my kids around and get everything and then get a flight back to Michigan.
Speaker 1:So you got right back to Michigan. What'd you do when you got back to Michigan?
Speaker 2:I lived with my mom and dad. It was my three kids, so that was a house full.
Speaker 1:That must have been a treat.
Speaker 2:They were both still working.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:No, my dad was laid off. My dad the company moved out to go down to alabama, and so my mom was still working it. So they were, they were helped, raising me until I got a a regular job at a factory okay where my wife's mom and dad worked.
Speaker 2:My brother-in-law worked, five or six of our friends all worked, that we're real close to and and I got hooked up with her and she came down, uh, to bring a birthday cake for her dad and after lunch I'll go and sit with her mom and dad, just sit there and talk. Before I went to work, right to my section, my department, and she came in and it's been history ever since was it was it was it love at first sight yeah, it was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it says you was our. Our first date was, uh, the weberville oxrose okay all right, that's a good, safe first day and then we went to the beer tent downtown, uh-huh, and then we, and then, uh, I was uh one of the friends that we worked with the same factory. Then we went back there and I stayed, I stayed at On the couch and she went home back to her mom and her sister's house. She was staying with her sister then.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, well, I want to pause here I want to pause here for just a second, because today is your wife's birthday, correct?
Speaker 2:I just remembered it's October 23rd.
Speaker 1:October 23rd, so I'm still a month ahead of time. Okay, we're good, we're good.
Speaker 2:Happy early birthday to your current wife. Yeah, we just got done with a veteran event at the American League yesterday. For a veteran that's got PTSD real bad and he's not doing a whole lot good from Iraq or Afghanistan.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's kind of a common thing.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:It is, excuse me, all right, so you're back. You're working in a factory. Yeah, I worked in a factory for five years.
Speaker 2:I went to another one in howell, ruling electric. We made uh, I was in a department that made the overhead cranes okay, the motors yeah, and I was there for, I think, three years before I got my foot in the post office. Okay, okay, being a custodian building maintenance custodian.
Speaker 1:All right. So you ended up in the postal service there For 36 years Wow.
Speaker 2:I was 14 and a half in Howell and then I went to the Lansing on Collins Road. Yeah. Went there for I think five years, four years. Then I retired out of Owasso after 10 years. Okay. In the meantime, I was in the National Guard Right.
Speaker 1:Right, so let's talk about that now. So were you married when you went into the National Guard?
Speaker 2:You already married, oh yes.
Speaker 1:And then you had a child together.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that's five kids.
Speaker 2:Yeah Right, hers mine together. Yes, okay, so you had, that's five kids. Yeah right, there's mine. And ours.
Speaker 1:Yes, I think there was a show like that oh, yeah, yeah, back in the day. Yeah, the brady bunch yes, yeah, you were just one shy.
Speaker 2:Yep, you should have had one more oh no, no, because she got fixed, because she was having high blood pressure problems. So that was the last girl.
Speaker 1:My grand, my seven-year-old grandchild, was the last daughter okay granddaughter so yeah, so you, um, I'm assuming at some point you you moved out of your parents house and when you got married, moved out of parents house.
Speaker 2:We found a house. We lived in a house together out on lounsbury road uh-huh west of east of williamston and we rented that. We rented that for one or two years. That's when our daughter was born.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:When we lived in that house.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:My wife was pregnant. For her, yeah, and that was out on a rented property with five kids Uh-huh, four kids.
Speaker 1:So how long after you got out of the service did you decide to join the National Guard?
Speaker 2:About a year later.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:So you didn't have a big break not really not really a break, because I was still attached, I was a sergeant came out of active duty as a sergeant and I was. It was really inactive and then you got right. I got right into the guard okay so I've been. I was in the guard all the way up to 2000, from 80, 85 to 80 uh 2006 okay, in the national guard.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's a, that's a 23 years, it was 23 years so 31 total years of service 30 and a half.
Speaker 2:It was 30 and a half total service. But during that guard time, all that 23 years, I racked up over 4 000 retirement points yeah and the state of michigan me 10 1⁄2 extra years. So that made it 41 years. That's nice, and I'm a fourth generation, wow that's really nice.
Speaker 1:So where did you go when you first came into the National Guard? What unit were you with and what did you?
Speaker 2:do? I was in the 119th Field Artillery in Lansing. It was a Toad, toad, uh, 105 howitzers, uh-huh, and I was. I was uh on a.
Speaker 2:I was in a food service okay I came in I started out as a battalion. They said you could either drive for the battalion commander or the battalion xo battalion commander, hard top jeep and and it was our top jeep and had advantages and disadvantages. Great for about two, I think two years I was. Uh, then I was in part of the maintenance system maintenance too, because that's where the jeep was at right then I got to be one year.
Speaker 2:I was uh, I was a motor sergeant for one year. I filled in for a spot and then I got into food service for the rest of my time in the National Guard.
Speaker 1:So were you at the 119th your whole time.
Speaker 2:Six and a half years.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And then I transferred over to the same Marshall Street Armory. It was the 18 Deuce. Yep. Multiple launch rocket system. Very familiar with them, that was a cook and we had, uh, the mobile kitchen trailers then uh-huh and they could feed 300 in one hour and that was. That was really nice. And then I transferred over to my staff sergeant, to the 1-8 dude, uh, the 1-2-6 armor, okay, which is in wyoming, uh-huh, 44th street's armory and for those of you listening, it's wyoming michigan.
Speaker 1:There is a wyoming michigan yeah, there's wyoming, right outside of grand rapids right with grand rapids.
Speaker 2:That technically right okay, and and then I was there three or I think maybe three years. Uh, I did one summer camp. They wanted a cook to go out with a missile system. I raised my hand, so why not? Right I got that bia, I got to drive one of those big 27 ton helmets uh-huh that was. That was pretty awesome those are pretty. Those are pretty sweet, I mean they're huge.
Speaker 2:And I got, uh, I learned how to uh take the missile pod, the the spirit the missile pods, take them off and put them on the ground with a crane and everything. And then now another summertime up the trip up to grayling, I got to drive the 2500 ton, 250 gallon tanker okay, up the camp really oh so it was always fun being in convoys.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I got the ride. And I was the only cook that wanted to go for a ride on a tank and I went for a ride on a tank, an Abrams tank, up Camp Grayling.
Speaker 1:Why wouldn't you? Yeah, why would you not do that?
Speaker 2:I said, yeah, it was awesome, had a lot of good times in Camp.
Speaker 1:Grayling, oh, I'll bet. That's the time and service.
Speaker 2:That's a lot of summer camps and I went back to the 119 Field Artillery in Battle Creek. Okay. It was headquarters. Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:And so I got in the headquarters I was still being a cook and a friend of mine that I'd known for 21 years in food service he's the one that got me in to start working with him and I worked with him and then when he retired out, he went from 119th to the 156th Signal in Ypsilanti yeah, off of Huron River Drive, out there the complex, out there the county complex and he recommended me I was a staff sergeant to fill his slot and so when I got out to the 156, I had 16 cooks being 500 soldiers and I got promoted. That's when my wife and the captain put my E7 stripes on me.
Speaker 1:That's a great feeling.
Speaker 2:And another time when I was in the 119 to we transferred over to the 109 hollitzers the big big guns right. We took 39 rail cars to ford erwin, california, to the ntc national training center. Yeah, and we had at least five different uh commercial air flights uh-huh and the conics, as they had at least 10, 15 of them go private contractor out for 24 days. Big ftx state, statewide ftx. And there was other states, there was a lot of other states that came there and uh, we uh that was 24 days.
Speaker 2:I was at the mess hall the whole time. Of course, right active duty mess hall, they were feeding 1800 a meal yeah, what was that like what?
Speaker 1:so there is a difference between what you're doing in the garden, what you're doing on active duty so what was that? What was that experience like for you?
Speaker 2:that was. That was quite embarrassing to get to a mess hall that's doing that much food uh-huh per meal yeah and so there's, and you got active duty.
Speaker 2:You might have two active duty units or three using that one mess hall right because, they had two big mess halls on post and and the national guard had to fill in. They filled in to do that. A lot of easy stuff and they did uh, they did all the cooking, but it was a, it was a lot of food service. We went out to the field for 11 days. We packed up and went out and you had Army on one side, active Army on one side, national Guard on the other side, so five kitchen trailers, each mobile kitchen trailers to feed everybody and we were up on a plateau where the OP-4 was. But in the meantime, before that, before we even got out there, they had to dynamite some of the hills.
Speaker 2:So the cannons, so the guns could get around the hill, you know hitting the barrels on the ground to get down into the valley to play. And so they had back then OP-4 was Huey Cobras, the long sleek Huey Cobras with the 20-millimeter Gatling guns on them.
Speaker 1:Now for the civilians. Listening in OPFOR is opposing forces right Opposing forces.
Speaker 2:And so those are the pretend enemy that you're out there, yeah, so pretend, enemy, that we're doing our equipment Because we wore equipment to do the laser tag Right. What's that?
Speaker 1:called Miles equipment. Miles gear, yes.
Speaker 2:The miles gear. You had your helmet, you had your back, your rucksack, you had everything sensors on it to where, if one of the other guys, the enemy, was pointing a gun at you and did a laser tag on his, you would get a beeping and you were dead. Right, someone had to come over with a key and key and lock it after the exercise is over enough for the then get you back alive, to get back in the scenario. Yeah.
Speaker 2:But the uh, the two out four helicopters took off the first day of battle. My unit, an M 60 machine gun and a 50 Cal laser tag. Both helicopters they had to come back and sit for the rest of. They couldn't play the exercise for that whole day they must have been, really not they were they were not happy.
Speaker 2:They wouldn't even come to the mess off. Yeah, wow. But they met a lot of friends, a lot of experience out there. The first time a guard you never got that far away from home and but it was. It was hot and dry most of the time. We did not. We had one day of rain, but otherwise you could see it off in the distance and if it came forward to you, came for, if most of the time it went past you yeah, but it was a good experience being with other cook, interacting with an active duty cook.
Speaker 2:It's, it's great training oh yes real great training.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know people sometimes will complain because it's hot and it's the desert, but you can't get better training than the NTC.
Speaker 2:Because when I was at Fort Hood, texas, I went out there for 30 days. My unit went out there, so I already knew what the NTC was like before going out with a guard.
Speaker 1:Well, you had an advantage then. I already knew what the NTC was like before going out with the Guard. Oh, you had an advantage then. Yes, yes, you had an advantage.
Speaker 2:I knew what it was like on post and out in the desert.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I knew what to expect, oh yeah yeah. So where'd you go from there?
Speaker 2:I went from. That was the 119th. I went to the Signal Battalion Okay, which I had 500 soldiers, and we always went to Camp Grayling. There's times that I went training down to Camp Atterbury in Indiana for about four days and then come back and did schooling and they started improving on mess equipment and manuals and stuff. So I was always going up to Camp Grayling and getting all the build, buildup, retirement points. Right, right, it's classes and NBC training. It was on new NBC training with a gas mask and everything. Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:And one day, one time it was with a water purification because we had to deal with a 400 gallon water tank. Right Always had to have that had to be clean, sanitized and clean water. It was everything. And then they started getting better equipment for the mess mess hall.
Speaker 1:So messy equipment, so so was this your experience? I came into the guard um in 1999, uh, and when I came in, we still had a lot of Vietnam-era equipment.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:But after 9-11, we were equipped just like the regular Army. All of a sudden we had all this really cool new stuff.
Speaker 2:The Humvees, the Humvees. They got rid of it. They started getting rid of those World War II Jeeps.
Speaker 1:Yep. Now when I got there, we had Humvees, but we had just gotten rid of those Jeeps. Okay, so had just gotten rid of those Jeeps. So the guard really changed as a result.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when I got out in 2006, they had not come out with a new 2.5-ton truck. Yeah, it was always the old diesel one. Right. The big hood on it. Or the 5-ton Mm-hmm, the 5-ton, that was a big monster truck to drive. Back when I was in, I learned to drive that one too, so it was all the time. It's always hard to shift. Yeah, shift that gear, but the deuce and a half that you could go anywhere with a deuce now and get out of the sand, but get out.
Speaker 2:Unless you were really stuck with those eight tires, you could. You could work your way out of it with the two front ones locked up and the back four locked up.
Speaker 1:It was a great truck. It was a great truck and it was almost sad to kind of see those things go away.
Speaker 2:I slept in it a lot of time, Many camps. I slept in the cab. It was my truck, my cab. That's where I slept Right Because I could wintertime especially, I started up and turned the heater on Go back to sleep.
Speaker 1:Well, go back to sleep well, you know ellen. I want to point something out here is that when I joined the military, a lot of people said don't volunteer for anything, don't want to, right yeah, right it sounds like you do the opposite, like oh, that's coming up, I'll do that, I'll do that, but it sounds you get great experiences because of it.
Speaker 2:It was because we want, I wanted to be part of it, wanted to learn something different, right? Or some of the other guys were being involved like, oh, I'm part of the group, I want to. I want to be there and do that doing a different thing, especially with the mess with a food service.
Speaker 1:Well, and you, you, you know if we're, if people are really kind of catching your story here. Like you came in, you went to basic training did all those things where you were. You started at the bottom, yeah, and and now you're a leader of people, rose up the top to start in first class.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you're a leader of people. I rose up the top to Sergeant First Class.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you're leading a lot of people and what you do this is another thing too is that I think sometimes people kind of discount food service because it's just there, yeah right, but we I mean that's like you can't march an army unless you feed an army, unless you feed them, there's three things between mass supply and the mail you didn't want to mess with. Right, the military. If I feed you and I pay you and I take care of you, you're going to do what I need to get done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're going to do what needs to be done and do it right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so how long were you with the 156 then?
Speaker 2:Five and a half years. Okay, that was my to 2006. Okay, that was your last, when I retired out. Wow, yeah, what was it. What was it like? And they were changing over to go to iraq and afghanistan and then they were changing out to not be a whole signal battalion but down down to, I think, one or two, and the rest of it was transportation there.
Speaker 1:Right, Well, I think technology really shrunk the signal core right, Because pretty soon, with all the advanced technology, the signal core is really just taking care of computers and sipper and nipper lines and things like that.
Speaker 2:I can't think of the updated radio version, sig-nig or sig-something. I'm going to remember it after we talk, I know, I didn't learn to operate that radio because we still had the regular World War II ones.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, when I deployed in 06, the radio is where you had a thing where you filled the frequencies every morning.
Speaker 2:I know exactly where you had them. Oh, the code books and everything.
Speaker 1:authorization tables Right right, you had to do that for all the radio communications. When I deployed, we actually had a key that you just plugged it in and you downloaded. You filled your radio that way. When we started out, we were doing it with the code books where you had to punch everything in.
Speaker 2:We had to do, we had.
Speaker 1:It was the code books back when, when I left, it was still before they changed over some singard, singars, singars yes, yes, I have to take it by real quick.
Speaker 2:Then that's when they changed over, because you always had, with the code books, you had to do authentication and then, and then, each day that code changed to a different thing right you had to have it written down or you had to know what it was. Yep, because that was throughout the whole military exercise. You had to be able to know the radio and how it worked.
Speaker 1:You know, interestingly enough I I interviewed a guy who was part of the sink cars um transition. He'd actually gotten out of the military, but they kept him around'd actually gotten out of the military, but they kept him around to work on that system and he actually deployed that out to the different units. So yeah, so you had this amazing career in the military. You still worked for the post office right?
Speaker 2:Nope, I retired out in 2017. Oh, okay With 36 years.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. So let me ask you this question. I know how I felt. How did you feel that last day, knowing that this is the last time you're going to officially put that uniform on? What was that like for you?
Speaker 2:It was like, oh, I got one more day, I don't have to wear this anymore. It'd be my last day doing cleaning in the building, right, you don't have to clean anymore or come back, get up at a certain time. I could sleep in. Yeah, it was the first day I could like sleep in. I didn't work saturday and sundays, but it's still on a regular week it was. You didn't have to wake up there early and make sure you get on a roll and be there before the time to swipe in and do your job and then swipe out and then come back home.
Speaker 2:Right right, but I was doing more than I was supposed to with the post office. Uh-huh. Because I was plus cleaning the building. I did the outside too. Yeah, I did. And then I used to check the vehicles once a week. That was something extra that Lansing would have had to come out. I did it Right and they, they miss all that. Yeah, I kept the sidewalk clean, kept the brushed off, keep the leaves, keep the parking lot looking good, restriped. I did, I did all that myself.
Speaker 1:Well it feels like anywhere you've gone, you've taken a lot of pride in what you do, right, I have, yeah, and I and I did it good to keep have a good uh relationship from the next one job to the next job. Yeah, well, and I want to go back because my uh, I want to know. I want to know how you felt when you retired from the military then, knowing that you were not going to put that uniform on again.
Speaker 2:Um, you know that last drill weekend, oh, yeah, right, the last, when I had a retirement party, had a cake and everything, and then to clean out all my stuff the stuff that I had, and I didn't have to go back there anymore. Yeah, yeah but. I still keep contact with National Guard friends. Yes, yes, they're still even from the first, from the 119, when I first to the last unit. I still keep good friends with the National Guard.
Speaker 1:So so you, you leave the National Guard in 2006,. You retire from the post office in 2017. I get the feeling you didn't just sit around. So what have you been doing since those two retirements?
Speaker 2:since I got out of there, we uh, I've gotten involved with american legion I've been american legion, and how? For? I think over 26 years right around there okay and I've been a member there and I've been involved with activities. I'm quite a bit in limiston county with that and then, uh, the follower of vFW got involved with them. But before all that we were involved with County 4-H in Livingston County. Okay.
Speaker 2:And so we had kids, that we raised pigs, chickens and ducks, even though we had only less than one acre. That's what we did, and we got our kids through 4-H. In the meantime, me and my wife, with another friend, was cooks in the kitchen for three meals, three meals a day.
Speaker 1:You just can't get away from that, can you?
Speaker 2:No, not food service, no. And then when we weren't involved with 4-H, it was church banquets and dinners. Yeah, yeah. At the church.
Speaker 1:So still very involved with your church then too, right?
Speaker 2:A lot less now, yeah, yep, so still very involved with your church then too, right, a lot less now, yeah, but uh, we were very much for 27 years we were involved with our, our church out in uh williamston area and uh, we were cooks in the kitchen with every meal or every our breakfasts that came up and everything. We were all part of it.
Speaker 1:so they, they always liked me being in it because, being a certified cook, well, not only that, yeah, I mean, it's one thing to be certified cook, it's another thing to have cooked for 500 people. Oh, yeah, right, so that's an experience that really helped.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, a big, large amount of big mart. Even with a 4-H 4-H, it was always some big pots, especially potatoes, homemade potatoes right we had to.
Speaker 2:We did that, but then we kind of slacked off. After four years got done with that, it's time to, of course, cement floors and everything. And after working in the post office on cement floors my feet just started getting worse and everything, and now it's just too much. And then now we're down to garage sailing. Her brother runs a seven-day sale during the whole week of Oliver Fair and then we have an October sale for four days, okay, and then we have one or two individual one-day sales and a lot of veterans' events coming up. Being Lipset County's Veteran of the Year, I'm in parades, and in parades they want to invite me to come there.
Speaker 1:I want to be seen yeah, well, yeah, so you got to do this right, look at the camera and give them your parade wave. Do you do the parade wave?
Speaker 2:oh yeah, there you go, excellent I got pictures on my phone too I'll bet you.
Speaker 1:I'll bet you do yeah, it was.
Speaker 2:We were in a Brighton 4th of July parade and then we were with the Follerville parades, and either one we're still doing parades and picnic parades, and we were with another with a DAV 125 out of Howell, which it went downhill, american Legion or Connect Five Veterans. We were helping out events there too, especially at of july in fallerville we'd be at the park selling, uh, promoting, these challenge coins, yeah, and then we would go work at gate of the west gate on the fallerville for the fourth of july fireworks to take in donations. So then we finally got done.
Speaker 1:We finally got done with that so you're a very busy person yeah and something that I, something that I sense about you, is that um is the service that you've done your entire life. Really, um, even now you're out of the military. I know we met at uh at vet fest this year, which that's one of my favorite events.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:I always meet great people there. So I got to ask, though, how? I mean, I kind of get how, but how did you become Livingston County's Veteran of the Year? What was that all about? Did someone nominate you, or how did that?
Speaker 2:work. A member from the VFW Post in Fallerville nominated me for it Because in the meantime there's 14 groups that belong to Loomis County Veterans Council and so they're the ones that nominate the Veteran of the Year or Auxiliary Member of the Year through them, and then you just get out and talk to people. I'm running for this, I'm running for this position. If it could have your vote, I have your vote, but otherwise the commander has. Uh can have two or three or up to five votes for the, for the veteran of the year or or auxiliary member of the year.
Speaker 2:But I was more. I've been more involved with county events, with veterans around the county, between the challenge coin four or five challenge coins, uh, at least five different um gleaners, food banks from uh at five different sites and in different things with the veterans and in the veterans group. And even telling veterans uh, go file a claim If they haven't filed a claim or if they got VA benefit. I always ask that Right and make sure you get. You have benefits or go get them, cause you're you're a veteran, you've earned them. Yes.
Speaker 1:I think many veterans don't get what they need because they think someone else needs it. You have those benefits. And if you don't use them? Yeah, if you do use them, you're not taking away from somebody else. No, those benefits are there for all veterans, all veterans.
Speaker 2:You've been in the service. You raised your hand. You signed that blank check yeah you, you've earned it yep, absolutely, or even it are the only.
Speaker 2:The other other thing, if they have a better insurance and the VA is not going to help them, right, but otherwise you've got benefits. Even if Vietnam two and a half years, you're a veteran, you've got benefits. Right, you get in there, you get up there and get your benefits. Get a claim filed. Or if it's been three years and you haven't heard nothing, well, file another claim the VA has gotten better with it and we another claim the va has gotten better with it and we have a real good uh libs to county veterans service organization office right now, that's.
Speaker 1:The other thing that I was going to say is that don't do, don't? You don't have to do this by yourself. No, there are. There are fantastic vso's out there. Yes, um, there are service organizations the american legion right uh, the, the vfw, the dav, yes, we could.
Speaker 2:Just we could list all kinds of letters yes, and michigan has a lot of veterans that they they do pretty good with it. Yeah, up north, it's way up north. But then some come down, especially to the vet fest because it's so big yeah, it's so huge, and I would say too um, not that, not that we're doing commercials for anybody, but next year, if you're able to go to VetFest, that's a great place.
Speaker 1:There are so many opportunities to meet with people that can help you. The food is always amazing.
Speaker 2:Entertainment's always amazing Entertainment. You get to meet guys like Alan Hatfield, other veterans, yes.
Speaker 1:Yes, I never understood. So my stepfather served in Korea and he was always, you know, like if he met other veterans there was always that connection. I didn't get it until I was a veteran myself, and there's something comforting about talking with other veterans, right?
Speaker 2:yeah, because my wife says I know if he's talking to a veteran, I'm just going to go on when he gets done talking to him, he'll catch up with me.
Speaker 1:Oh, exactly, exactly because you gotta.
Speaker 2:I always ask them about benefits or their story, or when were you in service or what was your time, or if you got, if you hooked up with a veteran services, you need to be hooked up.
Speaker 2:Plus the the other organization I'm an ambassador for is Operation Injured Soldier. Well, tell me a little bit about that. Operation Injured Soldier runs out of an office in South Lyon or they got Braveheart Estates up at a 238-acre estate up in Pelston. A veteran and his wife can go up there and stay for free Friday, saturday and Sunday and they have a home-cooked breakfast and they have a home-cooked dinner with a couple that manages the state up there and they do fishing events, snowmobiling events, hunting events all the time. Once you go to Operation Entered Soldier and send a copy of your dd214 either a combat veteran or over 30 disabled to the va, you're eligible and they can send you uh, you can get on their website. They'll offer baseball tickets, football tickets, nascar race. I promote, I promote them quite a bit and plus, they were the ones that gave me electric battery operated like a wheelchair.
Speaker 1:Okay, so Operation.
Speaker 2:Injured Soldiers.
Speaker 1:Operation Injured Soldiers, so check out their website as well. Well, you know, you have led an amazing life. It's been great talking with you, alan. As we wrap up the conversation, there is one question that I ask everyone that I interview, and that is this uh, you know, a hundred years from now, when someone's listening to this, this audio recording, what do you want them to take away from how you've lived your life?
Speaker 2:busy, active, very much involved with community events, with veterans, especially veterans and family members, and just being out there, being seen being out there and doing something. We're not just sitting around. Get out there and get involved, because a veteran is always serving a veteran still serving, always serving a veteran.
Speaker 1:So all right well, thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 2:I appreciate it.
