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BT: So you went in the service then?

FK: Yeah.

BT: What year was that?

FK: 1948?

BT: '48.

FK: So what did you do in the service?

BT: United States Air Force, I was primarily an airplane and engine mechanic, and later I started flying as a flight engineer. You had to have a maintenance background at that time. I spent the rest of my career flying as a flight engineer.

FK: What did you fly in?

BT: Well, initially a C-54 which is a DC-4. And then after that, a C-124 cargo airplane, clamshell doors open up in front. I flew that for fifteen years. And then we went to jets, Lockheed C-141. And then I got out in 1968.

FK: So did you serve in any of the wars then?

BT: Yeah, during the Korean War, the Vietnam War.

FK: So you went overseas for those?

BT: Yeah, we were flying overseas all the time. During the Korean War, I didn't get to Korea, but we flew from stateside to Japan. And then during the Korean War we were always going into Vietnam and delivering cargo and passengers and carrying out bodies.

FK: So you were kind of career guy, then?

BT: Huh?

FK: You were a career person in the Air Force, pretty much?

BT: Yeah, twenty years I put in.

FK: So where were you stationed most of the time then?

BT: Oh, I can name the places, but San Antonio, Biloxi, Mississippi, McChord, Tacoma, Moses Lake, Anchorage, Rantoul, Illinois, Palm Beach, Florida, Anchorage, Alaska, Tokyo.

FK: So do you have a family of your own?

BT: Oh, yes.

FK: Were you married during that time, or what?

BT: I was married, I married a woman that I met in Japan, Tokyo.

FK: So what year did you get married?

BT: 1963.

FK: That was close to retirement or just before?

BT: That was about four years before retirement.

FK: So she was a, was she a Japanese national then?

BT: Yes, she was a Japanese national. She worked at the Air Force base at dental claims, she was a dental assistant. If it hadn't been for my bad teeth, I probably never would have met her. [Laughs]

FK: So what do you think about this memorial we're doing out there?

BT: I think it's great. It's a reminder for future generations of what happened. You people are commended for your efforts.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.