Allan+Lee+Campbell

Interview conducted by Errin M.

Errin : Would you please state your full name? Alan: Alan Lee Campbell

Errin: In which branch of the service did you serve? Alan: U.S. Air Force

Errin: How long were you in the military? Number of years? Alan: 4

Errin: Date of Induction? Alan: Uhh I forget… January 1954.

Errin: And the date of discharge? Alan: December of ’58.

Errin: Now, were you enlisted or drafted? Alan: The question is, did I enlist?

Errin: Uh yes. Alan: Yes I did.

Errin: Alright, if you enlisted, uh why did you choose to enlist? Alan: Because, uh, one reason I wanted to choose the branch of service I wanted to serve in, because if I was drafted I would not go into the Air Force, I would go into the Army. What!? You want me to say something here? I can’t read your writing. Oh! Yes I worked at Logan Bell Ice Cream stand. Low paying job, and no future for advancement, and no jobs or prospects in the area.

Errin: Why did you join this specific service? Alan: To work on aircraft as I had always… ohh worked with mod el airplanes as a kid and just generally interested in aircraft.

Errin: Can you describe the first few days of your service, including boot camp? Alan: Not really, uh except that you were just so busy that uh, they kept you doing something all the time. Then you became so tired you were either sleeping or doing what they tell you. Errin: What did the first day of being in the service feel like to you? Alan: Oh I have no idea that’s 50 years ago. I don’t even recall, uh, nothing unusual. Errin: Was entering the service what you had expected it to be? Alan: I had no expectations one way or the either. It was a new experience for me so… we didn’t one way or the either. Errin: Alright, well describe a normal day of the initial days of your service. Your boot camp, what happened? Alan: Oh you get up very early, before dawn. You go into formation and then march to mess hall. Eat then calisthenics then march to various classes throughout the day. What are you pointing at? Oh! (laughter) Huh being in boot camp in Sampson in the Finger Lakes in January, it was cold, very cold. And we did not have adequate clothing. Uh it was terrible. That was the worst part of boot camp really was the cold and not having the clothing. So I had pneumonia and spent a week or so in the hospital. Errin: That sounds like fun. Alan: No, it wasn’t. (Laughter) Errin: What were your instructors like? You drill instructors, commanding officers and such? Alan: Commanding officers I had no contact with them at all. The uh, drill instructors were, you know they were bastards… sons a’ bitches. Errin: Good way to describe them, I would say. (laughter) Alan: But they, that was their job at the time. After I was in the service a while I realized what they were doing. They were not really that bad. Errin: Did you ever had a specific job assignment during boot camp or training? Alan: Uh in boot camp… just one night we had a fire watch where you had to stay awake and watch the building and protect or stop a fire from what fires do. Errin: Was the transition to the military and easy on for you or a difficult one? Alan: I can’t say it was either. Uh it wasn’t particularly easy or difficult. I didn’t know entirely what to expect… we were trying to… you were busy all the time. You were always doing something, they had you doing something all the time. You don’t have to time to worry about… Errin: Did you receive specialized training, and if so in what areas? You were a mechanic so.. where did you do that all at? Alan: I was out of Sampson and Amarillo Air Force Base at training in jet aircraft. Errin: What was your rank when you completed boot camp and additional training? Alan: I came out of boot camp as an Airman Third Class and uh after the classes in down in Illinois I became an Airman Second Class. Errin: Eventually what was the highest rank you actually achieved? Alan: Staff Sergeant. And had uh promotion to Tech Sergeant that they promised me if I would reenlist. Errin: Was your job assignment made by you superiors or did you get to choose it? Alan: Uh I chose it because on the aptitude test I scored high enough I could choose any field that I desired. Errin: And you chose? Alan: Jet aircraft mechanic Errin: Alright where did you complete basic training? Alan: Sampson Air Force Base in New York on the Finger Lakes… right on the lakes! Errin: After basic training, what camps were you stationed at? Alan: Uh I was at Amarillo for the classroom stuff and jet aircraft course. And then from there I went to Selfridge Air Force Base at Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Again I was right on the lake… about 20 feet from it. Errin: Were you ever deployed overseas, or did you remain stateside during service time? Alan: Yes I was uh sent to Chaumont, France. Errin: Alright describe briefly you deployment there. Alan: Ohh after arriving there at Chaumont, France, I was there only a short time and I was invited into joining the “Skyblazers”, which was a Air Force aerobatic team that toured uh Europe and we were… that was strictly by invitation that you got to go there. So then I was with them until they uh disbanded. Errin: Originally why were you sent to Chaumont, France? What was your specific duty while you were there? Alan: As uh the crew chief of an F-100 aircraft. Errin: And what was the F-100? Alan: It was the first aircraft that was capable of exceeding the speed of sound at level flight. Very advanced at that time. Errin: Were you able to make any friends while you were in this service? Alan: Sure… friends with everybody every place I was stationed. But they were not long lasting friends uh because… in the Air Force you were sent to the various places as individuals, and not as a group as they do in the Army where you’ll be frequently be with the same group coming out of boot camp to where ever they do send you. So you get to know people better that way. But in the Air Force, it’s as just however long they station you there. Errin: When you were outside of the U.S. describe the base where you were stationed. Alan: (Sarcastically) It was an Air Force base with a long runway for little airplanes to land on. It had a wooden barracks for little guys to sleep in, two stories. Uh… nothing, nothing unusual it was an Air Force base. Errin: Did you ever see an USO tour? Alan: No. Errin: Because you were one, correct? Alan: (Laughing) Uh yea… no we provided our own entertainment. We did not have to have outside help. Errin: Did you have a chance to travel around when you were overseas, such as a tourist would? Alan: Yes. Lots of time to travel, uh, myself I was able to buy a car over there and use it to travel to Germany, into the Bavarian Alps into Switzerland. Oh! Uh well with the “Skyblazers” we traveled all over Europe, including England and North Africa. You’re almost as a tourist when you’re traveling with them or course. Errin: Did you see or personally experience any form of discrimination while you were in the service? Alan: Yes, when I was at Amarillo. A classmate of mine was a big old black guy from Illinois. He was, I think, a Master Sergeant in the Illinois National Guard, but he had enlisted in the Air Force and was the same rank as I. And he was a licensed pilot, so we rented a plane and flew around for a while, sightseeing, and landed. Went into town to a bar to get a drink, and they refused to serve him. That was quite a shock. Errin: Did anything humorous or unusual occur to you while you were in the service or anything out of the ordinary? Alan: Well… 50 years ago it is hard to remember what was humorous. Something I wanted to say… uh… oh… keep going, maybe I’ll come back to it. Errin: Did you the military a career? Why or what not? Alan: No I didn’t obviously with four years. Couldn’t retire out of that four years. Probably got out because I just wanted to do what I wanted to do whether than have somebody tell me what to do and where I was going to do it. However years after I was out, it would’ve been nice enough to stay on. It wouldn’t have been bad at all. Errin: If you were to reenlist then, what would’ve happened? Like, what would’ve been offered to you? Alan: I would’ve been… I was offered and advance in rank to Tech Sergeant and a sign up bonus and I could’ve been stationed wherever I wanted, along with nice benefits. That Tech Sergeant… that’s a… in four years… no one got that.

Errin: Once you were deployed overseas, how long were you outside of the United States? Alan: About two years. Errin: Did you have numerous deployments while outside of the United States? Different areas you were sent to? Alan: I was stationed at Chaumont the whole time, but we made “trips”, deployments from Chaumont to various areas. North Africa into Rabat, Morocco, where they practiced bombing, and the “Skyblazers” all over Europe, to many places in Europe where they put on shows. Errin: Do you remember anything about the day you were discharged? Where it was, location, the date? Alan: Well, it was in Philadelphia. Really don’t remember anything about it. December of ’58. Errin: Were you by yourself, was there any celebration. Alan: No I was by myself. No, didn’t celebrate. Errin: Describe arriving back on U.S. soil? How’d it feel? Alan: It’s a good feeling to get back and see. When we were France the cars had yellow headlights, back here and they’re all white. That’s the first thing you noticed. It was just good to be back in the U.S. Errin: Did you immediately find a job or return to work? Alan: Not immediately, but I did eventually get a job at Puritan Sportswear as a sewing machine mechanic working with about 150 women and I detested it. I was only there a couple months. Uh, I just wasn’t made for the factory life, couldn’t stand it. Errin: Where did you go after that? Alan: And then I was employed by a credit company that eventually became Equifax where I retired after 35 years of service. Errin: Did you choose to attend school, college, a trade school, or any extra education after you came out of the service or during the service? Alan: Yea, I had some college courses in the service at Michigan State, and then after I was discharged, I attended and Penn State and took some various individual courses, computer courses and writing courses, but no degree. Errin: Did you attend any unit or service reunions? Alan: No. Errin: Did you join a veteran’s organization? Alan: Yes, I am a member of the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars because I was overseas during technically at wartime because the Korean War was still in effect. Errin: How did military service affect your life? Was it in a positive or negative way, or did it have both positive and negative effects. Alan: I think it was positive, its uh, it teaches you uh… Yes, well it teaches you responsibility, to be independent, how to take care of yourself and your friends. Things that you really don’t do before you go into the service, not certainly at a time like this. Errin: Would you advise or encourage young men and women to join the military and serve their country… rather broad question? Alan: Yes, too broad. Some, most young men, yes, I would. Errin: Did you military service experience influence you views on today’s military and war or conflicts? Alan: Well I’m sure it did, and does. Mostly in a positive way. I have positive feelings towards the military. Errin: Are you a registered voter and do you vote in all or most elections? Alan: Yes. Errin: After serving in the military do you feel more inclined to participate in these elections and voting? Do you think it is a very important thing for certain citizens to carry out? Alan: I don’t think the military service had anything to do with my feelings about uh… what activities you engage in. Doesn’t have anything to do with the war. Errin: Do you think you would enlist in the military today? If you were as young as you were? Alan: Yes. Errin: Why so? Alan: It’s a good experience. Positive. Also it was at that time it certainly was a great way to travel to see some of the country that I probably wouldn’t have been able to do on my own, certainly not Europe. I don’t think I could duplicate that. Errin: Is there anything you want to add to this interview, anything you wanted to talk about earlier to that we didn’t get to cover? Alan: Yeah but I can’t remember what… (Laughter) It was too damn long ago… Nah I can’t remember... what was it? Errin: I dunno. Alan: Well, some of the things we didn’t ask if you remember about Selfridge. Errin: Oh yes, go ahead. Alan: There was about three things that stand out, like I said before my barracks was only 15 feet from the lake there. And we fished for pike there. And I caught my first pike, and we ate that little sucker that, that was good. Plus that was where I was able to fly in a jet aircraft for the first time. They’d take me up above while they got their flying time to get their flying pay. They would fly us in a C-45 which was a twin engine small aircraft that the generals used. Errin: And did you enjoy this flying about? Alan: Oh, yea. Yea. In fact I applied to flight school. Uh well I wasn’t able to pass the physical because I was partially color blind, so they say. I’ve never been able to detect that. Errin: Had nothing to do with your mental clarity? Alan: Well, they didn’t say so anyway… what kind of question is that? (Laughing) Okay, what else do you want to know? Errin: Well, I think we’ve covered quite a bit. Alan: Yea. But the big thing in an interview like this is, it’s hard to remember. I’m in my seventies, this was 50 years ago, and it’s only a four year period out of my life and a lot of things have happened since then… a lot of water over a dam. Errin: That’s a good way to put it. Alan: Yea.