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By: Melissa
1-6-06
Veteran
Report
My veteran report is on my
grandpa, Joseph John Foster III. My grandpa was a pilot, in the U.S. Air
Force and served in the Korean and Vietnam War.
My veteran was born in Albany, New
York on May 1, 1930, in
a Catholic Hospital. His parents were Joseph and Mary Foster. He
was the oldest of four children. His
siblings were Arthur, Kevin, and Irene. As a child he went to public school
grades k -2. Then he went to a Catholic School
grade 3- 12, at the Albany Vincentian
Institute. When he graduated from 8th grade he received the
American Award. He was a B+ student. When he was a child he liked flying gas
airplanes, playing hide - and – seek. He was in a marching band and a swing
band. He never did any sports. For
college he went to Indianapolis Tech.
He graduated there in 3 years, with a degree in Engineering. Before my
grandpa entered the military he was an engineer.
My veteran enlisted into the military,
in January 1951, at the age of 20. The Korean War was already going on for
about 6 months, and He volunteered to join the military, because he was mad
and wanted to do something for his country.
He got his
basic training at Lack Land Air Force base in San
Antonio, Texas,
during the Korean War. There were about 7,000 people there. He was there
January through April 1951, and trained for combat, military marching, and
basic training. My veteran said that the food was actually good, but most
people complained about it. The only thing he didn’t like about it was once
in a while you had to help the cooks clean everything up, they were called
the K.P. Some of the rules were you had to hang your clothes a certain way,
you had an inspection once a month, and you had to be there every morning
when they woke you up. You had to wake up every morning at 6:00.With his free
time he went to the YMCA dances where he met his girlfriend (my grandma) and
her family. The weather was typical weather. He got paid about $ 82 a month,
when he was a private. Then when he was a sergeant he got paid about $109 a
month my veteran did request a specific job, but he didn’t get the job right
away.
After
he completed basic training he got an advanced training at Wright Patterson,
AFB working with a German scientist. My veteran learned a lot from his
friends in the military, during that time.
My
Veteran first arrival in the war zone was in the Philippines.
His first impression was “where am I going to go? “ His tour began in July 1966. His unit was
30 pilots and 60 enlisted. His job
duty was to parachute drop supplies, transport troops, and medicated the wounded.
He flew to the front lines everywhere, everyday. His most frightening experience
was when his airplane engine caught on fire with the airplane loaded with
gasoline, and he had to safely land the airplane. The most rewarding experience occurred
Easter Sunday when he evacuated the last 26 Special Forces troops out of
Xomcat when the enemy was blowing the camp up. He was a hero!!! The part of his job he was
really good and enjoyed was when he was flying. The part of the job that he
was didn’t like was writing performance reports. Performance reports are when
you evaluate your unit, and how well they did. He did like all of his
commanding officers. He flew 1,165 combat sorties in Vietnam and
loved it. He felt proud when his tour ended because he helped many people,
and it was his best year flying.
He lived in a house, near a
dirt road, with a river, close by. He had a dog named Dinky Doa which means
drunk. Some of his most funniest moments were with is dog, such as when his
dog was chasing a chicken. During the summer it was hot and stinky which
crept up to about 120 degrees, this was the monsoon season which was July
through October. It only got colder during December through January. Between
those months it was about moderate. He ate non military food sometimes such
as steak and lettuce. He has been in contact with some of his old friends
from the war. The only time he thought
he might have not survived was when his engine was on fire. One of his friends, Ron Burn was a POW for
8 years.
The
most impressive place he ever saw was Xomcat, and an island off the Vietnam. He
helped many civilians during the war.
My
veteran received seven medals including the Bronze Star, Distinguished Flying
Cross, Air Force Commendation medal, Oak Leaf Cluster and the Air Medal. When
he got home his family threw him a party.
After the war he remained in
the military for 8 more years, and retired with rank, Lt. Colonel. After he
was discharged he worked on new airplane proposals for McDonald Douglas in Southern
California. My grandpa had 7 children Mary, Mark, Anne,
Greg, Joseph, Jerry, Michael. He has 11 grandchildren Rose, Jimmy. Andrew,
Jennifer, Chris, Mike, Brian, Sara, Melissa, Julie, and Jeremy.
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