Service Photo |
Service Details |
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Current Service Status
USAF Retired
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Current/Last Rank
Senior Master Sergeant
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Current/Last Primary AFSC/MOS
423X4-Aircraft Pneudraulic Systems Mechanic
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Current/Last AFSC Group
Aircraft Maintenance
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Primary Unit
2005-Present, 119th Fighter Squadron - Jersey Devils
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Previously Held AFSC/MOS
99000-Basic Airman
4-A
42-Air
2A3X3-Tactical Aircraft Maintenance
43191-Aircraft Maintenance Superintendent
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Service Years
1966 - 2005
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Voice Edition
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What are you doing now:
 Keeping busy with my wife Donna, whom I will be married to forty years in July 2009.  We've traveled quite alot having gone to Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria in March 2006. March 2007 we drove my inlaws to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesotta. What a snow storm we ran into in Madison Wisconsin! January 2008 we drove to Florida. Visited some of the old TDY bases Tyndall and McDill. I always enjoyed TDY's, and it brings back good memories to go their.  July 2008 we drove to Albuquerque New Mexico for a wedding, then up to Colorado Spings and Denver. As you can see I enjoy driving, so I took a part time job driving. One of my "FOX HOLE BUDDIES" Joe Fenton, convinced me to look into parts delivery. I work three days a week for an auto dealership and have a four day weekend. WOW, if I knew it would be that good, I would have done it forty years ago!!Â
  When our children were young, it opened up an avenue to our social lives, so do our five grand children. In many ways re-aquainting us with people we lost touch with. Its true, you really get to enjoy them so much more than the hectic pace of raising your own. I finally have two sons! both are really nice guys and thank God, both marriages seem to be very sound.
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Other Comments:
I graduated from Cape May Vocational Technical Institute in 1966 and went to work for Weaton Plastic Co. in Mayslanding as a design draftsman. I had a technical deferment from them to avoid the draft and one from my parents' family farm but felt an obligation to serve in the military. As a child who played soldier with my cousins and admired my uncles in uniform I was inspired to join the military. The Vietnam War was going on and everyone was saying "don't join", this didn't persuade me . I joined the New Jersey Air National Guard in August and left for basic in October 1966. After graduation from Chanute AFB as a hydraulic repairman, I was hired full time by the NJANG as a technician. From that day on I knew I made the right decision about joining the military. On January 26, 1968 the 177th TFG was activated for the Pueblo Incident and we were sent to Phu Cat, Vietnam for a one year tour. After 14 years as a hydraulic technician, I cross trained to flight line and was a crew chief certified on F-106s, T-33s and F-16s. I retired from my technician job with NJANG on my 55th birthday, December 27, 2000 and stayed on as a triditional Guardsman working in the Maintenance Control section (MOCC). The first plane flew into the World Trade building at 0910 and by 0925 hours I received a phone call saying we were activated and to report to base ASAP. I stayed on active duty for two years doing Noble Eagle missions and retired from NJANG military on December 27, 2005 at age 60.Â
   From my first day as a technician until my last day as a traditional guardsman, I knew I had a job that was the envy of my family and friends. Exotic travel to places they only heard about and TDYs to warm climates in January and Feburary always seemed like greener pastures to them and for the most part, they were correct. I couldn't imagine working any other job and being any happier than with what I was doing in the Air National Guard.Â
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1966-1966, 99000, 3724th Basic Military Training Squadron (Cadre)
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1966-1967, 4, 3347th Student Training Squadron (Cadre)
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1966-1968, 42, 177th Tactical Fighter Group
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1968-1968, 42, 113th Tactical Fighter Wing
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1968-1968, 354th Field Maintenance Squadron
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1968-1969, 42, 355th Tactical Fighter Squadron
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1968-1969, 42, 37th Field Maintenance Squadron
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1968-1969, 42, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing
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1970-1972, 42, 177th Tactical Fighter Group
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1972-1998, 423X4, 177th Fighter-Interceptor Group
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1995-2000, 2A3X3, 177th Fighter Wing
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2000-2005, 43191, New Jersey Air National Guard
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2000-2005, 177th Fighter Wing
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2005-Present, 119th Fighter Squadron - Jersey Devils
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Please describe who or what influenced your decision to join the Air Force. |
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Whether you were in the service for several years or as a career, please describe the direction or path you took. Where did you go to basic training and what units, bases, or squadrons were you assigned to? What was your reason for leaving? |
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If you participated in any military operations, including combat, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, please describe those which made a lasting impact on you and, if life-changing, in what way? |
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From your entire military service, describe any memories you still reflect back on to this day. |
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What professional achievements are you most proud of from your military career? |
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Of all the medals, awards, formal presentations and qualification badges you received, or other memorabilia, which one is the most meaningful to you and why? |
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Which individual(s) from your time in the military stand out as having the most positive impact on you and why? |
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Can you recount a particular incident from your service, which may or may not have been funny at the time, but still makes you laugh? |
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What profession did you follow after your military service and what are you doing now? If you are currently serving, what is your present occupational specialty? |
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What military associations are you a member of, if any? What specific benefits do you derive from your memberships? |
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In what ways has serving in the military influenced the way you have approached your life and your career? What do you miss most about your time in the service? |
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Based on your own experiences, what advice would you give to those who have recently joined the Air Force? |
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In what ways has TogetherWeServed.com helped you remember your military service and the friends you served with. |
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