The Air Force: 1963-1990

Martin signed up for the U.S. Air Force in early 1963 when he was 17 years old^[1]. While going through some of his paperwork after his death, I found what I assumed to be his original "orders" from the Air Force, dated February 1, 1963. I'm pretty sure the image used above the navigation for the website was his official "Welcome to the Air Force" photograph. I have a color version hanging in my house.

Martin in his "dress blues". Showing only one stripe, this must have been 1963 or 1964. Despite a note on the back of the photo there is no identification of the base. It might be Sheppard AFB, where he received technical training, or Carswell AFB where he was subsequently assigned. However I have not been able to find any historical or current record of a "Chapel 3" located at either base.

Regardless of what led him to join the Air Force, he took to it like a fish to water and would spend the next 27 years serving. On February 1, 1965 he was promoted to A1C^[2]. As you can tell by his letter home, he was very excited and proud of the achievement. It's odd that the stationery is from Little Rock AFB since there is no record of him ever being stationed there. The screened image of a Convair B-58 Hustler can be seen in the middle of the stationery. His first assignment after technical training in April of 1963 was to Carswell AFB and the 43rd Bombardment Wing which flew the B-58 at the time. I do recall him talking very fondly of the aircraft.

Photo: Based on the description in the letter this was taken in Fort Worth on January 15, 1965 when Martin (on the left) was 19 years old.

Vietnam

By 1966 Martin was back in Florida, now stationed at MacDill AFB in Tampa. The photo on the left was only identified as "MacDill" but judging by the number of stripes on his uniform (4) this may have been 1966 or 1967. He did a tour of duty in Thailand in 1967-68 where the other two photos (also four stripes) were taken. The center photo is noted as "Thailand 1967" and the photo on the right as "Korat, Thailand 1968". Based on the location, it's likely he was based at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base (Korat RTAFB).

Making Rank

From 1969 through 1975 Martin moved between Texas and Japan, serving at Sheppard AFB near Wichita Falls, Texas, then being assigned to Misawa AB, Japan (1973-74) where he served with Civil Engineering Group (Refrigeration and Air Conditioning) of the 6920th Air Base Group. He then made a return trip to Carswell AFB in 1974. In 1971 he attended the Air Force Systems Command Noncommissioned Officers Academy; he's third from the left in the bottom row, now sporting five stripes. (What's with the one really tall guy, right in the middle of the front row?)

The Wanderer

Following a final stint at Carswell AFB, in 1976 Martin was assigned to Kunsan Air Base in Korea where he served for a year with the 8th Organizational Maintenance Squadron (OMS). Back in the states (again) he found himself stationed near Victorville, California at George AFB. The 1970s would end with him being stationed in Germany at Spangdahlem Air Base.

The photo on the left (six stripes now) has no identification but was probably circa 1975 while stationed at Carswell. The middle image is a clipping from the February 10, 1978 edition of the Hi-Desert Flyer, a Victorville, CA publication. The picture on the right was taken in April of 1978 in Victorville.

He once told me the story of how he used to go bowling with Roy Rogers while he was stationed at George. I'm not sure how tall the tale was, but Rogers did live in the area in the late 70s and the thought of him sneaking out of his ranch to go bowling and drink some beer doesn't seem too outrageous. Either way, while cleaning out my Dad's stuff, I found his bowling ball. It's got a spiral-finish in Air Force Blue (go figure). I don't know if this is the same ball he had back then, although it looks well used. I use it when I go bowling now; fits like a glove.

No other information was available for this photo than what you see. Martin (back row center) now has seven stripes (Senior Master Sergeant?) so my best guess would be that this was the late 70s or very early 80s, probably in Germany.

NORAD

By 1982 Martin had returned to the USA and was stationed at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The photo above was taken at Peterson AFB, also in Colorado Springs, in 1983. The photograph has no mention of what the occassion was, but the man standing in the center is General James V. Hartinger, a man Martin thought very highly of and gave credit to for helping him get his final stripe and rank of Chief Master Sergeant. He once mentioned that, after they had both retired, he had run into him at a hardware store and reminisced about old times. (Isn't it a little odd that the Air Force was still taking black and white photos as late as the mid 1980s?)

Martin got a kick out of the movie "Wargames" which was produced during his time at Cheyenne Mountain AS, where NORAD is based. The movie portrayed NORAD's command center as a futuristic, cavernous, high-tech looking place. Despite the artistic license taken by Hollywood, he really enjoyed the movie.

Chief

Now a full Chief Master Sergeant, Martin was shipped overseas again in the mid 1980s, this time to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. Returning to the USA in 1986, Martin would spend his final years in the Air Force assigned to Luke Air Force Base outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

Both pictures above were taken at his final re-enlistment celebration. Assuming his final enlistment was for four years, then this would have been in 1986 at Luke AFB. The picture where he is cutting the cake shows his mother, Katherine, silhouetted in the background.

I was fortunate enough to attend his retirement ceremony at Luke AFB in June(?) 1990. It was already in the 90s at 8:00 that morning and ended up around 115 degrees later in the day. His farewell speech was very short - I doubt it was more than a few minutes. He thanked a number of people that had helped him along his way throughout his years of service and ended with a request to everyone to volunteer in their communities. I thought that was a nice touch.

So, forgive me if this story is not completely accurate, but it's been nearly 24 years since I heard it. While at Luke AFB he earned the nickname, or handle, of "Dumpster One". According to a couple of the younger airmen I was hanging out with while I was there for his retirement ceremony, the name was earned while he was responsible for civilian contractors on the base that were picking up garbage. One day there was a bunch of chatter on the communications radio about who was supposed to be where picking up what, and who was in charge, and who took orders from who, etc. Well, he grabbed his walkie-talkie and shut them all down by introducing himself as "Dumpster One" - in other words, he was in charge. The name stuck. At his retirement ceremony some of his troops got together and bought him a cooler modified to look like a dumpster with the words "Dumpster One" written on it. He got a big kick out of that.

[1] We never talked about why he went into the Air Force, but somewhere along the line I heard, perhaps from his mother or mine, that some incident in high school had pushed him in that direction. I don't know what the requirements were for entering the military at that time, but if they haven't changed then you could enter at age 17 with a parent's permission. If anyone has more information about this, I would be thrilled to get the whole story.

[2] In doing some research about Air Force rankings, it seems that there were some big revisions to the Airman/Sergeant ranks in 1976 that make it a little difficult to compare his ranks then to what they are now. Any light that could be shed on this would be greatly appreciated.