John Alford at Airshow Interview with John Leroy Alford, March 13, 2018 Page 2 of 39
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City of Alexandria Office of Historic Alexandria Alexandria Legacies Oral History Program Project Name: Veterans Oral History Project Title: Interview with John Leroy Alford, Master Chief Serviceman, USN (retired) Date of Interview: March 13, 2018 Location of Interview: The Hermitage Senior Living, Alexandria, Virginia Interviewer: John Reibling Transcriber: John Reibling Abstract: John Leroy Alford was born October 27, 1925 in Rotan, Texas. The interview covers his upbringing in Texas and California, his 20-year career in the Navy, including his ship’s downing of the last kamikaze plane in World War II, his devotion to duty, and his subsequent career as a Federal civilian worker and as a Federal contractor working in support of the Camp David Peace Accords. He also discusses what he would say to young people today, his thoughts on which generation is the greatest, and the importance of voting. John Alford at Airshow Interview with John Leroy Alford, March 13, 2018 Page 2 of 39 Table of Contents/Index Minute Page Topic 00:00 3 Introduction 01:10 3 Family and Early Years 05:08 4 Most Influential Persons in Early Life 07:40 5 Meets His Future Wife 11:45 7 Extra Hoops to Get in the Navy 19:44 9 First Assignment after Boot Camp 21:48 9 Rear Seat Radioman at Naval Station Alameda 26:20 11 Attach on the USS Wasp 31:27 13 USS Wasp Transports Troops after the War 34:53 14 Lebanon Crisis 37:46 14 Shipboard Life 39:17 15 Downside of Deployments 41:24 15 Korea 45:19 17 Pride in Supporting Ships and Ship’s Crews 53:53 19 Duty as Navy Exchange Officer 1:00:06 21 Reunions after Military Retirement 1:02:39 21 Second Career with the Federal Supply Service 1:09:18 24 Third Career as a Contractor 1:25:14 28 Moving to Alexandria 1:29:04 29 Honor Flights 1:34:47 31 Flying 1:39:36 32 Advice to Petty Officers and Other Young People 1:47:12 34 Closing Thoughts 1:51:39 35 His Parents were the Greatest Generation 1:56:05 37 The Importance of Voting Interview with John Leroy Alford, March 13, 2018 Page 3 of 39 Introduction [00:00] John Today is March 13th, 2018. My name is John Reibling, a volunteer with the Reibling: Office of Historic Alexandria’s Oral History Project. It is my privilege to interview Mr. John L. Alford, here at the senior retirement home at the Hermitage in Alexandria, Virginia. Mr. Alford has volunteered to be interviewed regarding his extraordinary service to his country. Good morning, ah should I say Master Chief Alford? John You can yeah. Alford: JR: Master Chief Alford. John Master Chief, yeah. That’s fine. Alford: JR: As opposed to Mister. Okay. Good morning Master Chief. [laughs] John Good morning. Alford: JR: Oh, that’s right - it’s afternoon. John Yeah, it’s afternoon. Alford: JR: Okay. Family and Early Years [1:10] JR: For the recording please state your full name and birthdate. John John Leroy Alford. I was born October 27, 1925 in Rotan, Texas. Alford: JR: Rotan, Texas. Okay. And your mother and father’s names? John My mother was Clara Bernice Price [born November 5, 1902, died December 3, Alford: 1996.] My father was Richard Leroy Alford [born October 15, 1900, died in February, 1974.] JR: And the names of your siblings? John My older brother is Robert Eugene Alford [born December 31, 1923 in Rotan, Alford: TX, died December 29, 1984 in California.] My younger brother is Richard Lynn Alford [born June 9, 1928 in Wichita Falls, TX; died in Texas April 17, 2007.] And my younger sister is [Mini] Bernice Alford. She changed her name later to Patricia Lynne. [Note from transcriber JR: found birth record at www.familysearch.org for Mini Bernice Alford, born November 9, 1934 in Tulare, CA.] JR: Okay. Your wife’s name? John No I’m I’m sorry John. Let me back up a little bit. My sister’s name was Minnie Interview with John Leroy Alford, March 13, 2018 Page 4 of 39 Alford: Bernice [Alford] but she changed her name to Patricia Lynne later. JR: Okay. And your wife’s name? John Helen Irene Laluk [born December 5, 1928 in Jersey City, NJ; died January 24, Alford: 2006 in Jersey City, NJ.] JR: And the names of your children? John Richard Bruce Alford [born September 27, 1959 in St. Albans, NY] and Patricia Alford: Lynne Alford. Patricia’s now married to Werner—she’s Pat Werner now. JR: Okay. Now we’re going to get into the interesting stuff. You spent most of your childhood in California. What was it like growing up there? John It’s really hard to remember everything but there’s a lot of things. My dad was Alford: a—had several different jobs at different places. You have to remember this was during the Depression and things were really rough. We moved to California in November 1929 and I don’t know if it was the result of the stock market crash a little bit earlier or it’s just happenstance, but 1929 was pretty rough and my dad was—he got a job first as a foreman for the Tagus Ranch. They were a peach orchard producer, the orchard produced peaches. And then he had other jobs but it was—we lived out in the country and we went to school in a two-roomed schoolhouse for a long time. My younger brother was in the second grade I think. I was in the fifth grade. My older brother was in the seventh grade, or eighth grade. So a two-room schoolhouse and I learned a lot listening to the others, the older students in the other grades. But had a very small schoolhouse. Two teachers and we would walk to school, about a mile. It was an interesting experience really growing up. Then we moved to different places, my dad had different jobs. Then later on when I was probably in the sixth grade I think to seventh grade we moved to a small community, a farming community in the north central San Joaquin Valley, a small town named Chowchilla. The population was about two thousand. That’s where we were living when the, when World War II started. I was a junior in high school when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Can I tell you a little bit more about that? JR: Sure. John Ah like I said, I was a junior in high school. My dad had been in the Navy Alford: during World War I. He lied about his age to join when he was still seventeen. But after the War, after World War I, he got out, he raised a family and all that. But after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor he went back in the Navy. They called him a “retread” and he was, within a few months, he was sent to a ship in San Francisco, in Norfolk. But he did World War I and World War II. And after our school year that year we moved to Los Angeles. I did my senior year in Los Angeles High School. Most Influential Persons in Early Life [05:08] JR: All righty, who were the most influential persons in your early life? And how did they influence you? Interview with John Leroy Alford, March 13, 2018 Page 5 of 39 John Well it had to be my parents for sure. My dad specifically. I learned, I guess, Alford: honesty and integrity. My dad was—he was an honorable man. I remember him telling me, I don’t remember which election, maybe it was the 1932 election when Pres[ident] Franklin Roosevelt was first elected. I think it was he—I remember him telling me briefly, his foreman, his boss, was mad at him because my dad would not reveal who he was voting for. And the—I think they wanted to make sure that everybody was going to vote the [way the] owner of the farm, whatever it was, would like them to vote. But he refused to tell them and I think he got laid off because of that because he absolutely refused to tell them who he was going to vote for—was none of their business. JR: Hmm. John I think that was probably the first time I thought about integrity. At that time I Alford: didn’t know what integrity was but I realized later on that that was it. JR: Yeah. John And of course my mother was always stressing honesty but probably one of the Alford: most, there’re two influential adults outside my family outside of my family. One was Bruce McConnell who was the scoutmaster in Chowchilla. He was also a World War I veteran. And my high school teacher, Mary Sagal. She taught me—I took Algebra One and Two, geometry, h, Chemistry, Biology. I think those were the subjects that I learned from her. And she was a great teacher. I don’t know if that’s, I don’t know if you could classify that as having an influence on me but I remember—she was a good teacher and I learned a lot. I think I did. JR: Well the fact that you remember it so well suggests that she made quite an impression. John Yes she did. Alford: Meets His Future Wife [07:40] JR: She was a powerful positive influence. How did you meet and fall in love with your wife? John Oh boy.