Military Life: from the Barnyard to the Strip
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Military Life: From the Barnyard to the Strip i ii to Adam & Katie Military Life: From the Barnyard to the Strip Edwin F. Flowers Edited by James Matthew Jarrett iii Edwin F. Flowers EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHERS a division of Edco, Inc. P.O. Box 4162, Star City, WV 26504 COPYRIGHT © 2016 All rights reserved. Published 2016. Printed in the United States of America iv Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1- Wars And Between Wars The Home Front: Deprivation, Regulation, and Participation 11 A Farm Boy During World War II - Prewar Attitudes 12 The Draft 13 Grade School Farmers and Pearcy’s Bull 15 On “Patrol” for Junk 16 The “Pughtown” Militia 17 The End of the War 19 Chapter 2- Into Uniform After the War—Another War (or “Police Action”) 21 Off to College and ROTC 21 InThe Regimental Band 23 My Younger Brothers 23 24 Creation of Air Force ROTC at WVU 25 A Medal Without a Shot Being Fired 25 No Summer Camp 27 My “Command” 27 Choose Your Assignment 30 v Chapter 3- JAG School—But When? Enough of the ‘Kid Stuff’ 33 But then—I Win 34 Finally, Active Duty—But Wait! 35 Money 36 JAG School at Maxwell AFB 36 Satisfied with Military Life 38 Military Travels 39 More Law School 40 Rosa Parks and Sam Jackson 41 Holiday Time Off 44 Chapter 4- “Off We Go” Arrival at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada 48 Christmas Eve, 1954 49 The Real Work Begins 50 Culture Shock 51 The Gravel Claim 53 The Case of James Igoe 56 Disarming a Sentry 57 Marriage and Housekeeping 58 Wherry Housing 59 Mount Charleston 60 Mushroom Clouds 61 B-25 Crashed into the Monongahela River 62 Crash of Fighter Pilot Instructor 63 The B-25 Crash at McCarran 64 Return of the Victors 64 Golf Tournament of Champions 65 Washington, D.C. Visit to Pentagon and Supreme Court 66 vi Interesting Peers 67 Visits, Visitors, and Expeditions 68 Entertainment 70 Chapter 5- What They Hired Me To Do The Trial of an Exploitive Entrepreneur 75 The Teamsters Picketing the Base 76 Our Neighbor, the Lake Mead Base 77 Temporary Duty to Reno: 78 My client loses control 79 1200-1 Odds 79 Ski Lesson 79 Christmas Trees 79 Some Court Martial Cases 80 The Sowell Case- February 28, 1955 80 The Ingram Case- June 29, 1955 80 Chapter 6- Home, Sweet Home Traveling Home 82 Out of the Military—Well, Almost 82 Was it Worth it? 84 Addendum & Appendix vii F-86 Sabre: The most iconic aircraft of the Korean War, and the most common aircraft flown at Nellis AFB viii Preface I cannot sufficiently recreate the attitude about military service of the late 1940’s and 1950’s. Neither I, nor my two younger brothers, were yet in high school as World War II progressed and we reacted to it. Chapter one covers the “barnyard” portion of our military life and addresses the most important reasons I felt I chose a career in the military, having been thoroughly affected by WWII like many younger Americans in those days. A wave of patriotism and relief abounded following the successful conclusion of World War II in 1946, but conscription, compulsory military service, persisted. The Korean War, which was euphemistically referred to as a “police action,” justified the nation’s continued need for military manpower. Russia and China were supporting the invasion of South Korea by North Korea. This was resisted by a United Nations force composed of mostly Americans. A third world war seemed probable between the communist and non-communist nations. With compulsory military service hanging over me as an 18 year old, in 1948 I went off to college. College exempted me from the draft, but I had the option of enhancing my status. Two years in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, ROTC, was mandatory, but by taking two additional years I would graduate as a commissioned officer and perform my required service at an officer’s pay. That is the option I chose. The portion of my military career in the college ROTC program is covered in chapter two. The second phase of military life, active duty as a student at the Air Force Judge Advocate School, comprises chapter three. Chapter four details my life in Las Vegas and all the exciting things I experienced, and chapter five explores the 21 months of active duty I spent on assignment as a Staff Judge Advocate. Chapter 6 is about going home. The military experience was extraordinary growing up—as it is for most young people. I was entrusted with legal responsibilities while receiving a regular paycheck. It provided time to weigh whether a lifetime in the military was an overlooked career option. Ultimately, my childhood hope of practicing law in my hometown was chosen and off. I went from Las Vegas, Nevada, to New Cumberland, West Virginia. I was armed with some legal experience and youthful optimism, but I had a track record which made the future seem acceptable. This account is the military detour I had to take to get there. ix 10 Wars and Between Wars The Home Front—Deprivation, Regulation, Participation A Farm Boy during World War II—Prewar Attitudes The Draft and Resulting Manpower Shortage 1 Grade School Farmers and Pearcy’s Bull On “Patrol” for Junk The Pughtown Militia The End of the War The Home Front–Deprivation, Regulation, Participation I grew up during World War II as an impressionable youth fed by radio accounts of the war’s progress, but I knew comparatively little of world events. There was no television in our home yet. The closest we got to seeing and better understanding the war was the Pathe news reel shown at the Manus Theater in New Cumberland between the “featured attractions.” The war did not go well for our allies in the early years. The Japanese had been taking Asian territory seemingly at-will; their forces swarmed over foreign shores like waves on the beach. Our ships in the Atlantic, with supplies to save Great Britain, were being sunk by German submarines. There was no adequate defense yet against the fearsome U-boat of Germany, with whom we were not yet officially at war. Our neutral stance would soon be changed. In the Pacific, our Navy would be nearly wiped out at Pearl Harbor in an event that would accelerate our involvement into the conflicts in Asia and Europe. I was eleven years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Our reactions as Americans were naturally very strong; we felt great anger and fear. We felt anger for having been “sucker punched” by the Japanese in their sneak attack, and we were frightened by the possibility that the United States could be overrun by hordes of Japanese soldiers. There was a real concern that California would be invaded, thus all Japanese-American persons were ordered to relocate to internment camps far inland from the coast. This act is a not-so-pleasant reminder of the fear and paranoia that gripped our country. On December 8th, in an address to congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested that the United States declare war on Japan. Three days later, Germany declared war on the United States. The U.S. now was at war on two fronts: the Western Front which defended against Japan, and the Eastern Front which responded to the aggression of Germany and Italy. Yet there was an equal, if not more important, front: the Home Front. It was on the two continental fronts where the war was fought and won, but the home front made all the difference in the battles won on the other two. 11 All across America, in front yards, backyards, schoolyards— and barnyards—Americans were called upon to be participants in the great wars which were to be waged on both sides of the world. Though we were too young to offer our services in the military, my two younger brothers, Ronald, Dale, and I felt that we contributed in a very real way to the war effort. We felt growing up must be like the military by reason of the deprivation, regulation, and participation we were expected to endure. These concepts became familiar to us at a young age, and would benefit us in our later military careers. We felt deprived when the military drafted two successive scout masters and when our small farm did not qualify us to buy a tractor to replace our aging horses. We were regulated when we had to Flowers Brothers, ca. 1935 (top: Dale use rationing stamps for gasoline and some food items. We felt bottom: L. Ronald, R. Edwin ) our participation was exacted when our home room teacher collected money for War Bond stamps (later called Victory Bonds) and our home front city-neighbors were urged to plant “Victory Gardens” for their own food needs in order to make more available for our soldiers. A Farm Boy during World War II—Prewar Attitudes Prior to Pearl Harbor, those of us on the home front were not united in our feelings about our future enemies: Japan and Germany. Many doubted the need for America to be involved in any wars at all. Franklin D. Roosevelt had faced a difficult election for an unprecedented third term as president, and he was contending with a strong isolationist sentiment throughout the nation. There were many who felt the troubles of the world were not the responsibility of the United States to solve. In the end, we were not given a choice between war or peace, and the nation was not ready for war.