Celebrating my family’s service to the U.S. Army. A century of active and in-active federal government service.
“Always remember those who protect and preserve our independence”
“I can’t help but get choked up every time I think about my family.”
Serving in: World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War and in the countries Germany, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Afghanistan and others.
By: Janet (Hedrick) Stewart
As a young teenager I wrote an article appearing in the Morristown Gazette-Mail reporting the military career of my brothers and how proud I was of their service and commitment, with another article in The Rogersville Review in 2009 honoring their continued service that included two nephews. After seeing the article request for honoring our veterans 365 days a year, I had to tell their story again.
My father Pryor Hedrick was born in Grainger County on February 14, 1897. He married Bertha Noe, in 1916. Noe was the daughter of William Arthur Noe and Minnie Bell Phillips. They had three children Kenneth Hedrick, Velma Grace Hedrick and Francis Hedrick. Parents and children are all deceased.
In 1938, Pryor Hedrick married my mother, Betty Shockley. She was the daughter of George and Lillie Shockley. They had five children, Shirley Hedrick (Johnson), Donald Hadrick, Judy Hedrick (Drinnon), Darrell Hedrick and Janet Hedrick (Stewart).
Kenneth Hedrick in Uniform
My oldest brother Kenneth Hedrick enlisted in the Army in 1937 and retired in 1965 with 28 years’ of service. He served with the 18th Combat Team 32nd Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Infantry Division in North Africa and Europe. At the beginning of World War II he was stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. He was selected to become part of the American Expeditionary Force, commanded by General George Patton.
Kenneth was part of the invasion of France on D-Day June 6, 1944. He earned a Bronze Star on D-Day while landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. Kenneth also served in Korea during the Korean War. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal; the World War II Victory Medal; the Army of Occupation Medal with German Clasp; the Victory Medal; the European-African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with seven battle stars for Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, North France, Rhineland, Arden-Alsace and Central Europe. Kenneth also received the National Defense Service Award; the Distinguished Unit Emblem, the French Fourragere; the Belgium Fourragere; the Army Commendation Medal, and the Korean Service Medal and the Korean Campaign Medal.
Kenneth died on December 26, 1972 in Johnson City, Tennessee. He is buried at Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City.
My brother Donald Hadrick (different spelling because it was misspelled in military documents) joined the Army in 1958. He retired in 1994, with 20 years active duty and 16 years inactive service working for the Department of the Army, a combined 36 years service.
Don in Uniform 1972
Don served two combat tours in Vietnam. His first tour was with the 1st Infantry Division, the same division, my brother Kenneth served with twenty-three years earlier. Don’s first tour was December 1965 until December 1966. He was wounded in action on Easter Sunday 1966 and again on Thanksgiving Day November 24, 1966. My sister walked for miles to my parent’s home to inform us of my brother’s injuries. If you’ve had this happen in your family, you know this is something you will never forget. I can still remember standing in the house screaming and crying. Still to this day, it is a horrible feeling just to imagine what a veteran feels. Military families will never forget being notified but their wounds go much deeper than just the obvious injuries, feelings they carry for the rest of their life, physically, but more so mentally, some much worse than others.
Don was evacuated to the U.S. Army Hospital in Fort Ord, California where he stayed until released.
In July 1969 he received orders to return to Vietnam and joined the 4th Infantry Division. He was wounded by shrapnel from a hand grenade in January 1970. He returned home in August 1970.
Don’s awards include; two Bronze Star Medals for Valor and two Bronze Star Medals for service; the Combat Infantry Badge, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, three Army Accommodations Medals; the National Defense Service Medal; the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; seven awards of the Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnamese Campaign Medal with six battle stars, the Vietnamese Service Medal, the Vietnamese Civic Actions Medal; The Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry; and the Vietnam Wound Medal.
Don lives on Daniel Island, in Charleston, South Carolina with his wife Bobbie and is enjoying his retirement.
My nephew, Dennis Franklin Hadrick, son of Donald Hadrick served in the US Army from 1981 until 1994. He rose to the rank of Sergeant First Class in the Gulf War. He served as forward observer for the Artillery in the Third Armored Division. His military awards include the Bronze Star for Service; the Meritorious Service Medal; three awards of the Army Accommodations Medal; four awards of the Army Achievement Medal; the Good Conduct Medal. The National Defense Service Medal, the Southeast Asia Service Medal with three bronze service stars; the Professional Development Medal with #3, the Oversea Service Medal for service in Korea and Germany, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, and the Army Service Medal.
Dennis in Uniform
Dennis is currently employed by the Department of State in Washington, D.C; as Program Manager in the Bureau of Political and Military Affairs. He is the Department of State’s representative for the de-mining program. Dennis won Officer of the Year Award for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. Dennis was selected because of his consistent humanitarian mine action and important contributions in promoting efforts around the world, particularly in countries just emerging from conflict, such as; Georgia and Iraq. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered remarks and presented the award to Dennis in October 2009. Dennis has 13 years active service. Seventeen 17 years inactive service with the federal government creating and managing conventional weapons destruction programs around the world, including Iraq, Jordan, Afghanistan and other countries in that section of the world. He has visited over 125 countries in his travels.
Dennis lives in Woodbridge, Virginia with his wife Susan.
My nephew, Kenneth Brian Hadrick, son of Donald Hadrick served with the US Army for 6 years from 1983 to 1989. Ken graduated early from Sacramento
Ken in Uniform
California High School. He served in Europe and with the 101st Airmobile Division at Fort Campbell Kentucky. After leaving the military, he returned to Sacramento to begin working in the cable construction business. His occupation has taken him to Reno, Nevada, Salt Lake City, Utah and to Denver, Colorado where he now works for Tetra Tech. He continues his service to Veterans as the Commander of an American Legion in Thornton, Colorado and performs military burial rites for deceased Veterans.
Ken resides in Thornton, Colorado with his wife JeNet.
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- Veteran’s spotlight: Fort Pierce veteran awarded Bronze Star in Korea (tcpalm.com)
17/365 – Honoring – Charles Crews
Charles Crews fought WWII beneath the Pacific Ocean as a submariner. He and the crew of the USS Spot were depth-charged 4 times, twice by their own country.
Charles Crews
Born in 1921, Crews said, “I lost both parents before my 14th birthday. We kids were raised by a compassionate stepmother, but I was on my own at 18.” Crews milked cows and delivered milk until introduced to his civilian niche as a projectionist in movie theaters. “A friend that operated projectors in the Navy taught me the trade,” he said.
Enthralled by his buddy’s tales of the Seven Seas, Crews tried to join the Navy in 1939 but was turned down. “Flat feet,” he stated. Crews found work at the fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta. “I ushered before a promotion to projectionist in the screening room where they censored films, like trying to cut ‘damn’ from Gone with the Wind.”
After Pearl Harbor, the Navy overlooked flat feet. Crews said, “I boarded a train at Union Station in Oct ’42 for boot camp at Great Lakes, IL. Our barracks was in a corn field, no hot water, no heat, but a bunch of Yankees. We refought the Civil War.”
Crews’ first shipboard assignment was on a refurbished survivor of Dec 07, the battleship USS Nevada. “I boarded in Seattle,” he said. “We took trail runs on Puget Sound before sailing to Long Beach, CA. I danced with Betty Grable at a Hollywood canteen, saw Clark Gable and Bob Hope, and heard aging Sophie Tucker tell the boys, “There’s snow on the roof but there’s still a fire in the furnace.”
The Nevada joined battleships Idaho and Texas to bombard Attu Island in the Aleutians in ’43. As a 40mm gunner, Crews watched the massive 16” guns fire their payloads. “We put cotton in our ears,” he said. “The battleship would rock like a baby cradle when those guns cut loose.” Albeit, Crews realized battleships were not his forte. He stated, “I preferred the notion of a close knit crew.” He volunteered for submarines; passed all the tests, including the prerequisite of having all your teeth.
Assigned to submarine training in New London, CT, Crews endured 100ft diving tank trials, breathed underwater with the Munson Lung, endured the pressure tank (a 50% failure rate), mastered ‘the boat’ from bow to stern, and trained at sea on antiquated WWI subs. Graduating 6th in a class of 150, Crews received orders for the USS Seawolf. “The parents of a boy from Massachusetts wanted him to remain on the east coast so I swapped boats with him. I took the USS Spot,” Crews said. (The Seawolf was lost at sea in Oct of ’44. There were no survivors).
Crews boarded the newly commissioned USS Spot in San Francisco. “I operated the starboard side maneuvering board, plus kept fresh water in the batteries,” he said. “A WWII sub used diesel engines to run on the surface but used batteries if submerged. I’d crawl down a hole with a hose to water the batteries. Leaking acid was always a danger.”
Ordered to Pearl Harbor, the crew of the Spot received a surprise upon arrival. “We were told we’d been sunk,” Crews said. “That sure was news to us.”
Combat lay ahead. “Wake Island was our first patrol,” Crews recalled. “We sank merchant ships but I don’t remember any celebrations. No guilty feeling, but we weren’t jovial about it either.” Occasionally, their submarine made unauthorized rendezvous with seagoing Japanese ‘Junks’. “They were everywhere,” Crews said. “We knew they could radio our position in, but we still traded them our canned goods for fresh fish. The navy finally stopped that barter system.”
Armed with torpedoes, a 5” deck gun, 40mm and 20mm anti-aircraft guns, Crews recalled one encounter between the Spot and a merchant ship. “Our 5” gun traded shells with the merchant ship. We won the duel then sent a boarding party to search the vessel. What the guys saw made them sick; they wouldn’t even talk about it.”
Crew members employ a 5-inch deck gun on the USS Spot that Rockdale County resident Charles Crews served on. In this undated photo, Crews said the men were firing on a Japanese ship. The photo was taken by a newspaper photographer as Crews stood by.
While taking on supplies from a sub tender off the island of Saipan, the sailors of the Spot saw the grisly results of fanatical militarism. “The bleached bones of suicidal Japanese dotted the beach,” Crews said. “We saw other bones, too, American.”
The Spot received credit for participation in the battle for Iwo Jima. Crews said, “We remained on station to rescue downed airmen, young flyboys like future President George H. W. Bush, but other subs always beat us to the rescue.”
The Yellow Sea near China and the waters off Guam were also patrolled by men of the Spot. “On one occasion we surfaced inside an enemy convoy and attacked with the 5” deck gun, sank a few then submerged. About the time we were settling into bunks, we heard ‘man your battle stations!’ The skipper resurfaced to engage another merchant ship. He’d made a mistake. The ship was a Japanese destroyer. It raked our boys on the deck. Several were badly wounded. We immediately submerged, right into a mud bank. Depth charges pounded us for hours; it’s like bombs going off in your face. I prayed for God to help us, he did.”
Mistaken identity caused the Army Air Force to attack the Spot once as did a US naval destroyer. “That got old quick,” Crews stated. Crewmembers of the US destroyer apologized to the submariners at a recent reunion. Crews stated, “To be honest, I didn’t want to hear it!”
Of sub grub, Crews said, “Steaks, plenty of them, but we craved something green, like spinach or lettuce. In port we’d pilfer supply crates and steal anything leafy green.”
In early ’45 the Spot found trouble in the Sea of Japan. “We surfaced right in the middle of a mine field. The skipper screamed, ‘Shut down engines, shut down engines!’ I can’t describe my feelings, especially when he said, ‘follow orders and be on your toes.’ I prayed a lot that day, too. Then we heard ‘Dive!’ and we submerged straight down, like a rock, and luckily slipped away.”
The Spot returned to Pearl Harbor in July ’45 for repairs and supplies, but atomic bombs dropped on Japan made an overhaul and supplies unnecessary. WWII ended with Crews sunbathing on Waikiki Beach. “Nice way to end a war,” he said, smiling.
Crews retired as a film inspector from the Civil Service in 1997 but continued to work with audiovisual support systems. “My last gig in 2009 was a Mercedes Benz trade show at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, five grand for a week. My first paycheck as a projectionist was $12.00. Change can be good.”
Pete Mecca – http://www.aveteransstory@gmail.com
Pete Mecca – Vietnam veteran, columnist, and free-lance writer
If you’d like to be considered for one of my featured newspapers articles
entitled “A Veteran’s Story” email me at: aveteransstory@gmail.com
You can review my articles at: rockdalecitizen.com or newtoncitizen.com
Click on ‘community’ then click on ‘military news’
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Honoring Marines Killed in Chopper Crash on 2/23/2012
Image via Wikipedia
The Camp Pendleton-based aircraft collide during a nighttime training mission in a remote part of Imperial County. The accident is called ‘a grave reminder’ of troops’ sacrifices. - Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
- Maj. Thomas A. Budrejko, 37, of Montville, Conn., commissioned in the Marine Corps May 24, 1996 and served as an AH-1W Cobra pilot and Executive Officer of HMLA-469.
- Capt. Michael M. Quin, 28, of Purcellville, Va., commissioned in the Marine Corps May 26, 2006 and served as a UH-1Y Huey pilot.
- Capt. Benjamin N. Cerniglia, 31, of Montgomery, Ala., commissioned in the Marine Corps December 14, 2007 and served as an AH-1W Cobra pilot.
- Sgt. Justin A. Everett, 33, of Clovis, Calif., enlisted in the Marine Corps February 19, 2002 and served as a helicopter crew chief aboard UH-1Y Hueys.
- Lance Cpl. Corey A. Little, 25, of Marietta, Ga., enlisted in the Marine Corps March 30, 2009 and served as a helicopter crew chief aboard UH-1Y Hueys.
- Lance Cpl. Nickoulas H. Elliott, 21, of Spokane, Wash., enlisted in the Marine Corps May 4, 2009 and served as a helicopter crew chief aboard UH-1Y Hueys.
- Capt. Nathan W. Anderson, 32, of Amarillo, Texas, commissioned in the Marine Corps December 20, 2002 and served as a UH-1Y Huey pilot. Anderson was assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.
Read the article about the accident at http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/24/local/la-me-helicopter-crash-20120224
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Army will contact all who had PTSD status changed at Madigan
The Army plans to contact every former soldier whose post-traumatic stress diagnosis was changed by a Madigan Army Medical Center psychiatry team over the past four years and likely will reevaluate many of those cases.
The Army Western Region Medical Command disclosed that new line of inquiry Wednesday as it summarized its first review of a Madigan team responsible for checking the mental health diagnoses of soldiers seeking medical retirements.
Of 14 soldiers who challenged the psychiatry team’s adjustments, the Army reinstated the original PTSD diagnoses for six. The reinstatement entitles them to a disability pension of at least 50 percent of their Army salaries – more than what they would have received under the team’s changes.
In six other cases, clinicians at Walter Reed Army Medical Center concluded the Madigan team was correct in changing PTSD to other conditions, such as anxiety disorder. Those diagnoses do not come with immediate disability pensions.
The remaining two soldiers were never diagnosed with PTSD, and the Walter Reed reviewers determined those decisions were correct.
“These results clearly show that the PTSD evaluation process by this unit at Madigan has been deeply flawed,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Wednesday. “How many other service members have been wrongly diagnosed, how much cost played a role in these decisions, and how widespread this problem is, are still big, unanswered questions.”
Maj. Gen. Philip Volpe, commander of the Western Region Medical Command based south of Tacoma, said the results show that further investigation is warranted.
“We have a responsibility to identify the cause of variance, eliminate diagnostic variance, and standardize our processes across all of Army medicine,” Volpe said in written remarks.
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- Army reinstates PTSD diagnoses in six cases from Madigan (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
16/365 – Honoring – Katherine Davis
Rockdale native Katherine Davis confessed, “I’ll admit being a spoiled brat in my younger days, but after high school I realized I needed to transform my life. After talking to recruiters I knew the toughest challenge would be the Marines.”
OnJune 06, 2005Davisboarded a Marine bus atFt.GillemforParris Island,SC.
“My mom cried,” she said. “I asked myself, ‘Katherine, what have you done, girl?’”
Davis recalled Parris Island. “I’d never been screamed at so much in my life, and I don’t remember seeing a bed for 2 days. The training was rough and crude, but I wasn’t going to quit, I wanted to be a marine.”
Ironically, her peaceful moments came on the rifle range. “Nobody messed with you there, they couldn’t. I had time to collect myself.” With a fear of heights, the rappel tower was her biggest challenge. “I remember the drill instructor, a woman I swear was bi polar, yelling, ‘Davis, you’re going to hit the ground,’ but I made it, and finished my 13 weeks of basic.”
After combat training at Camp Lejeune,Davis was sent toFt. Leonardwood, MO to learn the ins and outs of the 7 ton truck, the Humvee, and a dragon-looking hydraulic beast called the LVS. Her first duty assignment was Camp Pendleton,CA. There she joined Combat Logistics Battalion 15 and received her first ‘float’ (sea duty).
She recalled, “I sailed on the assault carrier USS Boxer escorted by 2 other ships. We’re called a MEU, marine expeditionary unit. We’re at the President’s beck and call. We go where needed.”
Ports-of-call like Hawaii, Singapore, and Australia were preludes to Kuwait, and a war called Iraq. “We anchored off Kuwait and took hovercrafts into the beach where we formed a truck convoy. The drive intoIraqwas my last cry, fully understanding I might not see my mom again. But I’m a marine; I had a job to do.” They drove for 21 straight hours in 20 trucks, doing whatever they could to stay awake. Destination: Camp Korean Village in Anbar Province.
For over 2 months Davis transported needed supplies into the Iraqi city of Rutbah, a 40 minute drive amid IEDs (improvised explosive devices). “It was chilling,” she said. “We made ‘long’ security halts, meaning we got out and looked. A ‘short’ security check meant we stayed inside the truck doing a 5 and 25, that’s looking 5 meters front and rear, then 25 meters to the sides.”
The driver is the ‘vehicle commander’ regardless of rank. On one ‘short’ security check Davis spotted white and blue wires sticking out from a guard rail post. “The white wire was clean, no dust or sand on it. We were in trouble.” Davis tried to communicate with the convoy via radio, but couldn’t get through. “We were parked next to an IED and couldn’t warn our convoy, it was maddening. I asked the staff sergeant sitting next to me what to do. He said, ‘You’re the vehicle commander, it’s your call.’ Well, okay then. If it was a remote control IED the enemy would detonate it when we started to move, but if a pressure plate IED was beneath us it might detonate, too. I decided we’d move with the convoy. Thank God, nothing happened.”
They called in the IEDs coordinates; a demolition team checked it; and indeed the devise was remote controlled. Davis said, “A Humvee may have unknowingly jammed the IED, or the trigger-man was too far off. Either way, it’ll make your heart skip a beat or two.”
Davis also served 5 months at Camp Walliedon the Syrian border. She was the only female. “The guys were very protective and conducted themselves like gentlemen. I got a few catcalls. A marine is a marine, but I’m a lady marine, and we were trained to remain so.”
Davis requested one incident be reported above all others. “We were walking the perimeter on security detail in Rutbah guarding our commanding officer as he conducted political business. A little girl ran up and kept staring at me. My neck gator was pulled up (a cloth the lady marines use to cover their faces because Iraqi men do not want their women to see other women in positions of power) but I pulled it down and smiled at her. She didn’t speak a lick of English but lit up like a Christmas tree, grabbed my blouse and didn’t let go for 2 hours.”
“When we began our pull-out she suddenly ran back into a refugee building; then returned a minute later. Someone had taught her 3 words in English. When I leaned over she said, ‘I love you’. I told her, ‘I love you, too,’ then we were gone. That made 4 years of duty and training and war worth the price.”
Several marines from Davis’ unit received traumatic brain injuries during combat in Fallujah but the unit suffered no fatalities. She returned to Camp Pendleton, sailed on one more ‘float’ aboard the USS Pearl Harbor, and ended her service at Camp Pendleton advising new marines under deployment.
Recently interviewed for a position in an attorney’s office, Davis was told the law firm held their employees to a higher standard. Davis told the interviewer, “Ma’am, I’m a United States Marine. I’m already there.”
Pete Mecca – Vietnam veteran, columnist, and free-lance writer
If you’d like to be considered for one of his featured newspaper articles
entitled “A Veteran’s Story” email Pete at: aveteransstory@gmail.com
You can review his articles at: rockdalecitizen.com or newtoncitizen.com
Click on ‘community’ then click on ‘military news’
News Channel Five Nashville – Story on Project 365 Vets
News Channel Five out of Nashville, Tennessee interviewed us about Project 365. The story aired at 10 P.M. tonight. Thank you Aundrea and Bob for being so gracious and helping me feel at more at ease.
Mid-State Mom Honors Veterans With Blog – NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports
A mid-state mother of five had a simple idea about how to honor veterans. Tina Shang went back to school and was told by a teacher that a blog is a good way to improve her writing. So she started one, committed to telling veteran’s stories each day of the year. It’s already taken off.
“I served three years in Iraq before I was injured. It was June 11th, 2004, the day that would change me forever,” Shang recited from veteran Brandi Surplis’ entry.
Shang is giving veterans a voice by allowing them to tell their own stories, in their own words on a blog she created called 365 Veterans.
“You don’t have to lose a leg to be my hero,” Shang said. “You served your country and I want to honor you.”
For 365 days she hopes to share a veteran’s story.
“I never thought about what I did. I guess it was a job I signed up to do,” Surplis said.
It’s a job, with Shang’s help, Surplis can now share with the world.
You can see the video through the link above. Thank you all for your continued support and to all of our veterans thank you for sharing your stories and lives with us.
15/365 – Honoring – Bill Edwardy
Most combat veterans live and sleep with the nightmares of only one war, but Bill Edwardy copes with the vivid memories of three.
Savannah-born Edwardy worked at an early age as a riverboat night-watchman to help support his family. By the age of 18, he was plowing the stormyAtlanticas a mess attendant aboard a ship toNew York,Newfoundland, andNova Scotia. He said, “It was 1940 andCanadawas already in WWII. A German U-boat stopped us but let us go when their captain found out we were Americans. He spoke perfect English.”
Edwardy decided to join the Navy but was turned down. “Flat feet,” he said with a smile. Albeit, afterPearl Harbor; Edwardy and his flat feet were accepted by the Army in May of ‘42.
After basic training, he was sent to Pneumonia Gulch – Jefferson Barracks,Mo. “It was by the river, we slept in tents and stayed sick,” he said. His high school musical talents earned him a posting to the Army band, but the musical talents gave way to his peace-time hobby: photography. Retrained in photo intelligence, Edwardy soon sailed out ofSan Franciscoon the Luxury liner The Isle de France en route toBombay,India.
Dodging Japanese subs and surviving a typhoon, the Isle de France finally made port inBombay. Edwardy recalled, “The sanitary conditions inBombaywere repulsive.” With holes in the floors of railcars for bathrooms, his train ride toCalcuttawasn’t exactly a bed of roses either.
Edwardy processed photo intelligence from B-24 bomb runs to make the mosaics for future missions. He said, “Initially we stood up and shot recon photos out of the B-24 escape hole, but we eventually rigged up metal seats for more comfort.” Comfort did not equate to safety. “I lost a lot of friends on those missions.”
After 2 ½ years inIndia, Edwardy was sent to Lowry AFB inDenver,Co.to train a new batch of photo processors. “I was inDenverwhen the Japs surrendered,” he stated. “What a party! I remember riding on the top of streetcars….I think.”
Joining the reserves, Edwardy returned toSavannahand took on-the-job training as a diesel mechanic on tug boats. He became a chief engineer and earned a radio license, but now married to his childhood sweetheart, Eleanor, a land-based vocation made more sense. He was hired by The Singer Sewing Machine Company and worked as Asst. Mgr, then a Manager, and opened a store inStatesboro,Ga.until the Korean War required his military talents.
Called back to duty, Edwardy finagled his way into the Air National Guard before receiving orders. Assigned to the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing F-86 Fighter Jet Squadron at Kimpo AFB near the port city ofInchon, Edwardy recalled, “On the day I arrived the hangers were still smoking from an attack. Kimpo sat on a plateau so we could watch the fighting below, and shells flew over the base constantly fromInchon.” Antiquated North Korean aircraft would raid Kimpo and literally throw out their bombs. “It was brutally cold which made it was easy to see the exhaust from their planes,” Edwardy said. “One day we watched a Navy jet chase a slower enemy plane but the jet didn’t compensate for the speed. They collided in mid-air, nobody got out.” Edwardy survived his second war.
Sent toJapan, Edwardy was joined by his wife, son and daughter for an enjoyable 4 year stint. Then began the military peace time grind: back toDenverto instruct aerial photography, 4 years inDublin,Gaas an Air Force recruiter, changing careers to aircraft
maintenance to earn flying status on C-123s, a posting at Homestead AFB in Florida and serving as crew chief on C-119s at Otis AFB, Ma. In the late 1950’s Edwardy received training in a skill that would guarantee participation in his 3rd war: diagnostic debriefings and maintenance on the most modern and hottest fighter in the U.S. Air Force inventory – the legendary supersonic F-4 Phantom.
In his third war, Edwardy discovered the maps in use so out-of-date thatVietnamwas still called French Indochina. “That was early-on in the war,” he recalled. “We even wore civilian clothes into Tan Son Nhut and Bien Hoa.” Early-on still meant death and destruction. “We lost many a pilot on the early recon missions flying O-1 Birddogs and the slower than slow Helio U-10s,” he said.
Three wars were enough. Edwardy spent five years inTurkeyand completed his military career in 1975 at Edwards AFB, Ca. Retired, he called his old employer – The Singer Sewing Machine Company. “I asked for my old job,” he said. “They asked me how long I had been gone and I told them 28 years; that produced a long silence on the other end of the line.”
Amazingly, Edwardy got his job back and worked at The Singer Sewing Machine Co until they went out of business, then worked for 10 years as an officer in the auxiliary Coast Guard inPanama CityBeach, Fl. “That was interesting,” he said. “What people do on water is incredible. They run out of fuel; get thrown out of boats without their life vests; hit waves at full-throttle and damage their boats; get drunk while driving a boat not knowing their boats can be taken away. Shoot, I’ve heard boaters tell the Coast Guard to go to hell and they end-up in jail. Yep, it’s pretty incredible.”
Bill Edwardy endured a Great Depression, worked any job obtainable, fought and survived three wars while raising a family. Yep, pretty incredible.
Pete Mecca –Vietnamveteran, columnist, and free-lance writer
If you’d like to be considered for one of his featured newspaper articles
entitled “A Veteran’s Story” email Pete at: aveteransstory@gmail.com
You can review his articles at: rockdalecitizen.com or newtoncitizen.com
Click on ‘community’ then click on ‘military news’
