1
100
4
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/b27dd50eafbc5661448c48ac8ae2d071.jpg
70f55dca5255ea15d9b3f3832bb6ba6b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project Collection
Alternative Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Subject
Cemeteries--Europe
Veterans--Florida
World War II, 1939-1945
Army
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES</a>.
<a href="https://projects.cah.ucf.edu/fl-francesoldierstories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida-France Soldier Stories Project</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Dinozé, France
Contributing Project
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Curator
Barnes, Mark
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Epinal Project- by Students of History 357: The Second World War</a>." University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm (accessed January 3, 2015).
Description
<p><span>The </span>Florida-France Soldier Stories<span>project seeks to tell the stories of the Florida soldiers buried in the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in France. Our goal is to honor and commemorate the brave individuals who gave their lives supporting the Allied forces, liberating France, and defeating Germany in the Second World War. Simultaneously, our goal is to teach the students who participate in this research project about the history of France and Florida during World War II, about the history of individual servicemen, and about how to implement historical research methods in their work.</span></p>
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Margaret Ann Gallagher is Bride of Lieut. Jack Cameron Heist
Description
An article published in <em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em> announcing the wedding of Margaret Ann Gallagher to Major Jack Cameron Heist (1919-1944). The ceremony was performed by Reverend Edward Gallagher at the Holy Savior Church in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The bride was a graduated from Coughlin High School and an employee of the U.S. Department of War. The bridegroom, then-Lieutenant Heist, was born to Henry S. Heist and Christina Heist on November 6, 1919, in Eustis, Florida. He received his commission on May 29, 1941, to serve in World War II. Maj. Heist was an Ammunition Officer for the XIX Corps. He died during his service in an ambush on September 2, 1944, near Thiant, France. He is currently buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. Maj. Heist is one of 85 Florida residents interned at Epinal.
Date Created
ca. 1942-07-15
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em></a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
External Reference
"<a href="http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/liberation-de-thiant-l-histoire-bouleversante-du-ia27b36952n2369051" target="_blank">Libération de Thiant</a>." La Voix Du Nord. http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/liberation-de-thiant-l-histoire-bouleversante-du-ia27b36952n2369051.
"<a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=heist&GSiman=1&GScid=1991677&GRid=56372930&" target="_blank">Maj Jack C Heist</a>." Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=heist&GSiman=1&GScid=1991677&GRid=56372930& .
"<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441134/the_wilkesbarre_record/" target="_blank">Local Men in Armed Forces</a>." <em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em>, December 24, 1942, page 6. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441134/the_wilkesbarre_record/.
Alternative Title
Margaret Gallagher is Bride of Jack Heist
Subject
Weddings--United States
Source
Digital reproduction of original newspaper article: "<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441154/wilkesbarre_times_leader_the_evening/" target="_blank">Margaret Ann Gallagher is Bride of Lieut. Jack Cameron Heist</a>." <em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em>, July 15, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441154/wilkesbarre_times_leader_the_evening/.
Publisher
<a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em></a>
Date Copyrighted
1942-07-15
Date Issued
1942-07-15
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/172" target="_blank">Epinal American Cemetery Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Format
image/jpg
Extent
150 KB
Medium
1 newspaper article
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Holy Saviour Church, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Provenance
Originally published by <a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Wilkes-Barre Record</em></a>.
Contributing Project
Epinal Cemetery Project
Curator
Almanza, Esteban
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/" target="_blank">Newspapers.com</a>
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Ann Ward
brides
Christina Heist
Clarence G. Pechacheck
CU.S. Department of War
Edward Gallagher
Esther Gallagher Godwin
Eustis
Eustis High School
Fort Benning, Georgia
Henry S. Heist
Holy Savior Church
Jack Cameron Heist
Joseph A. Gallagher
Leonard
Margaret Ann Gallagher Heist
matrimony
The Wilkes-Barre Record
Theta Delta Chi
U.S. Army
U.S. Army Ordnance Corps
veterans
weddings
World War II
WWII
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/90eadea516b448663cb2f3255fec0063.jpg
0a51ed7bf985606068b05c607ef1321c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project Collection
Alternative Title
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Subject
Cemeteries--Europe
Veterans--Florida
World War II, 1939-1945
Army
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES</a>.
<a href="https://projects.cah.ucf.edu/fl-francesoldierstories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida-France Soldier Stories Project</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Dinozé, France
Contributing Project
Florida-France Soldier Stories Project
Curator
Barnes, Mark
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Epinal Project- by Students of History 357: The Second World War</a>." University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://history.wisc.edu/epinal_project.htm (accessed January 3, 2015).
Description
<p><span>The </span>Florida-France Soldier Stories<span>project seeks to tell the stories of the Florida soldiers buried in the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in France. Our goal is to honor and commemorate the brave individuals who gave their lives supporting the Allied forces, liberating France, and defeating Germany in the Second World War. Simultaneously, our goal is to teach the students who participate in this research project about the history of France and Florida during World War II, about the history of individual servicemen, and about how to implement historical research methods in their work.</span></p>
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Original Format
1 newspaper article
Physical Dimensions
Unknown
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Miss Lillian Luke Becomes Bride of Lt. A. A. Calhoun in Lovely Eufaula Ceremony
Description
An article published in <em>The Panama City News-Herald</em> announcing the wedding for then-Lieutenant Aquilla A. Calhoun, Jr. and Lillian J. Luke (b. 1922). Born in Eufala, Luke attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute in Auburn and was a member of Kappa Delta National sorority. Captain Calhoun attended the University of Florida (UF) and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. It was upon his graduation that Capt. Calhoun enlisted as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves.<br /><br />After their wedding in January of 1942, the Calhouns moved to Columbus, Georgia, where Capt. Calhoun joined the 92nd Field Artillery's 2nd Armored Division. Capt. Calhoun participated in the Omaha Beach Normandy Invasions and played an integral role in liberating the town of Bresles, France. He later died during his service in France and is currently buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. Calhoun is one of 85 Florida residents interned at Epinal. His death led to the creation of a tribute site and memorial in his honor in Bristles.
Date Created
ca. 1942-01-18
Coverage
Eufaula, Alabama
Source
Digital reproduction of original newspaper article: "Miss Lillian Luke Becomes Bride of Lt. A. A. Calhoun in Lovely Eufaula Ceremony." <em>The Panama City News-Herald</em>, January 18, 1942. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/39092405/?terms=Calhoun" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/image/39092405/?terms=Calhoun</a>.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by <em><a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank">The Panama City News-Herald</a></em> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Alternative Title
Lillian Luke Becomes Bride of Lt. A. A. Calhoun
Subject
Weddings--United States
Publisher
<a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank">The Panama City News-Herald</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/172" target="_blank">Epinal American Cemetery Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Format
image/jpg
Extent
439 KB
Medium
1 newspaper article
Language
eng
Type
Text
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Provenance
Originally published by <em><a href="http://www.newsherald.com/" target="_blank">The Panama City News-Herald</a></em>.
Contributing Project
Epinal Cemetery Project
Curator
Berrios, Melissa
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V1LQ-YV7" target="_blank">Lillian Luke</a>." FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V1LQ-YV7.
David, Powell. "<a href="http://www.bravecannons.org/History/red_devil.html" target="_blank">Unit History: The 1/92nd Field Artillery Association - Vietnam</a>." Brave Cannons. Accessed March 21, 2016. http://www.bravecannons.org/History/red_devil.html.
"<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/39103540/?terms=Calhoun" target="_blank">To Receive Degree from U. of Florida</a>." <em>The Panama City News-Herald</em>, January 18, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/image/39103540/?terms=Calhoun.
"<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/39092405/?terms=Calhoun" target="_blank">Miss Lillian Luke Becomes Bride of Lt. A. A. Calhoun In Lovely Eufaula Ceremony</a>." <em>The Panama City News-Herald</em>, January 18, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/image/39092405/?terms=Calhoun.
A. A. Calhoun
Aquilla A. Calhoun, Jr.
brides
C. C. Cook
ceremonies
ceremony
Charles Tidman
Dawleigh
Elizabeth Calhoun
Eufaula, Alabama
Fort Benning, Georgia
Gus Moss
James Madison Luke
Jane Luke
Joan Calhoun
L. N. Calhoun
Lillian J. Luke Calhoun
Mike Calhoun
St. Luke's Methodist Church of Eufaula
U.S. Army Reserves
weddings
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/b04816d49be28e9a8bd4764275639c87.pdf
3b4ca33d66e21c6afb4584f654d4d835
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection
Description
As part of RICHES of Central Florida, UCF intends to record, archive, and make accessible oral history interviews of Central Florida veterans. Diversity is a main focus for this project since there are many different subgroups under the group veterans, all with important stories. While the histories will be largely archived and made available through the UCF library, a portion will be contributed to the ongoing Veterans History Project based out of the Library of Congress.
Contributor
<a href="http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/" target="_blank">Special Collections and University Archives</a>, University of Central Florida Libraries, University of Central Florida
Alternative Title
CVHP Collection
Subject
Veterans--Florida
United States. Army
Army
United States. Navy
Navy
United States. Air Force
Air Force
United States. Marine Corps
Marine Corps
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Jacksonville, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Honolulu, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Great Lakes, Illinois
Long Island, New York
Newport, Rhode Island
Norfolk, Virginia
Germany
Qaasuitsup, Greenland
Keflavik, Southern Peninsula, Iceland
Azores Islands, Portugal
Mediterranean Sea
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida
External Reference
"<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">About the Project</a>." UCF Community Veterans History Project, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/.
Has Part
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/109" target="_blank">Lone Sailor Navy Memorial History Project Collection</a>, UCF Community Veterans History Project, RICHES of Central Florida.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
Johnson, Taylor
Interviewee
Wheeler, Terry W.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Oral History of Terry W. Wheeler
Alternative Title
Oral History, Wheeler
Subject
Veterans--Florida
Army
Description
An oral history interview of Terry W. Wheeler (b. 1959), who served in the U.S. Army, during the Cold War. Wheeler was born in Fort Lee, Virginia, in 1959. He joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and was commissioned into the Army on December 28, 1981. He earned the rank of Captain, as well as several awards and commendations: the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal. Wheeler served in Fort Knox, Kentucky, Schweinfurt, West Germany, and Fort Benning, Georgia.<br /><br />This interview was conducted by Taylor Johnson at the University of Central Florida (UCF) on November 13, 2014. Interview topics include training at Fort Knox, duties as an Armor Officer, assignment in West Germany, Fort Benning, duties as a Tank Company commander, combat simulations, resigning from the Army and attending graduate school, and employment in the private sector.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction<br />0:00:32 Background<br />0:01:52 Enlistment<br />0:02:25 Training and duties as an Armor Officer<br />0:05:41 Germany<br />0:07:16 Inner German border and gunnery<br />0:08:47 Interaction with Germans and most memorable day<br />0:10:39 Free time, contacting family, and fellow servicemembers<br />0:12:00 Fort Benning, Georgia<br />0:13:46 Tank Company Commander and combat simulations<br />0:16:22 Resignation and graduate school<br />0:17:57 Awards and most memorable aspect of service<br />0:18:41 Post-Army career<br />0:19:27 Effect of service on civilian life<br />0:20:21 Closing remarks
Abstract
Oral history interview of Terry W. Wheeler. Interview conducted by Taylor Johnson at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, on November 13, 2014.
Type
Moving Image
Source
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/VET/id/433/rec/1" target="_blank">Wheeler, Terry W.</a> Interviewed by Taylor Johnson, November 13, 2014. Audio/video record available. Item DP0016010, UCF Community Veterans History Project, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
Requires
<a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/" target="_blank"> Adobe Flash Player</a>
<a href="http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp" target="_blank"> Java</a>
<a href="https://get.adobe.com/reader/" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/24" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Has Format
15-page digital transcript of original 21-minute and 11-second oral history: <a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/VET/id/433/rec/1" target="_blank">Wheeler, Terry W.</a> Interviewed by Taylor Johnson, November 13, 2014. Audio/video record available. Item DP0016010, UCF Community Veterans History Project, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
Conforms To
Standards established by the <a href="http://www.loc.gov/vets/" target="_blank">Veterans History Projects</a>, Library of Congress.
Coverage
Fort Knox, Kentucky
Schweinfurt, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany
U.S. Army Infrantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia
Creator
Wheeler, Terry W.
Johnson, Taylor
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Date Created
2014-11-13
Date Issued
2015-01
Date Copyrighted
2014-11-13
Format
application/website
application/pdf
Extent
181 MB
166 KB
Medium
21-minute and 11-second DVD/MP4 aduio/video recording
15-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Taylor Johnson and Terry W. Wheeler and published by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Accrual Method
Item Creation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
External Reference
Hawkins, John Palmer. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44713137" target="_blank"><em>Army of Hope, Army of Alienation: Culture and Contradiction in the American Army Communities of Cold War Germany</em></a>. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2001.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/VET/id/433/rec/1" target="_blank">Wheeler, Terry W.</a>
Transcript
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Today is November 13<sup>th</sup>, 2014. I’m interviewing Terry [W.] Wheeler, who served in the Army from 1981 to 1990. I’m Taylor Johnson. Mr. Wheeler served during the Cold War era. He spent time in Fort Knox, Kentucky; Schweinfurt[, Lower Franconia, Bavaria], Germany; and [U.S. Army Infantry School] Fort Benning, Georgia. My name’s Taylor Johnson, again. We’re interviewing Mr. Wheeler as a part of the UCF [University of Central Florida] Community Veterans History Project. We’re recording this interview at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. So my first question is: where were you born?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>I was born in Fort Lee, Virginia.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>And when were you born?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>1959. Fort Lee is a military post, and that is the—that is the Army hospital on post[?].</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So you—sorry.</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>That’s okay.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So you grew up on a military post?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>My dad was in the military, and we grew up—I grew up in, uh, location to location, across the United States and Europe, until he retired in 1971.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what did your father do for the military?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>He was a logistics officer. He was a ward officer [<em>clears throat</em>], and, uh, he—he spent, uh, time in WWII [World War II], Korea[n War], and three tours in Vietnam [War].</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what did your mother do for a living?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>She was a housewife, Uh, up until about the time my dad retired, and then she came back into the workforce.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Do you have any siblings?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>No, I don’t.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what did you do before you entered the service?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>I was in college. I was a ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps] cadet at Gonzaga University, and so I was a college student.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>What did you study?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>I was a business major.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, so do you have any other family members that served in the military?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Um, uncles. My—my dad’s oldest brother was killed during World War II. Uh, his old—his younger brother served in the Navy. His other younger brother served in the Air Force, and then I have cousins who have served in the military also.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what prompted you to enter the military?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>It’s a—it’s a very easy decision to make, if you grew up in a military family. Uh, it was just a logical progression of what I would like to do to serve, and so I made that decision—when I was in high school—that I was gonna serve.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um…</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>[<em>clears throat</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So how did your family members feel about you entering the service?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Uh, they were very supportive. They were not, uh, overly pushing me towards that decision. It was my own decision to make. Uh, my mother was not as happy with that decision as she would’ve been if I had stayed in the civilian side, uh, but that’s the way it turned out.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, so what were your first days in the service like?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>I came in at the end of December 1981, and came on active duty, and went to my basic qualification course at Fort Knox. I was an Armor Officer, and so, for the next four and a half months, I spent time at Fort Knox learning how to be a platoon leader—a second Lieutenant, and then I was assigned to Germany after that.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what did you do as an Armor Officer?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Well, sp—the position that I was in was, uh, a cavalry position. That is a sub-branch of the armor—a subsection of the armor. Uh, Cavalry is a screen unit—a—a scout unit, if you will, that works in a divisional or regimental level. Basically, the cav’s mission is to, uh, screen and be the leading edge of a, uh—of the unit, uh, in the advance, to screen the flanks to make sure there are no surprises. So it’s very, very light, very, very fast reconnaissance.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, so what was your initial training like?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Four and a half months of learning everything, from personnel actions to vehicle repair to how to employ the weapons systems on all the vehicles that we are going to be assigned, Radio communications. I mean, the entire gamut that you would expect to serve in that posi—in a ge—in that position as a leader. Uh, second lieutenant platoon leader is an entry-level position for combat arms. Um, Basically, uh, you’re in charge of about 38 soldiers and about—at that—at that point in time [<em>sighs</em>]—let me count vehicles real quick—about 13 vehicles.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um,okay.</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>[<em>clears throat</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Johnson <br /></strong>So what do you remember most about your time in training?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Time in training?</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Fort Knox, in the wintertime, is very cold. As Germany is very cold. Um, it was a lot of fun. We learned a lot in a very short amount of time, and, uh, long days, long nights, and it was a really good building experience. Uh, the people that you meet, in that same course, are people that[sic] you serve with in the military throughout your career, and it is a boomerang-type effect, because you come back together. They’re sent to units, you’re sent to units, you run into them for training exercises or operational deployments. You come back together for training over time, and so you’re building a cohort of—of people that you serve with throughout the rest of your career.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um…</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>[<em>clears throat</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>What type of advanced training did you receive, if any?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Um, really, advanced is not key to this, at that point. Um, basically, you know, eh, for the armor side, you come in, you’re given, uh, the tra—the base training, and you go out and be a platoon leader, and you spend a couple years doing that. If you’re selected for the advanced course, then you come back as a ju—a senior lieutenant or a junior-grade captain, and go through another six-month type course, where they lear—they—you need to learn how to be an effective commander of a small unit—a Company Commander. At the end of that, then you go out and serve a utilization tour, being a leader at that level. So it’s, you know, two grades up, and then, at that point, then you—you split off in your career, and pull the secondary career, and so you split off into another area, and so, at that point then—rom that point forward in your career you, flip flop between your primary and your secondary specialty. So I really didn’t have advanced training, other than the fact that I went through the career course as a Captain, and then commanded a unit.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Okay, um…</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>[<em>clears throat</em>] Excuse me.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So when did you find out that you were going to Germany?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Um, April 1982. Right at the end—I received orders for that, right as I was finishing up my qualification course.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>And how did you react to that news?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>I was very happy. I had spent two years in Germany as a child. I already spoke fluent German, and so it was not a huge, life-changing experience to go over there. Um, usually what you walk as a—as an American, when you walk into Germany—not having served there, not having any background to it—you go through a couple weeks of qualif—uh, of familiarization, where you learn rudimentary language, and I was not—I was able to just bypass that and mainstream right in.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, so what was, uh—what was a routine day like during your assignment in Germany?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Well, [<em>clears throat</em>] I can give you a routine—a, uh, better description than that. For the first year that I was there as a platoon leader, we were in the field 280 days out of 365 days that year. We would deploy out for a, uh—a 30-day session on a border camp, where we would patrol the East German<a title="">[1]</a> interzonal border. From that, we would get on the train and go to a gunnery—three or four weeks of tank gunnery, and from that, we would deploy to a field exercise, go home for two weeks, and then go back to the border for 30 days. So we spent most of our time out actually doing our real world mission, at that point. Um, up at six in the morning, uh, some pu—some, uh—in effect, through midnight—one in the morning. I mean, it was a very, very, very dynamic, high stress, long day environment.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what did you do in each of those three sort of positions?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>At the border camp, we were responsible to patrol a section of border of—of the East German interzonal border. This was still when the [Berlin] Wall was up. between 2<sup>nd</sup> ACR [Armored Calvary Regiment] and 11<sup>th</sup> ACR, we had this—this—this piece of the border that had to be actually manned, and stood ready to—to announce that any—any incursion had come across the border. We were fully combat-loaded. We were deployed there 30 days at a time. We spent 10 days, eh, in a steady reaction state of walking around, with full gear loaded on, helmets in our hands, ready to walk out the gate with five minutes notice to go to our general positions and fight a war. Okay? We spent 10 days in training. We spent 10 days doing actual patrols in jeeps up and down the interzonal border. Uh, it is the—It was the—other than Korea—at that point, it was—we were one of the most forward-deployed units in the Army, at that time. All the vehicles were fully uploaded with the ammunition and ready to go.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what did you do at the gunnery?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler <br /></strong>Gunnery was—there’s a—there’s a—a full qualification session that you have to—to do in tanks to maintain proficiency, and you do that more than two to three—four times a year, and so you would go, and there were actually exercises that you run, shooting live guns, live ammunition at the range, and you qualify as a tank crew, as a section of two, platoon of four, and a company of 12, and so it is, basically, you know, move and shoot, and communicate, and prov—proving proficiency that you can do that.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>What did you think of the Germans?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Well, uh, where we were stationed in Germany, it was in—it was in the very northern end of Bavaria. Germans were very, very polite people. Uh, very welcoming. Um, I’m not so sure that the Germans really enjoyed being occupied still after 40 years of—after the end of the [World] War [II], but, uh, they were very nice. Uh, they—if you spoke German, or at least tried to fit in and blend in, you get a lot further than being an ugly American, and, uh, it was a very pleasant place, and we saw a lot of it riding in the back of a military vehicle.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>What was your most memorable day during that assignment?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Give me a second. Um, [<em>clears throat</em>] we had a soldier that died in a training accident, and the aftermath of that was really hard to deal with. Uh, It was not his—it was not a—a—a, uh—a safety issue that was the direct cause. It truly was an accident. Uh, The tank that he was riding in, uh, went over, uh—now, in Germany—back in the Germany, uh, the train—a lot of the trains and some of the streetcars would run with electricity, and they had these high tension wires overhead, and he was riding in a tank, and the—the antenna on his tank, uh, snapped loose and the antenna went up and hit the top of the—of the high voltage wire, and it arced electricity through the vehicle, and the vehicle basically exploded, and three of the—of the four crew were able to get out, and he was unable to get out, and he passed away. So that was very difficult to deal with. Uh, seeing the aftermath of that [<em>clears throat</em>], having to pull the tank apart, trying to take his remains out, you know, that kind of thing. So that—that was a very memorable day.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, what did you do with your free time, while you were in Germany?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Traveled.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Uh, can you tell me about that?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>A—again, we were deployed most of the time. So when there was a free couple of day—a week—a weekend, or a free three- or four-day event, we would get in the car and disappear. Drove all over Bavaria, uh, spent time in France [<em>clears throat</em>], spent some time, uh, in Northern Germany. Um, basically just enjoying the, uh—the countryside and the people.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, so how did you stay in touch with your family while you were overseas?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>We didn’t have email, at that time. Computers were still brand new [<em>clears throat</em>]. So it was by post. Uh, Telephone calls were very expensive, so telephones didn’t really get figured into that, so letters.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>And what do you remember about the people that you served with, while you were there?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>I still have friends that I’ve stayed in contact with, after all these years. That was, uh, 1982-1983-1984 timeframe. I still stay in touch with a few of ‘em. Uh, Very dedicated group of people, um, very like-minded. Uh, you find in the military that not just the clothes you wear make you the same. Very, very similar backgrounds, characteristics, views on the world, and, uh, it was a very, very good time to be a young officer, at that point.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, and what was it like when you came back to the U.S.?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>They call the flight from Germany to the United States the “freedom bird” for a reason. Uh, everyone’s happy to come home. Uh, it is a great feeling of—of, uh, assimilation back into society [<em>clears throat</em>], into the culture that you—you are in. It—and, you know, it is—it is—it wasn’t different, at that point in time. It was Europe, and different language, different money, different feel. It was—it was coming home. So it was very nice to come back to the States.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, and what do you remember about Fort Benning?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>[<em>clears throat</em>] Benning is the home of the Infantry [Branch]. Uh, It is—it is a[sic], uh, Infantry training center. Ranger School’s there, Airborne School, Pathfinder [School]. Um, I was assigned to the 2<sup>nd</sup> Battalion, 69<sup>th</sup> Armor [Regiment], at that—at that point, and we went and we were part of a round—we were part of a—a, uh, brigade that was a round-out element for the, uh, rapid deployment force—XVIII Airborne Corps. So we were, again, fairly—fairly well getting ready to be on, you know—on a couple hours’ notice, ready to deploy into the world, but, uh, it was—it was a great training opportunity. We were the only armor unit on post. So we would get tagged for a lot of fire demonstrations and combined arms demonstrations, when the—when the—when the, uh, senior, uh, officers would come—come into town [<em>clears throat</em>], and so we spent a lot of time working with the Infantry. We really refined the—the union—the union of the true mechanized team, at that point. So it was not armor pure. It was that combined arms element that we really struggled to, uh, put in place, and it was really, really great training opportunity.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Did you receive any advanced training for your job as a Tank Company Commander?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Yeah, I went through the advanced course. That was, ah—so coming back from Germany, I spent six months again at Fort Knox, going through the next phase of that course and came out, eh, eh, basically ready to be a Company Commander. So when I was—I was deployed to Benning, I spent the next, uh, 16 months as a Maintenance Officer for a battalion, and then was assigned as a Company Commander, and spent, uh, [<em>sighs</em>] another probably 18 to 20 months, I guess, as a Tank Company Commander.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um…</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>[<em>clears throat</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what can you tell me about your job with combat simulations—the combat simulations branch?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>At the end of my command time, uh, I picked my secondary specialty as Operations Research and Systems Analysis, and there was a group that was doing that type of work attached to the Infantry center, and so I went in, and I was a—an Executive Officer for this small group that used computers—which were very, very, uh, elementary, as compared to what we have now—to do war gaming, to look at how new equipment inserted into a battlefield would make a differential change.</p>
<p>So basically, you would take the characteristics of—of a new weapon system, and you would deploy that with—so you’d run simulations without that weapon system and you would run simulations with that weapons system, and look for the differentials that you could achieve and how much more advantage it gave you. It was part of the co—cost and operational effectiveness analysis for getting those systems to be brought online.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, so—I lost my place. Um, what was a routine day like while you were in Georgia?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Um, at—at the—at the, uh—at the armor group job? Or in the, uh—the simulations job?</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, either one.</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Armor job—realistically, almost every line unit almost has the exact same type of training as—same type of day. Uh, up in the morning, depending on, you know—three days a week you run PT [physical training] from six o’clock to seven o’clock, have a shower, be back at—at work at—at eight for formation. Going through the day, whether training, or maintenance, or what have you, and are usually done by six o’clock at night, Uh, Back home to families.</p>
<p>Um, the—the Executive Officer’s job is—at the branch, we would spend the day doing the same thing. We would do PT a couple days a week, and then, um, go into what was more of an office-style environment to do those simulations. Um, we had a staff of about eight members—both soldiers and civilians—that worked that group, and we would do these simulation exercises on the computers.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what was it like when your service ended?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Um, [<em>clears throat</em>] I made the decision to—to, uh, resign my commission and come out of active duty, uh, in early spring of 1990. Um, my secondary priority[?]—I had already worked at my secondary specialty for two years, and was unable to get the Army to agree to send me to grad[uate] school for a funded grad program, and I had watched officers who had gone through the Army non-funded program and the funded grad program, come out and see how effective they were in that job, and the ones that[sic] were coming out, not having gone to grad school, were not being retained, and I was not selected to go through the grad program, so that basically was the de—deciding point [<em>clears throat</em>] that, if I couldn’t do that and retain my time—because I figured, at that point, I would not be able to continue. I elected to resign and get out, and then I, uh, applied for grad school and went to grad school. Um, My ETS [Expiration Term of Service] was June 30<sup>th</sup>, 1990, and the Army froze all separation actions July 15<sup>th</sup>, for the [Persian] Gulf War. So that was immediately—I mean, it was—it days before the Gulf War jumped from there, almost.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, so what did you study when you went to grad school?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>I studied information systems, and, uh, spend 18 months in grad school.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, What can you tell us about the awards that you received from the Army?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Very, very common, uh, awards that people, you know—you spend eight years doing that. Um, nothing—nothing major. Um, you know, Army Achievement Medals for stuff, and, uh, that’s pretty much it. Nothing major.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, and what was the most memorable thing overall about your time in the service?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>You know, as I alluded to earlier, uh, it is a—it is a great pleasure to spend time with people of a like mind. Okay? I found a lot of the people, that[sic] I spent time with, had the same values, same views on the world, politics, that I did, and so it was a brotherhood, and just the—the people that[sic] I—and the friendships, I guess, that I had—had gained, and the relationships from work that I had from that group of people is what I retained from that.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, and what was your job after you left the service.</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>When I came out I went to grad school and finished grad school at Syracuse [University], and, uh, [<em>clears throat</em>] I went to work for IBM [International Business Machines Corporation] as an intern, did that for about nine months, and then came into the private sector.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, and what are you doing now?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>I am currently the director of IT [information technology] services for the Student Development and Enrollment Services division here<a title="">[2]</a> on campus.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>So what can you tell me about that?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Basically, SDES is the largest division on campus. We have about 2,400 staff that we maintain computer action for servers for, so desktop, laptop, database, uh, web design, and that’s what we encompass. So basically, I run the services side of that group.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, and how has your time in the military affected your life since then?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>There hasn’t really been an effect since then. It was a—any time you transition from the military to the ci—the civilian sector, it can create a period of—of, uh, change, I guess you would say. Uh, going from the major activities, and the mindset, and the—the guidelines that we do into what the civilian world does not encompass. Um, it took about a year—a year and a half—to go through that and actually transition the mindset away.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>And do you belong to any veterans groups?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>No, I do not.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>What do you do with your free time since you left the service?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Uh, I have—I have children. So pretty much now it’s just work and—and, you know, time with family and Boy Scouts [of America].</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, and what would you say to someone who is contemplating enlisting or becoming a commissioned officer today?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Military service is an honor, and, uh, it’s a calling that, if you’re called to do, you really want to without any real reason to explain why, and it’s a very, very honorable thing to do, and if that is—if that is a design that is something that interests someone to do, I encourage them fully to accept that and enjoy.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Um, is there anything that we haven’t talked about that you would like to talk about?</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>No, ma’am.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Alright. Well, thank you for your time, and for coming to talk with me today, and thank you for your service. I appreciate your participation, and we will be in touch with you once we have a copy of your interview.</p>
<p><strong>Wheeler<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
<p><strong>Johnson<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
<div><br /><div>
<p><a title="">[1]</a> German Democratic Republic (GDR).</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[2]</a> At the University of Central Florida.</p>
</div>
</div>
11th ACR
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
18th Airborne Corps
2nd ACR
2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment
2nd Battalion
2nd Lieutenant
69th Armor Regiment
Achievement Medal
ACR
advanced training
Airborne Corps
Armor Officer
Armor Regiment
Armored Cavalry Regiment
basic training
Bavaria, Germany
Berlin Wall
Blachorse Regiment
cavalry
COEA
cold war
combat simulations
Community Veterans History Project
Company Commander
cost and operational effectiveness analysis
CVHP
deployments
East Germany
Eighteenth Airborne Corps
Eleventh Armored Cavalry Regiment
enlistment
Executive Officer
Federal Republic of Germany
Fort Benning, Georgia
Fort Knox, Kentucky
Fort Lee, Virginia
Free State of Bavaria
freedom birds
FRG
German Democratic Republic
Germans
Germany
Infantry Branch
information technology
inner German border
IT
lieutenants
Maintenance Officer
military training
Operations Research/Systems Analysis
ORSA
rapid deployment force
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
ROTC
Schweinfurt, Germany
scouts
SDES
Second ACR
Second Armored Cavalry Regiment
Second Battalion
Second Lieutenant
simulation training
Sixty-Ninth Armor Regiument
Student Development and Enrollment Services
Tank Company Commander
Taylor Johnson
Terry W. Wheeler
U.S. Army
U.S. Army Infrantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia
UCF
UCF SDES
UCF Student Development and Enrollment Services
veterans
weapon systems
West Germany
XVIII Airborne Corps
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/e4b7f6422abac4d4b5353edbed6399c7.pdf
26c6287bc13290321f910fbed6b0c442
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection
Description
As part of RICHES of Central Florida, UCF intends to record, archive, and make accessible oral history interviews of Central Florida veterans. Diversity is a main focus for this project since there are many different subgroups under the group veterans, all with important stories. While the histories will be largely archived and made available through the UCF library, a portion will be contributed to the ongoing Veterans History Project based out of the Library of Congress.
Contributor
<a href="http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/" target="_blank">Special Collections and University Archives</a>, University of Central Florida Libraries, University of Central Florida
Alternative Title
CVHP Collection
Subject
Veterans--Florida
United States. Army
Army
United States. Navy
Navy
United States. Air Force
Air Force
United States. Marine Corps
Marine Corps
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Jacksonville, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Honolulu, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Great Lakes, Illinois
Long Island, New York
Newport, Rhode Island
Norfolk, Virginia
Germany
Qaasuitsup, Greenland
Keflavik, Southern Peninsula, Iceland
Azores Islands, Portugal
Mediterranean Sea
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida
External Reference
"<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">About the Project</a>." UCF Community Veterans History Project, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/.
Has Part
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/109" target="_blank">Lone Sailor Navy Memorial History Project Collection</a>, UCF Community Veterans History Project, RICHES of Central Florida.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Oral History of Curt Sawyer
Alternative Title
Oral History, Sawyer
Subject
Veterans--Florida
Army
Description
An oral history interview of Curt Sawyer (b. 1954), who served in the U.S. Army from 1986 to 1994. Sawyer was born in San Francisco, California, on May 1, 1965, but grew up in Tennessee. While living in Fort Myers, Florida, in 1986, Sawyer joined the Army. During his service, he participated in training exercises with the French Foreign Legion in Corsica and served at Guard Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea. Sawyer achieved the rank of First Lieutenant and received the Expert Infantryman Badge. He was also a graduate of the Army Ranger School, Army Airborne School, Army Air Assault School, and Army Rappelling School.<br /><br />This interview was conducted by Robin Dunn at the University of Central Florida (UCF) on November 13, 2014. Interview topics include attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, Airborne School and Air Assault School, serving in South Korea, the 1st Ranger Regiment, meeting his wife, his post-Army life, and training with the French Foreign Legion.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction<br />0:00:40 Background<br />0:01:28 Enlistment<br />0:03:33 United States Military Academy at West Point<br />0:05:53 Army assignments <br />0:07:22 South Korea<br />0:10:52 Airborne School and Air Assault School<br />0:12:38 Rest and recuperation in South Korea<br />0:14:35 Savannah, Georgia <br />0:18:35 1st Ranger Regiment<br />0:20:33 Breakout of the Persian Gulf War<br />0:22:15 Wife<br />0:28:07 Post-military life<br />0:30:04 Training with the French Foreign Legion<br />0:34:44 Staying in touch with friends from the military <br />0:36:03 Impact of Army on life<br />0:37:38 Closing remarks
Abstract
Oral history interview of Curt Sawyer. Interview conducted by Robin Dunn at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida on November 13, 2014.
Type
Moving Image
Source
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/VET/id/464/rec/1" target="_blank">Sawyer, Curt</a>. Interviewed by Robin Dunn, November 13, 2014. Audio/video record available. Item DP0016000, UCF Community Veterans History Project, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
Requires
<a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/" target="_blank">Adobe Flash Player</a>
<a href="http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp" target="_blank">Java</a>
<a href="https://get.adobe.com/reader/" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/24" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Has Format
20-page digital transcript of original 39-minute and 53-second oral history: <a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/VET/id/464/rec/1" target="_blank">Sawyer, Curt</a>. Interviewed by Robin Dunn, November 13, 2014. Audio/video record available. Item DP0016000, UCF Community Veterans History Project, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
Conforms To
Standards established by the <a href="http://www.loc.gov/vets/" target="_blank">Veterans History Projects</a>, Library of Congress.
Coverage
United States Military Academy at West Point, West Point, New York
Fort Benning, Georgia
Guard Post Ouellete, Demilitarized Zone, South Korea
Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Eglin Air Force Base, Okaloosa County, Florida
Savannah, Georgia
Corsica, France
Creator
Sawyer, Curt
Dunn, Robin
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Date Created
2014-11-13
Date Issued
2015-01
Date Copyrighted
2014-11-13
Format
application/website
application/pdf
Extent
342 MB
218 KB
Medium
39-minute and 53-second Digital (DAT) audio/video recording
20-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Robin Dunn and Curt Sawyer.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Accrual Method
Item Creation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
Kim, Kwi-Gon. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/857709227" target="_blank"><em>The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of Korea: Protection, Conservation and Restoration of a Unique Ecosystem</em></a>. 2013.
Si-woo, Lee, and Myung-Hee Kim. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/754765257" target="_blank"><em>Life on the edge of the DMZ</em></a>. Folkestone: Global Oriental, 2007.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/VET/id/464/rec/1" target="_blank">Sawyer, Curt</a>
Transcript
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Today is November 13<sup>th</sup>, 2014. I am interviewing Mr. Curtis Sawyer, Associate Vice President of Administrative Affairs at the University of Central Florida, who served in the United States Army for eight years, achieving 1<sup>st</sup> Lieutenant as his highest rank. My name is Robin Dunn. We are interviewing Mr. Sawyer as a part of the UCF [University of Central Florida] Community Veterans History Project. We are recording this interview in Orlando, Florida. Good morning, Mr. Sawyer. How are you?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Good morning, Robin.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>I’m doing fine. Thank you.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Alright. We’re going to start with some easy questions. Um, when were you born?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>[May 1<sup>st</sup>,] 1965.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Okay, and where were you born?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>San Francisco, California.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>] And what did your parents do for a living?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer <br /></strong>Hm, my father originally was a college English professor, and then he switched careers about midcareer and went into real estate, and that’s what—so those were his two primary careers. My mother was homemaker.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>And did you have any siblings?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>I have one older sister.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>She’s three years older. Her name is Dojuan [Sawyer].</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Dojuan?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Yes.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn <br /></strong>And, um, what is—did she have any military history, as well? Did she enlist in…</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>No, her husband did. He was enlisted man in the 82<sup>nd</sup> Airborne [Division] and he used to jump out of airplanes for a living. So he and I had quite, uh—a little bit of a common background.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>And when did you enlist in the service?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Hm, I went in in [June 30,] 1986.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>And what made you enlist into the Army?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Well, um, I actually went in as an officer, and so, um, it really wasn’t something that I had thought about, when I was a kid growing up in the country in Tennessee. Um, I always really liked playing war games, and, um—so my little toy soldiers, and, um, tanks, and—and I was just set up these elaborate massive battles, and that’s what they [inaudible], and then I’d go outside and whittled out swords and—And, um, play Army, but that was really the extent of what I thought I would do with that desire to do military stuff.</p>
<p>When I was living in Fort Myers[, Florida] in 1986, our [U.S.] senator,<a title="">[1]</a> who, at the time, senator was Senator<a title="">[2]</a> Connie Mack,<a title="">[3]</a> sent out a new letter to us and my dad saw it and it was a little blurb that said, “Hey. Anybody interested in applying to a service aca—academy, um, here’s what you do.” And so, um, my dad said, “Hey, Curt. You should try to do this. You will never get accepted, because you don’t know anybody political, but you can just go ahead and do it for the experience.” and so I did. I went through the process, I interviewed with the co—committee, I did all the PT [physical training] tests, I did the medical exams, I finished my grades, I showed all the stuff that I had done, and then I forgot about it, and, um, I had gone to community college, as well, like what you did. Edison Community College. Now it’s [Florida] SouthWest[ern] State College. and I was going to graduate from there and then I was either going to go to the University of Florida or Florida State [University], whichever school had the higher ratio of females to males.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>That was my criteria for de—deciding. and so one day, in the mail, came this official looking binder, and, um—and I opened it up, and I looked at it, and it said, um, “The United States Military Academy is pleased to offer you a letter of-of ac—of, uh—of acceptance to the class of 1986”—the class of ‘90—“at West Point.” So that’s how I started my military career.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Mmhmm, and so you went to West Point?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>I did.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Okay. So how was West Point? What was your experience at West Point?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Hm, you know, um, it was something that I—I did not really prepare for. When I got there, um, a lot of my classmates had already prepared they knew what they were up—so There’s a lot of reading, a lot of memory work you have to do. It’s called “bugle notes.” it’s that thick. You memorize it all: insignia, rank, history, sayings, important figures that graduated—all that stuff. Um, they knew all that stuff, they knew how to shine their shoes and their boots, and they knew how to do a proper salute, and they knew—and I knew nothing about that. So it took me a while to figure that all out, and, um—but once I did it went well enough. Um, yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Is there anything, um, memorable about West Point? Do you have any, like, experiences that you enjoyed there?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Yeah, I think every single minute of my four years there is seared into my memory. Um, so it—I’m very proud, um, of my West point experience. I’m glad I went. At the time, it was a little bit—I’ve always been a little bit of, um—of an independent type. Um, kinda a little bit of a free thinker. Not in a really kind of a weird or aggressive way, but just always been independent-minded, and that’s not what West point is about. So, um, it’s been around since [March 16,] 1802, and so there’s a history, and there’s a structure, and there’s a way of doing things, and you either comply with it and you do well, or if you don’t, then you really kind of—you just don’t make it. So, um—so once I kinda came to grips with that, um, I did well.</p>
<p>I, you know—the experiences were very rich. The classmates, which[sic] I still keep in contact with, um, the things I did, the training that I did. During the summers, we really wouldn’t have summers off in military training for vacation. We would go on military training. So I went to Air Assault School<a title="">[4]</a> and I got my Air Assault wings [Badge], went to Airborne School and did that, went to Germany for six weeks, and so just a lot of kind of—life at a hundred miles an hours.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>And what did you do after West Point?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Well, um, with West Point comes, um, a commitment—a military commitment in the Army, and so, um, I went into the Army and did that for four and a half years. I was stationed at—at different places and did different things. Do—do you want me to share that with you?</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Yeah, yeah. Where—where were you stationed?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Okay. So once I graduated from West Point, um, my parents bought me a trip to, um, Cancún[, Quintana Roo, Mexico] with a buddy, and, um, so we did that to kind of celebrate the four years of hard work, which is where I met my wife, Uh, by—By the way. She was my travel agent. I’ll tell that story a little bit later.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Okay [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>And, um—and so then after that, I went to the Officer Basic Corps in Fort Benning, Georgia, and then I went to Ranger School, um, and then, um—and then my first duty assignment was in [South] Korea, and, um, did Korea for a while, had a regular line. It’s called a “line platoon,” which is a platoon of—in infantrymen, at the time, and then, um, there I took over—it’s called a “scout platoon,” which is a smaller unit—but basically we would go out and were kinda the eyes and ears of the overall battalion, and, um, once I left Korea, then I came back to the United States and went to Savannah, Georgia, and I served with the 75<sup>th</sup> Ranger [Regiment] battalion. So the first—first Ranger battalion in Savannah, Georgia, and did that for a while, and then I wrapped up my service.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn <br /></strong>Now, you said you went to Korea. Um, what—what was it like going to Korea? What were your first experiences and thoughts, while you were in Korea?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Yeah, um, you know, it was kind of a surprise that I even went to Korea. The way West point does it is that everything you do, um, counts against your rank, and so there is roughly 1,000 of us that entered, um, our plebe year, and so roughly 900 graduated. and so what they do—so every PT, every—every test that you take, every PT test you take, every academic grade you get, every sport that you play, every demerit that you get, everything goes into this basically a formula, and you’re rank-ordered from number one all the way down to the bottom. So you always know where you stand, in terms of the rest of your classmates, and so, what you do then, is you pick the branch that you want to go, and generally most folks get that they want. I always wanted to go infantry, and then what happens is, at some point in time, several couple month before we graduated, they take you into an auditorium, and we’re all in there, and your names are all—all 900—and then all of the available slots that are available worldwide, in terms of duty stations, right? And they’re all there. They’re all on the board. So the number one person…</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Who, in my class, was a guy by the name of Ed Hoyt, was just this—photographic memory—he is the first choice. So the—the best slots always go first. Vicenza[, Veneto], Italy, always goes first, Hawaii goes, Fort Ord, California, always go first. All the cool place go, and then they work down the list.</p>
<p>So I was about mid-pack. I was like around 450 or so, and I had planned—I was dating this girl, and we was all serious, and it was love and all that sort of thing, and so we had agreed that we were going to—that I was going to go to Fort Lewis, Washington. I was going to stay stateside, and, um, we were going to continue the relationship. and so when it can time, when they called my name, Cadet Curt Sawyer, I stood up and fully expected to say, “Fort Lewis, Washington,” but what came out of my mouth was “the Republic of Korea.” and honest to goodness, [inaudible] I’m like—and my friends all looked at me, and I looked at them, and I’m like, “What have I done?” And, um—and that’s where I went, and so, um, the relationship ended pretty quickly thereafter, and, um, I went to Korea.</p>
<p>So Korea was cool, just because, um, back then, it was fairly tense still. There’s still no formal treaty ending the [Korean] War between North Korea and South Korea. So it—it—it could be tense on the Demilitarized Zone—the DMZ, and, um, so I spent quite a bit of time on the DMZ, with—with the, eh—there—there’s a couple of guard posts that are right there. One of them is Guard Post Ouellette, and it’s actually surrounded on three sides by North Korea. So it kinda jets out and, um, it’s pretty tense, and we would do patrols, and—and look for the North Koreans, and they would look for us, and that sorta of thing.</p>
<p>So I wasn’t married. I didn’t have, um, commitments, and so it was a time that I really dove into my craft of learning to be an Army officer, and doing as well as I could. Um, there were several of my classmates that[sic] I went to West Point with, and I went to Airborne School, and I went to Ranger School—they were over there, and so we were pretty close, and we were just we really, really trained hard, and—And, um—yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Okay, and you said you went to Airborne and…</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Air Assault.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Air Assault School. Do you want to talk about those? And how those experiences helped you?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Yeah, um, those are kinda expected. Those are schools that are kinda expected, um, as an Army infantry officer, um, especially someone that wants to go to, um, Ranger School, and then serve in a Ranger battalion. you—you really—it’s hard to be in a Ranger battalion and not have—be airborne qualified, because of a lot of what Rangers do is you parachute in and do your mission, and so it’s just one of those things, and Airborne School is pretty straightforward. I went to it my junior year. They call it a “cow” at West Point. Your junior year, you’re—you’re a cow. Yeah. It goes: plebe, and then yearly, and then cow, and then firstie, right? And so, um, straightforward. You do five jumps, and then you get your Airborne wings, and you put it on, you wear them, you walk around like somebody special, because you—you jumped out an airplane five times.</p>
<p>So it was cool. It was hot, and then Air Assault School is where you—you—basically, you repel out of helicopters, and, um, it’s—it’s pretty straightforward. It actually was a hard course—not the physical part. It’s just you had to learn how to—to rig items, Jeeps, equipment, and that sorta thing, in order to be able to transport them, and so it’s pretty technical, and that was kinda hard. But, um, and that as in Fort Kentu—um, that was in, um—I forget the name—and in Kentucky. That was really hot. Everything I did, all the classes, or courses, were in the middle of the summer, it felt like. So they were good. It was good training. It helped me in my craft as an Army officer.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Okay. Um, now, while you’re in Korea—we’re gonna go back to Korea—um, what did you do when you weren’t working? What was your, like, R&R [rest and recuperation], while in Korea?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Um, yeah, you know, there wasn’t that much time that we were off, um, because we were, um, either at the home base, um, getting ready to go back to the DMZ or, um—or we were recovering from out last mission to the DMZ, or, um, we were actually at the DMZ—the Demilitarized Zone, and what that is: it’s basically a line that—the 45<sup>th</sup> Parallel [North] that divides North and South Korea.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>And, um, the few times that we—the times that we had off, we would go into the city of Seoul[, South Korea]. So we learned how to take the train and—and the sub—and, uh, the subway—and go into Seoul, and there’s a little place called Itaewon, which is were a lot of us would go. Um, I can’t tell you too much about it, because it was one of—it was kind of a younger, wilder, um, time that was a little bit of a blur.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>That’s okay [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>]I will tell you this: they have this stuff “soju,” right? Which is—it’s kinda like our white lightning. It’s—it’s, um—really, really, powerful, clear alcohol. And so you can’t drink it straight, ‘cause it’ll kill ya, I mean, it’s like drinkin’ gasoline. So [<em>laughs</em>] whatcha do though is you is mix it with, um, different kinds of Kool-Aids [<em>laughs</em>], and honest to goodness—and so, um, you know—cherry Kool-Aid, or grape Kool-Aid, or whatev—and so it tastes like Kool-Aid. You can’t taste the—the booze in it. So you drink a couple of those, and you just really kind of, you know, be all you can be as a young, American soldier in a foreign country.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>And how long were you in Korea for?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>A year.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Okay, and when you came back, you said you went to Savannah, Georgia?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Yes.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>That, um—so I was in Korea And, um—and so the scout platoon became available, so I got selected to do that, which is—which is kinda of an honor, because, um—it just is. Um, ‘cause there is just one scout platoon in a battalion, and, um, and the thing about scouts is, um, you—you have to go out, and you have to be very tactical, you have to be very—you cannot be seen, Right? So you kind of—you integrate.</p>
<p>Well, we had a colonel that was, um—came from the old guard in Washington, D.C, and those are the ones—the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. So they walk, and all the pomp and the ceremony, and all that sorta thing. Well, that stuff is great, but it doesn’t really work when you’re out in the field, you know? There it’s more about performance, more—it—more about getting the bad guy before the bad guy get you, and so I didn’t wear full uniform that—that he wanted. He thought I should.</p>
<p>For example, I would take my helmet off. When you’re out in the woods, you know, it’s really kinda hard to hear, and—and, um, be stealthy and crafty when you have this big ol’ thing on your head that’s covering your ears. So I’d take that off, and I would have the boys put—called “watch caps” or “balaclavas.” Well, he caught wind of that, and really, really, um, really, kinda hit the roof, and was determined that he was just going to kinda ruin my military career off of that, and, uh, the thing about him though: he was West Point, so he knew I was a West Point, and he said, “Well, let me give this,” you know—‘cause a lot of folks were really kinda rooting for me saying, “No. this guy is little bit kinda on the wild side maybe, but he’s really, really good at what he does, and so give him a chance.”</p>
<p>So what he did is like, “Okay, Lieutenant Sawyer. I’m gonna go on a mission with you, alright? And I’m gonna see if you’re as good as what people are sayin’.” And so, um, so he showed up and—and, of course, we have all our equipment, you know? For example, I would carry two radios, in order to communicate with higher headquarters, plus also my—my soldiers that[sic] were all spread out all over kind of Korea.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>And, um, so between all that equipment, it’s maybe 70-80 pounds of weight, and so he showed up with just his little—this kind of thing, with his water and his radio, and said, “Okay, Lieutenant Sawyer. Let’s go,” and I’m like “Sir, where’s—where’s all your equipment?” And he’s like, “I got my Jeep tailing me, so, um, don’t worry about me. You just show me what ya got.” So, um—so I’m like, “Okay.”</p>
<p>So I— told my platoon sergeant “Alright. Sergeant Iver[sp]. Get ready. Um, we’re gonna climb the tallest mountain I can find,” and, um— and so we did, and, um, a lot—a lot of it was climbing on our hands and knees, and it took most of the day to climb the mountain, and we got to the top, and then we set up camp, and, um—and then I deployed all my different scouts, and—and, um—and basically, we did such a good job that the colonel changed his mind, and, um—and so therefore, um—but then the next continuation of that is that the Rangers came recruiting to Korea, and, um, all my friends were like, “Rangers. That’s—that’s the pinnacle. We wanna go. Um, we wanna be a Ranger.” so, like, “Let’s go, Curt.” and I’m like, “No. I have only about a month left in Korea and I already have orders.” I’m gonna go to Fort Smith, Arkansas, with a—it’s called a “Joint Readiness Training Center”—the JRTC. I’m fine with that. I’ve come to grips with that. I’m kinda looking forward to it. I’m not really much interested in this Rangering stuff, and so they’re like, “Well, at least come along with us.” And, um, so I went with them, and I interviewed with the Rangers, and then, um, eh, strangely enough, I was the only one that—that was accepted, and was offered, um, an invitation to join the Rangers, and so once that happened, I thought, <em>Okay. Well, I guess this is too good </em><em>an offer to refuse, and </em>so I ended up going to Savannah with the 1<sup>st</sup> Ranger battalion.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Okay, and what was your job in the 1<sup>st</sup> Ranger battalion. What was—what did you do exactly?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Yeah, um, yeah. Uh, Rangers are—are part of [United States Army] Special Operations [Command], and so my job was a platoon leader to lead, and—and their big platoons, so it’s roughly 55, um—55 men, and, um, our job was different things: to raids, to do ambushes. We would—we would parachute in most of the time and—and do our—do our mission, and then get extracted. um, sometimes, it would be fast strobing—it’s called “fast strobing,” where you have a helicopter that comes in, and then basically, you jump out, grab the rope, and—and you slide down, and jump out of the way, and the helicopter keeps moving like this, so you go, and you kinda just go, and you assemble and move off.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Um, so ambushes, raids. Um, a big part of it was, um, airfield seizures—airfield—airfield takes downs, which is actually pretty cool, ‘cause we had a special vehicles, that, um—special vehicles Land Rovers, that were made just for the Rangers, that would fit into the airplanes. So the [Lockheed] C-130s [Hercules] and the [Lockheed] C-141s [Starlifter] [<em>sniffs</em>]. Um it—it’s called “Jeeps” and “bikes.”</p>
<p>So, uh, [<em>laughs</em>] it’s pretty cool. So you’d drop the ramp of the—of the aircraft, and then you’d drive your Jeeps up there, and we also had dirt bikes, and, um, our job was, um, once other members of the platoon would go in—jump in, and secure the airfield, make sure there was no debris on the runway—We would come in, drop the ramps, disembark, drive off, and then establish blocking positions, so that the enemy could not retake the—the airfield. So different things. Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>And, um, uh, did you see any combat at all?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>No.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>No?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>No, I did not. When I was in Korea—Korea—since Korea has just kind of a—kind of a special mission—because we’re at peace, but we’re not really—um, I did not go to the First, um, Iraq War.<a title="">[5]</a></p>
<p>When I was in Ranger School, um—I remember in January of ’91, we were doing a patrol at Eglin Air Force Base, and so we had just jumped into our—our rubber boats, called “Zodiacs” or “RB-15s,” and we were doing a mission. It was the last mission of that phase of Ranger School, and we were all just really tired and really weak, and, we just wanted to be kinda done with it—just done with it, and, um, course, it’s night. All the—all the missions you do in the military are—are at night, um, and so we had just pushed off, and we were just about to start rowing, and then this big ol’ colonel—this big ol’ colonel that[sic] I have never seen before—he must have of weighed 250 pounds—came running and jumped into our—our boat, and then, we—we could see just enough in the moonlight that he looked like he had some rank that kinda outranked us, or we were a little bit different, and he was listening to a radio, and that’s when we had first started bombing. That’s when we first went into Iraq, and he was listening to it and said, “Alright, Rangers. This is for real now. We’re goin’ to war. Every single one of you.” you know, gave some colorful adjectives, um, “Will be over there, um, inside of two months. So you better that this seriously,” which we already were, But, um—and so we were momentarily kinda pumped, you know, because when you’re in the military and that sorta thing that we’re doing, you kind of—you wanna go into combat, you want go where the danger is, but then after that, we were mostly worried about this big ol’ colonel was just gonna make our jobs harder to row, and—and, so, um, that’s what we’re mostly worried about.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Um, did you stay in touch with your family, while you were over there?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Well, um, that gets in the story of my wife. So do you wanna hear about this? [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>I won’t tell you all the details.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>But, um—so when I graduated from West Point, my parents sent my best friend and I to a trip to Cancún, and so, um, we had to go to a travel agent. My mother, for some reason or another, got so upset with our normal travel agent. So we said, “We’re just not gonna go to her anymore. We’re gonna go fine a different travel agent.”</p>
<p>So back then you didn’t really have the Internet. You couldn’t pull up your—your PDA and see where the—we just went driving, and so we saw a “travel agent,” and Mom said “That’s it. That’s the one.” [<em>sniffs</em>] And so we walk in there, and there was this really, really pretty girl with really, deep green eyes, and I’m like, <em>Hello.</em> I didn’t say that.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>I was thinking that, right? And, um, so we sat down, and she arranged it, and I’m looking at her, and I’m thinking <em>Wow</em>, you know? Um, I—I—I think, um—and you can kinda tell, she kinda was mildly intrigued with me—not overwhelmed—but mildly, and so, um—and so when I get back from Cancún, I’m gonna come back and I’m gonna ask this—this lady out, Right? And so then when I came back, um, I—I remembered her, and I had every intention, and then I end up meeting this other girl, who actually was a cop in Miami[, Florida], who was also a lawyer, but she put the law thing on the side, and she wanted to work a cop in one of the most dangerous areas of Fort Lauderdale[, Florida], and so I got kinda sidetracked with that nonsense for about five months, until was finally able to get outta that—get out of that. That was really not a good relationship.</p>
<p>So then I got my orders to go to Korea, right? And, um—so I had to fly commercial, so I went back to the travel agent, and then when I walked in, I’m like <em>Hello.</em> I—I kinda, like, forgotten [<em>laughs</em>] all about her, but then when I saw those pretty green eyes, I[sic] like, <em>Whoa</em>, you know? And it was a mess. I was young, right? We were all young, and, um—and so then, I ask her out, and, um, so we dated for a week, and then I went to Korea, and the way Korea is, back then, you really don’t come back, and there really wasn’t a whole lot of e-mail back then. Um, so, we wrote. We hand wrote letters, back and forth, and she saved every single of them. She still has them. We’ve been married 22 years. She saved every single one of ‘em, and I was—and I was faithful to her, um, until about eight months through, and then—and I know this sounds funny—I mean, [inaudible— I met the colonel’s daughter. Literally, I met the colonel’s daughter, and, um, [<em>laughs</em>] and so, um, started dating her, and so I wrote Lisa [Sawyer]—my Lisa—a “Dear Lisa” letter, you—you know? And bought a 12-pack, and got liquored up, and wrote it, and she saved that doggone letter</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>] And she still has that doggone letter. So alright—and anyways, so I’m like, “Sorry. Met the colonel’s daughter. It’s been nice knowing ya.” we only dated for a week. What’s the big deal, right? And, um [<em>sniffs</em>]—and that was that. So the colonel’s daughter came back—she was in Texas. I came back, and, um, thought everything was good, right? Unbeknownst to me, while I was I Korea, my parents took Lisa up under their wings, and really—they really like her, and so they stated to take her to church with them, and—and really kind of mentored her, and developed this close relationship.</p>
<p>So when I got back I said, um, “Dad and Mom,” uh, you know, “Lisa and I are no longer together.” “Well, what happened?” So I explained it all, and they’re like, “Well, that’s no good.” um, “That’s not the way to do it. We’re not happy with—with that, but that’s your decision, but you do not do that via a letter.” I’m like, “Alright. I’ll call her.” and they’re— “Nope. You gotta go see her and tell her face to face that you’re sorry.” And, um, and but you’re formally— I’m formally ending the relationship. They’re pretty old school. Um, I respect that now. At the time I was like, <em>Ugh</em>.</p>
<p>So I call Lisa up, and said “Lisa, this is Curt. Um, I—I wanna come see you.” She hung up on me. So I went back to my parents, and said, “Hey, I’m off the hook. She doesn’t wanna talk to me.” They’re like, “No, no, no.” [<em>laughs</em>]. “You’re a Ranger. It doesn’t work that well. Figure out a way.” So I called her back, said “Lisa,” you know, “The way my parents are. They won’t get off my back, until I come see you. Can I come see you? Just, eh, five minutes. Don’t even have to walk in the door. Just need to see you, check the block, then my parents are off my back. Help me out.” She was like, “Okay. Come over.”</p>
<p>So I went over to see her. She opened out, uh—the door, and I’m like, <em>Hello</em>, you know? The—I know, and, um, she ended up inviting me in. so, um—and so the long story short of it is: um, I broke it off with the colonel’s daughter, and then Lisa and I started dating again, and we got married six months later, and, um, so even with all that nonsense of how that started out, um, eh, she’s just been a blessing, and I’ve been absolutely faithful to her for 22 years, and she’s just more than I deserve. So that was kinda that.</p>
<p>Then the colonel’s daughter, right? So she was flying into Orlando, but flying out of Fort Myers. So I still had to go pick her up, and she was pissed at me. She was pissed. So I went to pick her up, didn’t speak a word for like three-quarters of the trip, and then the floodgate’s going, “How could you do this?” I mean, and, uh, I’m like, “What can I say? I’m sorry. I know I—it’s on me,” you know? So then, I put her on the plane and—and that was it. No more drama.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>] Okay. Um, what did you do when you—after, with your wife and—meeting her—what did you do after coming home from Korea and after you got out of the service? Like, what did you do afterwards?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Yeah, um, when I came back—so I did the Rangering thing for a while in Savannah, and, um, deployed quite a bit. Did a lot of, um—did a lot of trainings—did a lot of training. Really enjoyed it, really enjoyed the Rangers, and really enjoyed the Army. Um, When I was at West Point—even though I really appreciated my West Point experience and I’m very proud of it, very proud of the mission it has, and what—the impact it continues to have—but I said, <em>You know, if the Army is anything like West Point, then I want nothing to do with it. I’m just gonna do my time, and I’m going to get </em>out, and, um, the Army was completely different from the West Point, for the most part, and, uh, then I got out, um, from West Point into the Army, I—I tried all the stuff that I was taught. You know, it’s gotta be formal and—and all this sorta thing, and they laughed at me. Like, “Get over yourself, Lieutenant. That’s just not the way it works.” Well, I’m like, “Okay. How does it work?” “Just be yourself, just lead the men, just lead, alright?” I’m like, “Oh, okay. Well, that’s great.” so I scrapped all this stuff. It—it really wasn’t scrapping all the stuff, but it was truly being a leader and taking charge, and, um—so yeah, um, therefore, I really, really, um, really enjoyed the military. Um, really enjoyed what the Rangers did and what they stood for.</p>
<p>Um, Lisa and I got married while I was still in the military, and then um, we wanted to start a family and that sorta thing. So, um, decided to get out, and then after that, went into the, um—the private sector. Worked for three Fortune 500 companies for 14 years, before I came to UCF.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Now, you really seemed to enjoy the Army. What was your most memorable experience? Or something you really enjoyed in it? Like, what was—like maybe a good story, or hanging out with your friends? What was something you really, really enjoyed?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Hm, hm.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>It can be multiple. It doesn’t just have to be one.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Yeah, you know, I—I really, um—when I was with the Rangers, um, we de—we went and, um, trained with the French Foreign Legion, um, in Corsica, France. So, um, three companies of the, um—of the batta—um, three platoons of the company went to Belgium, and they did their training, and my platoon was selected to go and train with the Legionnaires, and, um, that was really cool, because not many military—not many American units are able to do that—to lay claim to training with the French Foreign Legion, which, when you’re in military circle, that’s—they’re well-known. They’re pretty hardcore. Um, Rangers—we considered ourselves hardcore, so it’s, —it was kinda cool for two hardcore entities to get together and train together.</p>
<p>They trained differently from us. Um, by that, I’ll give an example. We were running a live fire, and, um—in France—and kinda showing them American tactics, and right in the middle of that—American tactics—the—the military officers are very much involved in that—coordinating, that sorta thing. My counterpart—my French counterpart pulled me off the side and said, “Hey, Curt,” you know? He didn’t call me Curt. It was Lieutenant Sawyer. “We gotta go over here and do lunch.” I’m like, “What is that?” [<em>laughs</em>]. “What do you have in the basket?” And he pulled out a loaf of bread, and he pulled out some cheese, and he pulled out a bottle out a bottle of wine/ and he was kinda just wanting to sit up on that p—hillside and just kinda watch it all, and I’m like, “Thank you for the offer, but I can’t do that. I got live bullets flying down range, and it’s a very dangerous situation, and I need to be…” so he—he was—was just different tactics, and the other thing I would say that’s kinda interesting is that we—we actually parachuted with them, you know? They had these old planes, and we looked at the plane—My Rangers all looked at the plane, and were, “We’re gonna jump out of that thing?” It’s called a [Transall] “C-160.” It looked old. It was old, and, um—and they were like, “Yup, and we were like, “Okay,” you know? And so we waited, and we sat there on the tarmac out on the airfield, and we waited and we waited, and we’re like, “Where are the pilots?” and they’re like, “They’re still, um, having lunch.” and so they were inside having lunch, and drinking wine, and kinda getting half crocked. So when they came out, they were kinda a staggering a little bit, and, um, I’m like, “We’re not gonna jump with these guys. It’s—it’s a little bit…”</p>
<p>Plus, there’s a thunderstorm coming, the wind was picking up. When you—when you jump out of airplanes, the one thing you don’t want to do it jump out when the wind is blowing too hard, because you can’t control were you land, and, um—and basically they said, “Well, I thought Americans were tough,” you know? “You gonna let a—a little wind, a little wine kinda…” so, of course, we had to, and so we went up and—and we jumped, and, um, it was really, really windy. What they do is they throw a—it’s called a “dummy.” Um, it’s—it’s kind of, you know—it’s a stuffed—supposed to simulate a—a man—a grown man, and they throw it out, and then, wherever it goes, they adjust where the jumpers go out, and generally, you—the best case scenario: you throw the dummy out and the dummy just goes straight down. This time, he threw the dummy and the dummy went <em>wick</em> with the wind, and we’re like, “Whoa.” And so we jumped, and, um—and—and the wind is just taking us haywire, and, um, outside the compound—the compound was rimmed with—with [inaudible] or wire, and all that sorta thing, and, um—and as we’re going down and—and thinking, <em>Well, this is gonna really kinda be painful</em>, I saw my platoon sergeant just go <em>fwoomp</em>. He just was dropping like a rock, and I’m like, <em>Whoa. What’s going on with that?</em> And so I looked at him, and he figured out a way to really kinda make his parachute drop a lot faster. Basically, pulled his risers down, put his feet in ‘em, pushed them down, and it made him just go down. So I’m like, <em>Let me try that</em>. So I did it. So he and I were the only ones to land kinda where we were supposed to, and all the rest of the boys landed in the wire, or on the roofs, and on trees, and all that, and it took us the rest of the day to clean us all up, but nobody got hurt, and, um—so yeah. Things like that. Just kind of hardcore training, and, um, strong relationships, and, um, just standing ready to kinda serve our country, whenever we were called.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>And you said you made a lot of friends at West Point. Um, do you stay in contact with people from West Point? Or any people from the Rangers, as well?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer <br /></strong>Yeah, I do still. Some, you know—over—over the course of 20 years, you know, things drift, people change. That’s one things we really noticed is that we’ve changed. My wife and I really changed, and so, um, what used to interest us, just in terms of likes and—and [inaudible] and that sort of thing, they really—not so much anymore, so—inevitably too, but, yes, we have kept in touch with some of my classmates. Some of them are still in. some of them are now getting to the point they’re—they’re, um, becoming generals, brigadier generals—which is kinda cool, ‘cause, you know, we remember each other from just doing spirit missions at West Point, and getting hazed, and just doing silly things, and getting trouble over it, and that’s[sic] the memories a lot of us have, and now they’re—they’re national leaders, you know? A lot of my classmates have gone on and are part of the NSA [National Security Agency], and CIA [Central Intelligence Agency], and FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation], and—and, um, into politics, and—and really had done well for themselves. So, yeah. It’s kinda cool to keep up with them. Um, Facebook, obviously, we see a lot. A lot of my classmates have children that are now at West Point, so, um—so, yeah. It’s kinda cool.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Um, has[sic] your experiences in the Army impacted your life?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Sure. Um, inevitably. One: it was just, uh—I think with anybody that that’s in, it’s just a special time. It’s just a really special time, because you’re so focused. One: you—I don’t think you will find anybody—you will—it will—rarely, that you will find someone that doesn’t really, really strongly believe in the mission of what we did, and so a lot of times, what we do—we go into the business world, we go in the corporate world, we—we get jobs in that sorta thing, and say, “Well, what’s your mission? What is your purpose?” and well, if you’re in the corporate world, it is to make somebody else money. It’s to make money. So you—you put that and you stack that against serving and honoring and protecting my country. Well, it’s kinda hard to compare with that. So when you put that—people strongly believe in that—then everything has a greater sense of urgency, just in terms of training, and—and awareness, and wanting to—to hone your craft, In order to be able to stand ready, when you’re called</p>
<p>So, yeah. It’s just kind of a special time, and, um—and certainly, some of the characters—the—the discipline—discipline, and the focus, and, you know—and the—the mentality that you’ll never give up, ‘til you accomplished the mission, you know? The mission manifests itself in many different ways, depending on what you do, but still, at the end of the day, still an objective or a mission, and the military just teaches you how to be creative in how you’re going to figure out how to do it.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>So that makes sense?</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Yes, yes [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Um, well, um, we are getting to the end. So, um, would you advise anyone else, um, today to enlist? Since you enlisted, would you advise anybody else who would like to enlist that it’s a good thing, a bad thing?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Yeah, I think it’s a great thing. You know, there’s[sic] two different ways about going about it. One is through the officer, um—through the officer channel. The other is through enlisted, you know? And so each have its attractiveness for—depending on what people’s goals are.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>You know? So I always wanted to do the officer thing, just because I wanted—I wanna be a leader, you know? You—you’re either a leader, or you’re kinda not. So, if you’re a leader, you kinda wanna be right in the middle of things, and—and you have more impact as an officer, generally. Um, um, I—I know as an NCO—a non-commissioned officer—you can still have that, but it takes longer to get that so, but certainly, as enlisted, I think that’s a very noble profession. Um, and it certainly helps with the GI Bill, and benefits, [U.S. Department of] VA [Veterans Affairs] care. A lot of folks don’t think about that from an early age.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>But once you serve in the military, you have access to VA—Veterans Administration care the rest of your life, and, um, that’s kinda a bid deal, and a lot of the other benefits that come along with it. So that’s not the primary reason why you should join, but certainty, I think it’s part of the consideration, and, um, the other is: there’s not a whole lot of pensions around anymore. If you do your 20 years in the military, then you get a pension, and, um—so, yeah. I would strongly encourage folks that[sic]—that[sic] are really, truly want to serve their country to—to consider it, and—regardless whether it’s Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard—all that. I’ve never been one to say, “Well, it’s gotta be Army only.” Yeah. We all serve.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Uh, is there anything else you want to talk about? Any stories you wanna tell us? Anything that comes to mind?</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Hm, no. I don’t think so.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>No? Okay. Well, I would like to thank you for sharing your story with us, and myself, and the UCF community, and we will be in touch with you once the copy of the interview is done.</p>
<p><strong>Sawyer<br /></strong>Okay. Well, thank you.</p>
<p><strong>Dunn<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
<div><br /><div>
<p><a title="">[1]</a> Correction: Representative.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[2]</a> Correction: Representative.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[3]</a> Legally named Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[4]</a> Officially the Sabalauski Air Assault School (TSAAS).</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[5]</a> Also known as the Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Gulf War I, Kuwait War, and Iraq War.</p>
</div>
</div>
45th Parallel North
75th Ranger Regiment
Air Assault Badge
Air Assault School
Airborne School
aircraft
airplanes
alcohol
alcoholic beverages
Army Air Assault School
Army Airborne School
Army Ranger
balaclava
bugle notes
C-130
C-141
C-160
Community Veterans History Project
Connie Mack
Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy II
Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III
Corsica, France
cows
Curt Sawyer
CVHP
Demilitarized Zone
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Department of Veterans Affairs
deployments
DMZ
Dojuan Sawyer
DPRK
DZ
Ed Hoyt
Edison Community College
education
Eglin AFB
Eglin Air Force Base
enlistment
fast strobing
firstie
Florida SouthWestern State College
Fort Benning, Georgia
Fort Myers, Florida
Forty-Fifth Parallel North
French Foreign Legion
GI Bill
Guard Post Ouellette
Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Iver
Jeep
Joint Readiness Training Center
JRTC
Jump School
Korean War
Land Rovers
line platoons
Lisa Dojuan
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
military benefits
military education
military training
North Korea
Officer Basic Corps
parachutes
planes
plebe years
plebes
R&R
Ranger
Ranger Regiment
Ranger School
RB-15
Republic of Korea
rest and recuperation
Robin Dunn
ROK
Sabalauski Air Assault School
San Francisco, California
Savannah, Georgia
scout platoon
scout platoons
Seoul, South Korea
Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944
Seventy-Fifth Ranger Regiment
soju
soldiers
South Korea
Special Operations Command
Tennessee
training
Transall C-160
TSAAS
U.S. Army
U.S. Army Special Operations Command
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
United States Military Academy at West Point
USASOC
USMA
VA
veterans
Veterans Affairs
watch caps
West Point
yearly
Zodiac