1
100
7
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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 Historical Quarterly Podcasts Collection
Alternative Title
FHQ Podcast Collection
Description
The <em>Florida Historical Quarterly </em>is the academic journal published four times per year by the Florida Historical Society in cooperation with the Department of History at the University of Central Florida. Each issue features peer-reviewed articles focusing on a wide variety of topics related to Florida history.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>
Curator
Burke, Mike
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/default" target="_blank">Florida Historical Society</a>
External Reference
"<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank">Florida Historical Quarterly</a>." Florida Historical Society. https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly.
"<a href="http://fhq.cah.ucf.edu" target="_blank">The Florida Historical Quarterly</a>." College of Arts and Humanities, University of Central Florida. http://fhq.cah.ucf.edu.
Sound/Podcast
A resource whose content is primarily intended to be rendered as audio.
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 Historical Quarterly, Episode 29: Vol. 94, No. 4, Spring 2016
Alternative Title
Florida Historical Quarterly, Ep. 29
Subject
Phosphate industry--Florida
Mining--United States
Description
This podcast features an interview with Brad Massey, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida, about his article on the Florida phosphate industry and the political controversy surrounding its arrangement with the Soviet Union in 1974.
Type
Sound
Source
Original 24-minute and 18-second audio podcast by Daniel S. Murphree, 2016: <a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>, Florida Historical Society, Cocoa, 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>
Is Part Of
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>, Florida Historical Society, Cocoa, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/184" target="_blank">Florida Historical Quarterly Podcast Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Coverage
Florida
Creator
Murphree, Daniel S.
Publisher
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>
Contributor
Massey, Brad
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/default" target="_blank">Florida Historical Society</a>
<a href="http://history.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">University of Central Florida, Department of History</a>
Date Created
2016
Date Issued
2016
Date Copyrighted
2016
Format
audio/mp3
Extent
257 MB
Medium
24-minute and 18-second audio podcast
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Daniel S. Murphree and published by the <a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by the <a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/default" target="_blank">Florida Historical Society</a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Contributing Project
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/default" target="_blank">Florida Historical Society</a>
External Reference
Massey, Nrad. "The Hammer, the Sickle, and the Phosphate Rock: The 1974 Political Controversy over Florida Phosphate Shipments to the Soviet Union." <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/69023195" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>. 94, no. 3 (2016).
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="https://youtu.be/nbUIgTc3NQU" target="_blank">Episode 29: Vol. 94, No. 4, Spring 2016</a>
Afghanistan
American Communist Labor Party
ammonia
Armand Hammer
Bank of America
Brad Massey
cold war
communism
communists
company towns
convict leasing
Daniel S. Murphree
détente
draglines
Eastern Bloc
embargos
environmentalism
environmentalists
Ex-Im Bank
Export-Import Bank
FHQ
Florida Historical Quarterly
Ford Motor Company
globalization
Heinz Alfred Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Hooker Chemical Company
International Ore and Fertilizer Company
Jefferson Lake Sulphur Company
labor
laborers
mines
mining
Morocco
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev
Occidental Petroleum Corporation
OPEC
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
Osceola National Forest
Oxy
Peace River
phosphate
pollution
price setting
recycling
Richard Bernard Stone
Richard Milhous Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Stone
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan
socialism
socialists
Soviet Union
Soviet-Afghan War
Soviets
Stalinization
strip mining
Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster
trade deals
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
USSR
World War II
WWII
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/2d25a8977da9f538d71c3f6c15474561.pdf
591fe0c139577891a7bfea9672edf2e2
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
Friends of Lake Apopka Collection
Alternative Title
FOLA Collection
Subject
Lake Apopka (Fla.)
Water quality--Florida
Pollution--Florida
Description
The Friends of Lake Apopka (FOLA) is a citizen advocacy group with the mission of restoring Lake Apopka in Orange County and Lake County, Florida. Due to poor farming practices along its shores, Lake Apopka has become one of the largest polluted lakes in Florida. This collection features various archival items related to the restoration of the lake.
Contributor
<a href="http://www.fola.org/" target="_blank">Friends of Lake Apopka</a>
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Lake Apopka, Florida
Florida Game and Fresh Water Commission, Tallahassee, Florida
Oakland, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Saint Johns River, Florida
Winter Garden, Florida
Winter Haven, Florida
Zellwood, Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="http://www.fola.org/" target="_blank">Friends of Lake Apopka</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
King, Joshua
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://www.oaktownusa.com/Pages/Preserve/index" target="_blank">Oakland Nature Preserve</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://www.fola.org/" target="_blank">Our Mission & Purpose</a>." Friends of Lake Apopka. http://www.fola.org/.
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
Florida From the House...To Your Home Newsletter, March 1972
Alternative Title
Florida From the House To Your Home Newsletter
Subject
Lake Apopka (Fla.)
Description
The <em>Florida From the House...To Your Home</em> newsletter mailed to citizens of the 5th Congressional District of Florida, represented by U.S. Representative Louis Frey, Jr. (1934-2019), who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969 to 1979. Rep. Frey was on several committees during his time in office, including the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control and the Science and Technology Committee. He was also the chairman of the Young Republicans of Florida.<br /><br />The newsletter also discusses President Richard Nixon's (1913-1994) Temporary Wage and Price Controls of 1971, the U.S. economy in general, as well as the federal budget and campaign reform. The newsletter also states Rep. Frey's concerns over the condition of Lake Apopka, and his efforts with Reps. Don Fuqua (b. 1933) and William V. Chappell, Jr. (1922-1989) to form the Ocklawaha Basin Improvement Council, an organization that would tackle the lake's pollution problems on a regional level. Additionally, the newsletter describes efforts to improvement employment in the aerospace industry in Florida, as well as describing the issues facing attempts to fight drug trafficking in Mexico during the War on Drugs.
Type
Text
Source
Photocopy of 2-page typed newsletter: <em>Florida From the House...To Your Home</em>, March 1972: binder 1972, Friends of Lake Apopka Archives, Ginn Museum, <a href="http://www.oaktownusa.com/Pages/Preserve/index" target="_blank">Oakland Nature Preserve</a>, Oakland, Florida.
Requires
<a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/reader.html" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
Binder 1972, Friends of Lake Apopka Archives, Ginn Museum, <a href="http://www.oaktownusa.com/Pages/Preserve/index" target="_blank">Oakland Nature Preserve</a>, Oakland, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/153" target="_blank">Friends of Lake Apopka Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of photocopied 2-page typed newsletter: <em>Florida From the House...To Your Home</em>, March 1972.
Coverage
Lake Apopka, Florida
Washington, D.C.
Cape Canaveral, Florida
Publisher
Frey, Lou, Jr.
Date Created
ca. 1972-03
Date Issued
1972-03
Format
application/pdf
Extent
657 KB
Medium
2-page typed newsletter
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Provenance
Originally published by Lou Frey, Jr.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by the <a href="http://loufreyinstitute.org/" target="_blank">Lou Frey Institute of Politics &amp</a>
Government and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://www.fola.org/" target="_blank">Friends of Lake Apopka</a>
Curator
King, Joshua
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://www.oaktownusa.com/Pages/Preserve/index" target="_blank">Oakland Nature Preserve</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://loufreyjr.com/" target="_blank">Congressman Lou Frey, Jr. Biography</a>." Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government. http://loufreyjr.com/.
"<a href="http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000381">FREY, Louis, Jr., (1934 - )</a>." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000381.
Frey, Lou, and Aubrey Jewett. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/422763388"><em>Political Rules of the Road: Representatives, Senators, and Presidents Share Their Rules for Success in Congress, Politics, and Life</em></a>. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2009.
Frey, Lou, and Michael T. Hayes. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45419938"><em>Inside the House: Former Members Reveal How Congress Really Works</em></a>. Lanham, MD: U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress, 2001.
Transcript
from the House…
to your Home
Congressman Lou Frey, Jr.
214 Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515
NOT PRINTED AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE PRINTED ON PAPER MADE WITH RECYCLED FIBERS MARCH 1972
Dear Friends:
The biggest problem in writing this newsletter is caused by space limitations. So much happens in the Congress that I can’t cover it all here. Feel free to write if I haven’t covered an area in which you are interested.
Many of you have asked where we are living. After about 2 1/2 years of existing in D.C., we’ve moved home. Besides, the group that left- Marcia, Julie, Lynne, Lou, Lauren, and Folly (our Irish Setter) we’ve added Chris, born in November. Commuting by plane is only 1/2 hour more than the rush hour drive in D.C. and we’re all glad to be home.
POW’s: By May of this year we will have less than 69,000 men in Vietnam instead of the 540,000 we had three years ago. As the end nears the concern for the 1500 POW’s and MIA’s continue to grow. The President has indicated that a residual force will be maintained in Vietnam and no settlement reached until the prisoner issue is settled. These men and their families have more than fulfilled their obligation to this country. We must do al [sic] we can to honor our obligation to them. Let’s keep up the public pressure in support of our fellow Americans. World opinion helps in the continuing negotiations to release our men. One thing is for sure-these men are not, will not become, forgotten Americans.
GENERATION OF PEACE: As I write this newsletter the resident has just returned from China with the trip to Russia still ahead. Some controversy has arisen over these trips. Yet let us remember that our nation negotiates not from weakness but strength with full knowledge of the history of the countries with whom we are dealing. We are obligated- as the most powerful nation in the world- to try, somehow, to bring about a peaceful world. Not to try is to ensure someday that the weapons we have will be used and to default on our duty to future generations.
Secretary of the Navy, John Chafee and Congressman Lou Frey, Jr. during the Secretary’s recent visit to the Naval Training Device Center in Orlando.
SPACE SHUTTLE: As this newsletter goes to press there are several developments in the space shuttle situation that are about to break. One of these is NASA’s decision to use a solid fuel, water recoverable booster. This decision limits the launch site to coastal regions and brings us one step closer to the site selection which we expect by June. Studies have shown that we will save over $10 billion in the next 15 years through its use for both manned and unmanned flights. This low cost transportation system can be developed without increasing NASA funding over the current 3.38 billion dollar [sic] budget which is about 1.3% of the Federal budget. When people talk about cost they should know that in terms of our gross national product, 1.8% of the total is spent on alcohol and 1.1% ion cigarettes while on .3% is spent on the space program.
Another important plus is that many Congreesmen [sic] have visited the Cape at our invitation to see the program in action and have received follow-up briefings. Although predictions in politics are risky, I’ll go on the line predicting a sizeable victory in the House for the Shuttle.
The Shuttle will have expendable boosters which must be dropped. With 50% of the launches being to the East, it’s hard to see, just from a safety standpoint, a more suitable location than Cape Kennedy. More-over, our committee on Manned Spaceflight has required NASA to use existing facilities to the fullest extent. The site location decision will be
made this summer, and it is my belief, as I have said from the start, that the Cape will be selected for the initial launch site.
ECONOMY: The Temporary Wage and Price Controls imposed by the President in August of 1971 were tough medicine. Many of us view these controls as a last ditch effort and a necessary evil. But the economic facts of life showed a change was needed. It appears that the medicine has the patient back on his feet. The consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 17% from August to November 1971. This is the lowest rate in the last 4 1/2 years.
Unemployment is still too high – presently about 5.9%; however, the economy managed to generate 790,000 new jobs during the last quarter of 1971 and unemployment among married men dropped to 3.8%. There’s no question that our success in getting out of Vietnam resulted in 2 1/2 million Americans (ex-servicemen and defense workers) being unemployed. While no one likes unemployment, I believe all will agree that full employment resulting from war is not the answer.
BUDGET: The 1973 budget (July 72-June 73) of $246.3 billion, although representing the smallest increase in Federal spending since 1965 has a sizeable deficit of about 25 billion dollars. From 1965 to 1968 government spending increased by 17% per year. From 1969 to 1972 it increased by about 9% per year. This year’s increase of 4.1% is the lowest budget increase in recent years and is a step in the right direction. It’s important to note that 71% of our annual Federal budget is relatively uncontrolled or locked in the budget by existing law. As an example, $68.1 billion is required to fund the Social Security Trust Fund. Additionally, if we hadn’t reduced Federal personal income taxes, the budget could be balanced. This year individual taxpayers will pay $22 billion less than in 1968. A family of four which made $7,500 in 1968 paid $756 in income tax. This year the same family will pay $484 or $272 less in taxes. Interest on our national debt is about $21 billion per year and increased at the rate of $43,000 per minute. Remember this- the president can’t spend one penny. It’s Congress that can appropriate this money. Congress must be more responsible so we can live within our national income.
ELECTION REFORM: Our election machinery has been under attack- and for good cause. In 1970, Senate, House, and gubernatorial candidates spent over $60 million on their races. It seems to many that victory goes not to the most qualified but to the candidate who spends the most and literally buys the election. The last federal election reform legislation which passed in 1925 was meaningless. For example, the there was no requirement that a candidate for Congress disclose where he received his contributions or how the money was spent.
The President just signed the new Federal Election Campaign Act into law. This bill, which originated in my subcommittee on Communications, puts a ceiling on spending. In House races a candidate is limited to $50,000 for expenses like TV, radio, newspaper advertising and
[Continued on back page]
SPECIAL PROJECTS
THE ENVIRONMENT- OKLAWAHA: In my last newsletter to you I mentioned the problems of Lake Apopka. As you all know, ten years ago Apopka was a thriving bass fishing area in the southeast. Today it is nearly dead. Unfortunately, this problem is not localized to Lake Apopka alone. The entire Oklawaha River Basin is being threatened.
This is why I asked Congressmen Bill Chappell and Don Fugua to join with me in attacking this problem on a regional level. We are concerned over the continuing water pollution in the basin and feel that the establishment of a regional council to cut through the red tape would be more economical as well as effective.
For the last four months we have been working on this problem and are now in the process of establishing the Oklawaha River Basin Improvement Council. All interested parties will be represented on this 24 member [sic] council which will coordinate efforts to find an equitable solution to this problem. We hope the council will be operational by late Spring.
RETRO, UNEMPLOYMENT & WAGES: In January of last year, the problems of the aerospace workers in our district were getting worse. Over 7,000 scientists, engineers and technicians were reported unemployed while these figures did not include those who had taken jobs as pizza pushers, printers, etc.
This is why we decided to establish RETRO- a Regional Environmental Training and Research Organization. With the help of Brevard Community College, Florida Technological University, and Florida Institute of Technology, a retraining program finally emerged which was designed to retrain scientists and engineers as well as technicians. In addition [sic] a placement program was established which would search for available jobs to insure placement after the retraining had been completed.
We took this idea to many different governmental agencies and explained that this retraining would be for positions in the environment- retraining in such areas as air, water and land pollution as well as jobs to help local communities in planning hospitals and mass transit systems. Over the last year we have managed to obtain over $2.4 million in RETRO related funding, including $598 thousand from the Department of Labor for job search and placement activities and $1.17 million of Emergency Employment funds to hire the unemployed in Brevard and Orange counties. In addition, approximately 78% of those trained have been employed or are presently continuing their education. Only 22% are still in the process of being interviewed for employment.
One of the major problems on which we have been working is the “wage busting” situation in Brevard County. We felt a wage determination should be made under the present law and after repeated attempts to persuade the Department of Labor to make this decision our efforts were rewarded. Just before Christmas, the Secretary of Labor, James Hodgson, made the announcement that a determination was being made and that a minimum wage rate would be set for workers on government contracts. This wage rate was to be equal to the prevailing wages paid in the community for the same type of work. The effect of this decision has gone a long way toward limiting the “wage busting” problem in Brevard, and I’m glad the Secretary agreed with us.
DRUG TASK FORCE: During the past months our work on the problem of hard drugs has continued. Our recent hearings in Miami indicated that about 50% of the heroin and cocaine coming into the U.S. passes through Florida. At the request of the White House we went to Mexico and then later to South America to see what, if anything, could be done.
About 15% of the heroin used in the U.S. is grown in Mexico. We wondered why all the fields weren’t destroyed…but soon learned. The poppy grows in vast uninhabited areas on the sides of mountains 7 to 10 thousand feet high. The federal troops try to destroy the filed but have unbelievable logistic and transportation problems. In the District I visited there is only one helicopter and one pilot who flies seven days a week, seven to ten hours per day. His helicopter is shot at continually (as we learned) and his pay is very low. The troops have to walk for seven to eight days from their base just to get to the poppy fields. We discussed this problem with the Mexican Attorney General and stressed the need for better training, equipment, and cooperation.
Some South American countries (unlike Mexico) have less of desire to do something about the drug traffic. First, these countries do not have an active hard drug problem among their own citizens, and second, they have economic problems and can’t afford to put money into law enforcement, equipment, or training to prevent the flow of drugs. The potential for corruption of public officials is increased by the low salary scale. The very size of the continent (Brazil has ten borders) compounds the problem.
Shown here is Jules Bergman of ABC News as he filmed a favorable report on Congressman Frey’s Project RETRO just prior to the launch of Apollo 15. A similar report appeared in Newsweek.
—QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS —
Each year we have a booth at the Central Florida Fair and ask that our visitors answers questionnaire. Here are some to the results from this year’s survey.
1. Do you favor President Nixon’s trip to mainland China? 82% Yes
18% No
2. Do you support the President’s Phase II wage and 73% Yes
price control policy? 27% No
3. Would you support a constitutional amendment 77% Yes
prohibiting busing to achieve racial balance? 23% No
4. Are you a registered voter? 82% Yes
18% No
5. Do you support attacking water pollution problems 85% Yes
on a regional basis rather than lake by lake? 15% No
Apollo 15
BC News
BCC
benzoylmethylecgonine
Bill Chappell
Brevard Community College
budgets
Cape Kennedy
China
Chris Frey
cocaine
Coke
colleges
Congress
deficits
DOL
Don Fuqua
drug task force
drug trafficking
drug wars
drugs
educational Florida Institute of Technology
election reform
FECA
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
FIT
Florida Technological University
FTU
heroin
James Day Hodgson
John Chafee
John Lester Hubbard Chafee
Jules Bergman
Julie Frey
Lake Apopka
lake restoration
Lauren Frey
Lou Frey
Lou Frey, Jr.
Louis Frey, Jr.
Lynne Frey
Manned Spaceflight
Marcia Frey
Marcia Turner
Mexico
MIA
Miami
missing in action
narcotics
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Newsweek
OASDI
Oklawaha River Basin Improvement Council
Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance
Oscar Flores Sánchez
outer space
poppies
Poppy
POW
price controls
Prisoner of War
Regional Environmental Training and Research Organization
RETRO
Richard Milhous Nixon
Richard Nixon
Russia
Social Security
Social Security Trust Fund
Space Shuttles
Temporary Wage and Price Controls
U.S. Congress
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Representatives
U.S. Senate
unemployment
universities
university
Vietnam War
wage busting
wage controls
War on Drugs
William V. Chappell, Jr.
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/371ecf1fc956f6b77df9a4da5d6fe9af.jpg
c57e3f55c9598e6ab06575c764a66e47
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 Space Coast History Collection
Alternative Title
Space Coast Collection
Subject
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
NASA
Description
Collection of images, documents, and other archival items donated by the Florida Space Coast History Project.
Contributor
<a href="http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/chronopoints/" target="_blank">Chronopoints</a>
Fowler, Calvin "Cal" D.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="http://virtualheritage.ist.ucf.edu/cchp/" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Project</a>
Curator
Michlowitz, Robert
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm">Project Mercury Overview</a>." John F. Kennedy Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm.
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials.
Original Format
1 color photographic print
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
Quarantined Apollo 11 Crew with President Richard Nixon Aboard the USS Hornet
Alternative Title
Apollo 11 Crew with President Nixon Aboard USS Hornet
Subject
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
NASA
Apollo Project (U.S.)
Project Apollo (U.S.)
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
Presidents--United States
Astronauts--United States
Armstrong, Neil, 1930-2012
Collins, Michael, 1930-
Aldrin, Buzz
Aldrin, Edwin Eugene, Jr.
Description
After being recovered in the Pacific Ocean, the Apollo 11 crew was placed into a mobile quarantine unit in case of infection by unknown source on the Moon. This proved to be unnecessary and was discontinued later in Project Apollo. In this photograph, President Richard Nixon (1913-1994) greeted the astronauts on the USS <em>Hornet</em> shortly after they were placed in quarantine.<br /><br />Apollo 11 was the first space mission where humans set foot on another celestial body, the Moon. Launched from Launch Pad 39A at John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 fired the third stage engines two and half hours after launch to leave Earth's gravitational pull. The mission was highlighted by the first lunar landing by human beings and Mission Commander Neil Armstrong's (1930-2012) descent from the Lunar Module (LM) to place his foot on the surface of the Moon. He and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin (1930-) spent less than 22 hours on the Moon, including two and half hours outside <em>Eagle</em>, their Lunar Module. The crew, which also included Command Module Pilot Michael Collins (1930-), returned to Earth on July 24, 1969.
Type
Still Image
Source
Original color photographic print, July 24, 1969: Leonard Pugh Collection.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/148" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original color photographic print, July 24, 1969.
Coverage
North Pacific Ocean
Contributor
<a href="http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/chronopoints/" target="_blank">Chronopoints</a>
Date Created
1969-07-24
Format
image/jpg
Extent
107 KB
Medium
1 color photographic print
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by Leonard Pugh and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://virtualheritage.ist.ucf.edu/cchp/" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Project</a>
Curator
Michlowitz, Robert
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11.cfm" target="_blank">APOLLO 11 (AS-506)</a>." National Air and Space Museum. Accessed July 10, 2015. http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11.cfm.
Fish, Bob. "<a href="http://www.uss-hornet.org/history/apollo/">Apollo 11 & 12 Recovery</a>." Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet Museum. Accessed July 16, 2015. http://www.uss-hornet.org/history/apollo/.
Apollo 11
Apollo Project
Buzz Aldrin
Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.
Michael Collins
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Neil Alden Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Pacific Ocean
presidents
Project Apollo
Richard Milhous Nixon
Richard Nixon
space
USS Hornet
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/247aaaa3cc770c7ad4609f769320a223.jpg
6be5426f0db9d5b569084b9eca745263
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 Space Coast History Collection
Alternative Title
Space Coast Collection
Subject
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
NASA
Description
Collection of images, documents, and other archival items donated by the Florida Space Coast History Project.
Contributor
<a href="http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/chronopoints/" target="_blank">Chronopoints</a>
Fowler, Calvin "Cal" D.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="http://virtualheritage.ist.ucf.edu/cchp/" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Project</a>
Curator
Michlowitz, Robert
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm">Project Mercury Overview</a>." John F. Kennedy Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm.
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials.
Original Format
1 black and white photographic print
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
President Richard Nixon Greeting the Apollo 11 Crew Aboard the USS Hornet
Alternative Title
President Nixon Greeting Apollo 11 Crew Aboard USS Hornet
Subject
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
NASA
Apollo Project (U.S.)
Project Apollo (U.S.)
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
Presidents--United States
Astronauts--United States
Armstrong, Neil, 1930-2012
Collins, Michael, 1930-
Aldrin, Buzz
Aldrin, Edwin Eugene, Jr.
Description
After being recovered in the Pacific Ocean, the Apollo 11 crew was placed into a mobile quarantine unit in case of infection by unknown source on the Moon. This proved to be unnecessary and was discontinued later in Project Apollo. In this photograph, President Richard Nixon (1913-1994) greeted the astronauts on the USS <em>Hornet</em> shortly after they were placed in quarantine.<br /><br />Apollo 11 was the first space mission where humans set foot on another celestial body, the Moon. Launched from Launch Pad 39A at John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 fired the third stage engines two and half hours after launch to leave Earth's gravitational pull. The mission was highlighted by the first lunar landing by human beings and Mission Commander Neil Armstrong's (1930-2012) descent from the Lunar Module (LM) to place his foot on the surface of the Moon. He and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin (1930-) spent less than 22 hours on the Moon, including two and half hours outside <em>Eagle</em>, their Lunar Module. The crew, which also included Command Module Pilot Michael Collins (1930-), returned to Earth on July 24, 1969.
Type
Still Image
Source
Original black and white photographic print, July 24, 1969: Leonard Pugh Collection.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/148" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original black and white photographic print, July 24, 1969.
Coverage
North Pacific Ocean
Contributor
<a href="http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/chronopoints/" target="_blank">Chronopoints</a>
Date Created
1969-07-24
Format
image/jpg
Extent
94.5 KB
Medium
1 black and white photographic print
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by Leonard Pugh and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://virtualheritage.ist.ucf.edu/cchp/" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Project</a>
Curator
Michlowitz, Robert
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11.cfm" target="_blank">APOLLO 11 (AS-506)</a>." National Air and Space Museum. Accessed July 10, 2015. http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11.cfm.
Fish, Bob. "<a href="http://www.uss-hornet.org/history/apollo/">Apollo 11 &amp</a>
12 Recovery." Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet Museum. Accessed July 16, 2015. http://www.uss-hornet.org/history/apollo/.
Apollo 11
Apollo Project
Buzz Aldrin
Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.
Michael Collins
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Neil Alden Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Pacific Ocean
presidents
Project Apollo
quarantine
Richard Milhous Nixon
Richard Nixon
space
USS Hornet
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/e9f7220bd96deff72077cd73719ed670.jpg
a9acd62a2d1ce12e80a5d7e3fea8a79a
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 Space Coast History Collection
Alternative Title
Space Coast Collection
Subject
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
NASA
Description
Collection of images, documents, and other archival items donated by the Florida Space Coast History Project.
Contributor
<a href="http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/chronopoints/" target="_blank">Chronopoints</a>
Fowler, Calvin "Cal" D.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="http://virtualheritage.ist.ucf.edu/cchp/" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Project</a>
Curator
Michlowitz, Robert
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm">Project Mercury Overview</a>." John F. Kennedy Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm.
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials.
Original Format
1 color photographic print
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
President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon at Patrick Air Force Base
Alternative Title
President Nixon and First Lady at Patrick AFB
Subject
Patrick Air Force Base (Fla.)
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
Presidents--United States
Nixon, Pat, 1912-1993
Nixon, Thelma Catherine Patricia Ryan, 1912-1993
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
NASA
Apollo Project (U.S.)
Project Apollo (U.S.)
Description
President Richard Nixon (1913-1994) accompanied by his wife, Pat Nixon (1912-1993), greeting citizens at Patrick Air Force Base with Marine One in the background. Nixon arrived with his wife and his daughter, Patricia "Tricia" Nixon (1946-), to watch the launch of Apollo 12 on November 14, 1969. Apollo 12 was the second mission which landed men on the moon and the first to bring a color television camera to the lunar surface, but transmission was lost after Bean accidently destroyed the camera by pointing it at the Sun. The mission crew was composed of Mission Commander Pete Conrad (1930-1999)
Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon, Jr. (1929-)
and Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean (1932-). The mission gathered samples, deployed equipment to perform experiments, and retrieved parts of the Surveyor 3 lander probe, which had been on the Moon's surface since April 20, 1967. The significance of the recovery of Surveyor III parts allowed scientist to examine the long term effects of the lunar environment on spacecraft.
Type
Still Image
Source
Original color photographic print, November 14, 1969: Leonard Pugh Collection.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/148" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original color photographic print, November 14, 1969.
Coverage
Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
Contributor
<a href="http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/chronopoints/" target="_blank">Chronopoints</a>
Date Created
1969-11-14
Format
image/jpg
Extent
241 KB
Medium
1 color photographic print
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by Leonard Pugh and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://virtualheritage.ist.ucf.edu/cchp/" target="_blank">Florida Space Coast History Project</a>
Curator
Michlowitz, Robert
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
Harland, David M. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/710113369"><em>Apollo 12-- On the Ocean of Storms</em></a>. New York: Springer, 2011.
"<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo12.html#.VjJKDberTGg" target="_blank">Apollo 12</a>." National Aeronautics and Space Administration. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo12.html#.VjJKDberTGg.
Apollo 12
Apollo Project
Dick Nixon
helicopters
launch
Marine One
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Pat Nixon
Pat Ryan
Patrick AFB
Patrick Air Force Base
Project Apollo
Richard Milhous Nixon
Richard Nixon
space
Thelma Catherine Ryan
Thelma Catherine Ryan Nixon
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/96ef7c2cbd663cfba7044fdc015e951d.pdf
3ce052d3842e4f16e2ff28def70d7638
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
Vietnam War Collection
Alternative Title
Vietnam Collection
Subject
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Veterans--Florida
Description
The Vietnam War was a Cold War Era "military conflict." The war was originally waged between Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. The United States became involved as a preventive measure to combat communism. The date of the war has been disputed, but a study in 1998 by the Department of Defense definitively put the start of the Vietnam War as November 1, 1955.
The first combat military troops 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade didn't arrive until 1965. With the arrival of the combat troops came the first traditional battles of combat fighting in the war. During the Vietnam War, not only did American military go into battle with and for South Vietnam, the military also trained members of South Vietnam to fight alongside during the war. Peace talks were attempted, with France moderating, beginning on May 10, 1968. These talks were unsuccessful and lasted over three years.
The longest battle of the Vietnam War began on January 21, 1968 and didn't end until the U.S. reclaimed Route 9 on April 8, 1968, 77 days later. While the military conflict ended in April of 1975, it was a long process towards reunification and redevelopment as a country. The conflict left Vietnam in both political and economical ruins.
Contributor
<a href="http://digitalcollections.net.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/24" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Vietnam
Contributing Project
<a href="http://digitalcollections.net.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" 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><span>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida</span>
<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><span>, UCF Digital Collections, University of Central Florida</span>
External Reference
<span>"</span><a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/" target="_blank">About the Project</a><span>." UCF Community Veterans History Project, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/veterans/.</span>
Herring, George C. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5126110" target="_blank"><em>America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975</em></a>. New York: Wiley, 1979.
"<a title="American Experience" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html" target="_blank">American Experience</a>." Public Broadcasting Company. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
Hanke, Gabrielle
Interviewee
Blank, William "Bill"
Location
Orlando, Florida
Original Format
Digital (DAT)
Duration
45 minutes and 8 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
157kbps
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 Dr. William "Bill" Blank
Alternative Title
Oral History, Blank
Subject
Veterans--Florida
Army
Persian Gulf War, 1991
Cold War
Global War on Terror, 2001-2009
Yom Kippur War, 1973
Iraq War, 2003-2011
World War II--United States
Description
An oral history of Dr. William Blank, who served in the U.S. Army (USA) from 1971 until 1974. Dr. Blank ultimately reached the rank of Specialist 4 and was stationed in Mannheim, Germany. Now the Director of Career Development at the University of Central Florida (UCF), Dr. Blank discusses his experiences during and after his military service. Some of the topics include the Yom Kippur War and the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, benefits of being in the military, personal experiences in Europe, the evolution of the military and public opinion of veterans, working with international students, and opinions of the military today and modern conflicts.
Table Of Contents
0:00:01 Introduction
0:00:32 Entering the Military
0:03:32 Training and assignment
0:04:59 Feelings on the Vietnam War
0:07:17 First experience in Germany
0:08:41 1972 Summer Olympics
0:10:28 The Yom Kippur War
0:12:42 Personal benefits of being in the military
0:14:06 Post-military experiences
0:17:13 Preparation and thought process in the Army
0:18:52 Personal time in Germany
0:20:58 Destruction of the Berlin Wall
0:22:17 Evolution of the military and public opinion of veterans
0:26:09 Issues with government
0:27:43 Homecoming
0:28:22 Family feelings on enlistment and war
0:29:07 Feelings on assignment
0:29:47 Relationships in the Army
0:31:39 Fun in the Army
0:33:00 Travel experiences and relationship with host family
0:34:43 Working with international students
0:35:12 Summary of international experience
0:35:32 Stand-out memories
0:37:13 Opinion of entering military today
0:41:16 Opinion of recent wars
0:43:37 Admiration for evolution of military and public opinion
Abstract
Oral history interview of Dr. William Blank. Interview conducted by Gabrielle Hanke.
Type
Moving Image
Source
<a href="http://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/264/" target="_blank">Blank, Bill</a>. Interviewed by Gabrielle Hank. Audio/video record available. <a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
<a href="https://get.adobe.com/reader/" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/92" target="_blank">Vietnam War Collection</a>, UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Has Format
Digital transcript of original 45-minute and 8-second oral history: <a href="http://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/264/" target="_blank">Blank, Bill</a>. Interviewed by Gabrielle Hanke. Audio/video record available. <a href="http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/VET" target="_blank">UCF Community Veterans History Project</a>, RICHES of Central Florida, University of Central Florida, 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
Mannheim, Germany
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
Munich, Germany
Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Marine Corps Base Quantico, Triangle, Virginia
Vietnam
Watergate Office Complex, Washington, D.C.
Bad Tölz, Germany
Bastogne, Belgium
Kehlsteinhaus, Germany
Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France
Creator
Hanke, Gabrielle
Blank, William
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Date Created
2014-11-21
Date Copyrighted
2014-11-21
Format
video/mp4
application/pdf
Medium
45-minute and 8-second oral history
21-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Gabrielle Hanke and William Blank 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
Cravero, Geoffrey
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
"<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html" target="_blank">American Experience</a>." Public Broadcasting Company. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html.
Herring, George C. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5126110" target="_blank"><em>America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975</em></a>. New York: Wiley, 1979.
Rottman, Gordon L., and Duncan Anderson. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/190967872" target="_blank"><em>The US Army in the Vietnam War 1965-73</em></a>. Oxford: Osprey, 2008.
Rabinovich, Abraham. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52464595" target="_blank"><em>The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East</em></a>. New York: Schocken Books, 2004.
<span>Herzog, Chaim. </span><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1500167" target="_blank"><em>The War of Atonement: October, 1973</em></a><span>. Boston: Little, Brown, 1975.</span>
Transcript
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Okay. Today is the 21<sup>st</sup> of November, 2014. My name is Gabrielle Hanke and I am here interviewing Dr. William "Bill" Blank. He served in the Army from 1971 until 1974. He ultimately reached the rank of Specialist 4 and was stationed in Mannheim, [Baden-Württemberg,] Germany. I am interviewing him as part of the University of Central Florida’s [Community] Veterans History Project and this interview is being conducted in Orlando, Florida. Alright, so let’s start off with your early years.</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Okay. Um, well as with most military vets, I would guess they would say a couple of words that might define their experience would be “conflict” and “adventure.” I think, you know, traditionally, that the military definitely offered both of those, and when I think of the conflict, I actually think of conflict here at home rather than abroad. Um, that was a—a pretty tumultuous time, um, in our society regarding world events, world affairs, and the military’s involvement in those events, um, specifically looking at the Vietnam War. And uh—it—it really began after I had already begun college.</p>
<p>I was a—a college student. I’d been going to school for several months and, uh, back in 1971. In the fall of 1971, they had the lottery, and it’s not like you think of the lottery today where you can win a million dollars, but rather, the lottery was determining who was going to be getting a draft notice. And, uh, my number happened to be 31. And up until about 100, those individuals could be expecting to get a draft notice. And so, uh, we—we had a—an opportunity—I guess I’m going to call it, uh—if you knew you that you were going to be getting a draft notice, you had several months typically to enlist as a—a prelude to getting that draft notice or—or in lieu of getting that draft notice. What were the advantages of that? One was that we—we had—we were actually kind of transitioning into what they called the “all-volunteer Army,” which began a year later. So this was really a year to sort of field test some of the constructs of that all-volunteer Army. And by enlisting prior to getting the draft notice, we were able to go in under something they called the “buddy system.”</p>
<p>And so my best friend from high school—who was coincidentally my college roommate—who also had a very low number for that lottery, we decided together to go ahead and enlist in the Army and that would give us the opportunity of going in under the buddy system. And what that really meant is that we were able to go through basic training together. And if you can imagine a couple of kids from a small industrial town, uh, in North Central Wisconsin, who had not previously ventured far from their backyard, were going to be going somewhere around the world, um, experiencing this major adventure. And so by at least starting off by having that kind of security blanket, that—that familiar face going through basic was really important and, um—and it actually meant a lot, I think, to many people, um, who had that opportunity.</p>
<p> So we went in, we volunteered, uh—enlisted. Uh, we—we went to basic training together. And then the second benefit of enlisting rather than actually getting the draft notice was we had the ability to have input in terms of what we would be doing in the military. And since I had taken electronics classes in high school, uh, they had determined to send me to a—a communications technician program—electronics training basically—which worked well for me.</p>
<p>And then the third benefit of enlisting was that—although it was not a guarantee—it—it really came down to the demand of the military at that time, but, um, you could at least give preferences for where you wanted to be stationed. um, and one of mine was to—to be able to go to Germany and, uh—actually, when we finished our training, I—I started off with orders for Vietnam, but because they were starting to pull back on the numbers of people they were sending to Vietnam, uh—they backed down on the Vietnam, uh, orders and transitioned them to Germany, and so I did get to go to Germany for three years. So I thought that was going to be a pretty positive experience for me.</p>
<p>And—and, um, to—to maybe give just a little bit more background, it was—it was a really difficult time actually, um, for young men primarily—although there were some women that were also going in—but men were the ones that were getting drafted, because of the societal views on the Vietnam War.</p>
<p>It was not a righteous war. Um, America had not been threatened. Our interests abroad had not been threatened. And so for many people in the country, um, there was resistance to the war and—and that was especially evident, um, on college campuses. Uh, having been a college student, you know, we all—we all had kind of a common perception of the war and, um, and that probably peaked in 1970, when at Kent State [University], the [Ohio] National Guard killed—I believe it was four or five students and then many others were injured as well, when the Ohio National Guard opened up on—on a group of protesters at that institution.</p>
<p>Um, and so, going into the military, going from student to—to soldier literally in a couple of short months created, I guess, a great deal of, um, cognitive dissonance, or at least it made me really question my values and philosophies about living and learning versus, um, you know, doing my duty and, um, you know, agreeing to uh, protect, and pr—um, protect society, uh, which—which was something that, um—in my family, you know—it was pretty conservative. That was kind of a—a passed down value, um, or—or philosophy, I guess, on life.</p>
<p>You do what you’re told to do by the authorities and—and you do it gladly. And uh, my grandfather had been in World War I and I—I remembered talking to him frequently and seeing all of his photographs. And so there was kind of that sense that, um, I need to pick up the torch in my family system and—and do my job for the military. So, two—two conflicting, um, life views really. Um—and—and I was not alone. That was pretty common I think for many young people at that time.</p>
<p>But nevertheless, I ended up going to Germany. And, um, one of my very first experiences in Germany, ironically, was being the point person, um, in a riot squad. When you think of a riot squad as a “V” and—and they ask for somebody, or they told somebody, “You’re going to be the point person.” And that was developed because of some of the international protests to the Vietnam War. Uh, [President Richard Milhous] Nixon had been doing quite a lot of carpet-bombing, where he would just saturate the country with explosives and—and so European students were protesting, as well. So I’m a student one day and a few months later, I’m actually wearing a uniform with an M-16, with a bayonet on it, and I’m the point person with students from Germany, um, attempting to infiltrate our base or—or surge our fences—and—and that put me in a really awkward position as well. Fortunately, um, nothing happened to the extent that we had to make contact with them, um, but—but nevertheless, it—it really made me question what I was doing and—and whether or not it was a valid, um, experience. Uh, so—so that was my introduction to Germany.</p>
<p>And then, um, just about a year later, I was actually going to teletype school, which was just outside of Munich[, Bavaria, Germany] in a small town called Bad Tölz [, Bavaria, Germany]. Teletype was sort of the prelude or the precursor to, um, e-mail. And, uh, just a—a few weeks into that training, uh, there was an attack at Olympic Village.<a title="">[1]</a> the—the 1972 Summer Olympics were going in Munich, by, um, a group of, um—uh, I guess for a lack of a better word, I would call them “terrorists”—the Black September [Organization] group—the—they were known as, attacked Israeli athletes and ended up—they kidnapped them initially in exchange for, um, over 200 prisoners that were in Israeli jails, uh—Arab prisoners. And, um, when Israel did not negotiate with them, they—they actually ended up killing all of the athletes, along with a German police officer. And, being in Munich at that time, all of the American soldiers were put on alert and, um, it was a pretty tense few days not knowing if that terror would—would, um, transition into some of the American facilities. Um, Mark Spitz was a—a—like a five—I think he won five golds that year for swimming. Uh, they—they rushed him out of Germany and—and flew him back to the United States being a—a Jewish athlete. So again, political, um, unrest and violence across the world, um, was starting to really boil. I think that was probably a, uh, maybe a—an omen of what was to come for America up the road, um, with the Middle East.</p>
<p>And—and we got through it and things seemed to settle down a bit and then, literally a year later, um, my armor unit, we had about 30 to 40 tanks in—in the unit that I was stationed with in Germany, um—80-ton tanks—60-ton tanks, I guess they were. And each year, we would go up to Northern Germany to qualify those tank crews on the firing ranges. And in 1973—in the fall of ‘73—we were up there doing just that, when, um, a number of Arab countries, um, attacked Israel, um, and—and that that was led, um, primarily by, um, let me see. I need to—to—to kind of just refresh my memory. The coalition of Arab states<a title="">[2]</a> was led by Syria. Egypt and Syria were the two countries that were really kind of spearheading that attack. Um, they were trying to win back, uh, land that was lost years earlier in the Three Day War. This was called the Yom Kippur Wer[sic]—Wer[sic]—War, because it was occurring during that holiday—that Jewish holiday<a title="">[3]</a>—um, and also the Arab<a title="">[4]</a> holiday of Ramadan. And so, um, it was kind of ironic that we’re celebrating these two religious holidays, and in the midst of them, they—they create another war.</p>
<p>At any rate, um, literally overnight, all of our tanks were, um, repainted in desert camouflage to—to make us ready to, um, be transported to the Middle East to intervene. Both Russia and the U.S., uh, really mustered their forces in terms of supplies and armament to their respective allies in the Middle East. And—and—and we came this close to, um, a world war with Russia at this point—the two superpowers colliding. Um, fortunately after three weeks, a—a ceasefire though occurred and, uh, that was, uh, the beginning of, um, a series of peace talks that helped to create a little bit more harmony in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Uh, so at any rate, I—I had a number of conflicts that were right on the edge of reality, in terms of drawing my unit into all of them. And so, probably not unlike with most soldiers, there’s always that, um, impeding war or that impending, um, “police action”—as Vietnam and Korea were called—uh, on the cusp of—of every morning.</p>
<p>Um, but—but in spite of all of that, I would say that I—I got a great deal out of the experience that I had in the military. I think when—when I look at, um, what that did for me, in terms of just the confidence and the self-responsibility, um, just the—the, um, I—I think ability to—to live my life more independently and autonomously. Um, the military was truly responsible for that. I think, in addition to that, there were relationships that were forged while in the military that were like no other relationships since, in terms of being very authentic and—and really, um, having that sense of cohesion that common bond or shared reality with other soldiers. Um, those relationships really truly turned out to be lifelong relationships.</p>
<p>And then, in addition to, um, being able to benefit from the GI Bill [Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944], as a first generation college student, I was able to—to get my education—undergraduate and graduate education—um, at least partially funded by the military. um, gave me the opportunity to really get back to the, uh, goal of—of living and learning life, helping other people, uh, develop academically as a—an educational counselor and—and educational teacher. I think ultimately, all of that cumulatively allowed me to give back to the military in that, after getting my—my graduate degree in counseling, I was able to, um, develop a course for chronically unemployed Vietnam vet[eran]s, and—and, um, administer that six-week course throughout the state of Wisconsin, resulting in a national award with an over 80 percent placement rate at the end of that year for—for these, uh, participants.</p>
<p>And then, beyond that at other institutions, um, at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne[, Wyoming], I—I taught ongoing workshops for military, who are retiring after 20 or 30 years, to help them more easily transition into civilian life and the civilian workforce. And then even here at—at UCF [University of Central Florida], I have the opportunity to work closely with veterans.</p>
<p>When we had the war with Iraq, and many of our UCF students were called out who were National Guard or Reservists, I actually created a—a long distance career counseling service for those veterans and extended it to all of their cohorts. um, and—and helped them to really, um, evaluate their life experiences in—in the face of being a warrior and how that was influencing changing career goals and helping them to adjust their academic programs, and then also to help assist them with the transition once they came back to college. Um, so, and—and then more recently, with the—the veterans academic resource grant that we got, I’m one of the committee members for that grant, and I’ve been able to really help infuse some professional development programing for veterans with job fairs and things of that nature.</p>
<p>So ultimately, you know, I—I can go back 40 years and I can see how the military really shaped me and—and how that military thread has consistently woven through my life, um, to, you know, my—my early 60s, where I am now, and—and how that’s been such a—a, I guess a pivotal experience in my life. It shaped me truly more than any other experience I’ve had thus far. So, that’s—that’s the summary of my story and, um, I stand by it.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Well, that was very good. Um, if we could go into some more details such as, uh, how were you trained during this time of there was conflict, but then there wasn’t almost. Like, it was a very iffy time. Could you tell me a little more about that?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Well, I—I think with—with anyone in the military at any time, you’re—you’re on constant alert and you’re involved in continuous training and we were always prepared for the worst. Um, we were ready to be mobilized as with, uh, the war, uh, in the Middle East. Literally in a few days, our entire, uh, battalion would be ready to transition over to the Middle East from Germany. Um, constant training. And I think, uh, there was also, um, quite a lot of educational programming, um, helping us to—I—I think, understand where we fit with all of the world events that were going on. Um, I don’t think we were discouraged from challenging ideas and beliefs, but I think because we were the military, there was always that, um, underlying focus on it’s our job to—to go in the event that we’re called out and do what we’ve been trained to do. It was our duty—our responsibility. So no matter where one might have been, um, in terms of their political ideologies, they were ready to do their job. And I am absolutely confident that—that we all would have done what we would have been asked to do as—as were soldiers in every war before ours.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke</strong>Okay. And then, um, I know there was, um, the issue of the Warsaw Pact<a title="">[5]</a> coming around. Um, what was it like uh—I mean like the air? The aura almost of being in Germany—being so close?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Well I—I did, because I was in Germany and—and because I so much enjoy and appreciate history, I did spend a—a great deal of my personal time while there learning about the history of, um, all of the events of World War II and how Europe had transformed as a result of the war.</p>
<p>And then with the Berlin Wall going up around, um, the time of my birth, uh, it was interesting to learn more about that and—and experience what it was like behind the Curtain—the Iron Curtain. And while I was there, I spent all of my—my vacation time, uh, travelling throughout Europe, um, going actually to Southern Europe to, um, the—the Third Reich headquarters, um, and Bavaria[, Germany], and seeing some of the—the facilities—the Eagle’s Nest<a title="">[6]</a> that [Martin] Bormann had built for [Adolf] Hitler.</p>
<p>And, um, and then also going to some of the countries that had been, um, uh, freed as a result of American intervention in the war. Um, France, and going up to Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, seeing where the Battle of the Bulge occurred in Bastogne[, Belgium]. Um, and talking to people up there and actually living with a German family for the three years. I was there and hearing their stories. They were terrified of the Nazis,<a title="">[7]</a> I think, as any European may have been at that time. Um, it—it was really interesting to get that personal perspective from people and—and talk to people who had actually been there during those wars—during that war—and, uh, hearing their, um, personal life histories.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Yeah. That’s very interesting. And then, um, let’s see. How did you feel—I know you weren’t there at the time—but when the Berlin Wall finally came down?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Um, it—it was amazing to me. and—and I—I guess what—what I guess the personal connection for me—it went up the year I was born and it was torn down the year my sons were born.<a title="">[8]</a> And—and so I look at, within that lifetime, what a dramatic change. And that was certainly an indication of, uh, what was to come with some of the, um, eastern countries, and now the Middle Eastern countries as well, um, as far as that goes—in terms of democracy and in terms of people having freedom of choice.</p>
<p>So when I thought about that, it helped to legitimize my involvement during the Vietnam period, again which was pretty tumultuous, um, politically- and society-wise, um, especially as a—an 18 year old not very knowledgeable about much in life at that point. Um, every experience I had, uh, was sort of a first time exposure for me. I didn’t have the—I guess the cognitive ability to—to maybe put it all in perspective early on, it really evolved over time.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And then, um—how do you feel? Has the military changed in its attitudes? As you were saying, um, your generation—you did your duty. Do you feel that that has carried over to this generation?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /> </strong>It—it—it has, um, to my amazement and to my pleasure. I have seen amazing, amazing, changes. Colonel [Richard] Toliver talked about that even from, uh, pre-Vietnam era and World War II era—how things have changed. And I think for veterans, in particular—during the Vietnam era, we were either openly discriminated against, um, chastised, or we were politely tolerated at best, but we were never, never celebrated. I can honestly say that in 40 years, not one person ever even acknowledged my time in the service, much less thank me for it, until a couple years ago, um, here at UCF when—when the veterans’ memorial was—was opened up, about two years ago, I guess it was.</p>
<p>And now, it’s totally amazing, is that anytime people realize that—that I had been a veteran, if I have my—my flag on or if I go to a—a veteran program here, um, they all say “Bill, thank you for your service.” I came into work on Veterans’ Day and—and there was a—a card taped to my door and all my staff had signed it, uh, thanking me for my service. And that’s like something I never ever would have expected to happen. I mean, you can’t imagine, unless you lived through it, um, you know, returning war veterans being spit upon and—and criticized and—and yelled at—to—to being thanked. I mean, that is a true, positive transition. I think it speaks volumes about how the American military is viewed in this country, at least today. Um, I had an opportunity to go to the, um, the Marine officer training school in [Marine Corps Base] Quantico[, Triangle, Virginia], and, uh, it was amazing how—how they were so excited about the opportunity to—to put themselves in harm’s way to protect their country. Um, a real different attitude, not just by society, but by soldiers as well.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Do you have an opinion on what caused this?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Well, you know the concept of nationalism. During World War II, there was this wave of nationalism. We were attacked and we were going to defend our country. We were going to do what we needed to—to protect our families and our way of life. And, um, now again, with the attack on the World Trade Centers[sic] and—and the terrorist attacks coming from the Middle East, we have been threatened. And, um, our—our interests abroad have been threatened. Um, our—our homeland has been threatened and, indeed, attacked. And so, that’s what it requires, I think, for that wave of nationalism to occur.</p>
<p>During Vietnam, again as—as I said earlier, none of that was threatened, and there were so many questions about why are we there, what we were doing. Um, are we causing more harm than good? And so, when—when the war’s not a righteous war, you’re not going to get that support. When the war is righteous, that support with be there. Hopefully, um, our s—our government, our politicians, you know, learn something from that and they—they won’t be too eager to go to war un—unless there’s just cause.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Yeah, and, um, speaking of politicians, I know it was around the Vietnam War where things were really—people were starting to question it and especially with Watergate [Scandal] —what do you remember of that?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Yeah. Watergate actually happened when I was still in Germany, but I remember coming back and, um, you know—how that—that was the—I guess you could call it the—the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak for Nixon. Um, as early as the—the late 60s, he was—Nixon was—was being viewed as the person who was escalating the Vietnam War. Um, I think already there was a—a tide of resistance about him and then Watergate pretty much cinched it for him.</p>
<p>Um, but it—it—it didn’t help to sort of regain confidence in government. I think it helped to further, um, support the concept that the government doesn’t always make good decisions and—and they’re not always, um, principled and ethical people who are running government. And so I think for—for Vietnam era veterans, you know, it—it sort of justified the views that they may have held about government. And—and we were separating military from government. A lot of people in the military didn’t necessarily support what heads of government—heads of state were—were doing and—and the kinds of decisions that they were making.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And then, um, what was your homecoming like? Did people distinguish between you were in Vietnam or you were in Germany? Or did they…</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>No. If you had a uniform on, you weren’t seen in in a positive light. And so veterans quickly learned to not present themselves as returning veterans. Um, as soon as we got back, um, I can vividly recall my duffel bag with all my uniforms and gear went into a Goodwill bin. Um, the first thing I did was grow my hair out so I wouldn’t look like a veteran. Um, I didn’t want to be, um, targeted and—and truly they—they were. We were.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And, um, how did your family feel about you going into the military at this time and…</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>They didn’t really want me to, quite honestly. But again with—with the draft, there wasn’t really an option. I—I think they were probably ambivalent about the war as well. and when literally every single night for a—at least a full hour on the national news, we were seeing clips of Vietnam with—with people’s sons and husbands and fathers being killed left and right and in large numbers. Um, there—there wasn’t a lot of support from family members for their sons to go into that situation.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>So, now you said you were initially, um, listed as going to Vietnam, correct? How did…</p>
<p><strong>Blank</strong>Right. Right.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>How did you feel about that?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>I—I was concerned about it, but, you know, if—if that’s where they needed me to be, uh—just like every other individual who went through basic training or advanced individual training, you went where they told you to go. The military was very effective at, um, kind of creating that—that cohesion and that common bond where you go and support your fellow veteran—your fellow, um, soldiers, rather.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And then, um, you said uh, it was thr—through the military you made these very unique relationships. Do you still keep in contact with people?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Um, not—not so much anymore at this point in in my life, um, but for the first decade or so after getting out, um, there—there was ongoing contact. Unfortunately, um, probably of the—the two or three people that I really bonded tightly with in my unit, uh, one of them was killed, um, in Germany, um, through—through an accident. And, uh, the other one relocated back to Pennsylvania, which was on the other side of the country as me. I was, um, in Wisconsin and then ultimately Colorado. So we—we sort of lost touch as well.</p>
<p>But, um, one of my coworkers picked up grandparents the other day from the airport, and took them to Lakeland, where her grandfather was reconnecting with a—a military cohort from his time during World War II. And she was sharing with me how rewarding it was when she saw them, um, connect, um, for the first time. and—and they embraced each other and literally, uh, began crying because, I—I think when—when you see those people after so many years, it’s that whole flood of emotions that that come to the surface. Colonel [Richard] Toliver talked about that when he wrote his book,<a title="">[9]</a> um—how it’s a bit difficult, because so many of the emotions from wartime resurface. But—but I think they can be positive emotions too. It’s not just all negative memory. It’s—it’s the relationships that were so crucial, I think, to that lifelong, I guess, association with the military.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>And, um, I know it was a very serious time, but what did you guys do for fun?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Well, that’s the, uh, the other side I talked about, you know, for everybody going in the military. It’s conflict and adventure. And—and it’s kind of a strange combination, because sometimes they may be one and the same. But, um, being in an armored unit, um, as an 18 year old kid and we have these 60-ton tanks, uh, it was pretty amazing to be able to play with them. We—we had some areas where we would practice, um, driving them. And—and Americans would discard cars in that area that they couldn’t take back to the States, because they didn’t have seatbelts, safety glass, all of that. So imagine a Volkswagen with—with 60-ton tanks driving over it, one after another. Um, those—that was the kind of activity that made it pretty exciting.</p>
<p>But then beyond what we did in the military, um, uh, you know, beyond when—when we’d go on maneuvers, I would be driving our operations major, scouting a place to camp out with—with you know 30 tanks and all the crews and support peoples. So I had a four-wheel drive Jeep and we’d—we would be going through the hillsides and having quite an adventure of it.</p>
<p>But, in addition to all of that, when I wasn’t working, um, I traveled a lot. I got my international driver’s license as soon as I could, bought a car, and every single weekend I was gone. I was visiting all parts of Western Europe. In a weekend, you could go just about anywhere, because Europe is such a small landmass. Took all my vacations over there. Um, my parents came over, um, for a couple weeks to—to visit, and we traveled all over Western Europe to—to help them experience it, as well.</p>
<p>Um, and then the German family I lived with, they—they sort of adopted me as a—a[sic] international, um, son—I guess for lack of a better term. And they—they took me everywhere with them when they would go off on weekends. They helped me to really experience the culture and the diversity of Germany and really learn to appreciate what Germany is today. And I think as a result of that, um, you know, knowing what it felt like to be a stranger in a foreign land and then to have people befriend me and kind of help me. Whether it was, you know, teaching me how to, um—say “vergaser,” which is German for carburetor, which I needed to know when I went to the auto-mechanic to tell him I needed a—a “neu vergaser.” Um, to—to, you know, teaching me how they celebrated, um, the holidays and—and what Christmas meant to them, taking me to church with them on Christmas Eve. Uh, all of that was really eye opening.</p>
<p>As a result of that, I became an international student mentor here, um, for our international students, where each year I take one on and, um, have that mentor-mentee relationship to help them adapt and adjust to the United States and to UCF, and just guide them through the everyday issues that—that one faces when—when one is in a foreign land.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>That’s very good.</p>
<p><strong>Blank <br /></strong>So a lot of adventure, um, and—and again, I think it’s that combination of coming into adulthood and experiencing, um, all of those new challenges and—and adventures that, um, people in the military never ever, ever forget.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Is there, uh, any specific moments that stand out to you? That you can still see?</p>
<p><strong>Blank <br /></strong>Um, well, one time, when—when we were on a maneuver—in terms of a memorable experience—the German forests are pretty dense and—and pretty rugged still. They have wild boars which—which have large, razor-like teeth, and—and—and, um, horns, and they can be literally deadly, if you’re caught out in the open with them—if they do attack you. And I recall one night—this may seem a bit bizarre—but having to relieve myself, I left the safety of the 60-ton tank and walked out into the woods, and I heard something snorting. And it didn’t take me but about two and a half seconds to get back on top of that tank. And sure enough, a herd of razorback came running by me, and, um, I felt fortunate I wasn’t out there.</p>
<p>Um, and—and then—and then maybe, um, another time I—I guess I remember well—was actually a trip to Paris[, France] to do some sight-seeing. And—and I was able to really experience Paris and [the Palace of] Versailles and all the history, and—and I didn’t fully appreciate what I was witness to until I got back to the States and began college. And I was in a world history class where the professor was talking about the French Revolution, and, um, Queen [Marie] Antoinette, and—and the guil—guillotines, and Versailles and—and all the other students had kind of a blank look on their face. And I’m thinking <em>Oh, yeah, I—I know that, I was actually there.</em> When he talked about the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, I was there.</p>
<p>Um, when they got into the World War II history and—and talked about some of the early meetings between, um, the different diplomats at, uh, the Eagle’s Nest, or Hitler’s tea house, I was there. Um, everything that was being discussed, I had actually been there in person and had experienced personally. Um, and so, it, I think it made me fully, at that point, understand what a treasure that was for me to have had that opportunity for travel and just seeing parts of the world unknown that I never would have been able to experience had I not been in the military.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>So, what would you say to someone who is considering enlisting in the military today?</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>It—it’s a—it’s a dangerous time to go in the military right now, uh, but I would never discourage it. Um, I actually teach a course—a graduate career counseling course—for, uh, graduate students who are preparing to go into school counseling. And every semester, I bring in, uh, representatives from the military to teach them about opportunities in the military, so that they at least are aware of them when they work with their high school students up the road. And—and I share with them, you know—it’s a personal decision for individuals, but we need to be letting young people know this is an opportunity.</p>
<p>Um, war—war can certainly be dangerous, but there are so many benefits in the military and—and especially in terms of helping to, um, complete one’s education. The military is so supportive of that financially and otherwise. Um, and so, I wouldn’t discourage anyone. um, it—it’s awkward though, because I—I know there’s a good chance today that people could absolutely be, um, in a combat situation and, um, knowing what can happen in combat it—it creates a bit of dissonance with me. But I—I regret that young people today don’t have the same opportunity I did. They—they—young men, in particular—we—we needed that kind of safe haven to—to mature and develop.</p>
<p> At 18, most young men are not ready for college and they’re not ready for life. And so to have that three year period where they—they have the protection of the military. Someone to feed and clothe and house you, but yet challenge you to mature and become responsible. I—I regret that young men don’t have that today. I regret that my own sons, who are 25, have never had that experience.</p>
<p>Ironically, I’ve got a 29 year old, young man who works for me now—a new staff member—and, um, he’s never ironed his shirt. And in the military, we learn to press and starch all of our uniforms to great precision. And, um, this is probably my experience of the year—for me this year. He brought his ironing board, his iron, and a can of starch along with a shirt and a pair of pants and he asked me to teach him how to iron based on my knowledge of how to do that from the military. We—we took pride in our appearance and we were called on it if we weren’t attentive to it. And I—I try to encourage young men today to do the same. One—one of many, many, um, benefits or—or attributes to being in the military.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke </strong>Yeah. Um, uh, speaking of the recent conflicts in the Middle East, you said the conflicts that you experienced personally—you feel they were ominous almost?</p>
<p><strong>Blank </strong>Absolutely.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke </strong>So, um, how did you feel about first [Operation] Desert Storm<a title="">[10]</a> and then the recent [Iraq] War?<a title="">[11]</a></p>
<p><strong>Blank </strong>Supportive of it, because their sovereign country had been attacked—Kuwait had been attacked. And—and, uh, I—I—I think, as—as, I believe, every past veteran would have seen, that was a—a just action.</p>
<p>And, um, I think the difference though there versus in Vietnam, um—they put the full military behind it. In Vietnam, uh, there—there were so many restrictions about how that war was approached. And—and as a result of that, it went on. It actually started in in 1954 with [President Dwight David] Eisenhower, when—when he showed political and financial support for South Vietnam.<a title="">[12]</a> Um, but then, as it continued, uh, into the 60s—with the advisors and over war, and then escalated numbers of U.S. soldiers going there, um, it was never looked at as, “Here’s a war. Let’s put the full force of the military behind it.” But it was rather a trickle of U.S. soldiers going, um, for an extended period of time, not getting the kind of support that that they needed to—to do it right. And—and I was proud—proud of—of the military for the way they handled the first Iraq War.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>Now with, um, these most recent wars, they’ve been going on for quite a while.</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Yeah, the—the face of war has really changed. Starting with Vietnam, you didn’t know who your enemy was and—and same today with terrorism. But, because terrorism directly threatens the United States and all of us who live here, um, it has to be addressed. You know, I—I don’t see other options than to continue to be involved in in what we’re doing.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke <br /></strong>And then, um—I think you’ve answered almost everything. Um, so, is there anything else you’d like to talk about?</p>
<p><strong>Blank <br /></strong>Um, I—I think just my—my delight at how things have changed with the military. Um, when we—we saw, um—we hosted the film <em>Red Tails</em> in our office. The Tuskegee Airmen, and—and it was during [National] Veterans [Awareness] Week. Um, it was really amazing to see the pioneers for, um, bringing equality into the military, which, in my era, then continued with women coming into the military.</p>
<p>And then I think the second major thing that I’m really pleased to see is that not only has the military, um, really come to a point where they honor diversity and recruit for diversity, but I think they—they also now are being valued more. All—all veterans of every war are being so much more highly valued than was ever the case, from my perspective. And that brings me great joy to—to just know, even after having waited four decades to—to see that, finally, you know, people are supportive. The—the general public is supportive of what the military is doing and—and honoring those past veterans as well.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke<br /></strong>We’re good? Time is good? Okay. Alright. Well, that concludes the interview, and I would like to personally thank you for both your time and your service.</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>You’re welcome.</p>
<p><strong>Hanke <br /></strong>Thank you very much.</p>
<p><strong>Blank<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
<div><br /><div>
<p><a title="">[1]</a> Munich Massacre.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[2]</a> The coalition also included Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, as well as Cuba.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[3]</a> Yom Kippur.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[4]</a> Correction: Muslim holiday.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[5]</a> Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[6]</a> Kehlsteinhaus.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[7]</a> National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP).</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[8]</a> 1961.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[9]</a> <em>An Uncaged Eagle: True Freedom</em>.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[10]</a> There is only one Operation Desert Storm.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[11]</a> Operation Iraqi Freedom.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[12]</a> Republic of Vietnam.</p>
</div>
</div>
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="http://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/264/" target="_blank">Blank, Bill</a>
Date Issued
2015-01
Extent
387 MB
203 KB
1972 Summer Olympics
9/11 Attacks
Adolf Hitler
all-volunteer military
An Uncaged Eagle: True Freedom
anti-war protest
anti-war protests
Arab-Israeli War of 1973
Bad Tölz, Germany
basic training
Bastogne, Belgium
Battle of the Bulge
Bavaria, Germany
Berlin Wall
Bill Blank
Black September Organization
BSO
buddy system
carpet bombing
carpet bombs
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Christmas
civilian
civilians
cognitive dissonance
cold war
college
colleges
conscription
Desert Shield
Desert Storm
diversity
draft lotteries
draft lottery
draft notices
drafting
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David Eisenhower
Eagle's Nest
educator
educators
Egypt
enlistment
Europe
Francis E. Warren AFB
Francis E. Warren Air Force Base
French Revolution
Gabrielle Hanke
Games of the XX Olympiad
gender segregation
Germans
Germany
GI Bill
Global War on Terror
guidance counseling
GWOT
Hall of Mirrors
Halloween Massacre
homecoming
Ike Eisenhower
international students
Iraq
Iraq War
Iron Curtain
Israel
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Kehlsteinhaus
Kent State Massacre
Kent State Shooting
Kent State University
KSU
Kuwait
Mannheim, Germany
Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen
Marie Antoinette
Marine Corps Base Quantico
Mark Spitz
Martin Bormann
May 4 Massacre
MCB Quantico
mentors
Middle East
military
military assignments
military drafts
military training
Munich Massacre
Munich, Germany
National Guard
National Socialist German Workers' Party
National Veterans Awareness Week
nationalism
Nazi Germany
Nazi Party
Nazis
Nixon, Richard, Milhous
North Central Wisconsin
NSDAP
October War
Ohio National Guard
Olympic Village
Olympics
Operation Desert Shield
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Operation Wrath of God
Palestine
Persian Gulf War
police actions
protesters
Ramadan
Ramadan War
razorbacks
Red Tails
Republic of Vietnam
Richard Milhous Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Toliver
riot squads
riots
Russia
segregation
September 11 Attacks
Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944
South Vietnam
student protests
Summer Olympics
Syria
tanks
teachers
terrorism
terrorists
Third Reich
Three Day War
Treaty of Friendship, co-operation, and Mutual Assistance
Tuskegee Airmen
U.S. Army
UCF
universities
university
University of Central Florida
veterans
Veterans' Day
Vietnam
Vietnam War
volunteer military
volunteers
war protests
WarPac
Warren AFB
Warren Air Force Base
Warsaw Pact
Watergate
Watergate Scandal
wild boars
William Blank
Wisconsin
woman
women
World Trade Center
World War II
WWII
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur War
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/728e65523012d71068a9e389e9b7eddf.mp3
bf9cd47354a8b83b6a6107c6d59ec522
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/dfd1142290a11b6982aee5ee6fe60a5e.pdf
d0527f01a610d68ad14544a29105a1c5
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
Linda McKnight Batman Oral History Project Collection
Alternative Title
Linda McKnight Batman Collection
Subject
Ocala (Fla.)
Orlando (Fla.)
Oviedo (Fla.)
Port Tampa (Fla.)
Sanford (Fla.)
Silver Springs (Fla.)
Titusville (Fla.)
Zellwood (Fla.)
Description
Collection of oral histories depicting the history of Seminole County, Florida. The project was funded by Linda McKnight Batman, a former teacher, historian, and Vice President of the State of Florida Commission on Ethics.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>
External Reference
<span>Museum of Seminole County History, and University of Central Florida. </span><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/744676869" target="_blank"><em>Researcher's Guide to Seminole County Oral Histories: Linda McKnight Batman Oral History Project</em></a><span>. [Sanford, Fla.]: Museum of Seminole County History, 2010.</span>
Contributor
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>
Coverage
Seminole County, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Oviedo, Florida
Port Tampa, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Silver Springs, Florida
Titusville, Florida
Zellwood, Florida
Contributing Project
Linda McKnight Batman Oral History Project
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 John Louis Salsbury
Alternative Title
Oral History, Salsbury
Subject
Sanford (Fla.)
Tampa (Fla.)
Air Force
Photography--Florida
Space Shuttle Program (U.S.)
Titusville (Fla.)
Astronauts--United States
Baseball--Florida
Description
An oral history of John Louis Salsbury, conducted by Joseph Morris on September 9, 2011. Salsbury was born in Tampa, Florida, but he has spent much of his life in Sanford. In the interview, Salsbury discusses his family's history, Port Tampa during the Spanish-American War, his service in the U.S. Air Force, photographing Space Shuttle launches and astronauts, how Sanford has changed over time, and the Florida Aviation Historical Society.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction
0:00:21 Family history
0:01:52 Port Tampa and the Spanish-American War
0:04:15 Family history
0:08:17 Serving in the Air Force
0:11:31 RECORDING CUTS OFF
0:11:32 President Richard M. Nixon
0:13:28 Moving to Sanford and photographing shuttle launches
0:17:17 Moonshiner’s shoe
0:20:22 Moving to Sanford
0:20:46 Photographing space shuttles and astronauts
0:32:49 Family history
0:45:10 How Sanford has changed over time
0:45:54 Grandparents and great-grandparents
0:58:02 Closing remarks
0:58:37 RECORDING CUTS OFF
0:58:38 Florida Aviation Historical Society
Abstract
Oral history interview of John Louis Salsbury Interview conducted by Joseph Morris at Salsbury' home in Florida.
Type
Sound/Podcast
Source
Original 1-hour, 4-minute, and 54-second oral history: Salsbury, John Louis. Interviewed by Joseph Morris. September 9, 2011. Audio record available. <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>, Sanford, Florida.
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
<a href="https://get.adobe.com/reader/" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>, Sanford, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/123" target="_blank">Linda McKnight Batman Oral History Project Collection</a>, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Coverage
South Park Avenue and West 9th Street, Sanford, Florida
Port Tampa Dock, Port Tampa, Tampa, Florida
Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino, California
Naval Air Station KeflavÃk, KeflavÃk, Iceland
Homestead Air Reserve Base, Homestead, Florida
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, Florida
Disney-MGM Studios, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Creator
Morris, Joseph
Salsbury, John Louis
Contributor
Vickers, Savannah
Date Created
2011-09-09
Date Modified
2014-09-10
Date Copyrighted
2011-09-09
Format
audio/wav
application/pdf
Extent
665 MB
194 KB
Medium
1-hour, 4-minute, and 54-second audio recording
19-page typed transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Joseph Morris and John Louis Salsbury, and transcribed by Savannah Vickers.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by the <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://www.floridaahs.org/" target="_blank">Welcome!</a>" Florida Aviation Historical Society. http://www.floridaahs.org/.
Sanford Historical Society (Fla.). <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/53015288" target="_blank"><em>Sanford</em></a>. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2003.
Norman, Robert, and Lisa Coleman. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47770675" target="_blank"><em>Tampa</em></a>. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2001.
Duggins, Pat. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122701571" target="_blank"><em>Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program</em></a>. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2007.
Transcript
<p><strong>Morris<br /></strong>This is an interview with John [Louis] Salsbury. This interview is being conducted on the 9<sup>th</sup> of September, 2011, at the Museum of Seminole County History. The interviewer is Joseph Morris, representing the Linda McKnight Batman Oral History Project for the Historical Society of Central Florida. Mr. Salsbury, could you tell us your name?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Yes. I would like to do this as a means of preservation of my family history, and I hope I can do a good job. Anyway, I’d like to start with the year of 1893, when my great-grandparents and my grandfather moved here from Portsmouth, Ohio, by train. My great-grandfather was a master carpenter, and he lived here—the family lived here—on the corner of [West] Ninth Street and [South] Park Avenue—the southwest corner—for about two years. My grandfather [Louis Salsbury] was 19 years old, and he was employed as a railroad telegrapher at the Sanford Railroad Station on the west end of Ninth Street. In 1895, which was the year they moved away, my grandfather participated in a professional bicycle race—a 25-mile race that began in Downtown Orlando, when Orange Avenue was a dirt road, and ended there. My grandfather won the race.</p>
<p class="Body">And after that they moved to Port Tampa, where my great-grandfather became a building contractor and was commissioned by Henry [B.] Plant to build a passenger terminal at the end of the railroad line there in Port Tampa, near Tampa. And steamships—the <em>Mascotte </em>and the <em>Olivette</em>—transported passengers from South America and Cuba to the United States. And they ported—they landed there at the docks. And the terminal building that my great-grandfather built was in use up until that passenger line ceased to operate, but the building remained to 1955.</p>
<p class="Body">Also, just a year or two before the building was commenced, that terminal, Teddy [Theodore] Roosevelt, his Rough Riders [1<sup>st</sup> U.S. Volunteer Calvary] and officers, were among the soldiers and troops that were encamped in the Port Tampa area en route to the Spanish-American War. Teddy Roosevelt and his officers were hosted and remained in my doctor’s—in the Salsbury family doctor’s—home, which was located about a block from my grandparents’ home, and where my great-grandfather built. My grandfather joined the Army and participated in the Spanish-American War, and following that war, my great-grandfather was commissioned to also build a very famous wooden hotel in Bartow-Clearwater area, over near Clearwater. It’s still in use. It’s the Belleview Biltmore Resort. It’s a large wooden hotel, and it’s still in use today.</p>
<p class="Body">Okay, after that, my grandfather married—and he was a telegrapher—and on the west coast at Palm Harbor, Florida, near the Gulf [of Mexico], and between Clearwater and Tarpon Springs, he married Rose Tinny—Rosalind Tinny. And my father [John Wright Salsbury, Jr.] was born in Port Tampa. My great-grandfather had built three homes there, and after my father graduated from high school in the year 1926, he found this moonshiner’s shoe. It was uncovered by a fire that had burnt some palmettos. My father found that—and they determined it belonged to the moonshiner. His name was Herndon, who was killed by the troops when he tried to steal corn from the soldiers encamped there for the Spanish-American War. Well, anyway, the left shoe that I have in my possession is in the Smithsonian Institution, and this right shoe I still retain.<a title="">[1]</a></p>
<p class="Body">Okay, in 1914, just before this—at the age of 12—my father and his sister, Mary, at age of five, flew on the world’s first passenger, scheduled passenger airline from St. Petersburg to Tampa. As a member of the Florida Aviation Historical Society, I’ve been through a lot of this and photographed a lot. I’m their photographer. Well, anyway, in 1914, my father and my aunt flew with Tony Janus, or the line pilot, from St. Petersburg to Tampa. This airline was in operation for three months and flew 1,205 passengers, and is actually on record as being the world’s first scheduled airline.</p>
<p class="Body">My dad moved to—my dad and my mother—I was born in 1931 in Tampa, and my father and mother separated in ’41, and in 1941 we moved to Sanford and have resided in Sanford since. At least I have. My father was a railroad engineer with the Atlantic Coast Line [Railroad]. He had roomed with Cara Stenstrom, the mother of Douglas and Julian and Frank and Herb and Ruth Stenstrom—my stepbrothers and sister. Well, that year, or year around that time, the early 1940s, I recall having met Red Barber, the famous sports announcer’s father, there on the front porch. Okay, Red Barber, who actually went to school in Sanford and graduated from Sanford High School, went on to become the most famous sports announcer in baseball, football.</p>
<p class="Body">All right. I went into the Air Force in 1949, upon graduating from the Seminole High School. I was a radar operator, and while in the service, I served in Alaska, Newfoundland, Iceland, and West Germany. But some of the highlights of my service, while I was—after I returned from Alaska in 1951, I was able—stationed in Norton Air Force Base in the Air Defense Control Center there. I was able to see many movie stars: Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, Lana Turner, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Gregory Peck. I really enjoyed my time there at Norton, because I met all these people, and not only that, I made sure that I worked within the Air Control Center—gave me a ride, or I flew as the co-pilot in a twin-engine bomber trainer called a T-11. And while we were in operations, he was filing his flight plan—I was standing next to a tall gentleman at the counter, where he was filing a flight plan, and on this parachute he had draped over his shoulder was the word “Yeager. So I actually got a chance to see the famous Chuck Yeager, who broke the speed, the sound barrier. And outside was an experimental jet bomber, XB-43,—I remember they called it—and he was probably flying that at the time.</p>
<p class="Body">Anyway, after we took off in this T-11, the major took control of the aircraft ‘til we went over Edward’s restricted area, or Edwards Air Force Base. And then he showed me how to use the radio compass, and I honed it in on Palmdale, where the space shuttles were built. Well, anyway, I took control, and he let me fly the T-11 up over L.A.—Los Angeles—Laguna Beach, Long Beach, all along the coast. And then, when he said we had to go back, he asked me if I thought I could find my way back, and I said, “I believe so.” So I honed in on the mountains there—San Bernardino right there at Norton—and headed back to Norton. And that was one of the most memorable flights I’ve ever taken. I really enjoyed that. All right, uh, upon—you may pause it just for a second.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Good to go, sir.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Okie doke. Another thing I’d like to comment on about an experience I had while in the Air Force, stationed in Iceland, President [Richard M.] Nixon stopped over there on the way to Russia, in Keflavík Air Field [Naval Air Station (NAS) Keflavík] in Iceland, and being in radar, I knew about it. So I was down there with my camera—my movie camera—and was able to get some shots of Admiral [Hyman G.] Rickover as he walked out of the plane—walked by. Nixon didn’t get out of the plane, nor did his wife [Pat Nixon].</p>
<p class="Body">Okay, then, when stationed—before my retirement in 1969, I was stationed at Homestead Air [Reserve] Base in South Florida, in radar again. I was electronic warfare NCOIC [Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge], and President Nixon was inaugurated and flew right into Homestead AFB [Homestead ARB] the next day, and I took my son and my daughter over to see him. Well, lo and behold, we were only, right at the front of the fence there at the tarmac there at Homestead, and the President walked directly to us and shook our hands, and it appeared on the front page of <em>The Miami Herald</em> the next morning. So I had a—we had a wonderful experience of meeting Richard Nixon and shaking hands with him. And then I retired shortly after Neil Armstrong put foot on the moon.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>And I came—we moved back to Sanford, and bought a new home here in Sanford, and I became employed as a postal clerk over in Orlando for one year in the sectional center, and then transferred to Sanford, where for 16 years I was a letter-carrier. Riding a bicycle and a jeep, carrying mail in Sanford.</p>
<p class="Body">Well, while in Sanford as a letter-carrier, I had been taking pictures of the first space shuttle launch from Titusville and the ones following that, and I was taking my film to Eckerd’s drugstore to have it processed. Through a questionnaire that I filled out, the Eckerd’s marketing management and headquarters in Clearwater called me one day. They asked if I would appear in a TV—television commercial for them. And from that, I was titled “The Shuttle Photographer,” and Eckerd’s produced and ran for a year and a half a commercial introducing their one-hour photo service. That helped me, in a way, get my foot in the door as becoming a press photographer at [John F.] Kennedy Space Center, to shoot the space shuttle launches up close. So from the end of ’91, I was credited as a press photographer with <em>The Sanford Herald</em> editor sponsoring me. And throughout the shuttle program, I served as a press photographer at the Space Center, covering the 30-year shuttle program.</p>
<p class="Body">Just recently, in July—in July the 21<sup>st</sup>—the [Space] Shuttle <em>Atlantis</em> landed, and I was there on the end of the runway, and I captured the landing and the tow back of the space shuttle for the last time of <em>Atlantis</em>. <em>Atlantis</em> just happens to be a particular launch vehicle that I took in 1994, November the 3<sup>rd</sup>, that turned out to be my most successful space shuttle photograph. It hangs in the NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] Media [Resource] Center. A 30 x 40. It hangs in the Viera VA [Veterans Affairs] Hospital entrance. It hangs in museums, and it’s been purchased by a number of people over the years. So the STS-66 launch turned out to be my most successful space shuttle picture.</p>
<p class="Body">And now that the shuttle program has ended, I devote my future photography <em>Endeavor</em>s towards shooting wildlife. And here in Lake Mary—close to Sanford—I have some blinds set up, and I have wood duck nesting boxes, and I have been very successful in photographing Florida birds here, and will continue doing so. Thank you, Joe.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Oh, thank you very much, Mr. Salsbury. I have a few more questions if that is okay.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Fire away.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Okay, Mr. Salsbury. Earlier you mentioned about the shoe that your family member had found previously?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Right. That was my father.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Could you describe that? Yes, your father, sir. Could you tell—could you describe that for us? And then tell us what purpose that shoe was being used for?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Well, sure. I’d be glad to.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Thank you, sir.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Joe, this shoe that I’m showing you has a tin foundation, or a base, to it, and nailed to the bottom of this piece of tin are two wooden replicas of cows’ hooves, out of wood, carved by this moonshiner. And what the moonshiner would do—he—he was able to attach this to his shoes and conceal his tracks as he went to and from his still, which was located near my family home in Port Tampa, Florida, Hillsborough County. And a fire had really exposed this to my father. It was wrapped—the shoes, the pair of shoes—were wrapped up in a newspaper and was charred, but was exposed when the fire burnt these palmettos along the roadway, which is now in Trask Avenue in Tampa, Florida. T-R-A-S-K. Anyway, when my father opened the package up, here was this pair of overshoes used by moonshiner by the name of Herndon in Port Tampa, to go to and from his still. This moonshiner was later shot to death when he attempted to steal grain—sacks of grain—from the soldiers camped in the area, or en route to the Spanish-American War from Port Tampa to Cuba, where they embarked from Port Tampa. They determined—they found out they were having sacks of grain stolen from them, or missing, so they set up a trap. And actually they caught the guy, and they shot him. But apparently he wasn’t wearing these shoes, and he had these hidden just to go to and from his still. And that’s how come I ended up—the right shoe I have, and I’m showing you at this time. The left shoe, in 1926, was given to the Smithsonian Institution and appeared in <em>The St. Louis</em> [<em>Post-</em>]<em>Dispatch</em> with a picture of it telling that it’s in the museum. I have been unable to locate that copy of <em>The St. Louis Dispatch</em> that I had. I don’t know what happened to it. But anyway, I do know that one shoe was in the Smithsonian Institution.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Well, thank you. That’s a very interesting piece you have there, sir.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris <br /></strong>Another question I have is—you said 1941<a title="">[2]</a> you moved to Sanford?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>1941.<a title="">[3]</a></p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Who did you move with, sir?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>My father, my sister, Rosemary [Salsbury], and I. The three of us.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Okay, sir. And your sister, is she currently living in Sanford, or...</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>No, she lives on the west coast, over near Tarpon Springs.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Okay, sir. And you said, you were describing earlier your experiences working as a press photographer for <em>The Sanford Herald</em>.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Right.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Do you have any more experiences that you’d like to share about that, any kind of experiences working at the—as opposed to just taking photographs…</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>The only experiences I have—and one is very interesting ‘cause it deals with Seminole County. As a press photographer, I was given quite a lot of extra photo possibilities. There was a launch of [Space Shuttle] <em>Endeavor</em>—and I don’t recall just what mission it was at the time—but when I boarded the bus to go with an escort to go there to photograph it with my telescope, she handed out a sheet of paper that listed the dignitaries—the important events that was gonna be there at this event site that I had wanted to shoot from. One of them was Alan Shepard, who was the first American astronaut to go into space. All right. She told—I asked her if she’d point him out to me or help me find him. I wanted to get a picture of him. She said, “I could do better than that. I could have your picture taken with him.” So she did that, and they used my camera. And I sent the photo to Houston[, Texas]—to him—and he autographed it and returned it to me, and in turn I gave—I left one with him.</p>
<p class="Body">But I told him in the letter something very interesting that I found out. My classmate in 1949, Bettye Ball [Deadman] from Lake Mary, lived a short distance from Alan Shepard’s grandparents. Alan Shepard used to spend his summer vacations from Connecticut or New Hampshire in Lake Mary. He spent him out there, in his vacations, and his grandparents. One day he was missing, and they couldn’t find him. He was found on the Ball—Bettye, my classmate’s family’s—dining room table eating a banana. And so I told him about this in the letter, and he got a charge out of it.</p>
<p class="Body">But anyway, my stepbrother, Doug Strenstrom—Douglas Stenstrom—is the one that told me first that Alan Shepard had a connection with Lake Mary and Seminole County. And then, when I found that out, I was talking to Bettye Ball and she told me about the banana incident. And so, it so happens that Alan Shepard enjoyed a lot of his school summers, if not most of them, right here in Lake Mary, Seminole County. So, anyway, I got a chance to meet him.</p>
<p class="Body">Not only that—another thing I want to tell you, an interesting thing happened. I wasn’t a press photographer at the time but I had an eight-inch telescope, and I took this with me to shoot from Titusville the first launch of the space shuttle—STS-1 [Space Shuttle] <em>Columbia</em>. And the picture I took, turned out I shot into the sun, but I got a fairly good picture. For a color picture, it turned out black and white. But anyway, I got a good picture. Well, <em>The Orlando Sentinel </em>team saw me, and they took a picture of me with my nephew, Troy Hickson, from Lake Mary, as we were photographing with my telescope. And this was published and in <em>The Sentinel</em>.</p>
<p class="Body">Well, there was a time when I wasn’t—later on, when I wasn’t a press photographer, but I was shooting from the NASA Causeway with my telescope, and the gentleman told me I needed press credentials to get up close and get better pictures. So little wheels started turning in my head as to how I could bring this about. First thing I thought about doing was calling this photographer that had photographed me at the first launch over in Titusville at <em>The Sentinel</em> in Orlando. So I called, and they couldn’t use me in Orlando on the team, but he suggested something that really did it for me. And he suggested that I get a hold of the public affairs people at NASA, at Kennedy, and request a freelance pass—a pass as a freelance photographer. Well, I did this, and that allowed me to start getting passes to put my camera up remotely. I’d put my camera out right next to the shuttle, and using another man’s trigger at first—and finally I knew how to do it and I finally bought the equipment and did it on my own. But anyway, the sound after the solid rockets are fired triggers your camera, and you’re nowhere near it. You’re sitting there anchored down, but it’s up close to it. So that’s how I got my best pictures was in that manner.</p>
<p class="Body">Okay, after that first launch on the 12<sup>th</sup> of April of 1981, there was an air show. It went to Sanford Airport. And I took my son out there, and I had my camera along to shoot the show. And a friend of mine who had a shoe store in Sanford, Donald Knight—well known in Sanford—and he was a flight instructor and a pilot, and he was at front of operations prepping a Cessna for flight. And I walked up and commenced talking to him this day. This is after the launch of the shuttle. And he said, “Do you know whose plane that is next to me?” And I said, “No.” He said, “That’s Neil Armstrong.” I waited until Neil Armstrong came out and his family came out of the operations and got in their plane, and took pictures of this, and got some good pictures of Neil Armstrong. He left there and nobody, of all these people there—the thousands of people at the air show—knew he was there, I think. He taxied out and took off before the air show. So I got pictures of Neil Armstrong.</p>
<p class="Body">Another incident, having been with press credentials and having put my remote cameras out for the launch of John Glenn—STS-95—I was able to get a picture and he posed for me. And this was Buzz Aldrin, who stepped on the moon. And I also got pictures of several of the other astronauts, the one in STS-13—I mean not STS-13—the Apollo 13. And Gordon Cooper.</p>
<p class="Body">Now, not only that, over the years, I was able to meet and become friends with different astronauts, but one of the highlights of my time over there too took place when I was working part-time at [Walt] Disney World, [Disney-]MGM Studios.<a title="">[4]</a> I purchased a little lapel pin of Buzz Lightyear. Well, I had a taken a nice shot of the STS-61 launch of [Space Shuttle] <em>Endeavor</em>, that Story Musgrave was mission specialist of, and did a spacewalk to repair the Hubble [Space] Telescope. Well, my pictures came out so good. I made Christmas cards out of them, put “Merry Christmas,” “Happy New Year,” and all that on them, and I sent them to each one of the crew members in Houston, so when they landed, they would get Christmas card greetings at their launch. Well, I got responses from Kathy Thornton and different ones with autographed pictures of all of them and all that.</p>
<p class="Body">But six months later, I get a telephone call from Story Musgrave—Dr. Story Musgrave—who did the spacewalk repair on the Hubble telescope and was on the mission. He commented to me, he said, “That’s the best night launch picture I’ve seen. Would you make transparencies for me so I can use them in my lectures?” And he called me back later and asked me how much it was and all that. He wanted to pay for it. I didn’t want him to pay for it, but he sent me a check and paid for it. I asked him, I said, “Story, would you take a little Buzz Lightyear pin in space for me in your next mission coming up in September?” Or November. And that was STS-80. He called me back later and said, “Send it on.” He had room. He could take it. So Story Musgrave took a little Buzz Lightyear pin for me on the STS-80 mission of <em>Columbia</em> that ended up being the longest space shuttle mission flown, 17 days. When they returned, it took me two years to get it back. But I got it back, and it was still packaged and in the plastic, and it was accompanied by a certificate of authentication signed by Story Musgrave, telling that “this space,”—oh, “this lapel pin of Buzz Lightyear,”—or something to this effect—“was carried aboard <em>Columbia</em> for John Salsbury,” and so on. So I got this wonderful document to see that by.</p>
<p class="Body">So that kind of sums up some of the most important things that I remember as highlights doing my space shuttle photography over 30 years. I was able to meet a lot of the good ones, and one of them was Tom Jones, and I’m still in touch with him. Most, many of these pictures I have, like the one of STS-96—it shows shooting into the rising sun and everything, Rick Husband, who was killed when the <em>Columbia</em> exploded, he was the pilot of that one. And I’ve got a beautiful picture of that, autographed by the pilot, Kent Romminger. So, a lot of my pictures, even the one with John Glenn’s launch, turned out. I sent it to him. He autographed it for me. I’ve got the picture of John Glenn going up autographed. I’ve got all these autographs on my pictures over there. And my room looks like a museum itself.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Sir, that’s impressive.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Thank you. But that’s about it, in a nutshell, I think.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Well, sir, could you tell me a little bit about your family?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Well, I think I told you, let me, my great-grandfather’s name was John Wright Salsbury I. He was married to Addie—A-D-D-I-E—Burke Salsbury, and they moved here with their son, my grandfather—later grandfather—Louis Salsbury, to Sanford in 1893, as I mentioned earlier. My dad moved up here upon my mother and father’s separation in 1941. We moved to Sanford from Port Tampa, and that’s when I joined the Stenstrom-Salsbury family, or we were joined, and of course, Douglas and Julian are well-documented in their contributions here in Seminole County. And Frank, he married Henry Took—Harry [Patricia] Took—excuse me, who was a millionaire that owned a lot of groves. And he took care of the groves, my stepbrother did, Frankie.</p>
<p class="Body">And then Herb was a realtor. He was the other stepbrother, and Herb passed away a young man due to lung cancer. But he married Carolyn Patrick, and the Patricks own a packing—a fruit business of citrus and citrus-packing groves and so forth.</p>
<p class="Body">And my stepsister, Ruth, she married a young man that was—became a—he was an umpire in baseball—professional games, but then later became a—they moved to Cocoa Beach and he was on the City Council and he was a postmaster over there at Cocoa Beach, about the time when the Apollo program was going on. And Ruth—no, Julian, was a sports announcer and writer for [<em>The Sanford Herald</em>], he announced for Red WTRR Sanford, a radio station, and he wrote for the columns for <em>The Sanford Herald</em>. And he wrote a lot of them about “Way Back Then”—they titled it—and I have copies of those. He had a wonderful memory and recall of sports. He mentioned—he brought a light that Buddy Lake from Lake Monroe, in Sanford—and Lake Mary, in the Sanford area—a ball player, ended up in the hall of fame from Julian’s efforts. He found out that Buddy had led hitting and pitching at one time, and this was something that hadn’t been done before. This was back when he played for Florida State League. And Julian also brought out the fact that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier here in Sanford at the Sanford ballpark when he was playing for the [Brooklyn] Dodgers.</p>
<p class="Body">Julian and I—well, Julian became an official in the Southern Baptist brotherhood out in California, in Bakersfield, and I was stationed at Norton Air Force Base in the ‘50s. He and I attended a professional spring training ballgame between the Cincinnati Reds and another team I don’t recall. And Julian and I were sitting on the third base bleacher line there in the stands, and I was sitting maybe ten feet away from a gentleman with a cigar in his mouth. And Julian asked me if I knew who that was. He said, “That’s Branch Rickey.” So Branch Rickey is one of the two people that Red Barber dedicated his book, <em>Walking in the Spirit</em>, to. A great book. It’s in the museum in Sanford. It was given to Julian by Douglas. Anyway, Red Barber mentions—no, Julian wrote an article about Red Barber that I have as well too, and it was published in the Sanford paper, telling about Red Barber’s ball playing and his living here in Sanford. So, I can’t think right offhand of a lot of the highlights that Julian brought out. But anyway, they’re well-documented and covered in articles he wrote for the paper while he was there.</p>
<p class="Body">Oh, another thing, myself and my younger stepbrother, Frank, and my classmates, John Keeling and Richard McNab—Keeling just passed away and he was a retired colonel in the Army. Worked in the Pentagon. And Richard McNab—retired colonel—Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force, who flew B-47 reconnaissance aircraft. He’s living in Ocean Springs right now. And we all were on the American Legion baseball team in 1948. On March the 16<sup>th</sup> of 1948, Babe Ruth came to Sanford. Julian was the announcer, the master of ceremonies. Carl Hubble was there, John Krider, and Julian, and the mayor, Mayor Williams. Julian introduce a number of the people there, but the mayor actually introduced Babe Ruth. And I was there, and my other members played on the American Legion we had at the time. Babe Ruth signed baseballs for all of us, and we were given these baseballs signed by Babe Ruth. Well, anyway, the wonderful thing happened was that Julian and all of the commentary and all the narration or the talking that was done, even Babe Ruth’s voice, was recorded on a recorder—on a platter, a record, by someone. Well, Julian, my stepbrother, ended up having a copy of that, and he found it before passing away. And we transferred that over to an audio tape, from there to a VHS tape, and now I have it on DVD. We have Babe Ruth’s actual voice, which was eight months to the day before he died, when he was here in Sanford and honored in Sanford. So that about covers everything, Joe.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>How about your immediate family?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Oh, I’m sorry. I have two children. My wife was from Lake Mary. Her name was Yvonne Eubanks, and she passed away five years ago today, on September 9, 2006, here in Sanford Hospital. She had diabetes and her kidneys gave out on her.</p>
<p class="Body">We have two children. My son is a lieutenant in the fire department, Lake Mary, and my daughter has moved to Tennessee. She was married to Bill Von Herbulis and had a daughter then. And her daughter, Jessica [Frana], well, anyway, later married. But before that my daughter remarried Steve Frana. His father’s friend owned Tube Tech. It’s a stainless steel plant here in Sanford. And there’s a connection. My son-in-law, Steve, actually made all the space shuttle hinges for their payload doors right here in Sanford. So it goes back to the space program.</p>
<p class="Body">But anyway, Steve’s father’s passed on now, but my daughter and Jessica—her daughter by her first husband—they all moved to Tennessee, and have a 45-acre farm up in Tennessee, real nice farm. And Steve had already had four children, two boys and two girls. So then—well, anyway, the total grandchildren I have now are nine, seven by my daughter and two by my son, and I have four great-grandchildren up in Tennessee. And, well, I’m living alone now. And in my latter years, I’m trying to get my family history together, and what we’re doing today, Joe, will help out very much.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris <br /></strong>Well, we definitely appreciate it, sir.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury <br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Just one final question, just ‘cause we’re greedy for history.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Did I mention my daughter’s name?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Ah, just in case, repeat, sir.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>I don’t think I did. My son’s name was Terrence Wade Salsbury. He’s the Lieutenant in the Lake Mary fire department. My daughter’s name is Gale—G-A-L-E, not G-A-I-L, but G-A-L-E—Salsbury Frana—F-R-A-N-A. And, oh, one thing I failed to mention is very important. My daughter’ s first child, Jessica, she’s graduated from Wake Forest [University] and from University of Tennessee. She married a Pete Exline, who was a captain in the U.S. Army. Pete was a graduate of [The United States Military Academy at] West Point. His home was Jacksonville. Pete was sent to Iraq for a year, and upon returning from Iraq, he was put in the university, or Georgia Tech [Georgia Institute of Technology], for nuclear physics training, schooling. And from there and today, he has already started. He is an instructor at West Point, instructing nuclear physics. So my grandson-in-law, whatever, my grandson is teaching nuclear physics at West Point right now. So now you got my end of it. [<em>laughs</em>]</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>I do, sir. Can you describe the differences from Sanford and the local area now, than it was when you saw it in your earlier days, sir?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Well, from what I remember mostly, you couldn’t go to a restaurant or practically anywhere without running into people you knew. It was a tight area here, and we knew so many people. And I enjoyed growing up here in Sanford. Throughout my life, oh—there is something I want to mention.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>My grandmother—her great-great-grandfather—now because she married, her father was a Tinny in Clearwater, and they were very wealthy, and the family had owned most of what is Downtown Clearwater right now, at the time. Well anyway, her mother was a daughter of a Anna Frank Bellamy. Now, her grandfather was a William Bellamy, the son of Abraham Bellamy, who was one of the first legislators of the state of Florida when it became a state. He was on the committee that wrote the first Florida constitution, and is a signatory of the first Florida constitution, which was, hell. And my grandmother’s uncle, who was a Bellamy—John Bellamy—he paved a road between Tallahassee and St. Augustine, and parts of it is still there with his name on it. And one of the Bellamys also had paved the way for the first railroad line between Port St. Joe in Tallahassee before the other railroad lines in Florida. And the Bellamys owned a plantation. Plantations were among the wealthiest people in the state of Florida at the time, and Madison County, up near Tallahassee, is where they’re buried. But the Bellamys are distant ancestors of mine through my grandmother.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Wow, sir.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>I didn’t want to miss that because I wanted to get that in there somewhere. But my grandmother’s—one of my grandmother’s sisters—well, I’ll go a little further. One of my grandmother’s sisters, she was blind in her old age, but she married a Leslie Evie. Her name was Ebie Evie, and she was a Ebie Tinny Evie. Anyway, she and her husband owned what ended up to be a sort of a hotel later, but it was a boarding house and a post office and a waiver point for ships going down the west coast of Florida. And they stopped in there for provisions and so forth—before Tampa was a Tampa, before St. Petersburg was a St. Petersburg. Back in those days, it was one of the big stops along the way. So my aunt—my great-aunt, Ebie—she even hosted a Russian hierarchy woman that was in the hierarchy of the Russian—in the Russians.</p>
<p class="Body">Anyway—but when she was a little girl. They were born—my aunt, grandmother, and her sisters, my great-aunts—they were born in a log cabin at Curlew, on Curlew Creek right there next to Dunedin, between Clearwater and Tarpon Springs in a little town called Dunedin. Curlew’s where they were born in a log cabin. Well, as a young girl, my grandmother’s sister was farmed out to live with a surgeon at Fort Brook in Tampa—before there was a Tampa—the fort there. So this surgeon and his wife raised Ebie as a little girl there, before she got married, anyway, for a number of years. So Fort Brook, in now-Tampa, was involved in all this.</p>
<p class="Body">And then, another sister of my grandmother’s, who was a Tinny—born over there at that log cabin, Ira Wood. Ira Wood was her name, after her married name—Ira Tinny Wood. She and Ebie are two people that are very dear to my memory, because I would spend my school years in Sanford, all my summers over there swimming and scalloping and fishing at my grandparents’ there in Ozona, where they lived. And I spent an awful lot of time at their house. My Aunt Ira, her kitchen always smelled like a bakery, or had smell of those cookies, or something baked in there. I’ll never forget it. And then Ebie, she always sat on the front porch at 1981 High Alder, right by their house, and she’d sit on the porch since she was blind. But so many people, and I’m one of them, enjoyed just sitting there talking to her on that screened porch over the years.</p>
<p class="Body">And, now, Aunt Ira, who was one of the sisters I was telling you about, of my grandmother, she had a son named Duane—William Duane Wood. That was the name of her husband, but this was William Duane II, and we called him Duane. He and my father were very close, and they grew up together, and he was a naval pilot in World War II. And after he got out of the Navy, he wasn’t a fighter pilot, but he was in the Navy, and he gave me a ride in a Piper Cub he had with floats, there in Ozona. Gave me my first sea plane ride. But anyway, he was hired by the Department of Interior—United States Department of Interior—to oversee Sanibel, the island down there. He lived by the lighthouse, and they provided him an airplane and a launch, and he protected the island from the turtles that, you know, nested there, and different things. He flew up and down the coast and provided samples of water. Anyway, before he died—and I was with him when he passed away over in Tarpon Springs, with my aunt—now that was my aunt that flew in the first airline. But anyway, my uncle<a title="">[5]</a>, Duane Wood, he contributed and helped build the flying model, the Benoist model XIV, which was the air boat that Tony Janus flew in 1914.</p>
<p class="Body">And then our president—remember I’m in the Florida Aviation Historical Society—and our president’s gone now, but he flew in 1984, he flew over the same route—this re-model, flying model of the original airplane that flew back in 1914. He flew it over that route, and it’s all documented. And afterwards, it ended up in a museum near Clearwater, and Russell [St.] Arnold, who was a director in the Florida Aviation Historical Society and the primary person responsible for building this flying replica, is the one that gave me my membership and introduced me. I happened to be over showing some videotapes of air shows at Daytona and around to my uncle, Duane, while he was bedridden in Tarpon Springs before he died. Russell [St.] Arnold was there, called him over, and I was able to meet him. And I found out that Duane was instrumental in helping build, or contributing money, contributing something, I don’t what he contributed to the building of this air boat.</p>
<p class="Body">Now, in 1991—I think it was, ’90 or ’91—before he died, Russell [St.] Arnold invited myself and my aunt to go see this flying model in the museum. And it was sitting on the floor at the time, and Russ said, “John, get in.” I said, “I can’t do that. That’s a museum piece.” He said, “Well, it’s mine. I guess you can!” I got in there, and he took a photograph of me standing next to it with my aunt standing beside it, and I have a good picture of that. So now, today, the model—that flying model of the Benoist model XIV flying boat—hangs in the museum in St. Petersburg, at the million dollar pier right there at their historical museum, and they’ve got mannequins in the cockpit up there.</p>
<p class="Body">But not long ago, a Nicole Stott, who was from Clearwater, flew on the space shuttle as a mission specialist. She carried the banner that flew on the first Benoist model XIV, or on that flight—first flight—with Tony Janus in 1914. She took that aboard the space shuttle, and it’s been returned, and now, if you looked at the airplane hanging in the museum, you’ll see that banner up there that she flew in the space shuttle. Not only that, there’s another connection if you want to hear it, about that.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris </strong>Of course, sir.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Okay. I didn’t know it, but being a member of the Florida Aviation Historical Society, I knew Ed Hoffman[, Sr.], who was a man that started our society, and was instrumental in building this too, and all that with our president. He passed on here a while back, the day before he was supposed to be inducted into Florida Aviation’s hall of fame. And, anyway, his son, Eddie [Hoffman]—Ed was an architect in San—uh, Tarpon Springs. And he did the interior decoration for the famous—world-famous—Pappas [Riverside] Restaurant. It was over at Tarpon Springs. But anyway, his son, Eddie, is a pilot and he has his own plane, and he’s an architect, and he and I are in communication with each other. And he sent me an e-mail a while back. And it so happened that Nicole Stott and her father—or at least the family—were friends of the Hoffmans—my friends. And Nicole Stott’s father was an aerobatic pilot. He liked flying aerobatics. Well, he took up one of the Hoffman’s flying boots[?], and somehow it crashed into a seawall and he drowned sometime back. And so, uh, that was a tragic ending there. But Nicole Stott, his daughter, ended up being a, uh, shuttle mission specialist, and flying a mission—a few missions back. So I just wanted to mention that.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Ah. Thank you very much, sir. Do you have anything else you’d like to discuss before we wrap things up?</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>You know, things were out of context and not chronologically spoken. But I’m glad I remembered the things that I did, and I only want to close by saying that photography has meant so much to me now, and I’m enjoying my days now using a digital Nikon camera that I use for the shuttle and getting wonderful wildlife pictures here in Seminole County.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Thank you so much for coming today, sir.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris<br /></strong>Really appreciate that.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Morris <br /></strong>Okay, go ahead.</p>
<p class="Body"><strong>Salsbury<br /></strong>Okay. Something I want to add. In early 1994, Florida Aviation Historical Society’s president, Ed Hoffman, Sr., asked me to get together photographs of the Cape [Canaveral] area—Kennedy, Cape Kennedy—to go in Florida Aviation History in Pictures. It’s going to be made into an exhibit for the Florida Aviation Museum [Florida Air Museum] in Lakeland. And he gave me the assignment of handling the Cape. So, I had contacted Washington[, D.C.] and Houston and obtained the transparencies I needed to have prints made.</p>
<p class="Body">And I—well, later—and this was on April the 11<sup>th</sup> of ’94—the SUN ‘n FUN air show was going on, and they closed the museum there at Lakeland [Linder Regional] Airport to have a dedication ceremony for our exhibit that the Florida Aviation Historical Society put on—Florida Aviation in Pictures. And so, I attended that, and I had my camera, and I was photographing our president, Hoffman, as he was at the podium, and the director of the SUN ‘n FUN started identifying celebrities or people in the crowd. And he mentioned Curtis Brown, and I lit up and knew immediately who it was. I turned, and I went straight, I left the podium and went straight to him, and I asked him if he would pose for me in front of the exhibit I put together on the Cape, there in the museum. And he did. He posed with me and the president in there, and I didn’t know at the time, but Curt Brown also carried aloft on his mission, STS-66, later. A few months later, he carried aloft a decal and a document from the museum, the SUN ‘n FUN museum. Now it’s the Florida Aviation Museum.</p>
<p class="Body">So, as it turned out, I got a chance to meet him and talk with him, and he recalled getting a picture from me of one of the launches when he was at CAPCON, one of the controllers of a mission at Houston. Okay. I told Astronaut Brown that if I got good a picture at his launch, I would send it to him and ask him to autograph it, and so forth. As it turned out, November the 3<sup>rd</sup> of that year, it was the best picture I’ve ever taken. And I set up two cameras, same location, just to be—to try to get a good picture, and it turned out that way. It’s done very well for me. In fact, a 30 x 40 is hanging in that Florida Aviation Museum now, in Lakeland, as well as in the Viera Hospital, Viera Hospital over here on the coast, near Kennedy. And then the Kennedy Space Center Media Center, and different places. Anyway, Curt Brown later was the commander of the mission that flew John Glenn back into space.</p>
<p class="Body">And, well, I want to back up just a few days, because that dedication ceremony took place on the 11<sup>th</sup> of April of 1984. On the 8<sup>th</sup> of April of, just a few days earlier, STS-59 <em>Endeavor</em> was to launch on the 8<sup>th</sup>. And I was out at the fire training tower in the boonies, which was actually about four miles from the pad where the shuttle was. I was out there getting ready to photograph the launch, and up these metal stairs came Ronald Howard, Opie [Taylor] of <em>The Andy Griffith Show, </em>and now a director, producer—anyway, a movie star. His wife and daughter, along with Tom Hanks and his wife. And NASA escorts had brought them up there right beside me, to where I was shooting from. Well, I had a very powerful pair of binoculars—ten power—and they only weighed about nine ounces—Pentax—and I decided to let them use them to look at the shuttle from where we were. And that was the 8<sup>th</sup> of April, and that day, the shuttle was scrubbed and didn’t go up. But the next day, Tom Hanks couldn’t come with his wife. They had to go back or they couldn’t make it, but Ron Howard walked up to the stairs with his wife and daughter, came straight to me, and said, “Your binoculars are on the front page of <em>The Orlando Sentinel </em>this morning.” Here Tom Hanks is with my binoculars, looking at the shuttle.</p>
<p class="Body">Well anyway, I let Ron Howard have my binoculars so they could use them to look at the launch. Well, I photographed it, and he let his daughter use them, and they stood right next to me as the shuttle actually launched on the 9<sup>th</sup> of April. Well, I told Ron Howard—in fact, I brought the picture of him next to me, I brought that up and he autographed it right on the spot. But I told him that I knew the pilot, Curt Brown—no, Kevin Chilton, I want to back up there. The pilot then was Kevin Chilton. I knew the pilot and I would have an autographed picture sent to him for his daughter, and I did that later. I got a NASA photo, 8 x 10, and had Chilton autograph it, and I sent it to Ron Howard. But, having a chance to meet Ron Howard and Tom Hanks and everything there, for a launch, was a highlight that I don’t want to forget. You can pause if you want to.</p>
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<p><a title="">[1]</a> Note: These are “over shoes.” Two wooden shaped cow hooves attached to a metal base that would appear to leave cow hoof prints.</p>
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<p><a title="">[2]</a> Correction: 1942.</p>
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<p><a title="">[3]</a> [3] Correction: 1942.</p>
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<p><a title="">[4]</a> Salsbury worked at Disney-MGM Studios from 1995 to 2000.</p>
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<p><a title="">[5]</a> Correction: cousin.</p>
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<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/files/original/728e65523012d71068a9e389e9b7eddf.mp3" target="_blank">Oral History of John Louis Salsbury</a>
1st U.S. Volunteer Calvary
9th Street
Abraham Bellamy
Addie Burke
Addie Burke Salsbury
Addie Salsbury
Air Defense Control Center
Al Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr.
Alan Shepard
American Legion
Anna Frank Bellamy
Apollo 13
astronauts
Babe Ruth
Ball, Bettye
baseballs
Belleview Biltmore Resort
Bettye Ball
Bettye Ball Deadman
Bettye Deadman
Bill Von Herbulis
Brown, Curtis
Buddy Lake
Burke, Addie
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Lightyear
Cape Canaveral
Cara Stenstrom
Carolyn Patrick
Carolyn Patrick Stenstrom
Chilton, Kevin
Chuck Yeager
Clearwater
Curlew
Curlew Creek
Curtis Broke
Disney-MGM Studios
Donald Knight
Douglas Stenstrom
Dunedin
Ebie Tinny
Ebie Tinny Evie
Eckerd
Ed Hoffman, Sr.
Eddie Hoffman
Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.
Florida Air Museum
Florida Aviation Historical Society
Florida Aviation in Pictures
Fort Brook
Frank Stenstrom
Gale Frana
Gale Salsbury
George Herman Ruth, Jr.
Harry Took
Henry B. Plant
Henry Bradley Plant
Herb Stenstrom
Hillsborough County
Homestead
Homestead Air Reserve Base
Homestead ARB
Hubble Space Telescope
Hyman G. Rickover
Hyman George Rickover
Ira Tinny
Ira Tinny Wood
Ira Wood
Jessica Frana
Jessica Frana Exline
John Bellamy
John F. Kennedy Space Center
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr.
John Keeling
John Louis Salsbury
John Wright Salsbury, Jr.
John Wright Salsbury, Sr.
Joseph Morris
Julian Stenstrom
Kathy Thornton
Keflavík, Iceland
Kent Rominger
Kent Vernon Rominger
Kevin Chilton
Lake Mary
Lakeland
Lesie Evie
Linda McKnight Batman Oral History Project
Louis Salsbury
Mary Salsbury
Mascotte
moonshiner’s shoes
moonshiners
Museum of Seminole County History
NAS Keflavík
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Naval Air Station Keflavík
Neil Alden Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Nicole Stott
Ninth Street
Norton AFB
Norton Air Force Base
Olivette
Opie Taylor
Ozona
Palm Harbor
Park Avenue
Patricia Stenstrom
Patricia Took
Patricia Took Stenstrom
Pete Exline
photographers
photography
Port Tampa
Portsmouth, Ohio
press photographers
Red Barber
Richard McNab
Richard Milhous Nixon
Richard Nixon
Rick Husband
Ricky Branch
Rommel Rominger
Ron Howard
Ronald William Howard
Rosalind Tinny
Rosalind Tinny Salsbury
Rough Riders
Russell St. Arnold
Ruth Stenstrom
San Bernardino, California
Sanford
Sanford Airport
Sanford High School
Sanford Railroad Station
Seminole County
Seminole High School
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Endeavor
Space Shuttle Program
Spanish-American War
Steve Frana
Story Musgrave
STS-1
STS-59
STS-61
STS-66
STS-80
STS-95
SUN 'n FUN
Tarpon Springs
Teddy Roosevelt
telegraphers
Terrence Wade Salsbury
The Andy Griffith Show
The Orlando Sentinel
The Sanford Herald
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Theodore Roosevelt
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks
Titusville
Tom Hanks
Tom Jones
Tony Janus
Trask Avenue
Troy Hickson
U. S. Air Force
Walt Disney World
Walter Lanier Barber
William Bellamy
William Duane Wood, Jr.
William Duane Wood, Sr.
Wood, Ira Tinny
WTRR Sanford
Yvonne Eubanks
Yvonne Eubanks Salsbury
Yvonne Salsbury