1 50 2 https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/2b041b934c34a4a88cfba4daad4f05dc.pdf f5d36f3d3e5497a43caebfff47eba299 PDF Text Text Military Oral History Interview Transcript Conley Call North Wilkesboro, North Carolina 14 October 2011 MC: Matt Call CC: Conley Call MC: Today is October 14, 2011. I am at the home of Conley Call in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Conley Call is my grandfather and I will be interviewing him today. What is your date of birth? CC: August 29th, 1931 MC: What war or branch of service were you in? CC: I was in the Army National Guard during the Korean War. MC: What was your rank? CC: I enlisted as a recruit and later after four years got a commission and retired as a colonel. MC: Okay, where were you living at the time you enlisted? CC: I was living here on Fair Plains Road. MC: Right where we are now, pretty much. What made you want to join? CC: Well I was just finishing up my sophomore in high school, I was 17 years old and several of us were talking about it and I had to get my parents to sign because I wasn't 18 until later that year. And there were things appearing in the newspaper and the Russians had up the iron curtain or the wall and you could just see that maybe war was going to come. So quite a few of my high school, I'd say half a dozen, we enlisted in the National Guard, some of them went on and as soon as they graduated high school went into the Air Force or the U.S Army. But I was in the guard, there wasn't any draft, and they had just started a few months after I enlisted but I knew at 17, I was going to have to go and just in the prime status, and good health, so I went ahead and joined and started training. MC: Why did you decide to join the National Guard rather than any other service? CC: Well, I didn't like the army or the military as a career. I wanted to get married later and I liked the citizen soldier concept the best, where we spend most of our time in our civilian lives doing whatever and go to war, and that's the way America has always fought their wars. 1 �MC: We've learned a lot about citizen soldier warfare. Do you recall your first when you joined? CC: Yes, I can. I had a sergeant named Looney White, who had been in World War One, and was still in the guard. We were assigned to him immediately to learn to wear our uniform, and we had to have our uniform altered to make it fit us, for a small person. I weighed about 110 pounds. We also started to do dismounted drill as our first thing. They started teaching and went to recruit later that year but it was different but you knew some of the guys in the unit. Quite a few of them had been in World War Two and a few of them had been in World War One and we had some good NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and officers who had experience so that was my philosophy in doing that. I could go on to school or get married or whatever and still stay in the guard and pull my military. MC: How old were you when you joined? CC: Seventeen. MC: Seventeen. CC: I would have been 18. I joined in May. 2 May, '49. And I was 18 years old on 29 of August that year. So I had to get my parents to sign my papers to allow me to join. MC: Were you excited? CC: Well kind of, it was different and we always drilled one night a week and then we had weekend drills and campouts and so forth, but you met some new people, some different people and I took it very serious that some of these veterans of World War One and World War Two could tell you about what it was like and so it was a learning experience and I went there to learn and do the very best I could. They started up the draft shortly there after, I don’t remember exactly. I was classified 1D, that means I was 1A physically, but I was in the reserve or National Guard. By the way you had to be in both. You had to be trained in that day or time as if you were on active duty so you had to go on and fulfill your MOS, Military Occupation Specialty. The unit was an artillery unit and I learned the enlisted side of the artillery the 105 Howitzer Toad, and they shoot about 13,000 meters and that's a pretty good distance but you had to be very accurate and so they amend, but that was later for me, I didn’t start out doing. I started doing menial things like TP and guard duty and you know, things like that. They don’t start training you on your specialty. MC: Did you ever go overseas? CC: No MC: You didn't? 2 �CC: I went overseas later to visit Guard units. I went once to Ecuador and I went once to Germany and Czechoslovakia to visit Guard units but that was way later when I was in another capacity but I didn’t fight in any war. MC: Can you tell me some of your most memorable experiences in the National Guard? CC: Well, in 1951, we were having a summer camp in Fort Braxton, North Carolina. Summer camps were about two or three weeks and I was selected the most outstanding soldier of the year for the battalion. It was the fact that I was on a howitzer, the number two man. When the howitzer fired you immediately looked in the tube of the howitzer to see if that shell had gone out and you would say, "Number two has fired, sir!” and I had on aphesis type gloves because the brass that come out of there had a...that didn't go out, and they were hot and just the way I carried out my job, I was singled out and got accommodations. Then later that year, I want to say, probably June of 1952, this was in May, I went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina on active duty with regular soldier and went to infantry leadership school and they were basically training us to be MCOs and to go to Korea. They were short of a lot of leadership and of course I graduated number fourth or fifth, I think fourth. And that was to teach us how to be…they taught us dismounted drills, methods of instruction, how to teach classes, and how to lead people, and I really enjoyed that and much of the active duty while I was there. My uncle, Jay Call, Gracie's first husband was drafted in service, and several people I knew, and I sort of helped them out a little bit because I was already there and showed them the ropes a little bit. Then I took a extension course from Fort Riley, Kansas, called a ten series, and it was sort of basic military, and I took it by mail, and when I finished and finished the leadership school and then finished local training that they put us through, the officers interviewed me and recommended me for commission. I had been in the guard almost four years at that time and that was October of 1953, and I was commissioned as second lieutenant by an act of Congress. Federally you had to be qualified to be a second lieutenant in the active military, not just in the National Guard and that meant I had to go to prepare myself for an officer's MOS, Military Occupational Specialty. So I went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and probably January of 1954 and returned to my home station after about seven months after about seven months in July of 1954 and I really enjoyed that. It’s a lot of trigonometry and you had to work at every position in the military and the artillery. Fort Sill, Oklahoma was the artillery guided missile school of the world, and there were 28 nations represented there. I met a lot of Korean officers that we had sent from Korea to school, and I was elected class leader of '88. Lieutenant and one captain, and for the whole six months, and I moved my wife and two children out after about a month and they came and lived with us in Oklahoma. Oklahoma was kind of different, geographically and all and it dust storms out there, but I enjoyed it very much, and thoroughly enjoyed the education I got. I worked a little as a boy in survey with an engineer here in the community named Sam Mitchell. And so in the artillery you did a lot of survey. You had to know where your piece is and then you had to know how far it can shoot and control a lot of that or you will get friendly fire. You are always behind the infantry. 3 �And I thoroughly enjoyed that. As soon as I came home I was made safety officer for our entire battalion, now we had other officers that had trained in World War Two and some had been distilled before me but they always used the latest graduate, the one that up to date in the latest rules and everything and I stayed safety officer for a year or two, and then as would happen, the army goes through reorganization and you had two to three times the Army. You have the regular army, so many standing soldiers, and then you have the Army Reserve, and then you have the National Guard. And altogether that makes your defense force and in this particular war we're having in war and over in there we use more National Guard by far then we have regular troops that's called up unit after unit. The unit here that I used to command has been over there three or four times. I mean the army was cut back and was so small it has to use its reserves. MC: Did you spend your time when you were enlisted as just National Guard or did you have another career also the same time? CC: Yes, I had started in 1946 working part time at a local furniture company. MC: American Drew? CC: It was just American Furniture at that time, there wasn't any Drew. And then later it became American Drew. We bought a burnt down furniture factory and started Drew furniture and then they later merged together. And I was in a management training program there and in fact, the National Guard and ready men helped me to advance and improve myself in my civilian job. I also had a part time job as a fireman that I started in 1946, which I rose to chief, and that helped me and anytime you can learn and learn how to manage people, but I really had a wonderful time at the furniture, in the furniture business, and I rose and retired as, after 53 years, with a lot of experience and I was senior vice president of distribution and purchasing and at times as we were buying companies. I was even head of the company for a while. MC: Did you meet any long time friends while you were in? CC: Yes, I met friends in the National Guard that I know until this day. I'm 80 years old and they just become someone you can trust and someone that can trust you and you started out sleeping in a puck tent and living close together and you learn to make friends pretty quick who you can trust and then that goes right along in the commission officer's rank. You're doing a little bit different but I had a retired SCI, retired highway patrol men, which had been in World War Two and a lot of friends that I still know today. I still like to know and in fact, one of those men that I sent to Fort Benton and commissioned during that time later joined Special Forces and went to Vietnam. He came back to visit a year or so ago he was traveling across the United States on a motorcycle. In fact, he sent us an email to your home, where he was traveling; he always travelled across the United States and Canada just visiting friends he had met in the military. He sent me a travel log of that, and I enjoyed that. But while he was in Vietnam he sent me a postcard and this happened to be 1969, he was in Vietnam and I was of course in the Guard as a 4 �civilian but doing my duty as required and he sent me a postcard or Christmas card and it showed his hut and his Vietnam counterpart. He told me on this card, he had taken over 1000 rounds over the last 24 hours, but he had saw my name in the Army Times, I had just been promoted to major and all military promotions go to the Army Times, or did. I'm not sure they do today or not. But he'd read where I was promoted to major, and at the time he was a lieutenant and he said, "Congratulations, I wish you were here to give me some advice." I had been his commanding officer for two or three years and it's someone you just don’t forget. In the ‘60s when I commanded the local guard unit and then in the late ‘60s commanded the battalion for a short time, headquartered in Hickory. You meet a lot of younger people, just out of college or in college, just out of high school, and the type of training give them or don’t give them has a lot of difference whether or not they survive, if they go into battle and how to take care of themselves. During the ‘60s I also taught at Fort Bragg two summers and one winter in OCS. They had OCS at Fort Bragg, officer candidate school. I was taught weapons down there and then in the earlier days I was a drill instructor at Fort McClellan, Alabama for a about a couple of summers down there. And I enjoyed that. Don't know that you ever knew a local man in the school system here, named Jack Brame, coach Brame. MC: I don't think I did. CC: Well, he spent many years at Wilkes Central. And he just in the last few years, he lost a leg to diabetes. But he's a retired schoolteacher. Well, when I was training on active duty he was my instructor. But Jack Brame had gone to Davidson on a football scholarship at Davidson College and then went on in the army and he was my instructor. He left after he pulled his two years, he went to Appalachian and was assistant coach up there working on his masters. And of course, I moved up, got a commission and the next time I meet him he is one of my lieutenants and we have been best friends throughout the years and I had several school teachers or former school teachers that I was involved in and one of them was assistant postmaster who's living today, he's 90, Bill Thomas. He's been a pilot over the years in World War Two. I was ten years old when World War Two broke out and of course I was 18 years old when the Korean War broke out, June 25, 1950. I was not old enough until they I was almost too old because they didn't start drafting until almost that time. Quite an experience later after I got out of the guard after 23 years and went to the Army Reserve and I was with a unit called the 87th Mover Command and it was a reserve unit. At that time they had pulled now in Alabama, where they conduct all the war games between the active and the reserve and I got to go up to Germany and all over South America, I went to nearly every country in South America. And then the last thing I did of any consequence, I can't tell you the year, but we had this general down in Panama called General Noriega and he was really big in drugs and all the things and leading Panama the wrong way and we were interested in invading Panama and we did. But they got a group of us reserve officers and a few active officers and we went to South America, Central America, and visited every country and it was a secret mission at the time, but our main object was to find out what the people would think when America invaded Panama to 5 �check for Noriega. You know countries don't like you to be in their country regardless of whether you're helping or not and we get criticized for that as America but if we hadn't done it there'd be a tremendous amount of countries who wouldn't be free today. MC: So you could say your overall experience with the National Guard was a good one? CC: Absolutely, I recommended it to quite a few people and the opportunity to go to a school, the opportunity to grow managing people, leading people, whether it enhances, I said my ability to run a fire department or to run departments in a furniture company, all that training that you received to work one place or work another. It was just an outstanding and I look back on it with great anticipation and particularly the friends you made, all the way up to the governor or this sort of thing. The governor of the state commissioned you in the National Guard, but Congress commissioned you into the reserves. You had to have a double commission. You had to have the specs and qualification as if you were in the regular army by a certain time they give you to earn your training, but it enriched my life and I contributed something to the communities in which we live. We did a lot of things in service in the community. During the ‘60s there was a lot of unrest in Winston-Salem and Greensboro. Riots, they had riots and my battalion was called on active duty to go for two or three weeks at a time and go help quell those riots and quell the unrest, where the shootings and breaking in stores and what have you. Particularly one of those times was when Dr. King was killed. Seemed like that was around 1968 but I'm not sure exactly the day of his death. There was a lot of unrest because of that and we went to Greensboro and stayed about a week in the coliseum there while the GGO (Greater Greensboro Open) was going on and called out by the governor. The governor can call the National Guard and use them any way he sees or she sees. We have a lady governor now, she sees to protect the citizens and help out in hurricanes and all of that. So the guard does a lot of work. Now they also can be called by the president to go and fight a war, and they are, I feel like a little more serviceable by helping the state and the nation by being in the Army Reserve or National Guard that way then you would be if you were just in the regular army. MC: Did your military experience influence your thinking about war or the military in general? CC: Yes, first, war is hell. It’s terrible. And I don't know anybody that wants war. Now the citizen soldier concept is what America has always had until this period of time we have the largest standing order army we've had in a long time. But I don't like doing away with the draft and I learned this in the National Guard by getting filler troops in that had been drafted and some had not. Here's what you have in the army today. You have people who in most cases are in the lower bracket in the ability and training because the well to do trained person that's going graduate from college and go on to better themselves, they're not going to take four years out to serve in the army and they're not going to volunteer. So when you did away with the draft, the draft supposedly called all of us to go serve for a certain length of time and when you did away with the draft it lowered. We've got a very high quality army today but some of that is because we've had recessions and that's where people can 6 �get a job. There's a lot of political sides too it, I kind of like the concept that Switzerland has always had, and they've never been in a war. In Switzerland they used to go into the military and stay about a year and then you go home and take your military equipment home with you, your weapon and so forth and then you're on call until you age out. MC: Okay CC: And they've stayed neutral all of these years that I've been involved in a war. If I had lost a leg or the other, and I was using a wooden leg or something, I think I’d still go in the military. Because we have the concept of womanhood today, I think they ought to serve to. And the more you learn about, as I know it, in World War Two, the United States had to go to war. We had any choice. Somebody jumped on us. In World War Two, we know about Pearl Harbor and we know we had to go to war. I mean it wasn't any question. We'd be taken over by the Japanese and the Germans and so forth. Now other than that, we should’ve not have been in Vietnam, and probably, I'm not going say this as emphatically, we shouldn't have been in Korea but definitely not in Vietnam and we shouldn't be in Iraq or any of these places now. MC: We spend so much money. CC: Well, it’s the money and the young lives you're wasting and all. And, only by having some experience of your own can you really know what you're talking about to say no. MC: Yes. CC: During the Korean war and the Vietnam War, people went to Canada and got away from the war and didn't go and I'd rather they stay here and fight the system then run away from the system MC: Yes. CC: Definitely, you take anybody who's had any experience in the military knows that most of the time it's been industrial complex or the political context is why we go to war, its because they jumped on us. And the French fought in Vietnam for 40-50 years, never won, and other nations before them. Wars have been going on there since the countries were born. And we didn't win and they're now fairly merged together again as a country. But we're buying allot of cars and a lot of military stuff from Korea and Vietnam that we used to blow up. MC: Yes. CC: War is Hell. And I don't know of anybody that really, that knows what they're talking about that really believes in war. Now if somebody jumps on us like Pearl Harbor or something you've got of protect yourself and that sort of thing, but we hadn't had that since I was ten years old. Most of these things are political. MC: Well I think that's all the questions I have for you. Is there anything you'd like to add for this interview? 7 �CC: I appreciate you asking me to make a few comments. I have thoroughly enjoyed the service in the community and in the nation, and years that I've done. I've made a lot of friends and I've learned enough to be a good citizen, about war, I think. And know by having had some training you can read the newspaper or watch television and you know a little bit about what’s going on and can make a decision in voting. Its very important that we spend some time studying our government and war is a big part of what we're spending our dollars, and so we sure ought to. The eight years that President Bush was in there, and the two years that President Obama has been in, they don’t put any of that war expenses in the budget. They're using millions on adhoc things and it’s bigger than the budget. Our civilians haven't managed it well in most cases, so wasteful. Wasteful, even if you need so much, so many men and so much service, they still waste an awful lot because so much is thrown at it. Of course we waste some everywhere else too, but I appreciate you asking me to make some comments. MC: Thank you very much for speaking with me today. CC: Yes, glad to do it. MC: Like I said at the beginning of the interview, this is October 14 2011 and this is Conley Call of North Wilkesboro. My name is Matthew Call and this interview is for American Military History at Appalachian State University. CC: Thank you. 8 � https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/1998a41ebc7df5349a35c295d5304ac8.mp3 c66cdb32460e8fbeb09edd3b3bd22c8c 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 A name given to the resource Appalachian State University American Military History Course Veterans Oral History Project Description An account of the resource Each semester, the students of the American Military History Course at Appalachian State University conduct interviews with military veterans and record their military experiences in order to create an archive of oral history interviews that are publicly accessible to researchers. The oral histories are permanently available in the Appalachian State University Special Collections. The project is supervised by Dr. Judkin Browning, Associate Professor of History at Appalachian State University and all interviews are transcribed by the student interviewers. Copyright Notice: Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project’s audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used (e.g. Veterans Oral History Project, University Archives and Records, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC). Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Call, Conley Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. Call, Matt Interview Date 10/14/11 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 41:12 min Copyright Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project's audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used. Tag North Wilkesboro, Wilkes County, Army National Guard, Korean War, Ecuador, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Fort Braxton, Fort Jackson, Fort Sill, American Furniture Company, Army Times, Fort Bragg 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 A name given to the resource Interview with Conley Call, 14 October 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Korean War, 1950-1953 Call, Conley Veterans Personal narratives, American United States Interviews Description An account of the resource Korean War Conley Call, Army National Guard, was born August 29, 1931. He discusses his reasons for joining the military as well as several personal anecdotes during training. He also discusses how his military experience influenced his thoughts on war. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Call, Conley Call, Matt Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a title="UA.5018. American Military History Course Records" href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/167" target="_blank">UA.5018. American Military History Course Records</a> Extent The size or duration of the resource. 8 pages Language A language of the resource English Army National Guard citizen soldier warfare colonel Conley Call Fort Braxton iron curtain Korean War https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/5a29acf22530bb2ea808331ee3a992a7.pdf d2ceb4999e13cd9f7daf277ec095c0f9 PDF Text Text Military Oral History Interview Transcript Greg Boyd Kings Mountain, North Carolina 16 October 2011 JB: Justin Boyd GB: Greg Boyd JB: Today is October 16th, 2011 and my name is Justin Boyd. I will be interviewing my dad Greg Boyd for an oral history project for my American Military History Class at Appalachian State University. I’m conducting this interview at our home in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. JB: First let’s start off by putting information together about what service were you in and how old were you when you joined? GB: I joined the armory when I was 17 in 1978. JB: What did you go in as? GB: I enlisted as an E-2. JB: E-2. Where did you go to basic training? GB: Basic training was at Fort Dix, New Jersey. JB: Did you have to wait while you were at basic, or, did you have to wait before you shipped off to basic training for any extended period of time. GB: About two weeks. JB: I know that when I enlisted I had to wait about four months, no, take that back, I waited 7 months before I shipped off to basic training. Why did you decide to enlist? GB: Where I grew up, there weren’t many job opportunities, couldn’t afford college, so it was the best alternative at the time. JB: What was your MOS when you joined? GB: I was a 63B1P. JB: Which is what? GB: Wheeled vehicle power generator mechanic, parachute badge qualified. JB: Is that, did you keep that same job the whole, the whole time you were in? 1 �GB: I made it to 63B4 and then also as a secondary as 62B4 which is heavy equipment mechanic. JB: So basically the same thing just more in depth? GB: No, “63” are wheeled vehicles, “64” is engine air type equipment like bulldozers and scrapers, and graders, and all trucks, things like that. JB: You enlisted active duty right? GB: Yes. JB: How long were you in active duty? GB: Four and a half years, I extended for six months for a tour in the Sinai Desert, with multinational force and observes. JB: What year were you deployed? What years I should say. GB: 1982. JB: It was just 1982? GB: Yes, part of 1982 and part of 1983. JB: What were the months from? GB: Aw shoot I don’t remember, let me think, I believe…I don’t recall, I don’t recall. JB: Was it hot or cold when you were over there? GB: Oh, it was hot over there, hot in the Sinai. It only rained only one time for about five seconds for six months. JB: Exactly where is the Sinai Desert? GB: It’s at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. JB: Was that part of any war, or were you just deployed there for… GB: Well it was in accordance with Camp David Accords when the Israelis and the Egyptians, came to terms on returning the Sinai Desert to the Egyptians. JB: Go ahead and establish how long were you in the military altogether? GB: I was in the Army and Army National Guard for 20 years and three months. JB: And you switched to National Guard after four and a half years of active duty. 2 �GB: Yes JB: Which would have been 1967? GB: No. JB: ‘68? GB: No, I went in in ‘78. JB: Oh ‘78. GB: And then switched by 1984. JB: Ok. Let’s back up a little bit, what were you doing just before you joined the armed forces? Were you working, or obviously were working, were you married, still single? GB: Was in high school, I was single, but I was also working as part of a Distributive Education Clubs of America, which is DECA, an organization at a local hardware store. JB: Didn’t you meet mom because of the military? GB: Yea we, your mom and I met in the National Guard in Kings Mountain. JB: What year was that? GB: 1987, 1987 JB: 1987? What year did yaw get married? (Mom) 1989 GB: 1989, April 22. JB: Yaw were both still in the military at, both still in the Army National Guard at that time? GB: Yes. JB: Which wars, if any did you serve in? GB: During my time in? JB: Yes. GB: I think Grenada was the only war, only actual conflict, and I was not involved in Grenada, but I was in the Guard. JB: So you… 3 �GB: And then Desert Storm came up and we weren’t, I did not mobilize Desert Storm either. JB: So you weren’t deployed in either of them? GB: No. JB: But for both of them you were still with the National Guard unit in Kings Mountain? GB: Yes. JB: Which is what unit? GB: It was the 505th Engineers, Company B of the 505th Engineers. JB: Okay. During your time in the military, what kind of specialized training did you receive, like airborne school, air assault school, any specialty schools? GB: I went to jump school. JB: Airborne School? GB: Yes. JB: When? GB: In, I actually graduated from school on Thanksgiving Day in 1978. JB: Was it easy or hard? GB: It was hard I was there five weeks instead of three. JB: Why? GB: I couldn’t do the chin-ups. JB: You couldn’t do the chin ups? GB: Yea got recycled twice. JB: How many chin ups did you have to do? GB: I think seven. JB: Seven in any given amount of time, or just seven? GB: No just seven. JB: When did you go to PLDC? 4 �GB: I believe PLDC would’ve been, about 1987 or ‘88. JB: And just to clarify, what kind of school is that? GB: That is the primary leadership development course. JB: For what? GB: That was for my promotion to E5, and that was at Asheville, North Carolina. JB: Was it like a, an actual military place, like a base that you went to in Asheville, or was it.. GB: Well it’s, it’s an actual military school sponsored by the state of north Carolina, all the requirements, are military have satisfied pt test, and a couple other things. JB: And did you ever go to ANOC? GB: Yea I went to PLDC, BNOC, and ANOC, phase 1 and phase 2. JB: What is BNOC? GB: Basic NCO course. JB: Was that part of the same thing as the E school. GB: No that was for E6. JB: E6? And when did you go there? GB: Eh probably shoot, ‘91, ‘92 JB: And what is ANOC? GB: ANOC was advanced NCO school for E7, and that would’ve been about 1995. JB: So you got E7 in 1995? GB: Eh probably ‘95 or ‘96 JB: Did you, did you ever serve in any non-combative oversea deployments? GB: Yea, I went to Ecuador, and Honduras. JB: When did you go to Ecuador? GB: In early, it would’ve been late 80’s wouldn’t it (asking wife)? (mom) Where? 5 �GB: Ecuador. (mom) It was actually when mawmaw had her surgery, which would have been, Justin was born in 91, it would’ve been in around March of 1992? GB: Yea been in ‘92, and JB: Was it, was this when you were in the National Guard? GB: Yes. JB: Obviously. GB: Yes, well it was humanitarian nation a village had been cut off from society by a mudslide; we went in and had to cut a road from Keto to the village. JB: Was it successful? GB: Yes, I believe it took more than one rotation; it probably took two or three rotations to complete it. JB: How long were you there? GB: I was there three weeks. JB: Three weeks in Honduras? GB: Two weeks in Honduras, three in Ecuador JB: Ok. What was the weather like while yaw were down there in Ecuador? Like What part of the year was it? GB: It rained a little bit, but it wasn’t too bad. JB: From the mudslides? GB: Yea JB: That’s what caused the mudslides. GB: Well the mudslides actually happened long before we got there. JB: But, the weather wasn’t too bad once yaw got there, like… GB: Nah, it probably rained a couple times. JB: On, once yaw started, once yaw started clearing away the mudslides and stuff. GB: Nah we actually cut a new road, the mudslide road was, 6 �JB: Okay. GB: Given up. JB: So the weather didn’t really make… GB: No. JB: Make yaw stay there longer? GB: We had bulldozers going in the river pushing rock out to go to the rock crusher, so it wasn’t real bad. JB: How long were you in Honduras? GB: Two weeks. JB: At the same time? GB: No it was later, it was probably in ‘93, ‘94 JB: What did yaw have to do there? GB: We were part of a US effort to build what was that an updated road, almost a highway, within Honduras. JB: A highway? GB: Yes, it wasn’t really a dirt road, it was kind of improved, it was an improved surface road. JB: So like gravel? GB: Probably packed gravel. JB: Sort of like what we have out there on the greenway trail? GB: Yes. JB: I know that from when I went down to Honduras a couple years ago, it was very humid. We went down in the middle of the summertime, so I guess technically there it was, well let’s see is Honduras above the equator or below? GB: Below. JB: So technically it would have been the rainy season I guess there, but it only rained like one day, but it was very humid, was it humid while you were there? GB: Yes, it was hot and humid. 7 �JB: How hot? GB: Probably in the middle 90’s, high 90’s all the time. JB: And high, very high humidity? GB: Yes. JB: What about any stateside deployments? GB: We had one to Florida for hurricane relief, and… JB: Which hurricane? GB: That would’ve been Fran, I believe. JB: What year was that? GB: Shoot, I don’t remember. JB: Before I was born? GB: You can Google that. JB: Before I was born? GB: No, you can Google that. JB: All right. GB: We had the one there hurricane Hugo we got deployed for, we got deployed for a bunch of wild fires also up in the mountains of North Carolina. JB: Were you in North Carolina for the Hugo relief? GB: Oh, yes. Yes, we were staying over in Mecklenburg County most of the time. Mother: That was September of ’89 GB: We also had about three deployments to San Diego, California for border type missions two were fence related and one was actually a road up into brown mountain, made it easier for the border patrol to go up into the mountains and bring the illegal’s back down. JB: Where is Brown Mountain at? GB: In Southern California. JB: So it’s right on the border with Mexico? 8 �GB: Yes, it actually close to Tijuana. JB: Were they having a lot of problems down there, or was this, they were just putting the fence up sort of? GB: No, they’ve always had problems. They’ve got probably a couple hundred border patrol officers working in that region. JB: How big is the region? Just all around the mountain? GB: I’ll give you an example they’ve got a greyhound bus that they’ve beefed up just a little bit to, to go up in the mountain to bring them down a busload at a time. JB: Sheesh GB: One of the trips to San Diego was to build a sewer line. The people of Tijuana had their raw sewage coming into the United States so we built a diversion culvert, to take it back to Mexico to a waste treatment plant that was, I think built by the US. So what we were doing was rerouting their raw sewage back to them. JB: Ha-ha-ha (chuckling) Tell me about a couple of your most memorable ex, memorable experiences throughout your whole career in the military. GB: FTX’s were always memorable, I had some good experiences it we-, in the field with the platoon and the guys. JB: Is that when you with the Guard unit or during some kind of training? GB: With the Guard. JB: Where did yaw go on yaws FTX’s? GB: We went to Fort Jackson, we went to Fort Bragg, we went to Camp Butner, then Fort Pickett. JB: Virginia? GB: Yes, places not too far away, but we got to travel a little bit. JB: Did yaw go on about one a year? GB: Yes, we probably went on one FTX a year, and one summer camp a year. JB: Summer camp being AT? GB: Yes. 9 �JB: Two weeks? GB: Yes, the most memorable AT was the one during the day when we were getting on Fort Bragg it was 80 degrees during the day, but that night it snowed. JB: Ha-ha. GB: First Sergeant Ellis came out of his tent that morning and he said “I don’t care what color it is, if it will keep you warm, put it on.” JB: Ha-ha. GB: It was like 35 degrees that morning. JB: Was this during the summer time? GB: Yea, right on the verge, like early spring. JB: So sometime around March, April? GB: Yes. JB: And it snowed in Fort Bragg down there in Fayetteville? GB: Yes. JB: When I was in Fort Bragg this summer, it was 104 degrees every day. GB: Man oh man, it can get hot. JB: When you were on your deployments, either in state or in Honduras or where ever you were, were you able to, and how did you stay in touch with your family? GB: In the Sinai they actually installed a satellite station for us to make calls, through the nearest military installation to where we were calling, in my case it was through Fort Bragg to Fort Benjamin Harrison, then to my hometown in Indiana. JB: Which was where? GB: Jasonville, Indiana. JB: Is that where your parents lived? GB: Yes. JB: Or what about all the rest of your family? GB: Oh they all lived up there at that time. 10 �JB: Ok. All in Jasonville? GB: Yes. Any place else other than the Sinai, we just used a standard phone that was provided by the unit. JB: Like a sat phone? GB: No, it was an actual landline. JB: What about when you were in Honduras, and Ecuador and stuff? GB: I don’t remember making any calls in Honduras or Ecuador. JB: And you were only there for a couple weeks though. GB: Yes. JB: What about stateside? GB: What do you mean? JB: Were you able to contact your family stuff when you were in Florida or California or? GB: Oh yes, in San Diego I just used a pay phone. I had a calling card. JB: Ha-ha they had payphones back then? (jokingly) GB: Yes. JB: Ha-ha did you have cell phones back then? GB: No, I didn’t. JB: What about email? GB: Cell phones were still as big as suitcases back then. I didn’t have any email either. JB: All right so when did you finally retire out of the Guard? GB: In 1998. JB: 1998? What all went down? Were you, did you, do you miss it at all? GB: Well yes, but the guys that the unit gave me several gifts. One of them was actually a pretty nice golf club. Your mom through me a party and a fish fry, and had several people at the house from the unit. It was real nice. JB: Do you miss it at all? 11 �GB: I miss the guys. JB: You don’t miss being actually in the Guard though? GB: Well, not really, no. I figured I could contribute to my retirement better working than I could in the Guard. JB: Well, I believe that about sums it up thank you for time dad. I hope I could bring back some good memories. GB: You’re welcome. 12 � https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/e81108a567d8855fddf7cdf5529692ff.mp3 4b822763fe03c1297ee75eb6370786ad 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 A name given to the resource Appalachian State University American Military History Course Veterans Oral History Project Description An account of the resource Each semester, the students of the American Military History Course at Appalachian State University conduct interviews with military veterans and record their military experiences in order to create an archive of oral history interviews that are publicly accessible to researchers. The oral histories are permanently available in the Appalachian State University Special Collections. The project is supervised by Dr. Judkin Browning, Associate Professor of History at Appalachian State University and all interviews are transcribed by the student interviewers. Copyright Notice: Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project’s audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used (e.g. Veterans Oral History Project, University Archives and Records, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC). Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Boyd, Greg Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. Boyd, Justin Interview Date 10/16/11 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 16:07 min Copyright Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project's audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used. Tag Army, Fort Dix, mechanic, Sinai Desert, Camp David Accords, Army National Guard, 505th Engineers National Guard Unit, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Fort Bragg, Fort Butner, Fort Pickett, Sinai 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 A name given to the resource Interview with Greg Boyd, 16 October 2011 Subject The topic of the resource United States Veterans Boyd, Greg National Guard United States Interviews Description An account of the resource Greg Boyd, Army and Army National Guard, was born in 1961 and joined the armory at age 17 as an E-2. He discusses meeting his wife while in service, family, training, and deployments to Honduras and Ecuador as well as domestic deployments. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boyd, Greg Boyd, Justin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a title="UA.5018. American Military History Course Records" href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/167" target="_blank">UA.5018. American Military History Course Records</a> Extent The size or duration of the resource. 12 pages Language A language of the resource English Airborne School Army National Guard Ecuador Fort Dix Honduras Sinai Desert