Maureen Sullivan Marines, Massachusetts, Natick, Vietnam

Paul Carew

MP3 for Paul Carew

Paul Carew joined the Marine Corps shortly after graduating from Natick High School in 1970. Trained to be a radio operator, Carew joined the 2nd Battalion, “Hotel Company,” 4th Marines, as part of support for a helicopter force based on the USS Tripoli. He went on missions to Vietnam and Thailand, as well as the Philippines and Japan. As of the interview in 2021, Carew is the Veterans Services Officer for the town of Natick.

Maureen Sullivan Natick, USAF, Vietnam

Roger M. Woodbury

Photo Courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
MP3 of Roger Woodbury interview

Roger Woodbury was a teacher in Rhode Island when he realized that some of his students would soon be eligible for the draft. Asking himself “Why am I exempt,” Woodbury entered the Air Force in 1968. He would become a squadron weapons controller in Massachusetts and in Thailand. After leaving active service in 1973, Woodbury would eventually join the U.S. Air National Guard in Worcester, leaving in 1989 with the rank of major.

Maureen Sullivan Cold War, Natick, Navy, Vietnam

Robert W. Wright

 

Bob Wright was born and raised in Natick. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1966 to see the world and have some adventure. He became a “plane captain” working the flight decks on the USS Yorktown, USS Constellation and the USS Ranger during the height of the Vietnam War and the Cold War.

 

 

Bob Wright at the Veterans Wall, Morse Institute Library, Natick

 

Bob Wright during his service on board the USS Yorktown

Bob Wright on deck

 

Maureen Sullivan Army, Massachusetts, Natick, Vietnam

Ronald “Chuck” Tiberio

 

Chuck Tiberio enlisted in the Army in 1968 to avoid being drafted. A brand-new college graduate who majored in mathematics, Tiberio went into artillery because that’s where he believed he could put his math skills to good use. He would spend most of 1969 in South Vietnam with Alpha Battery, 7th Battalion, 8th Field Artillery, 54th Artillery Group. Although never in direct contact with the enemy, Tiberio talked about his unit being hit with mortar rounds.

 

Maureen Sullivan Homefront, Natick, WWII

Sadie Stepner

 

Sadie Stepner was born in Boston in 1914; her father operated the stables in Franklin Park. She remembered Boston Mayor James Michael Curley, as well as life during the Depression and World War II. After the war, she and her family moved to West Natick, and became one of the first families to join Temple Israel.

 

 

Neil and Sadie

Maureen Sullivan Massachusetts, Natick, USAF, USAF Reserves, Vietnam

Byron Prescott

 

Byron Prescott joined the U.S. Air Force in 1963 on the advice of his older brother. Trained as a radio operator, Prescott would be stationed in the U.S. and overseas, including a tour of duty in Vietnam that had him in the middle of the Tet Offensive in 1968. After finishing his active duty, Prescott would join the Mass. Air National Guard, where he would serve until his retirement in 1994 with the rank of master sergeant.

 

Maureen Sullivan Afghanistan, Army, Army NG, Natick

Kenneth Pitts

 

Ken Pitts grew up as an “Army brat,” moving every three years to new postings, including Panama and West Germany. Shortly after he joined the Army in 1989, Pitts would return to Panama, this time as part of “Operation Just Cause,” the campaign to oust Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. As a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, Pitts would take part in missions to Kosovo and Afghanistan, in addition to Counterdrug Support Operations. He retired from the Army in 2012 as a master sergeant.

 

 

Kenneth Pitts as a sergeant, 1994

Maureen Sullivan Afghanistan, Army, Bosnia, Natick

Kari Otto

 

Kari Otto joined the Army in the 1980s as a way to help pay for college. From ROTC at Colorado State University to garrison commander at Natick Labs, Otto tells of her experiences as a combat engineer helping to build base camps in Belize, Cuba, Bosnia, Egypt and Afghanistan. She also describes her reaction to 9/11 and what it was like to be transferred from Afghanistan to Natick in 2008.