Maureen Sullivan USAF, Vietnam

Andrew Lashenske

 

Andrew Lashenske graduated from Boston College in 1963, and wanted to go to law school. Because “I needed to mature myself,” and he needed money for law school, Lashenske enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He became an officer with the 3800th Air Police Squadron, mainly at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala. His experiences in Alabama and Texas included the Kennedy assassination and the Civil Rights march in Montgomery.

 

Maureen Sullivan Army NG, Baghdad, Iraq, Massachusetts, USAF

William “Bill” Callahan

 

Bill Callahan is a “30-year” man with service in both the U.S. Air Force and the Mass. Army National Guard. His active service with the Guard includes two tours of Iraq, during which he helped provide logistics and supplies for coalition forces (2003-04), as well as helped provide security around Camp Liberty near Baghdad (2007-08). Callahan would earn two Bronze Stars for his work.

 

 

Bill Callahan, formal portrait

 

Col. Callahan in Iraq briefing security guards from Uganda.

 

Col. Callahan at Camp Victory in Iraq

 

Natick Veterans Oral History Project Cold War, USAF

Debra Freed

U.S. Air Force 1981–1985

 

 

Debra Freed joined the Air Force in 1981 to do something new and for a chance to travel. She became a jet engine mechanic and was stationed in Japan when two falls seriously injured her back. She completed her tour of duty and was honorably discharged in 1985, but her injuries eventually confined her to a wheelchair. Freed has become an advocate for fellow veterans seeking medical care. She is currently the executive director of the New England chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

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Natick Veterans Oral History Project USAF, Vietnam

M. David Cohen

U.S. Air Force 1962–1968

 

In 1962 instead of graduating from high school, M. David Cohen skipped the graduation ceremony to join the Air Force and eventually became a chaplain’s assistant. Surviving basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, he was sent to France with the 322nd Air Division and became the acting Jewish chaplain, visiting bases in France, Germany, Spain, Morocco and Libya. Throughout his career with the Air Force, he created Jewish programs where there were none, and worked with the Little Sisters of the Poor in France and with other chaplains setting up food pantries. He speaks of the different role that a chaplain has compared to the servicemen.

 

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Natick Veterans Oral History Project Stateside, USAF, WWII

Claire Maxfield White

U.S. Army 1943–1945

 

Marie Claire Maxfield White joined the U.S. Army Air Force in 1943, following in the footsteps of her father, a colonel in the Army Reserves, and two brothers who served in the Army and Navy, respectively. White became a radio mechanic, and served at the Big Spring Bombardier Training Base in Texas. A highlight of her service came when she fixed the radio on the plane carrying entertainer Bob Hope and his troupe.

 

 

 

 

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Natick Veterans Oral History Project European, USAF, WWII

Wadsworth Stone

U.S. Army Air Force, 1943-45

 

Wadsworth “Waddy” Stone always wanted to be a fighter pilot. After months of tests and training, Stone got his wish, flying a single-engine P-47 Thunderbolt over France and Germany. “You were everything – pilot, navigator, bombardier…,” he said of flying the P-47. Stone would go on more than 110 missions, mostly escorting mid-range bombers, but also hitting railyards and other targets.

 

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Wadsworth Stone and a model of a P-47.

 

A P-47 Thunderbolt

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