Page 42 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine Fall 2019- Online Magazine

Paul Archinal
So, how does one go from being
Airman 1 Class in the U.S. Air
st
Force to Admiral? As you might
suspect, it is a long journey full
of many detours along the way.
This is the story of Paul Donald
Archinal who seemed to be
destined for just such a journey.
He was born to Henry and
Florence Archinal in Lockland,
Ohio on October 25, 1930. His
father, a WWI veteran (he also
had two uncles who fought in
WWI), was a certified welder and
helped build war materials for
the Allied cause during WWII.
Paul was interested in radio at
an early age. He and his mother
attended a live radio show when
he was only nine years old. After
the program, he told his mother,
“That’s what I want to do for
a living.” His mom said, “It’s
the kind of thing you can do if
you set your mind to it.” Paul
attended Lockland High School,
where he played football and
ran track, and graduated in 1949.
42 Lubbock Senior Link
From Airman to Admiral
by Katherine McLamore and Larry A. Williams
Veterans Liasion Co-Chair
Texas South Plains Honor Flight
His favorite classes were Speech night, and, on Wednesday night
and Drama, both of which would before church, he proposed!”
serve him well in later years. After the service, Paul and Swan
moved to Cincinnati, where he
After high school, Paul began got a job as a producer/director at
classes at Ohio University. He WLW. Swan noted that, “It was
had what’s called a “golden an honor to be fired from that
voice” which projects well on station. A lot of people became
radio and television; however, famous after they left that
Paul’s career trajectory was station.” For example, Paul met
interrupted by the Korean War comedian Red Skelton who was
which broke out in June of 1950. fired from the station while he
He joined the Air Force in 1951 was there. Once, when Paul and
to “keep from being drafted, and Swan went to homecoming at
I wanted to fly.” Paul was told Ohio University, they went by his
he was color blind, so he could old rooming house. His landlady
not be a pilot. He was assigned had saved some mail for him.
to the OSI (Office of Special “One of them was a letter from
Investigations). It seemed to be the government saying I had a
the perfect assignment for Paul. college deferment. It turns out, I
He said he “was sent undercover didn’t need to go into the service
a lot and could easily become after all!” Paul was offered a job
an enlisted man or an officer.” at television station KMID in
He was still acting in a manner Midland; then after brief stints
of speaking and said he could in Harlingen and Beaumont, he
“always talk easily to anyone.” landed a job as a weatherman
at KOSA in Odessa, Texas. He
In 1952, Paul met his future wife, had been trained as a certified
Swan Hagler, who was in nurses’ meteorologist in Harlingen.
training in Houston. Paul said,
“A friend of mine introduced us. Paul recalled hearing foghorns
I was stationed at Ellington Air on Lake Erie, which was only
Force Base at the time. We were a block from his house in
married on October 4, 1952.” Cleveland, and he developed a
Swan, from Midland, Texas, children’s show that he called
was 19, and Paul was 21. Swan Admiral Foghorn, which aired in
recalled, “He met me at First Odessa, Texas. A contest
Baptist Church was held to name his
in Houston. ship, and the winning
I was in entry was the High ‘N
nursing school Dry. He said that name
there. Our first made sense; “West Texas
date was on a is high and dry!” He
Saturday night dressed up as an admiral
at the movies. and let kids come up
Sunday, we and “ring the ship’s
sat together bell on their birthdays.”
in church and The show in Lubbock
went out to eat. featured an artist called
He came into Salty Sam (real name
town Monday Lucio Orosco) and went
night, Tuesday on to be the longest-