Page 39 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2023 - Online Magazine

arMy
Korean War era

7th Army. parts everywhere. I went as far as Wisconsin and
They sent Minnesota. I worked for Becknell for 18 years and
us here, retired in 2000. Velma worked at Idalou State Bank
there, and for 35 years, retiring in 2007 as an assistant vice-
yonder. We president.”
spent as
much time Harold had heard of the Texas South Plains Honor
with the Air Flight but “Didn’t think I deserved to go, but a
Force as we nurse at the VA (Angela Allen with the Honor
did with the Flight) told me, ‘You served, and you need to go.’
Army. My son, Jeff, went as my guardian. It was all good!
I loved all the memorials and museums, especially
“I was in an ambulance company as a driver. I the Marine Museum. The displays were very
saved up enough leave to come home in December lifelike. It was one of the neatest things I’ve ever
1955 and went back to Germany in January 1956. gotten to do in my life. I never thought I’d live to
We were sent to Hahn Air Base, Germany, home be 92!”
to the 50th Fighter Bomb Wing, which had been
deployed to Hahn from Clovis Air Force Base
in August 1953. I also spent time in Bitburg Air
Base (home to the USAF’s 36th Fighter wing for
over 40 years) and Wiesbaden Army Airfield
(from which the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft
flew secret flights over Eastern Europe from
the airfield in 1956). I did get to go to Paris on a
weekend pass with my sergeant.

“I came back home on a troopship from
Germany to New York City, passing by the
Statue of Liberty. It was a great sight to see. I
took a train to Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas, where there
was a bunch of us getting out of the service.
I was discharged from active duty there on
November 13, 1956, and remained in the inactive
reserves until 1963. My commanding officer,
Captain Herrick, was a farm boy from Arkansas. We are a Certified
We kept in touch for many years after getting
out of the service. I went back to farming at my VA Community Provider.
dad’s. Velma lived with her sister while I was in
the service. We moved into a little house off the Start the journey to better hearing today.
alley of Walnut St. in Idalou. We had a son, Jeff,
and a daughter, Connie. Both graduated from (806) 412-4931
Texas Tech. In 1982, I went to work for Becknell
Wholesale and drove an 18-wheeler, picking up Eligible Veterans can use VA health care services nationwide. Please note you need to be enrolled in VA health care to use community
care benefits. For more information on the Mission Act, and what this will do for all Veterans, please go to www.MISSIONAct.va.gov.
Livingston Audiologists are certified in-network VA providers and may provide services to those veterans who meet eligibility criteria
under the Mission Act and who have the proper referral. Co-pays may still apply based on your specific VA benefit. To find out if you
are eligible under the Mission Act to contact your local VA primary care physician.
5303 50TH STREET, LUBBOCK, TX 79414 | www.L HAC.com

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