Page 75 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2024 - Online Magazine

air Force

“We had two boys, Skip and David. My
wife had cancer and couldn’t bear any
more children, but we wanted a girl.
However, the judge wouldn’t let us adopt
because I was still in the military. I was
finally discharged from the Air Force
at Travis in August 1976. We moved
to Lubbock where I attended South
Plains College, majoring in history. The
counselor told me, ‘You’ll never get a
job as a history teacher; all the coaches
always teach history.’ So, I got a license,
went into the insurance business, and
sold policies for National Life out
of Nashville, TN. My agency was in
Muleshoe. My brother Edward and my
wife Barbara took over the agency when
1968, Viet Cong forces attacked 13 cities in central I retired in 1980. Barbara passed away on
South Vietnam.) “We were taking off during the February 26, 2005, at age 65.”
attack under fire. Our navigator got hit in the legs,
so we had to turn around and go back to get him to Elmer is proud to say that his sons and their families
a hospital. We took a lot of ground fire after landing. are a big part of his life. He enjoys seeing David and
They (the Viet Cong) were shooting mortars at us.” his family from the Dallas area when they come
to visit. Elmer lives close to Skip and his family in
The Vietnam War was the first war to see loadmasters Lubbock and enjoys being with them. He especially
in a combat role. The tactical transports flew into delights in his 16 grandchildren and 17 great
forward airfields and were frequently under artillery grandchildren.
attack, and the loadmaster had to rapidly off-load the
plane to get the plane back off the ground as soon as The Vietnam War was a costly engagement for our
possible. “I made a lot of trips to Vietnam, but things country; 58,000 of the 2.6 million troops did not come
finally started to slow down towards the end of the home. Loadmaster Elmer Scarborough came close to
war.” The job of a Loadmaster was a dangerous job being one of those. Welcome home, Elmer, and thank
whether you were under enemy fire or not. “In 1972, I you for 22 years of faithful service.
was unloading rockets off a railcar and loading them
onto a “6X6” truck. I was in the back of the truck, and
the driver must have thought that I was finished.
He took off, and it threw me off the truck. I
landed in the dirt, and all the wheels ran over me.

“I had busted ribs; one of my lungs burst; and
gangrene set in my left leg. I was sent back to
Travis AFB and spent one year in the hospital
there. I believe in guardian angels! When my
dad passed away at age 69, I was still in the
hospital. The doctor said I could attend my dad’s
service only if I flew, but instead, I drove home
to Quanah to be with my family. Later, after
getting out of the hospital, I worked at the Base
Exchange.

Lubbock Senior Link 75