In their words
Cherokee County Historical Commission creates oral history of veterans' stories
BY LELAND ACKER
I n an effort to save the memory of 1,500 veterans who die daily, the Library of Congress launched the "Veterans History Project" in 2000. Dr. Jane Purtle of the Cherokee County Historical Commission said the project involves conducting oral interviews with veterans, transcribing those interviews and making them available to the public. While the national program has been in effect since 2000, Dr. Purtle said the Cherokee County Historical Commis- sion has been conducting oral interviews since 1991.

Michael Myers, a Vietnam War B-52 pilot, poses in front of a T-38 fighter jet he trained in during Air Force pilot training. (Below) Mr. Myers studies navigation.

"We've been doing interviews on various topics since the 1990s," she said. "Some were of veterans, some were of people on the home front."

Dr. Purtle said transcripts of those interviews are available at local libraries in Cherokee County.

"When the national program began in 2000, we became an official partner," she continued. "We've done a lot of interviews since we started with the Veterans History Project."

Dr. Purtle explained that the local historical commission records the interviews via cassette tape, transcribes the interviews, then sends a copy to the Library of Congress. The local commission keeps a copy as well.

Those wishing to view sample interviews may do so by logging on to www.loc. gov/folklife/vets.

"Lately we've focused on World War II veterans since so many are passing away," Dr. Purtle said, explaining that any World War II veteran who wishes to share his story may do so by calling (903) 586-4057. Dr. Purtle said the commission is interested in interviewing anyone who served during World War II, including military service, Merchant Marines and those involved on the home front supporting the war effort.

"It's a service to those who want to preserve their personal history," she said. "We also invite people, veterans, to submit written memoirs of their history."

On Oct. 30, Dr. Purtle interviewed Michael Myers of Alto. Mr. Myers was born in McAlister, Okla. in 1942, graduated from Azle High School in Fort Worth in 1960, earned a Bachelor's Degree in physical education from North Texas State University in 1964 and joined the Air Force after two years of coaching and teaching health in Arlington.

"I always wanted to be a pilot," Mr. Myers said. "I had a wonderful five and a half years in the military."

Mr. Myers joined the Air Force, qualifying for officer and pilot training in 1965 and going to Officer Training School in April 1966. His motivation for becoming an Air Force pilot was two-fold. First, he had many family members who were pilots.

"My uncle in Tulsa used to fly his biplane to my grandfather's field," he said. "I had another uncle who flew in World War II."

Mr. Myers opted for Air Force service because he was eligible for the draft. By enlisting, he could choose the branch of the military and form of service of his preference.

After pilot training, Mr. Myers was selected to fly B- 52 Bombers over Vietnam. He was assigned to his B-52 in 1967.

"They took those B-52s out of mothballs for the Vietnam War," he said. "The pneumatics were known as a plumber's nightmare."

Mr. Myers said many of the B-52s used for the Vietnam War dated back to World War II.

"We lost quite a few bombers," he said. "They would be so overloaded with bombs, that if they had a bad take-off, they'd wind up in the ocean."

Mr. Myers told the story of a close call he had on one take-off.

"We had smoke in the cock pit," he said. "So we had to fly in circles burning off fuel before we could land. There was a field where we could have discharged our bombs, but the military wanted to save them."

Memorable combat moments for Mr. Myers include one mission that was so classified, his flight crew was briefed by the Secretary of Defense (Melvin Laird) before take-off.

"We didn't know where the target was until we were in the air," Mr. Myers said. "We hit an R-and-R (rest and recovery) site in Cambodia."

He said the enemy used anti-aircraft guns, but were unable to hit the B-52s due to the bombers' altitude and the enemy's inability to aim.

"They couldn't hit us," he said. "We had lots of protection from fighter aircraft."

When Dr. Purtle asked Mr. Myers about his feelings for the Vietnam War, he said, "It was a truly political war."

He criticized the presidential administrations which oversaw the war for not letting the military do its job.

"The President was the one telling us where to bomb," he said. "If they'd let the military run the war, we would have won and brought democracy back to Southeast Asia, probably within a year."

He explained that North Vietnam had flood control, mainly by dikes and dams.

"We could have flooded North Vietnam and they would not have been able to move," he said. "We did not accomplish much in Vietnam. The people there are still abused. The war did more harm than good."

Despite his views on Vietnam, Mr. Myers told Dr. Purtle he supported the Iraq War.

"Can you imagine if we had 100 murderers in America with bombs?" he asked. "We won the first Persian Gulf War because the military ran it. This time, politics is messing it up."

The interview with Mr. Myers will be transcribed in the next few weeks by the Cherokee County Historical Commission before being sent to the Library of Congress.

Information on the Veterans History Project is available at the commission's office, located on the second floor of the Capitol One Bank Building on the corner of U.S. Highway 69 and U.S. Highway 79, or by calling (903) 586-4057.

The office is open from 1:30 -4:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday.