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Lawrence Abel

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The Japanese had a presence on two Aleutian Islands and American units were pushing down the chain, ever closer to them. Ground crew member Lawrence Abel kept P-38's flying in the miserable weather. He describes the dangers faced by pilots in this unusual battleground of the war. (3:30)

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His job was to keep the planes flying, no matter what. Lawrence Abel describes the conditions at the isolated outpost in the Aleutian Islands. The weather was treacherous for aviation and crash landings were a constant worry. How primitive were the conditions way up there? He was still eating out of a mess kit two years after arriving in 1942. (5:57)

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A landing force was assembled, but when it got to the Aleutian island of Kiska, the Japanese had fled. They were on Attu, their last holdout in the isolated island chain. Lawrence Abel recalls a hectic convoy of ships ferrying American units closer to the action. Called home when his father took ill, he did not return and served the rest of the war at stateside air bases. (3:49)

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Lawrence Abel was called back into service for the Korean War. The Air Force maintenance technician kept the planes flying over the 38th Parallel, then he was selected for a secret unit based in Japan. He made a career of it and even took his family with him to his favorite post in England. (4:34)

LC Johnson

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The bomber jacket worn by a hometown character caught LC Johnson's young eye, so he always had the Air Force on his mind, not the Army. He was stationed at isolated radar sites in the Southwest, at first. Then he got his first taste of a real Air Force base in Japan, where he worked in supply and at the clubs on base. (5:28)

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As he progressed in the Air Force at a number of bases, logistics expert LC Johnson enjoyed the environs of places like Los Angeles and England. When he got to Korea, he had a role to play in the Pueblo incident as the man who knew the nuts and bolts of that area of operation. (6:00)

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Whether to stay in the service or move on is a question that is well known to service members. For LC Johnson, it was an easy choice. It was a down economy, he had limited options at the time because of his race, and, most importantly, his mother said it was a good idea. (4:12)

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People skills and networking allowed LC Johnson to rise in the Air Force and they also enabled him to succeed in the field of education after he retired. From guidance counselor to superintendent, it was a mirror of his military career. (5:18)

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LC Johnson pays tribute to colleagues who helped make his career so very successful, starting with his supervisor from his tour in Vietnam, Jim Peterson. (3:49)

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The Vietnam War was starting to slow down when LC Johnson arrived in 1972. His logistics skills were needed to get some expensive furniture used by the brass back to America. He did have one spine tingling moment during a rocket attack, but thankfully his battles were mostly played out on the baseball field. (7:44)