Veteran Spotlight: Air Force Sgt. J. Richard St. Pierre

NORTH ADMS, Mass. — J. Richard St. Pierre served his country in the Air Force as a sergeant from 1966 to 1970. 

 

He said growing up in North Adams was a wonderful experience. 

 

"There were so many people in the city, I played sports all the time ... took us minutes to get a bunch of kids together for a baseball or basketball game," he remembered. 

 

"I chose the Air Force because my uncle had served in the Korean War and he came home in uniform — it was quite impressive," he said. "I knew right then, I wanted to be in the Air Force."

 

His first assignment would take him to the 42nd Transportation Squadron at Loring Air Force Base in Maine where his duty was that of a mechanic. 

 

"I couldn't change the oil in my car and knew absolutely nothing about mechanics. I worked on the new R-5 refuelers — I learned a few things quickly," he laughingly recalled.

 

St. Pierre shared this story: "It was a cold night, 25 degrees below zero with the wind blowing. I get called for an emergency — an R-5 was blocking a B-52 on the runway. I grabbed my equipment and go to the flight line, forgot my badge and got stopped by the Air Police. They don't mess around, he pulled his gun and had me spread eagle on the ground. I finally made a call and was able to fix the R-5." 

 

He got married at Loring and had a son. He had two assignments come up — one in Da Nang, Vietnam, and the other at Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay in Labrador — but both were cancelled because of the impending birth of his son.

 

Finally, he was deployed to Vietnam and assigned to Tuy Hoa Air Base. 

 

"I went to a shop when I first arrived and was approached by a Vietnamese guy who wanted my camouflage boots, actually everything," he said. "We nicknamed him Goldie."

 

He also had a special friendship with a Vietnamese teen.

 

"When he turned 17, he was going to be drafted so he came by my hooch to say goodbye and he saw a picture of my son," said St. Pierre. "He took out some Vietnamese money and said 'buy baby san a gift.' I never forget that. His name was Thu Nhu Ding. I gave him my address but never heard back from him. I don't know what happened to him."

 

Was he ever afraid? "Oh yeah. Nighttime is the worst. You hear stories on how the [Viet Cong] infiltrated the bases. Well that doesn't make you sleep too well. I was also an augmantee, which is like a night guard. I went out about 30, 35 times and guarded either a bunker or a tower," he recalled. 

 

St. Pierre also talked about his relationship with the Vietnamese people. 

 

"They were just like us and wanted the same things — a good family life, hard work. I got along with all of them. I was nominated chief of my hooch so we had Vietnamese people that would come in and clean. A guy comes to me one day and says 'Mama san's getting more money than me and I do same work.' I went and got him a raise. The man was tickled pink," he said with a chuckle.

 

Holidays? "Just a normal day. You worked and did your job. New Year's Eve was pretty big and the food at the Air Force Bases was always pretty good," he said.

 

Coming home? "It bothered me that I got tight with a few guys and never saw them again. I came home to my wife, mother, father and son who was now 15 months old." 

 

Thoughts on service? "It was very tough to leave my wife and son behind, that was a tearful day. I liked the Air Force, it was proud thing to do. I loved the respect shown to everyone, it's like the respect our Legion has at funerals for veterans — it carries over to our service."

 

Sgt. J. Richard St. Pierre, thank you for your service to our great country and welcome home.