Fighting in an
unpopular conflict...
This Florida native (his CB handle is "Kracker")
lost out on a Presidential appointment to the U.S.
Navy's military academy at Annapolis, MD in the summer
of his Junior year in high school when it was determined
that he was color-blind to pastel colors and could
never qualify to fly fighter aircraft. In 1965, just
before his 18th birthday, he joined the U.S. Air Force.
After extensive training he was originally stationed
with the 26th FMS at Ramstein AFB in Germany before
being sent TDY (Temporary Duty) to Wheelis Air Force
Base in North Lybia and then on to an unpopular conflict
in Southeast Asia.
Originally trained in airframe repair and sent to Germany, he was sent to Vietnam in 1966. He was released from his duties in 1967 when the government offered him addition training and thne was sent back to the states and cross-trained
in demolitions, hand-to-hand combat, and went through
survival, jump, and sniper schools. He was a member of the
first 16th SpecOps and stationed at Ubon Royal Thai Airbase in Tailand where he did counter-insurgency work on the Ho Chi Min Trail. His duties
and activities are considered classified until the
year 2068, but the medals in a desk drawer in his
office and the two medallions he carries in his pocket speak volumes. Injured when a parachute
failed to open properly and temporarily a "guest"
of those he was fighting, he was out of the fighting
and government service just in time to welcome New Years Eve 1920 at the Playboy Club in San Francisco .
Dusty receives minimal compensation from the government,
but has been diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder) and was exposed to Agent Orange during his
service in the jungles of Southeast Asia. In a situation
that only the goverment could conceive, the Veteran's
Adminsitration's own doctors have certified him as
having "exposure to Agent Orange during service
in South Vietnam", but he gets no compensation
from the VA because his records are classified and
they cannot admit that he was ever there as they would
be violating the very classified nature of his records.
Dusty doesn't talk about his military service much,
he can't due to the classified nature of his activities.
However, he is intensly patriotic and loves the country
he serves. He is a member of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. And
yes, he does fly the United States Flag in front of
his home. Ribbons for some of his medals are at the left.
