Veteran's History Project - Larry J. Collins

Larry J. Collins

Sergeant

U.S. Air Force

1961-1966

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is one of many American Veteran accounts published in The Sidney Sun-Telegraph. The writer, who is from Sidney, is conducting the interviews as part of the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project.

Larry Collins was the Cheyenne County Emergency Preparedness director of Cheyenne County.

He held the position more than 10 years. He retired in 2009. That position enables the person to be close associates with all law enforcement officials and first responders – sheriff and deputies, the chief of police and his officers, the EMTs, volunteer firemen, etc.

In April 2011, soon after retiring, he was minding his own business and had walked into his home. A massive heart attack dropped him to the floor.

For all intents and purposes, he was unresponsive. His wife was in failing health, but his little dog "Missy" was very alert. The puppy woke Mrs. Collins. She was unable to speak clearly, but could dial 911. Help was on the way.

The first responders burst through the door and found Larry and yanked him to an area where CPR could be initiated. Precious seconds passed ... get out the defib gear ... clear!

Again ... increase the charge, again ... dammit, try again.

A little spike was seen on the small screen and Larry was rushed to the emergency room then airlifted to Colorado. Thanks to some very modern medical procedures and a lot of faithful praying, he survived.

Although he retired from employment from Cheyenne County, Collins is also a veteran.

His military career started form Sidney. He enlisted into the U.S. Air Force because he loved the airplanes and liked the uniforms the Air Force people wore. He was 18.

The Selective Service system is in the shadows, looking for some recruits. He decided to go for the Air Force.

After passing the physical exam and some tests to see what this guy was good at, he was soon transported to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

This wasn't the "River Walk" tour. He was in the lines of his new best friends.

They all got fabulous haircuts, new clothes, dog tags, some essential equipment and were taken to their new living quarters. It was called a "barracks." There were about 50 young men in his group.

They worked together as a team in marching, physical fitness, and road marches. They learned the customs and courtesies of the military. When it came to the record scoring part of rifle marksmanship, he scored 298 out of 300 with the M-1 carbine – an outstanding result.

The pay was about $78 per month and there were no memorable difficulties getting through the training.

Tests indicated he had some good mechanical aptitude. He could work on stuff. The specific field would be hydraulic and pneudraulic mechanics. He was to learn what these systems were in an aircraft, how they corked, which ones were most likely to break and how to fix these elements when they failed.

The aircraft this work applied to was essentially most of what was in the inventory of the U.S.A.F.

Hydraulics and pneudraulics were the essential power of the flight controls, brake systems, landing gear, etc. When the reader sits near a window of a commercial aircraft and sees the "flaps" extending moving back, it's done by hydraulic power. Same when the wheels come up on take off and/or come down for landings. You can hear the parts kind of groan when moving into place.

These moving parts don't reliably work continuously. They break down. In most aircraft, a written record is made if any moving part is inoperative. It needs fixed.

So, Larry spent eight weeks in Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois learning this field. He did well, and got smart about it and was promoted as well. His first site of permanence in the Air Force was Grand Forks, N.D.

His work was to be in the "line truck" on the ready line. The planes coming in and leaving this installation were the B-52 bombers and the KC-135 re-fueling tankers. Occupants of the "line truck" were like the first responders when an aircraft was coming in and it had "issues."

Often the troubles were with the hydraulics. Often times, the hydraulic fluid would have been spraying all over the place because a hose broke or split. A pump could have failed. A coupling could have come undone. In the military, the situation usually can't wait. If the crisis called for repairs he was capable of making, he was all over it. He said that he did get used to having "pink" coveralls – not because of some health movement – but because of the color of the hydraulic fluid that shot all over his clothes.

Larry seemed to commit himself to the work. When he could he went up in the aircraft to trouble shoot or ascertain repairs. He got in the Air Force so he could fly.

Larry was assigned to Grand Forks A.F.B. until 1963. The Cuban middle crisis happened during this time. A visitor to the base was President John F. Kennedy.

Larry got to watch Air Force One land and take off. He got the added bonus of shaking the President's hand. On the "not-so-good" side was the sight of a helicopter that crashed on the airstrip and a B-47 that was lost as well.

While at Grand Forks, he took additional training in jump school, survival school, and was accorded flight status. In addition, the extra training provided additional income for flight pay and hazardous duty pay.

Larry next was assigned to Pease A.F.B. in New Hampshire. He was developing a name for himself in this repair specialty. He was next sent on to Homestead A.F.B. in Florida. The B-52 and B-47 and KC-135 platform was his niche. Along the way, the drums of war were starting again. This time, it was in Southeast Asia. In 1965, Larry was stationed at Clark A.F.B. on Luzon in the Philippines. His unit supported the aircraft flying missions over Vietnam.

Larry kept in touch with home by letter writing. He was married now and had two children. At Clark A.F.B., the guys would engage in football games. He did some deep-water fishing and traveled locally when the opportunity presented itself. The Air Force food was good, if not great! He often was assigned the swing shift where he worked 4PM to Midnight or so. This also allowed workers on this shift to get "mid-rats" – midnight rations. If a guy did it right, he could eat four times a day.

In December 1966, the military career would come to an end. Larry departed in San Diego but remained in the area as a civilian contractor where he worked on flight lines for General Dynamics.

Larry did take advantage of the GI Bill. He obtained training on computers – a new device at the time.

In 1972, at the urging and direction of his family, they moved back to Nebraska. Larry was an auto mechanic for several years in the Kimball and Sidney area.

His work as the Emergency Preparedness director was very good and made him difficult to replace.

Larry is a member of the Disabled American Veterans and a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is a volunteer firefighter for the Sidney Fire Department.

It was great work when the EMTs and first responders saved the day for this good man.

Thank you for your service, Sgt. Larry Collins.