My Life as an Air Force Brat

Places I Lived

1. New Hampshire

2. Massachusetts

3. Pennsylvania

4. Scotland

5. South Carolina

1. Charleston Air Force Base

2. Summerville

6. Japan

7. New Jersey

8. New Hampshire

Introduction

I was born into a military family. Dad enlisted in the Air Force not long after he graduated from high school and left his New Hampshire home behind. During World War II, he was stationed in New Guinea. On one "R and R" (rest and recreation) trip to Sydney, Australia, he met my Mom. After a whirlwind courtship, they were married in Sydney in 1944. Dad left to return to the States in 1945. My Mom left a few months later and traveled, heavily pregnant, by steamship to New York City. Dad was there to meet her and took her back to his family home in North Sutton, New Hampshire to meet and live with his Mother. His Father had passed away when he was young. My brother was born shortly after that.Soon, they purchased the general store in town and the three of them moved into a small apartment over the store. Over the next few years, they ran the store together, but Dad remained in the Air Force Reserves. He "re-upped" in 1952. When he retired in 1972, he had served for 33 years. Besides his duty in World War II, he served two "isolated" tours: Thule, Greenland and Vietnam. I am lucky he took pictures wherever he went. We were also luckier than other military families because the branch of the Air Force Dad belonged to (MATS, then MAC) moved people usually every three years and not the 1 or 2 years that some families had to endure. Here are some highlights of my life as an "Air Force Brat".

New Hampshire: 1953-1954

My Mom and Dad were running the Vernondale General Store in North Sutton, NH when my Dad decided to go back on active duty in the Air Force. He was sent to the Air Force Base in Thule, Greenland six months before I was born. We continued to live in North Sutton with my Grandmother Little, whom we called "Barba".

My Mom used to tell a story about my brother leaning over my crib and saying, "You poor baby. You don't know who your father is!"
She also told me I caught pneumonia when I was only a couple of months old and they almost lost me. Fortunately, I don't remember any of this! We came back for visits often to see family and friends and I consider North Sutton my second home.

Massachusetts: 1953-1956

I was 6 months old when Dad returned, was reassigned to Westover Air Force Bace, and we moved to South Hadley, Massachusetts. Again, we lived off base in a white two story house I have seen pictures of, but I have no recollection of ever living there. Since I have settled in New Hampshire, we have passed through South Hadley a few times, but none of it looks even remotely familiar to me.

Pennsylvania: 1956-1959

Dad got orders for McGuire Air Force Base in 1956 and we moved to Levittown, Pennsylvania. The air base is in Wrightstown, New Jersey, but we moved into our first NEW home at 5 Roundabout Lane in Levittown. It was a large development of "cookie cutter" houses, now famous as the first massed produced houses in the United States. There are also Levittowns in New York and New Jersey, but none of them look much like the original now as people have renovated and added on the the homes and the landscape has grown up around them. I remember:

• Having friends to play with near by
• Watching Romper Room and Captain Kangaroo on the television
• Reading Richie Rich and Little Audrey comic books
• Learning to ride my bike
• Starting school

I started kindergarten 6 weeks before school during a very HOT summer when I was 5. I HATED IT! My brother, who was in 5th grade at the same school, and I would walk to school together. I had a teacher with fiery red hair who would yell and slap our hands with a ruler. I did whatever I could to find a way out of that classroom, even if it meant staying in the Nurse's Office! On more than one occasion, my brother was called from his classroom to walk me home.

Even though school was a disaster, and it took me years to recover from that first year, I have some fond memories of my time in Pennsylvania. We visited Philadelphia a few times, especially around the holidays and I loved all the store windows with their colorful automated displays. I was fascinated by the "automated eatery" at Horn & Hardart, too. It was like a cafeteria with little doors where the food was kept. You could look through the little window and if it was something you wanted, you opened the door and put the dish on your tray. Such fun! I also remember being entranced by the Franklin Institute and must have walked through the beating heart model a gazillion times. We also had a special visitor when I was 5. My Grandma Murray came to visit us all the way from Australia. It was the first and last time I would see her, although she corresponded regularly.

Scotland: 1959-1962

Dad got orders again in 1959 and we went overseas as a family for the first time, including Barba who was well into her seventies. I started 2nd grade at the elementary school on Prestwick Air Force Base in Prestwick, Scotland. There was no base housing for a family of five, so we rented the first floor of a wonderful old stone house at 17 Racecourse Road in Ayr. It was a fabulous place for a child since there was a very large backyard and an old stable beyond that. The owners were wealthy and had a gardener, Sam, who tended the gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes, flowers and the FISH POND. Hurray! I had pets for the first time. I had a lovely time in that backyard playing with friends, reading, talking to the fish, and swinging on a rope swing Dad had tied to a tree limb just for me. When I wanted to do something different, I could always walk "upstreet" to the center of town or, in the other direction, to the beach! Ayr is on the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast of Scotland and we were only across the street and a few yards from the water. We did spend time there, but the water was always far too cold, even on the hottest summer days. Most people who ventured into the water would emerge very quickly with purple lips and chattering teeth.

Each summer, Dad would have 30 days leave and we always traveled around the country. One time we went all the way from Land's End, the southern tip of England, to John O'Groats, the northernmost tip of Scotland. We stopped at lay-bys (which were just places to pull over off the road so cars could pass since the roads were so narrow) to cook our lunch. We would set up a little grill and heat up Dinty Moore beef stew in the can. We stopped in the moors and ran up and down the hills until we were tired. We stayed right on the shores of Loch Ness and hoped to catch a glimpse of the monster (we didn't). We ate bright yellow goat's milk ice cream in the north of Scotland. My Mom told me it was French Vanilla to get me to eat it. We did this all in our little Zephyr, a small white sedan. It was a great trip.

I went to school on the base for 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade. My brother and I rode in with my Dad when he went to work. I finally began to like school in the 3rd grade thanks in large part to a wonderful teacher, Ms. Cherry, who continued to correspond with my Mom for many years afterwards. My brother graduated from the 8th grade there, and, since there was no high school on base, went to board at a private school in London called Bushy Park. My Mom and I made several trips to see him and I especially remember:

• Regent's Park Zoo
• Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum
• Kew Gardens
• Peter Pan's statue in Kensington Gardens
• Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace
• Riding the upper level of the double decker buses
• Watching non-stop cartoons in a movie theatre

On one trip, I saw my first stage musical at the London Palladium: "The Music Man" with Van Johnson in the starring role.

Two famous people landed at Prestwick during the time we were there who caused quite a stir. The first was Elvis Presley. He made an appearance at the Teen Club on the base while my brother was there. He managed to get his autograph on a napkin! The second was President Eisenhower. His favorite golf course was not too far from our house. I remember making a large sign and waving an American flag as I stood on the sidewalk and watched his cavalcade drive by. Somehow he found out that, at 76, Barba was the oldest military dependent at Prestwick and he invited her to meet him at the airport before he boarded the plane for the States. He also must have known she was a diehard Republican! Barba thought she had died and gone to heaven! Despite the lack of central heating in our home, and it did get VERY COLD, I have very fond memories of this wonderful place. When my husband and I returned in 1978, we rented a car and drove right to my old house. After 16 years, I still remembered the way--no maps needed.

South Carolina: 1962-1968

In 1962, Dad got orders to return to the States. We were all a little disappointed, but were comforted by the thought of going someplace warm. We had never lived in the South before and we were headed for the Deep South--Charleston, South Carolina.

Charleston Air Force Base: 1962-1965

For the first time, we moved into base housing. I liked it because everything I needed was within walking distance: the base school--Lamb's Elementary, the "BX" or Base Exchange, the base library, movie theatre and swimming pool. I remember going to the movies on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons and the newest serial installment of Sky King. I also remember the day we were all sent home from school because President Kennedy had been assassinated. Stunned and speechless, we walked to our homes like zombies. I was glued to the TV watching the film from Dallas play over and over and then saw Ruby shoot Oswald right in front of my eyes. All the flags on base flew at half mast for a very long time.

Lambs went through the 8th grade. I went there for the 5th and 6th grade and had the same teacher, Mrs. Griffiths both years. It was during that time that there were two other Joannes in my class and I took the nickname "Jody" so I wouldn't have to be called "Joanne L." It was also during this time that the Beatles came to the US and appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. I stared at the TV screen, mesmerized by their look and their music and felt this was the start of something big. I immediately began collecting their 45's and subsequent albums. Then in 1965, my Dad got orders for another year-long isolated tour--this time toVietnam. He was being sent as a supply officer and would be stationed in Saigon. We were all a little nervous about this assignment, but were distracted by the details of making a move off base. Without Dad with us, we were not allowed to stay in our quarters on base, so we had to find a new place to live--FAST!

Summerville, SC: 1965-1968

Somehow, my parents managed to find a home for us in a little town outside of Charleston called Summerville. It's nickname was "Flower Town in the Pines". We moved into a large apartment in a one story brick building on Country Club Boulevard that was surrounded by tall pine trees. This was January, though, so we had yet to see the flowers the town was famous for. True to our street's name, we were in a small development that surrounded the Country Club and our new home sat right next to the golf course. In fact, the building we lived in used to be the club house. Our landlords, the Deans, were in real estate and had purchased the old club house and turned it into three apartments. Our living room had once been the ballroom, so it was a very large room with beautiful pine floors and a high vaulted ceiling. Unfortunately, it took up most of the space, so the other rooms were small, especially the kitchen. We didn't mind, though, because of the lovely setting and our nice landlords. Shortly after Dad left, Mom went to work for them as an office manager. This was the first time she had worked outside the home since before she was married! I had to get used to having her gone when I got home from school, but luckily, her office was right across the hall!

This was a difficult move for me because it was the first time we had moved in the middle of the school year. I started 7th grade at Spann Junior High School the Monday following our move. I met my first friend, Melody, at the bus stop. We still keep in touch and have visited each other a few times. She was in the 7th grade too and helped me get settled into the school and the neighborhood. She and I were avid basketball players and luckily, the boy's high school basketball coach lived in our neighborhood and allowed us to shoot hoops whenever we wanted to on his big outdoor court. His daughter was also our classmate. Both of us made the JV team, but she later went on to the state champion varsity team in high school while I stayed on JV. Then I became the varsity team manager. Coach Finucan was a drill sargeant at times, but we had a great time and made it to the state finals again.

My brother had finished high school while we were still living on base and had gone off to college in September '64. It took some getting used to not having him around--now I had no one to fight with! Barba was still living with us, but in December '65, she got very sick and was rushed to the hospital.The Air Force granted Dad leave to come home and he returned a month early just in time to say goodbye to his Mother. Just before Christmas, Barba died and so the holidays were a sad time for all of us. Instead of going back to Saigon to finish his tour, Dad got new orders. He was reassigned to Charleston! We didn't have to move! I thought we were incredibly lucky, but Dad claimed he had "pulled some strings". We stayed in our apartment in Summerville and Dad commuted to the base. That same winter, we got word that Grandma Murray had died suddenly. Mom realized that my brother and I had never met our Grandpa Murray, so my parents made plans for the three of us to go to Australia. Dad would stay home. We left right after school got out and stayed the whole summer, which was the winter in Australia. We stayed with Grandpa in Drummoyne, a suburb of Sydney. What a glorious time we had! My Uncle Stuart had kids my age and we went shopping, sightseeing and sailing on Sydney Harbor. I met tons of relatives and family friends. We also traveled down the coast to stay with relatives on a sheep farm. My Mom had three more extended trips there and I hope I can go back some day.

I returned just in time to start 8th grade and stood out like a sore thumb--I had no tan! The rest of Junior High passed quickly as did the first two years at Summerville High School. When I was a sophomore, the school "allowed" a few black students to attend. This was 1967 before public schools in the south were integrated. I guess this was the first step toward becoming fully integrated. I had a lot of fun in high school. I was still passionate about basketball, but also enjoyed swimming and had discovered photography. I was a good student, though painfully shy. I had made lots of friends and was looking forward to the next two years. I also had a "real" pet for the first time--a gray and white cat I named Toby Cat or TC for short (after the cartoon cat, Top Cat). He was a huge short haired adult male indoor cat when we adoped him. The first time I saw him, he covered the entire seat of a rocking chair. We turned him into an outdoor cat and he lost about 15 lbs. Life was good. Then Dad said that he was going to get new orders. The first rumor was Minot, North Dakota. Oh no!



We had managed to stay on the East Coast all these years and could drive up to New England to see our family and friends. Not only was Minot NOT on the East Coast, it was also FREEZING there. The next rumor was that it was going to be Okinawa, Japan. That would be interesting. Dad's orders finally came through a month before school finished. We were being transferred to Japan! Because I had the grades, I was allowed to finish up at school without taking final exams. We packed up and were sent off to the Orient. What an adventure!

Tokyo, Japan: 1968-1970

This was an exciting move, but at the same time, very traumatic. We hadn't been overseas as a family since Scotland, however, not all of us would be moving to Japan. My brother had just finished college and was married. He had been commissioned as an Air Force Lieutenant just before we left the States and was on his way to his first assignment. We also could not bring pets, so we had to find another home for Toby. I was 15 and had lived in South Carolina for the longest period of time I had lived anywhere--6 years. For the first time, I felt I was being uprooted and actually considered trying to stay with friends while I finished high school in Summerville. I was excited, sad and anxious all at the same time. In the end, I couldn't bear to leave my parents and miss living some place so different from anywhere I had ever been before.

The three of us arrived in Japan at the beginning of June, 1968. I had the whole summer to make some friends and explore. This was the first time I had lived in a huge city and getting around was intimidating at first. It didn't take long before I was going downtown shopping or to the movies or concerts using the vast Tokyo train system. By the following summer, I had a job at a restaurant near the American embassy, was the owner of a commuter subway pass, and could speak enough Japanese to get along with the native cooks in the kitchen at work. We lived in a housing development called Mutsumi Dai which was located right next to Grant Heights Air Force Base. It was a small enclave and the families became very close. The buildings were gray concrete and kind of ugly, but they were built to withstand earthquakes. After I experienced my first earthquake, I was glad we had a strong, safe place to stay and didn't much care what they looked like anymore!

I went to the school on base, Narimasu High School, for my junior and senior years. It was small and there were only around 50 kids in my class. I continued playing basketball, but on the Varsity team now, and we traveled around playing other American schools in Japan. I also discovered gymnastics and began competing with the school team. My specialities were balance beam and parallel bars, which is no longer a women's event. I also continued my interest in photography, taking pictures for the school yearbook and working on the layout and editing.

My parents and I did some traveling while we were there. One especially memorable trip was to Kyoto. My Mom and I toured most of the temples including some with beautiful gardens.

We also traveled to Kamakura to see the Great Buddha and took a boat tour to Oshima Island.
Another highlight was visiting Expo '70 in Osaka. Getting to know Tokyo and the different neighborhoods kept us closer to home, though, and we would go to museums, to the zoo, sample different cuisines, and shop--lots of shopping! I remember buying a lava lamp when they were BRAND NEW to the market at one of the department stores in the main shopping district, the Ginza.

When it came time to make a decision about college, I didn't want to leave! I wanted to stay and go to a university in Tokyo. My parents weren't due to leave for another year, but they thought I should go back to the States for college. So, at the VERY last minute, I applied to my state university (my Dad kept his home residence as New Hampshire), was accepted and left in August, 1970. As a graduation present, my parents gave me a trip across the US, so I was able to stop to visit my brother, his wife and my nephew in Sacramento, California, then headed to Summerville, South Carolina to visit with Melody and the Deans. Next I headed north to stay with my Aunt and Uncle in Vermont and stopped to meet my college roommate, Jill, in Concord, New Hampshire. That first year at college was a tough adjustment with my folks being so far away and not knowing a soul. This was before e-mail, and an overseas telephone call cost an arm and a leg, so we managed somehow with snail mail. At the end of the year, Dad was transferred back to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

I keep in touch with a few of the friends I made in Japan and would love to go back for a visit. After my parents left, both Mutsumi Dai and Grant Heights were turned over to the Japanese government and demolished. The land was turned into a beautiful park for the people of Tokyo to enjoy.

New Jersey: 1971-1972

My parents moved into a house on base. I was only there for one summer, which was spent mostly looking for a job, and Christmas vacation. Dad made the decision to retire from the Air Force and so my parents headed back to New Hampshire. I'll never forget the week my Mom stayed in my dorm room with me while she was looking for a place for them to live. By the end of my sophomore year, they moved into an apartment in a neighboring town.

New Hampshire: 1972-present

I spent the next summer working in Dover and Portsmouth and living at home in the Somersworth apartment. My parents spent the next 6 months house hunting in the area. They found a nice house in Rochester and moved in. I was only 30 minutes away and enjoyed having them close by. Rochester became my parent's permanent home, but when I graduated from college, I got married and moved away. I did, however, stay in New Hampshire. After having moved around so much as a kid, I really looked forward to staying in one place for a while. Even in college, I managed to keep the same room for 3 years in a row. One of the hardest questions for a military brat to answer is "Where are you from?" Well, I was born in New Hampshire, but the rest of the answer is a LONG story.........