Wayne Huebner - U.S. Air Force

My Air Force Experience

    Joining the Air Force right out of high school in September 1967 was, as one might expect, a life changing experience.

    In high school I had played the clarinet and the tuba and knew how to march military style. Going through basic training, I became a squad leader because I knew how to      march. Being a squad leader showed me I could lead which was something I didn’t know I could do. 

After graduating from basic training I was sent to jet engine school in Rantoul Ill.  I traveled overnight from Amarillo, Texas to Illinois by train.  This was a great experience just in itself.  The weather was already turning cold when I arrived at Chanute Air Force Base in October.  The jet engine school was twelve weeks long but I had to wait until the next class started.  The wait seemed to last forever but finally my class began.  I am thankful that it was a really good school with great instructors because I had no idea what a jet engine was and certainly had never worked on one.

As luck would have it, I was assigned to Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio. In the engine shop at Kelly AFB, we worked on all types of aircraft.  This gave me a lot of experience on many different types of engines. My supervisor was a Staff Sergeant who lived in town with his family. and they would invite me over for dinner. The family and I became friends and sometimes I would baby sit for them when they went out.

I was also able to go home which was about a 2½ hour drive from Kelly AFB.  I started dating Sheryl and about six months later we got engaged.  Not long after we became engaged. I received orders to go to Vietnam.  Prior to leaving for Vietnam, I was sent to Wichita Falls Air Force Base for helicopter engine training.

After a 30-day leave, in January1969 I departed the United States and arrived in Nha Thrang Vietnam.  I was attached to a Special Forces unit that deployed teams up and down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  I loved working on Huey helicopters and enjoyed getting to fly on them after installing engines or performing other maintenance tasks.      

I was in Nha Thrang for about three months when I was asked to go to an Army Post in Ban Me Thout (BMT).  I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into but the red flags should have been raised when I was told I had to get a weapon.  My Air Force training included limited weapons training so I had not been issued a weapon in Vietnam.

BMT was in the highlands with mountains all around.  Our landing zone (LZ) was red clay.  Our call letters were Green Hornets—all of our Air Force choppers had a Green Hornet on the front.  We were hurting Charlie (North Vietnamese army units) badly and they had a bounty on our heads.  Our base was overrun many times and although I was not trained to be in combat I learned fast with guidance from the Special Force’s units who kept me under their wings. My life was in jeopardy many times but God wanted me to live and I made it. 

Two weeks after returning to The World (stateside), Sheryl and I were married on February 14, 1970.  We started our life together while I was stationed at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina.  My job in the thrust reverse shop was pretty simple and generally, I was done by lunch time or soon thereafter.  Sheryl and I got to see a lot of Charleston and the surrounding area including the beaches.  We really enjoyed Charleston. 

After a while I asked the First Sergeant if he had another assignment for me because I was bored.  He gave me a chance to go to a new shop which over hauled C5A aircraft engines.  I wasn’t very excited about going to a shop but it gave me a chance to practice the skills I had learned in my engine school classes.         

My crew and I were the first to completely build the largest helicopter engine that anyone had ever seen.  This was a great experience and we had to familiarize ourselves with the new equipment and tools that were required to handle such a large engine.  I could stand in the inlet of the engine.  The engine that my crew built was one of the first engines to go across the new test cell.  What an experience to watch the engine you helped build being tested and have it pass and declared ready to go on an aircraft!

I don’t know what would have happened to my life if I had not gone into the Air Force where I learned how to work upon, build and troubleshoot jet engines…but, I’m glad I did.       

I was discharged in September 1971 and Sheryl and I moved to Houston, Texas.  I had hoped to be able to get my A & P license and continue working on aircraft.  However, that did not work out.  I started looking for a job and was even told at one point that they did not interview Vietnam veterans.  I was finally able to get a job with Blue Bell Creameries assisting a route salesman.  I worked there for a short time and then was able to get a job with Richardson Chevrolet as a mechanic.  I credit August Pahmiyer, a World War II veteran, for helping me develop the skills to become a successful auto mechanic when I worked with him at Appel Dodge in Brenham.

Sheryl and I will celebrate 50 years of marriage in February, 2020.  We have three beloved children: one daughter and two sons. We also have six grandchildren that we love and get to enjoy.