William E. Smith Interview, 25 August 2001(b)

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TT:You go by Bill Smith?
WS:I go by Bill. Yes, but my full name is William E Smith Jr.
TT:So your father's name was William Smith as well?
WS:Yes, and my son, of course, was the third.
TT:OK, going to keep them going?
WS:Oh we hope!
TT:How about if we start out walk us through your career, where you did your training and how you arrived at Minot.
WS:OK. Well, I was born in Middletown, Ohio and we lived most of my young years, up till about 13, my father died, we went to Toledo, Ohio and I graduated from Scott High School in 1959 at 17 years old. I went into the military. My mother had to sign me into the military of course at that time if you were under eighteen. Went to Lackland AFB , and spent a little more than three months there. I had some oral surgery so they had to keep me in training for a while. I remained a few days in the hospital so I had to go from training to training and finally by the time I left there it was late October I think it was. I went to Bunker Hill Air Force Base, I think they've changed the name to Grissom Indiana. Spent a year there. I went from there to Glasgow, Montana , and I spent three years at Glasgow, got out of the military and went to college for a year, university of Toledo. I went back in the military, of course, and I first went to Maine, Loring Air Force Base, Maine , so I've spent a lot of time in the cold climates [laughs].
TT:Yeah, along the Northern Tier.
WS:Yes, the Northern Tier. Well, being in Strategic Air Command that's what happened. Once I got in the Strategic Air Command that was it. So I went from Maine overseas. I went to Ankara Turkey as a custodial agent, and spent a year there, a short tour, came back and was assigned to Minot, North Dakota.

I'd gotten married when I was in Maine. I came back to pick up my wife... she was from northern Ohio where I had been raised, and we then went on to my station at Minot. I arrived at Minot mid to late September 1967. I was in missiles all the time I was there.

TT:Were you an Air Policeman?
WS:Yes, as a security policeman, yes. I'd had four years nine months in the Air Force in my first tour, and I had a year in Maine and had another year overseas, so by the time I arrived there I had considerable experience.
TT:Was it a SAC facility in Turkey?

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