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Oral History Transcript
Inland Northwest Memories Project
May 15, 2005
By TINCAN
Subjects: Korean War, Army, Vietnam War, Air Force, B-47, Aircraft Mechanic, Cuban
Missile Crisis, Expo ’74
Dates of Service: 1951-1972
Interview with Richard Lauk
Birth Date: August 1, 1931
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois
Transcription by John Coleman
Interviewer: This is… Dick Lauk
Mr. Lauk: Richard, Richard
Interviewer: Richard?
Mr. Lauk: Yeah, I’m Dick Lauk
Interviewer: Alright… and um… we are filming at 204 west 32nd Avenue, in Spokane,
Washington. This is… what’s the date?
Mr. Lauk: It’s the 15th
Interviewer: The 15th of May, 2005. Um, what is your Birth date?
Mr. Lauk: August 1st, 1931.
Interviewer: Alright, my name is John Coleman. I will be doing this interview and my
brother Christopher Coleman is operating the camera. Um, so, have
you…. What war were you in?
Mr. Lauk: Well, I joined the Army in 1951, and uh, that was during the Korean War.
I got out of the Army in ’53. Nineteen fifty four, I showed you my draft
card, I was classified in 1A again, and I joined the Air Force in 1954 that
would cover the Korean War, and then, uh, all through the Vietnam War.
Interviewer: Yeah
Mr. Lauk: No, never saw any action, but we spent a lot of time over seas, uh, 180
days a year, uh, TDY.
Interviewer: Hmm. What’s, what’s TDY?
Mr. Lauk: Temporary duty assignment, and we go, uh, Marrone Spain…
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: and Lakendy, England were our two bases that we would go over with our
aircraft, B-47.
Interviewer: Yeah…
Mr. Lauk: It’s a bomber. (Takes out a picture of a B-47)
Camera operator: Go ahead, John and… (Interviewer shows picture)
Mr. Lauk: And, uh, we had to be with the aircraft all the time, because we had the,
uh, the atomic bomb, uh…
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: loaded, uh, both times we went. And you could never…
Interviewer: so you had an atomic bomb loaded in there?
Mr. Lauk: Oh, uh huh, yeah, yeah. Bomb in the aircraft right there. (Picture of B-47)
Interviewer: Did that worry you?
Mr. Lauk: No, no, because it took different codes.…
Interviewer: Right.
Mr. Lauk: well, actually, one man could, uh, I mean it had to be a combination of the,
uh… this is a three man aircraft. Well, actually four because the crew
chief would sit down below the pilot. You had the navigator pilot and the
co-pilot. It took the navigator and the co-pilot, with a code, to go back and
arm the bomb.
Interviewer: Hmm. What was… what was your rank?
Mr. Lauk: Staff Sergeant… although when you first go in, you go in as a PSC in the
army. And when I came out of the army, I went into the air force, uh, I
became airman, first class.
Interviewer: Mm Hmm.
Mr. Lauk: And my last rank was Staff Sergeant.
Interviewer: Mm… so where did you serve.
Mr. Lauk: Heh…
Interviewer: Yeah, you served all over the place.
Mr. Lauk: Well, well now, actually, Marrone, Spain; Lakendy, England; and went
down to a lot of, uh, little countries. Uh, we went to Morocco this was just
because… we moved around. But we didn’t stay long. We would go to
Morocco for ten days or so, then we would come back to Spain. And from
England we would go, uh… anywhere in Europe.
Interviewer: Where was your favorite place to stay?
Mr. Lauk: Well, heh, before I was married, England. And after I got married Spain. I
love Spain. England, England was a nice place to… at that time… I was a
drinking man. (Chuckling)
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: And a smoker, and after I got married I gave up all that stuff…drinking
and smoking. Nineteen forty-seven was when I got married to um…
And the worst station I was ever in was Pakistan. That, see, I transferred
out of maintenance, I gave up being a crew chief, and went to a radio… to
become a radio supply-man.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: and… I didn’t like Pakistan at all. Uh, I’m definitely afraid of snakes and
they had one snake out there they called, it was viper, and they called it
the one-step. I mean if you got bit… well, the only place it could bite you
is between your… fleshy… fingers and toes. You couldn’t wear, uh,
sandals,
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: because, I mean, they’d get you between the toes. And, they used to have
alerts, if someone would spot one.
Interviewer: Yeah
Mr. Lauk: and they’d have an alert. Everyone would have to clear out when they’re
looking for that viper.
Interviewer: So… So were you drafted, or did you enlist?
Mr. Lauk: First time I was drafted.
Interviewer: For the Korean war.
Mr. Lauk: Right, for the army. Then when I come out of the army, I showed you my
draft card there…
Interviewer: Yeah
Mr. Lauk: In ‘54 they classified me as 1A. Uh, and then I enlisted in the air force.
Interviewer: Hmm. So, um, where were you living at the time you were, uh, drafted in
this?
Mr. Lauk: Beg your pardon?
Interviewer: where were you living at that time?
Mr. Lauk: Chicago.
Interviewer: Chicago?
Mr. Lauk: Mm hmm.
Interviewer: So why did, uh, you were drafted, that’s why you joined, obviously?
Mr. Lauk: No, um, that’s when I was drinking
Interviewer: Oh.
Mr. Lauk: And I had a friend that, uh… I had a job, but my friend didn’t have a job,
and he, he, that’s unemployment, and he said he was going down to join
the air force. And I, “I’ll go down there with you,” but I says, “Just to
see.” Well, I get in there… and I join the same time he did. But I couldn’t
leave right away because I had a car, and I had to sell my car, and stuff,
uh…. He left and went to Amorro, Texas, where it was warm, and I
wound up in the finger lakes in New York, cold in the winter time, and the
only heat they had was, uh, coal stoves that would heat the barracks. And
we’d have to go down, pull duty, keeping the fire going. That was from
basic training. And from there I went to Tex-, all my tech schools were in
Texas, uh, Amorro and Wichita Falls, Texas, uh for jet mechanic.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: Right. That’s my schooling.
Interviewer: So, Sort of, Sort of on that same tangent, why did you pick that, um,
service?
Mr. Lauk: My mother past away in 1950, and my dad remarried.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: And this woman, I mean, god forsake for something, but she was next
thing to a witch. I’m serious. I mean…
Interviewer: (Laughing)
Mr. Lauk: Not because… well, I really felt bad because I had a 3-year old sister and a
younger brother, that was younger then I was, and I left ‘em and went to
the air force, because I couldn’t stand being around that lady. And I, I felt
sorry for my sister, especially, because, I mean, my brother eventually left.
But we left my little sister there, with her. And that lady didn’t treat her
right. She finally passed away; she had to be 102-years old. Just about…
no, I’m serious, three years ago. My dad past away, and he was 90, and
she lived way past, heh…. But she was something else, I mean, uh,
nothing that my mother had, in the house, she didn’t want nothing, no part
of it, uh, all the furniture that my mother accumulated with my dad; she
got rid of all that stuff. And, uh, she had her own daughter, Peggy, uh, but
that kid got treated right, but my sister didn’t.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: And afterward, I go back to see my sister, we talk about it a lot. She says,
“Rich, I don’t know why you guys left me,” (Laughing) But, uh, she’s got
a decent life, though. So…
Interviewer: So part of the reason why you, uh,
Mr. Lauk: Yes, uh, because of a step-mother…
Interviewer: You went into the air force
Mr. Lauk: That’s right. I don’t regret it, going into the air force, though. That’s where
I met my wife, and, uh, that’s how I wound out up here.
Interviewer: That’s good. So, um, tell me about your boot camp experiences.
Mr. Lauk: (Chuckles) Well, I didn’t have to go through to much basic training in the
air force because I went through it in the army. But I’ll tell you, when I
first got drafted, I cried, I mean, I, I cried, I’d go to bed at night and cried.
I didn’t want to be there. I don’t think I was the only one there crying. Uh,
but, uh, we used to take a lot of bayonet practice; I don’t think I could ever
use a bayonet against somebody. But, I mean, it was bad, because they
teach you to be a killer
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: After the war, with Vietnam, I decided to get out of the army, because I
was with the 515th fill artillery and the 101st airborne, uh, and they wound
up in Korea. A lot of them lost their lives and stuff, but I got out before
then.
Interviewer: That’s good. So these people you got friends with, that were in Korea?
Mr. Lauk: Yes, well, uh, at that time, when you were drafted, people come from, in
like Chicago area; they were all put in this one group. Uh, in a barracks,
and then you took your training together, you got to know them pretty
well, and then they started shipping out. Saying somebody got killed here,
and somebody got killed there, that wasn’t the best.
Interviewer: mm. So, do you remember any of your instructors there?
Mr. Lauk: Mmmm, just one. Sergeant-Major Dean, in the army. And he was bad. He
wasn’t bad, I mean, he wanted to teach you how to survive. And that’s
about the only one of them I can remember. And then the same thing, in
1954, when I enlisted into the air force. We got stationed in Lincoln,
Nebraska.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: I had two roommates, uh, Alberts Beuchy and John Delaney. Uh… we’re
all from Chicago. Well, Alberts Beuchy, wound up he was the best man at
the wedding, at my wedding. And this John Delaney, I was in Texas,
going to school for a higher level maintenance, and he was working on a
B-47, on the fuel pits, and there was uh, uh, a training guy from the, uh,
Nebraska National Guard, come in and mistook the fuel pits for the
runway.
Interviewer: Mm Hmm.
Mr. Lauk: And my roommate and his crew chief, I mean assistant, were killed. Uh,
that airplane when right into the, uh, B-47, and everything exploded. Uh...
We lost a lot of airplanes, the B-47’s, because they used to, uh, have what
they called ATO, assisted take-off. There were, like, 6 to 8 rockets on the
side of the aircraft, and it would give you more power to take-off. And
I’ve seen aircraft go straight up, didn’t have control of them, and came
straight down. We lost a lot of people. When I first started out, you had to
be a colonel, uh, major or above to be a pilot on the B-47. And when I left,
they were down to 2nd lieutenants, 1st and 2nd lieutenants could be pilots.
Interviewer: Did you ever, did you ever have to fly in one?
Mr. Lauk: Oh, yeah! You had to fly with the aircraft all the time. I mean, uh, well
see, all, all it required to get my flying pay was 4 hours a month. But,
when we went over seas, you had to be with it all the time. And that was a
long flight, uh, they would do air refueling, uh, going over, uh, Spain or
England. And, uh, yeah, it was fun… I, I enjoyed it, because most the time
all I had to do was sleep. I mean, I’d just, uh… I never wore a parachute, I
mean I had one there but I used, always used to use it as a pillow.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Or a back-rest.
Interviewer: So, were you scared at first, you know, going on these things with their
bad reputation?
Mr. Lauk: No. No, no, because I always figured, if it’s time to go, it’s time to go.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: I mean, you’ve got no control over it. Uh, my wife didn’t, after we got
married. She didn’t appreciate me, because all I got, I got was $155 extra
for flying for 4 hours. Sometimes those 4 hours would go into 4 to 5 days,
because, uh, if we’d be on a mission for about 6 hours, coming back,
maybe bad weather closed our base, and we’d have to go somewhere else
to land.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Maybe stay there for 2 or 3 days, and, uh…. Whenever I was flying, I’d go
some place, call my wife and say “well, I don’t know where we’re going
to be, but uh, were supposed to be back in Nebraska.” Here we are in New
York. Nebraska to New York. Then the weather would get bad and we’d
stay 2 or 3 days there ‘till everything cleared up and go back home. I’ll tell
you one thing (Chuckles),
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: that is funny: the first Bivwack in the army, we’d go out on, everyone got
their tents and everything set up, and they’d come by to inspect. And there
you got Dick (referring to nickname) with an electric razor. (Chuckles)
You know, in the middle of a field, a Bivwack field. And this guy comes
up and says, “How you going to shave?” “I don’t know.” I says. He says,
“Where you going to get electricity?” I never thought about it. I just didn’t
have no straight edge razor. I just put the electric razor in there. (Pause)
But you know, uniforms, I still got, well my sister’s got my army uniform,
but I got, uh, you, you ever heard of the Ike jacket? The Eisenhower
Jacket.
Interviewer: No, I haven’t.
Mr. Lauk: (Looking for photo) that ones dress blue…. (Ruffling through photos) See
these jackets? Those are Eisenhower jackets.
Interviewer: Oh. That’s awesome.
Mr. Lauk: They discontinued those. They went into the dress-blue blouse. Even at
one time they had us in Jungle Jim. They’re just like Khaki, with a bush
jacket, and a jungle Jim hat. They, they were just trying different uniforms
and everything. But now, right now, if you go out to the air force base,
you don’t see anybody in uniform. They all got camouflage fatigue.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Well, I see some women, you know, uh… different dress. Most of them
just walk around with fatigues.
Interviewer: Hmm. So what was your job… assignment?
Mr. Lauk: Aircraft Mechanic.
Interviewer: Aircraft Mechanic?
Mr. Lauk: Yeah…. Well, actually, Crew Chief. That airplane was assigned to me,
and it was up to me to keep it flying. I had an assistant, uh, no major work,
uh, I mean, just like, uh, changing booster pumps. Uh, no electronics,
because we had electronics people come up, do electronics. Uh, just
general maintenance of the aircraft. Replace some aterons, and stuff like
that. And you always went in for a periodic inspection and they, there
would be a whole crew of people going into a hangar, and they’d just take
about the airplane apart.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: And they, they changed parts. They could be perfectly good parts, hour
wise. If they had so many hours on them, they had to change them. Take it
out, put a new part in there. Uh, and, uh, your talking about general motor
supplying having supplies and everything, the air force had parts for
everything. Well, sometimes they didn’t have it, but then they, what
they’d do is what they’d call capitalization. You’d go to another airplane
that wasn’t scheduled to fly for a while, and you’d take the part out of that
airplane and put it in the one that was going to fly,
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Just to keep it safe. Chow was good in the air force. I mean, uh, especially
with, uh, we used to go up a river, too, uh, going up to a reservation, go
maybe, oh, 14 days out, well every 7 days a month, go on work. You can
go into the chow hall, you could have your eggs the way you wanted, if
you wanted steak, or whatever, but you were away from your family too,
because you had to be there at all times. With the aircraft. That’s another
time that the, uh, plane is loaded with, uh, the bomb. Not just when it’s on
alert.
Interviewer: How often, how often did that happen?
Mr. Lauk: I’d say, 7 days out of the month. Well then, you know you could go, uh,
be on alert, and it would never pull a practice, you’d never know if it was
practice or a real one, you know. And, uh, sometimes you’d be there 7
days, nothing. Next time, we’d be, be every other day. The alarm would
go off and we’d run out to the aircraft, get it started, ready to go, and, um,
they’d call it off. But we’d walk the taxi around awhile, taxiing it then
bring it back. I was in… England when the Cuban Missile Crisis were.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: That’s when I thought, really, that we were going to go to war.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: I mean, uh, everybody was shook ‘cause…. Do you remember what the
Cuban….
Interviewer: Yeah, the….
Mr. Lauk: That’s when Russia tried to bring in missiles into Cuba.
Interviewer: Right.
Mr. Lauk: And, we put up a blockade. And Russia was going to run the blockade. If
they were going to do that, there would be a war.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: And Russia backed down, so…. Thank God.
Interviewer: It, it must have made you feel nervous.
Mr. Lauk: Oh yeah. Because, I mean, here I am, away from my family, uh, you
know, if you’re going to go to war, I’ll never see you, or something. That
was one time I was really scared. Otherwise, nothing but that.
Interviewer: Mm hmm. So, you, um… what were some of most memorable
experiences?
Mr. Lauk: That was one.
Interviewer: That was one.
Mr. Lauk: And then another one is, coming back from Spain we used to have a…
you were supposed to fly with your aircraft.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: And I tried to get out of it. I didn’t want to fly back with it… it was
uncomfortable, you know?
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: So what they had, a navy plane that was going to take, uh, A&E’s, armed
and electronic people, bring them back to the states. And I tried to get on
that airplane. I couldn’t make it. That airplane was lost, they never could
find anything. No wreckage or nothing. I mean, it went down somewhere.
Interviewer: So, it would’ve been bad if you were on it.
Mr. Lauk: I could’ve been on it. Somehow, it wasn’t meant for me. And I thought it
was bad, because, I mean, I couldn’t get on it. But, uh, the Lord’s looking
out for me. Not your time, Dick. We lost, I think, uh, about 110 people on
the aircraft.
Interviewer: That’s too bad. So, so how did you stay in-touch with your family?
Mr. Lauk: Pardon me?
Interviewer: How did you stay in-touch with your family?
Mr. Lauk: Well, writing. And, you know, I’m sorry, when I moved up here, I didn’t
think I… you’re only allowed so much baggage,
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: and I thought I was overweight. And I figured, oh no sense in taking these
letters and stuff. Oh, well, my wife kept all the letters I wrote, the ones she
wrote me I probably threw away in Spain or England but… uh, but she
had all these letters, and I says no, I said we don’t have room for these
stuff… and I didn’t bring them. I mean, I wish I had them today, I mean,
um…
Interviewer: Would’ve been interesting to have those.
Mr. Lauk: Oh, yes, yes. You guys never met my wife, have you?
Interviewer: Um, When did… she pass away?
Mr. Lauk: ‘96
Interviewer: ’96…
Cameraman That’s…
Mr. Lauk: ’99, that would be 6 years, uh, 26th of this month.
Cameraman We, may have met her when we first moved up.
Interviewer: Yeah, because we’ve been here 7 years.
Mr. Lauk: Yeah, well she was quite a lady.
Interviewer: Yeah? So, um, did you, so I suppose you had plenty of supplies and all?
Mr. Lauk: Oh yeah, but you know here, we… (Looking at photo) that’s, uh, Spain.
All these pictures here are Spain. The Rockage Gibralter (Referring to
photo).
Interviewer: Hmm. That’s, uh, a pretty big cliff (Also referring to photo).
Mr. Lauk: That’s, that was the Gibralter. Uh… (Looking through photos) that’s in
Gibralter.
Interviewer: Hmm.
Mr. Lauk: That’s me when I first got married. I had just a little bit of hair, but I
wasn’t too big. And that’s my son, Cliff. (Looking at photos)
Interviewer: So, do you feel pressure, you know, or stress, something, you know.
Going around…
Mr. Lauk: Money wise. Because, uh, when I first got married, I was drinking and
gambling.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: About the first year or so. And, I was always broke. When I’d get paid, I’d
go over to the NCO club and gamble. I’d go home… uh, I think the first…
two years of my marriage, I think my wife threw me out two or three
times because (Laughs) I, I’d come home drunk or didn’t have, uh, my
paycheck, or anything. Hawked my paycheck. And then, she’d always
help me pack my clothes, on the front porch. Told me to leave. Then I said
I’m going to straighten up. The last time that happened, she wouldn’t help
me bring my clothes back in, and unpack, and everything. I said, no, that’s
it, I quit. That’s just like with quitting cigarettes. I went cold turkey. And
same with drinking. It’s the same thing.
Interviewer: So, so… so, did you, like, start smoking before the war, or was it, you
know, something in….
Mr. Lauk: Oh no, I was smoking way before the war. Uh, I remember times, my
mom and dad were still alive. Uh, I mean, I started smoking and I’d see
them coming, and I didn’t want to throw the cigarette down. I’d put it in
my pocket, it’d burn a whole in my pants. (Laughs) But, uh, yep.
Interviewer: So, was there anything you did for good luck? You know, anything
special?
Mr. Lauk: No, I don’t believe in that.
Interviewer: Alright.
Mr. Lauk: Not that… no… naw.
Interviewer: No, that’s, uh.
Mr. Lauk: That’s, uh, you hear a lot of people different charms and all that.
Interviewer: Like they don’t change their socks for a week straight.
Mr. Lauk: Oh, no. Well, (Chuckles) no, I, uh, I’m not superstitious about anything.
And luck… uh, I don’t know. You create your own.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: You go out and all…
Interviewer: That’s a good motto. So, um, how did people entertain themselves? You
know, on base, or not.
Mr. Lauk: Well, uh, if you’re and NCO, Staff sergeant or above, they had the NCO
Club. And they always had, uh, bingo night. Uh, and they always had
something going, a dance, or something at the club, uh, for your
entertainment. Uh, right now, I mean, uh, well, even back at that time,
they had different deals, you could go into. Auto hobbies, or something.
Take a car into the shop, and if it wasn’t too bad, they’d let you work on it.
I think it cost you 50 cents a day, or so. A limit of 30 days to get whatever
you had done to your car. And they’d help you. I mean, they had the tools
there, and lots of people used that for an enjoyment, go work on cars. And
we didn’t… air force always took care of their people.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: This, I mean, any problem, uh, red cross was there, I’ve, uh, out in, uh,
Pakistan, I’d got a call from my wife one night.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: To the Red Cross she says, yes she says, “I don’t know what to do”. I says,
“what’s the matter?”. “Well, they caught somebody stealing gas out of the
car. The air police did.” And I said, “That’s good.” It was the base
commander’s son, though. She says, “Wh-What, what should I do?” I
says, “Don’t press no charges.” I says no, I says don’t. Just forget about it.
Well, after that, anything my wife wanted while I was gone, I mean, he
made sure she had it. Because of,
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Her, His son didn’t get turned in for stealing gas (Laughing). But she was
really concerned. I says, “Don’t you, don’t you, don’t you press no
charges against the base commander’s son.”
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Fairchild’s gonna be here a long time.
Interviewer: Yeah, I heard that they were shutting down some of the, uh, the air ports
and stuff, military bases.
Mr. Lauk: Aw, yah. Well, Nah. Yah, well there’s some, but it takes 6 years for them
to close. But, uh, Fairchild is never going to close, because of uh… you
know there are more ‘munitions out here…. When you see a B-52’s, the
big black cabbies, flying around here, it’s 135’s, there coming in here to
load up. With missiles… there’s an arsenal out here, they got bunkers that,
uh… if you knew what was out there, you probably wouldn’t want to live
out here. I’m serious.
Interviewer: I, uh, but I’ve heard that, the, um, Fairchild is one of the, uh, second most
popular military bases in America. You know, second to Hawaii.
Mr. Lauk: Well, heh, everyone likes to come up here because they can retire up here.
Interviewer: hmm.
Mr. Lauk: And because everything is cheap. Uh, housing… I don’t see how food is
cheap, cause, uh, I guess… no, uh, I see ads from the, uh, my daughter
sees, from Seattle. And they, some, Safeway and all of that they run there,
same prices as over here, so…
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: But, uh, But I buy a lot of cartons over there. Especially my cat and dog
food.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Where a bag of dog food, (coughs) 10 pounds, will cost me about 12
dollar… 7 dollars a piece. My canned dog food, 49 cents a can. 85 cents
Albertson’s, or some place like that. And we finally got, oh, about, uh,
three years ago, tri-care for life. That is a medical deal. I can go anywhere,
any doctor, any hospital, and it don’t cost me a penny.
Interviewer: That’s good.
Mr. Lauk: But, uh, you know, people talk about social security, and medicare, and all
that, (sighs) I, you know, I don’t use Medicare.
Interviewer: mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: But yet, I pay, about, uh, I think it’s about 85 bucks a month for this
Medicare insurance. And, never use it.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: And I’m glad. Someone else can use it, get to use it.
Interviewer: Yeah. So what did you… what did you do on leave?
Mr. Lauk: What’d I do on leave? Believe it or not, I used to be a fisherman. I used to
love to fish. Uh, and they had, back in Nebraska, a lot of cat fish.
Interviewer: Mm hmm
Mr. Lauk: In the ponds, and all that. And went fishing, cat fish. Uh, either that, or I’d,
very seldom, I’d go back, uh, to Illinois.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: I mean, I didn’t want to trip back there. What we go, uh… you know
Wauneta, she loved to travel. I didn’t like to travel. I mean, I’ve done
enough. But she was always traveling. Uh, and she liked the islands, in
Hawaii, Bahamas, and Jamaica. And she was a brave woman. She’d go
their all by her self, all these places. Uh, never fear of anything. That was
her vacation. My vacation’s just staying home here. But I, I bought this
house brand new, in ’68. And I’ve been here ever since.
Interviewer: mm hmm. So do you recall, do you recall any, you know, funny things
that happened? Any events?
Mr. Lauk: Well, there were a lot of…
Interviewer: Unusual?
Mr. Lauk: Well you know, they started, uh, integrating between African-American
and white. And you know, I was from Chicago, and it never bothered me,
but then, some people from the south… they didn’t appreciate that. But,
uh… that’s when I was smoking, (chuckles) if I’d run out of cigarettes,
there’s an African-American next to me, turns and ask does anyone have a
cigarette, be smoking on it, take a puff of his cigarette, uh, and these
people saw, they’d see that and they’d get sick (chuckles). But, uh, a lot of
funny things then.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: Yeah, I’ll tell you one thing is, I got a phone call. Well, that’s the night I
got a phone call from the Red Cross about what my wife should do with
the, uh, Base Commanders son. And I had to run to the orderly room. And
I’m running around, running cross this… outside the barracks, and I
stepped on something. I thought it was a hose.
Interviewer: Yeah
Mr. Lauk: And, next morning I got up, and I had to walk by there, and there was no
hose.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: I knew it had to be a snake. (Laughs) Because, uh, they had pretty big
rattlers out there, too.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: But, uh, that was funny, though, because, I mean…
Interviewer: If it had bit you…
Mr. Lauk: If, uh, If I, If it had been real light out there and I had seen the snake, I
probably have a heart attack and fallen down, and the snake would’ve bit
me, and I’d die.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: That’s one thing I’m afraid of: snakes. I don’t even like to play with
worms. Uh, even fishing, I used to have my son bait, bait my hook all the
time. The minnows I could do.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: Worms I couldn’t do.
Interviewer: So… yes?
Mr. Lauk: No, I’ll just receive it.
Interviewer: Um, what did you think of officers, or fellow soldiers, and all?
Mr. Lauk: Well, in my predicament, I loved officers. Especially, see we had a crew
assigned to the air craft at all times. Navigator and co-pilot. And whenever
we’d go some place, I mean, I’d go with them. And if we went into
Morocco, uh, I’d fly over with them, and they would take me into the
officers club. Uh, we’d just, we were pals, buddies. Because their life
depended on me knowing what was wrong with the air craft. And, you
know, I had to, certain parts of the, uh, of the air craft would always be out
of wack. And I always knew which one it was, and they did too. And I’d
tell them about it, and they’d say, don’t sweat about it, it’s nothing major.
There was one fuel flow, which you just had to tap with a hammer to get it
to register. (Laughs) But, uh, they didn’t care. I mean, uh, they knew I
wasn’t going to let them fly an unsafe airplane.
Interviewer: Mm hmm
Mr. Lauk: Uh, and if we wanted to really stay someplace… longer, then, uh, instead
of coming right back home, I, I’d always red X the airplane. Unsafe
condition to fly. And then they’d have to wait ‘till somebody came out to
check it. And, maybe 2 or 3 days before somebody came out to check it.
And then they’d take the red X off. As long as there was a red X on it, that
plane wasn’t going to fly
Interviewer: Right.
Mr. Lauk: And they’d tell me if they wanted to stay someplace a little longer. Uh,
you know, some nice place, just red X it. It stayed. But, yeah they’d take
me to the officer’s club, do fun stuff with them, whatever. I don’t know,
no, I don’t think it’s that way now. Uh, no. I don’t know, you can’t tell if
a guy is an officer or not. I look around, I say, you guys walking around
with fatigues, uh, and I look to see what rank they are. You can’t even tell,
because they got them camouflaged so much.
Interviewer: mm.
Mr. Lauk: But, uh, the only one you can tell is Master Sergeant, or Chief, because of
their stripes.
Interviewer: Yeah. So… did you keep any diaries?
Mr. Lauk: No, no. No.
Interviewer: No.
Mr. Lauk: Memories.
Interviewer: Memories.
Mr. Lauk: Yeah, that’s about all.
Interviewer: Pretty good at recounting them.
Mr. Lauk: Beg you pardon?
Interviewer: You’re pretty good at recounting…
Mr. Lauk: Oh, yeah, yeah. I could sit down, and, uh… well I’ll tell you what it is. I
belong to the Air Force Sergeant association.
Interviewer: Mm hmm
Mr. Lauk: And they always send out the magazine, and I can see the stuff because
they go back 50 years ago, and they show different air planes from that
time. And, uh, I say, oh yeah, there’s old B-47 there. Uh, then they talk
about the… airplane was never used for war. And, uh, they could’ve been
if the Cuban Missile Crisis would of evolved. But, uh, the B-40… the B-
52 replaced the B-47
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: And that B-52 has been around almost 50 years. It’s the one we depend on
now.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: An old bomber. It’s a lumbering jack.
Interviewer: So do you recall, you know, when your service ended?
Mr. Lauk: Yes.
Interviewer: What hap— were you relieved?
Mr. Lauk: What?
Interviewer: Were you relieved?
Mr. Lauk: May 8th, 1972, yeah. No, because, uh… yes, because I got back from
Pakistan. And, uh, I didn’t, I, I hated, I mean… I didn’t like, I disliked
Pakistan, bad. Uh, I figured, they ain’t never going to shoot me back there
again, because I’m not going. When my time was up, I got out. And, uh, I
had enough leave time, uh, that I put a down payment on my home. Uh,
and that was it. Never thought about leaving, going back to see this…
they, you’re supposed to go back to your home address, and from when
you enlisted, and that was back in Chicago. And no way am I going back
to Chicago. I left to go back there, seven days at the most, seven to ten
days, no more than ten days to visit anybody in Chicago. And, uh, I just
don’t like the traffic, and, uh, I’m always winding up in the wrong part of
town, for some reason. Where I used to live, I mean, it used to be a good
neighborhood. Now it’s all dope addicts, and…
Interviewer: So,
Mr. Lauk: Don’t laugh, it’s going to happen here in Spokane soon, too.
Interviewer: Yeah, I hear there are a lot of problems with, like, pot, and stuff.
Mr. Lauk: Well, you know, let’s see… You know Mrs. Anderson used to live next,
let’s see… Yeah, Mrs. Anderson used to live next door.
Interviewer: mm hmm
Mr. Lauk: 1974, expo came in, and she was all for it. I says, “Oh,” I says, “I don’t
think so.” I says, “A lot of people come here and they’re not going to
leave.” And they didn’t, people stayed here. Uh… that’s when all are
problems started. You know, you never… you pick up a paper from the
‘70’s,
Interviewer: Mm hmm
Mr. Lauk: Early ‘70’s, you never heard of a shooting… I mean, uh, or all these drug
deals coming down. Not like they do now. I mean… (Trailing off)
Where’s the drug capital total of the Northwest? Spokane.
Interviewer: So… did you go to work or did you go back to school?
Mr. Lauk: I went to school… and I got a, uh, BA in mid-management in a
community college, under the G.I. Bill. Uh, never put it to use, because
after my schooling ran out, I went to work for the post office.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: and then retired from the post office, and that was it.
Interviewer: Yeah? So, did you make any close friendships while in service?
Mr. Lauk: Mm… not really, ‘cause I moved around to much. Well, well I did, with
my best man, and he’s deceased now. Uh…
Interviewer: So nothing really carried on to…?
Mr. Lauk: No,
Interviewer: That’s too bad.
Mr. Lauk: No, ‘cause, I mean, a lot of these guys, um, weren’t career people. But I
knew, and they’d come in, and they’d do four years, and then they’d…
Interviewer: leave.
Mr. Lauk: leave. Uh, actually, that’s just like I was showing you on this paper. They
promise you certain deals,
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: And, and they promise you all these health deals, and everything, but it
was always on a different form. This one form hear says, the only thing
they promise you… they don’t promise you is that you’ll stay in one place
for a certain length of time, that they’ll send you anywhere you want to go.
Uh, and you sign that, ‘cause, they’re not promising you anything. The
only thing they promised was 6, 7, 8, and 9, uh, that’s on a different piece
of paper that you never get to see,
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: and that’s where, uh, this health, all your medical fees for the rest of your
life is paid for.
Interviewer: Right…
Mr. Lauk: We didn’t that till, maybe, three of four years ago.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: I think they waited till most of the (chuckles) World War Two-Korea vets
all passed away…
Interviewer: Yeah. Probably because it was to much of an economic strain to…
Mr. Lauk: Right. Yeah, to much, uh, would go out for medical.
Interviewer: mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: Just like now, I, you know, I don’t know how they’re going to take care of
all these guys (War in Iraq)
Interviewer: mm hmm. The people…
Mr. Lauk: Huh?
Interviewer: The people in Iraq.
Mr. Lauk: That’s right. And in Afghanistan, because, uh, they’re going to come back
and have this syndrome, I mean, the nightmares and all that, and, uh… I
don’t know how they’re going to take care of them. Just like, I think it
was, the kid next door.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Who was in the marines, uh. No…
Interviewer: Mike and Luanne’s child?
Mr. Lauk: Yeah, yeah. Uh… Jessie. Now, I don’t know what the deal is about him, I
guess he got hurt, not over there…. He had, oh, he had some beautiful
pictures…
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: that he showed me, when he was over there. He was in a hot, I mean, in a,
in a pool, but in one of Suddam’s Palaces, and they’re just laying in it,
empty pool.
Interviewer: (Laughs)
Mr. Lauk: (Chuckling) uh, and that’s sickening, because every time you pick it up
(news report of some kind, newspaper, etc.), I think the last was twenty-
five people, twenty-five GI’s died last week,
Interviewer: mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: over four hundred of the, uh, natives were killed,
Interviewer: So, so really your influenced by you were in the military, obviously
influences the way you’re thinking about these people from Iraq.
Mr. Lauk: Oh, yeah, because innocent people, I mean, look, I look at the age, when
they show the ages, 19. I think the oldest, I think, was about 40 something
years old. Anywhere from 19 to 25… that’s a lot of men on our…. Over
1600 lost so far, no end in sight.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: I don’t even like to listen to the news any more, or even the newspaper.
Newspaper, yes I like to look at the sport section, that’s it.
Interviewer: So did you join any veteran organizations?
(Pause in interview, switching to new tape)
Interviewer: Were just starting the 5th segment. So, um, did you join any veteran
organizations?
Mr. Lauk: Yes, the Air force Arms Association, DAV, and VFW.
Interviewer: So, what sort of things do each of those clubs do?
Mr. Lauk: I don’t know, because I’m not a social person. I’m serious (Laughing)
Interviewer: So, basically, you’re just supporting them?
Mr. Lauk: Right well, I, uh, I use them, like the DAV, if I have a problem with the
VA, or something, I mean, I’ll call them and then they’ll come and see on
my behalf.
Interviewer: Right.
Mr. Lauk: But as far as there social functions… I mean, I don’t drink, I don’t dance, I
mean, uh… no, I just, I, I’m not a social…. Well, I love people, and all
that.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: But I’m just, uh, sort of a loner. Uh, now my wife would be different. I
mean, she’d, she’d want to attend all these functions, all that. No, I don’t,
uh…. Well, I, Well I, I like members for all of them, uh, I think, life
members cost me, about, uh, years ago, I think it was seventy-five dollars
for life membership.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: took all these different organizations, and I use them if I need anything
done. And for socializing, no, I get bulletins, you know, that say come
over to bars open, and all this and that. And…
Interviewer: So… um… let see, we’ve answered a lot of these, you know?
Mr. Lauk: (Laughs)
Interviewer: Um… if… so, um, what sort of activities does your association have?
Mr. Lauk: Well, just like I said, I mean, dances and car, automobiles, pinnacle
tournaments and stuff like that. I used to love playing pinnacle, but, uh, I
haven’t played in thirty years. But, since I’d be in service, yep, just about
thirty years.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: That used to be our favorite game. That and, uh, there was battleship.
Interviewer: Ah, I like that game.
Mr. Lauk: We used to do it on paper.
Interviewer: Mm hmm?
Mr. Lauk: Uh, right now, they got pegs, and all that, you know, all that stuff.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: But, uh, yeah, you’d put your battleship and stuff around there play off
that.
Camera operator: Do you have a distinct advantage over civilians?
Mr. Lauk: (Laughs) Yes!
Interviewer: Okay, um… do you attend any reunions?
Mr. Lauk: No, I, uh… like I said, most, most of… there was one, I’d just seen it,
well, look it up in some of this stuff (Pile of memorabilia), 1985 I was….
A gentleman from Lincoln, Nebraska was calling for a meeting of all the
people from the 378 bomb squadron.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: That’s in Nebraska. Billy Williams, and, his pictures in there somewhere.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: and… I never went back. And, uh, I suppose, deal out, call him, see if he’s
still alive. And, uh, see if I can’t get together with him. Not for… just
between us, not, not a big reunion. Just, uh… because we were together.
He was one who stayed in the service.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: I mean, not… these other guys come in for 4 years, and some people
didn’t last 4. I mean, some, some… some, they got, uh, thrown out real
fast.
Interviewer: Discharged.
Mr. Lauk: Yeah, you got a problem with them, bad kind of discharge, or something,
you know.
Interviewer: So, how, how does your service and experiences effect your life now
days?
Mr. Lauk: Well, let’s see… I’m proud.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: you know, sometimes, I’ve, I do forget my flag. Uh, and I feel bad, if I
think about, you know. It’s supposed to be done in sun, in the sun, now.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: sometimes I’ll be in bed and forget about it. And, man, I just run upstairs
in the middle of the night and take it down. Unless you got it under a light.
You got a light under it, you can leave it up all the time. But it taught me,
uh, responsibility. Uh, you’re responsible for a lot of your own actions; I
mean, don’t try and put it off on somebody else. Uh… it taught me how to
quit drinking. (Laughs) Quit smoking, quit gambling.
Interviewer: Mm hmm. So, also you met your wife there.
Mr. Lauk: Oh, yes, yes. And that was…. yep, see, you guys are youngsters now, I
mean; we’re married 40, almost 43 years.
Interviewer: Yeah? That’s good.
Mr. Lauk: I was hoping that it would hit 50, you know, but, nope. But she’s in a good
place now.
Interviewer: Mm.
Mr. Lauk: At least, at least she’s not suffering.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: That cancer’s some bad stuff.
Interviewer: What kind of cancer did she have?
Mr. Lauk: Well, it started out being lung cancer, and then they operated and took out,
uh, her lower lobe on her right side. And she was in remission for about
three years. Then she said, “Oh man, all these medical miracle cures!” She
goes back to smoking, and it didn’t go back to her lung, it went to her
brain. And she died of brain cancer. Uh, yeah, but… see, she was cooking
something, and, it was hot grease, she took of most of the skin off this
hand (Left), uh, and she didn’t feel it. Never felt no pain. When they took
her down, and, uh, took an X-ray of her brain…. And they come back and
says ‘no more than 10 to 14 days’. Well that is terrible.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: You know that, uh…
Interviewer: Within a couple weeks
Mr. Lauk: Yeah, that’s going to be it. Actually… well it was nice because I had my
daughter, and, my daughter from Hawaii, and my granddaughter, and
everybody came up. But, uh… it’s sad to know that, uh…. You know, I
try to keep a clean house.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: Upstairs, it’s perfect.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: Downstairs, there’s something to be desired, because that’s where the dogs
are kept.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: I had Banner Fuel come out there last week to clean the furnace and the
duct, you know, and everything. And they got clumps of hair out of it.
And my wife, I mean, I mean she was spotless woman. Everything, you
never went to bed, whenever there were sinks in the dishes, I mean, dishes
in the sinks, uh, because she used to get up early in the morning, uh, and
she didn’t want nothing to disturb her. She’d get her coffee… and her
cigarette, and you know, you’d think my daughter and son-in-law would
learn… to quit smoking.
Interviewer: Mm.
Mr. Lauk: You see, they can’t smoke in the house, if they come over, they got to go
outside to smoke.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: They won’t ride in a car with me because I won’t let them smoke in the
car.
Interviewer: So, I suppose, your particular clean, cleanliness—
Mr. Lauk: Oh!
Interviewer: —came in was good for being in the air force, and all?
Mr. Lauk: No, Noooo. I’ll tell you, before camp…. Well, actually, uh…
Interviewer: Or being in the air force taught you to be clean?
Mr. Lauk: Well, no, it taught me how to organize things.
Interviewer: Ah.
Mr. Lauk: But I got away from that. My socks used to be all in order (Making
straight rows with arm) in the drawer, just rolled up nice.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: Now I just… put them together anyway, reach in there and grab a pair of
socks. But, uh…yeah, my, the house, uh, I love to clean house. I do, I
mean, uh, I got a bad back, I mean, but it’ll take me all day just to clean
the downstairs. Because, uh…. And I don’t know if you can hear some of
the music I’m playing (laughs)
Camera operator: Sometimes, yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Uh, what were you guys doing with that tuba, that day? (Laughing)
Interviewer: Um, the Sousaphone?
Mr. Lauk: What was that for?
Interviewer: Oh! Um, I was trying to, I was trying to promote some, uh, some raising
of money for the band class, you know, because we were trying to sell
some car wash tickets
Mr. Lauk: (Laughing)
Interviewer: We-, it was my Mom’s idea.
Mr. Lauk: Well, I didn’t know, you know, but I had that, come, the guy that leaving,
that just dropped his dog, and stuff, and I didn’t mean to be so abrupt, you
know, (laughing) I just didn’t want to buy no tickets.
Interviewer: So, is there anything that you would like to add that we haven’t covered in
this interview, so far?
Mr. Lauk: No, but I know… Yes I would. I really hope you guys volunteer a lot. Uh,
you know, there always looking for volunteers at the community hospital.
And I’ll tell you, there’s a wealth of knowledge at the community hospital.
I mean, If you go up there and volunteer, at the ward, uh, there’s a lot of
guys, I mean, you can learn a lot of, uh, stuff that I couldn’t cover. I mean,
that can tell you about war. Even if you don’t volunteer, go out there some
day and they got these, uh, green teammates, green, yellow, and blue team
were their doctors. If you just go sit in that room and listen to people talk,
uh, you can hear them talk about their experiences. You know, and, uh,
and don’t know how some people could’ve survived.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Mr. Lauk: I used to have a friend of mine that was, Bishop Jan, he just passed away
about, uh, three years ago. He was part of the war, Japanese. And the stuff
he told me they had to do, uh, you know, drinking urine because they were
thirsty, uh, sweat, no, I mean, it’s… make you sick. You don’t want, think
about another war. You here about these guys in prison… with, uh,
Interviewer: Abu Grebe.
Mr. Lauk: Yeah, and put the Koran, stuff it down the toilet, I mean; they got the
Muslim who are so mad at us…. I don’t know. I don’t know what causes
people to do that, you know, I just, uh, maybe that’s the reason why I
couldn’t stay in the army, because I’m not a killer, I couldn’t kill anybody.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mr. Lauk: Well, I probably could, if my life depended on it, but I, uh, I don’t know,
what hurt some of these people, to do those sort of things.
Interviewer: Mm hmm.
Mr. Lauk: Well, that’s just like our serial killer here. (Putting pictures away) got all
these people. Well, this is the only thing that’s any good now. It’s my
active, that’s the one I use right now, (Showing me an ID card) that’s my
ID.
Interviewer: Hmm. That’s cool.
Mr. Lauk: (Whispers) Wait a minute, I went out there, didn’t shave, tried to put a
smile on my face.
Interviewer: Yep. So, is that all?
Mr. Lauk: Yeah, I appreciate you talking to me. Yeah.
Interviewer: I appreciate you coming in, volunteering; it’s very nice of you to come
over.
(End of Interview)
Mr. Lauk: Hey, read this hear thing. (American Government and its faults, book)
Interviewer: Alright…
Mr. Lauk: I’m serious, I mean…
(End of recording)
