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Description
Oral History interview of Charles Major. Interview conducted by Oswmer Louis at Colbourn Hall, University of Central Florida.
Log
0:01 Introduction; 0:50 Life before service; 6:28 Entering the military; 11:02 Learning Logistics; 14:23 First Assignment; 17:43 Challenges in Alaska; 20:26 Leaving Fairbanks for Australia; 21:29 First impressions of Woomera; 24:55 Life in the village; 30:04 Moving to Nebraska; 31:48 Responsibilities in Nebraska; 35:12 Entering the Gulf War; 37:09 Culture differences in Riyadh; 40:17 Entering Dharahn; 43:12 Dangers of the Middle East; 47:26 Going off base/ impact of prayer schedules; 50:33 Royal Air Force Base in Cyprus; 52:20 Secret mission in Cyprus; 58:02 Moving to Iceland; 1:01:35 Lurking Russian Bomber; 1:03:21 Moving to Tampa/ New technology; 1:05:23 Feelings coming back to the U.S; 1:08:32 Big move to Fort Belvoir/ New Pressures; 1:13:45 Working in the context of 9/11; 1:15:12 Overall experience at Belvoir; 1:16:07 Dover AFB; 1:17:21 Deployment to Qatar; 1:20:14 Difficulties in Dover; 1:24:00 New assignment in Alabama; 1:27:26 Moving with family; 1:29:07 Abrupt retirement; 1:33:03 Life after the Air Force; 1:37:00 Awards; 1:37:39 Take away from the service.
Date of Birth
1963-08-20
Place of Birth
Gainesville (Fla.)
Gender
Male
Race
White - Non Hispanic
Home State
Florida
War or Conflict
Persian Gulf War
Status
Veteran
Begin/End date of Service - 1st
1985-10-15
Type
Video; MovingImage
2011-12-31
Entrance into Service
Unknown
Branch of Service
U.S. Air Force
Unit of Service
Logistics Readiness Squadron; Communications Squadron; Logistics Readiness Squadron/Civil Engineering Logistics United States Military Training Mission to Saudi Arabia; Det 1 Cyprus (Project Olive Harvest); Icelandic/NATO Defense; Joint Communications Support Element (Tampa Florida); Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)J-3/4; Logistics Readiness Squadron (Dover AFB DE) Air Force Logistics Management Agency
Location of Service
Alaska; Australia; Nebraska; Saudi Arabia; Cyprus; Iceland; Tampa (Fla.); Fort Belvoir (Va.); Dover Air Force Base (Del.); Gunter AFB (Ala.)
Highest Rank
Senior Master Sergeant; SMSgt; E-8
Prisoner of War
No
Service Related Injury
Yes
Battles
Unspecified
Medals
Meritorious Service Medal; Commendation Medal
Achievements
The veteran was involved in: Missile Warning; Project Olive Harvest; Foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia; DLA Logistics Metrics production for Armed Forces; Enterprise Resource Planning development for DLA and USAF. He has won Meritorious Service Medal (three times) and other medals.
Note
Was in the first and second Gulf War.
City of Birth
Gainesville
Country of Birth
United States
Interviewer
Louis, Oswmer
Interview Date
Fall 10-17-2017
Location of Interview
Colbourn Hall, University of Central Florida
Subjects
Major, Charles; Persian Gulf War -- Personal Narratives; United States. Air Force
Collection Description
Contains logs, audio and video recordings of interviews with Central Florida's veterans as part of a history class project for the students at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The UCF Community Veterans History Project(CVHP) started in fall 2010. It collects, preserves, and makes accessible to the public the experiences of Central Florida's veterans so that future generations will better understand the realities of conflict. It is a collaborative endeavor supported by multiple departments and offices at UCF. The veterans' histories are archived and made digitally available through the UCF library and selected materials are contributed to the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress.
Contributor Affiliation / Organization
RICHES University of Central Florida
Contributors
Louis, Oswmer
Length of Interview
101 Minutes
Publisher
Department of History, University of Central Florida
Type
video
Rights
All rights are held by the respective holding institution. This material is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. For permission to reproduce and/or for copyright information contact Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, (407) 823-2576. http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/
Repository
University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives
Contributing Project
UCF Community Veterans History Project
Document Type
Interview
Recommended Citation
Central Florida, RICHES of, "Major, Charles interview" (2017). Veterans Oral Histories. 567.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/567