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Description
Oral history interview of Brantley Smith. Interview conducted by Jessie via Zoom on July 29, 2021. Interview topics include pre-military life; Air Force Commission: decision, when, and what it looked like for Mr. Smith; training; acclimating to military life; duties as officer in Air Force and experiences he had while fulfilling his duties; thoughts on places he visited in travels for the military; experience of being refused entry to Budapest, Hungary from Russia and being held in Russia during the Cold War; experience in restaurant in Czechoslovakia; getting promoted to First Lieutenant and decision to take the early-out program option; Transition from North African to Spain and experiences in Spain and the Mediterranean; experience serving during the Greek-Turkish civil unrest between; memorable experience of the heat in Turkey; experience of running into a fraternity brother from back home at Christmas while stationed in North Africa; experience of running into high school friend during service in Rome; experience of running into ex-girlfriend's school friend in Europe, whom he reunited with because of chance encounter; life and work just after leaving service and meeting his first wife; buying a television sales and services business in Winter Park, FL; experience of reacclimating to civilian life; experience of divorce and becoming a single parent of two children; involvement in local veteran community; contact with those he served alongside; and applying military training in civilian life.
Date of Birth
1938-09-11
Type
Video; MovingImage
Interview Date
7-29-2021
Location of Interview
Zoom
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
Length of Interview
88:14
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, "Smith, Brantley Priest interview" (2021). Veterans Oral Histories. 696.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/696