Interviewed by:

Scott Carr and Grace Lynch

It was a good life…

Sometimes I wish I had stayed there, sometimes I'm glad I didn't.

~ Jack O'Brien (20:54)

Jack O'Brien's Story:

Jack O’Brien is a veteran of the Korean War and a former member of the United States Air Force. Although he did not see any combat, he maintains that his service in the Air Force made him who he is today.

Jack O’Brien was born on April 30,1933 to Clayton O’Brien and Jackie Locke. Jack lived a normal, peaceful childhood, growing up in a small neighborhood of Clarksburg, West Virginia. He later attended high school in New York where he played football and loved it.

When he got out of high school he worked at an appliance store. At nineteen he chose not to go to college and instead he enlisted in the Air Force. His ideal job would have been to work for an airline company, but since that did not work out, he decided to join the military.

Jack joined the Air Force in 1952. He was on active duty for five years and then served 15 years in the Air Force Reserve. During his years in the reserve he started working in sales for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York. His service in the Air Force lasted until 1972.

Jack flew many different aircraft during his time in the Air Force. Some of them were cargo planes, such as the C124, C54 or the B25 cargo planes. He lived for a year in Iceland, performing air and sea rescue, working to achieve a higher ranking to earn more money.

Throughout Jack’s reserve time with the Air Force, he continued to work for Eastman Kodak, retiring after 28 years to Harwich Massachusetts. To keep busy and because he loved to fly he became a well-respected flight instructor on Cape Cod, working out of Hyannis Airport. He had accrued 3000 hours of military flying time and as an instructor he added another 5000 hours. He continued instructing until very recently.