Interviewed by:
Tak Decker and Christian Beer

"I believe that if you get out of high school and are not going to college,
you should enlist for two years in the service."

~ Raymond Flaherty (29:45)

Raymond Flaherty's Story:

Before he enlisted in the military, Mr. Flaherty always had the desire to be a pilot while growing up in the wake of the Great Depression. But an unfortunate set of physical characteristics said that he cannot become a pilot.

However, during the Korean War he was drafted and given two choices and one was to join the Air Force. Obviously, he joined the Air Force out of his love of planes and became a radio operator. Even though he never saw combat, he was a man who did his part for his country.

Raymond Flaherty traveled to Libya and the United Kingdom and did practice bombing runs in Marrakech with the planes.

He traveled to Britain and to Africa (Libya specifically), and deeply enjoyed his service to his country. Mr. Flaherty served in the United States Air Force for 4 years.

When his four years were over, he wanted to continue but family matters caused him to decide otherwise. Afterwards, he used his skills he learned from the Air Force and the University of Hartford to get a job repairing UNIVAC computers. Today, he lives a happy life with his wife and believes that joining the service should be a part of growing up.

For more details about this veteran's life or experiences, look at the transcript or the video above.