Vietnam War Veteran
William Walton
Interviewed by:
Chad Medeiros and Logan MacDonald
1969
December 2009
"You don't know you're going to be alive tomorrow. You know really, when you're in a situation like that throwing rockets at you, trying to kill you, you really have that feeling,
I don't know if I'm going to be alive tomorrow."
~William Walton
Name:
William A Walton
Date of Birth:
November 2nd, 1950
Branch of Service:
United States Air Force
Dates of Service:
January 1969 -
November 2005
Location of Military Service:
Phang Rang, South Vietnam
Residence at Time of Interview:
Onset, MA
William Walton's Story:
William Walton was born in a small town outside of Washington D.C.. Growing up, William moved a lot because of his father's air force activity. They would always be moving to different air bases and locations.
William decided to volunteer for the military because he would be able to choose the force he wanted which was the air force. He wasn't a chopper gunner or AC-130 gunship marksman but he actually worked on these planes and aircrafts perfecting mostly everything about them. He would work on the guns and the control systems on the planes.
Mr. Walton served in Vietnam, Thailand, South America, Gulf War two, Guantanamo bay and lots of other places. He served the Air Force for a total of 36 years. He is currently waiting for his retirement which comes in November of 2010 and he will settle down with his wife at their home in Onset, MA.