Ken Stay enlisted in the Air Force on January 25, 1968, and earned an Honorable Discharge on January 24, 1972 as a Sergeant. Like millions of others, he was sent to Viet Nam. Having been trained as an airplane mechanic, he was stationed at Phucat and repaired planes that had been in combat and sent them out again as soon as possible. In fact, his team received a citation for the shortest turn-around time to get them back in the air.
Another part of his duties was to patrol the perimeter of the base at night. Although he had a rifle, he was NOT given any bullets for this assignment. No one knew quite why. Luckily, no shots were ever fired at him while carrying an unloaded gun.
TDY in Germany allowed him to see parts of Europe: Luxembourg, London, and Amsterdam (that was the best!). Also spent TDY in Thailand repairing planes, and Okinawa doing the same.
It was his honor to serve his country.
Submitted by Ruth Stay
