Document Type

Oral History

Leroy D. “Roy” Zarucchi, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 1

Interviewee name

Roy Zarucchi

Interviewer

Stephen D. Rees, Jr.

Interview date

7-10-1999

Interview location

Troy, Maine

Time

00:46:51

Files

Streaming Media

Abstract

Leroy D. “Roy” Zarucchi, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr. at Troy, Maine on July 10, 1999. Zarucchi talks about his background growing up in an Oakland, California household where Italian was his first language, his view of the military, the draft, and "cannon fodder," his first job teaching English and Latin after graduating from college and facing the news that a pending salary increase would be conversely proportional to his low wages, making the decision to enter Air Force officer training school. He discusses basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, opting to go into navigator training, being assigned to Dow Air Force Base in Bangor. He talks about being assigned to the 609th Composite Air Commando Squadron in Thailand where he served as a bombardier and navigator. He reflects on witnessing death in a detached way from the air and flying 163 night missions. Text: 39 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 02:09:50

Listen
Part 1: mfc_na4473_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4473_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4473_02A

Disciplines

Military History | Oral History | United States History

Birth date

June 9, 1939

Location

Oakland, Alameda County, California

Death date

June 29, 2011

Location

Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Nation of origin

United States

Home state/Territory

California

Gender

Male

Ethnicity

Euro-American

Ethnic group

Italian

Occupation

Educator, Poet, Essayist, Editor

Civic groups

Croak and Dagger, Military Officers Association of America, Veterans for Peace, New Mexico Veteran Artists

Branch of service

U.S. Air Force

Service Unit

609th Composite Air Commando Squadron, Thailand

Dates of service

1962-1982

Date of entry

July 1962

Service entry

Commissioned

Location of Service

Thailand; Washington, D.C.

Wars & Conflicts

Vietnam War

Entry Rank

O-1 2nd Lieutenant

Highest Rank

O-4 Major

Exit Rank

O-4 Major

Names

Manuel Noriega; Richard Nixon; John F. Kennedy; Goldwater; Eisenhower; Irwin Piper; Robinson; Beauregard; Hitler; Robert Kennedy; Martin Luther King, Jr.

Locations

El Cerrito, California; San Francisco; Lackland Air Force Base, Texas; Dow Air Force Base, Bangor, Maine; Travis Air Force Base; Thailand; Plain of Jars, Laos; Khe Sanh; Da Nang; Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; Balkans

Headings

Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Patriotism; Religion; McCarthyism; Racism; Air Navigation; Munitions; Nationalism; Writing

Collection name

Maine Vietnam Veterans Oral History Project

Collection number

MF224

Item number

NA4473

Recommended Citation

Zarucchi, Roy, "Leroy D. “Roy” Zarucchi, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 1" (2023). MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History. 13.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ne_vietnam_vets/13

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