Interview, Richard Curtis, USAF

NOTE: Interview begins mid-conversation.

Richard Curtis (b. 1950) was born in North Tonawanda, New York, and grew up in the Adirondack region. His love of aircraft led him to enlist in the United States Air Force in 1971. He completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, in Texas, and received technical training in aircraft repair and testing at Chanute Air Force Base, in Illinois. Curtis was stationed at the Takhli Air Force Base, in Thailand, from 1974 to 1975, where he served as an aircraft repairman for several command units. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force in May 1975.

In this interview, Curtis explains that he has only recently begun to feel proud of his military service, and that he has had to overcome the criticism he and other Vietnam veterans received from the American public. He feels that the media showed far too much of the horrors of war during the Vietnam Era and that graphic depictions of war have no place on television or in film. Curtis believes that helping the Vietnamese to defend their country was a worthy cause, but that the United States government sacrificed young lives for the sake of profit and in that sense, the Vietnam War was not justified. Curtis has fond memories of serving in Thailand, where he learned about Buddhism and was able to see the Water Festival. He says he would like to return to Thailand someday.