Chaffin, James A.
I managed to enter UPT at Vance with six months enlistment credit for a slight edge on you other “90 day wonders”! However, I also had used up several weeks of leave! Oh well…
By the time I graduated, we had a son who is now a manager in a bank in middle TN. Our younger son followed his passion and is a software engineer for Apple.
My first aircraft choice upon graduation from Vance was the C-130. The fastest, low flying aircraft in ‘Nam; “Tell us what you need and we’ll get it there! If we can’t carry it, you don’t need it!” However, back in the States, the old MAC organization decided all “transport” aircraft should have “MAC” on their tails.
I figured they would have no idea of what to do with a propellered aircraft in their “pure-jet” fleet. I ‘bailed out’ of TAC to go to ATC… and even Enid!!
After several months of poor weather and being second in line behind a Colonel needing training, I realized Air Force flying would probably not keep me in a cockpit or even in the air!
About that time, I read in the Oklahoma City newspaper about a ‘fly-by-night’ outfit called Federal Express. Many people thought it was part of the U.S. government! In reality, we did fly a lot for the Post Office! Fortunately, the business has done quite well and provided me with a steady career and a great retirement! I got to see hundreds of small towns flying the little Dassault
Falcon. Now many of those “small towns” are being served by wide-body aircraft or B-757’s! Flying for FedEx was an amazing journey. Where else could I have flown all three seats in the 727 and Captain the DC-10 as well as Airbus 300/310? I retired in 2003 when the max age was still 60.
We have been living in the Memphis area for the last 45 years. Judy’s passion for genealogy led her to start a new local DAR chapter, and later be elected State Regent of TN. She then went on to be elected a DAR National Officer! She is still on several State and National DAR Committees! I’m not sure she will ever retire! She now travels more than I did! She is using her organizational
skills helping to run the farm her parents left to her and her sister. As yet though, she hasn’t gone back to picking the cotton by hand as she did growing up!
We have two beautiful and intelligent granddaughters living in the area, and that helps keep us ‘young-at-heart’!