I was commanding officer of a supersonic fighter squadron, F-8 Crusaders.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I was a soldier in WWII. The last couple of months of the war I was actually in combat.
I've been as a pilot involved in the Gulf War. And then, in the No-Fly Zone.
I had to inspect all fighter units in Russia, Africa, Sicily, France, and Norway. I had to be everywhere.
I went into the Air Corps from 1943 through 1945.
I was a grunt, walking around in the jungle of Vietnam, trying not to find the enemy. Because I am so big, they were going to give me either a heavy radio or a huge machine gun to carry. I carried a radio.
I got called back into the Navy during the Korean War.
My own military background is wholly un-distinguished. I was a sergeant.
I was an intelligence officer for what was then 8th Air Force, B-52 Air Force.
I was a fighter pilot, flying Hurricanes all round the Mediterranean. I flew in the Western Desert of Libya, in Greece, in Syria, in Iraq and in Egypt.
I was a lieutenant in World War II.