Page 5 - Aerotech News and Review, November 19, 2021

MOJAVE, from 4
Airport Operations Manager, Matt Nel- U.S. Army. rea. During World War II his father
son and Vietnam Veteran Dick Rutan, He served in the U.S. Army 8th Ra- served with the artillery protecting the
who flew 325 combat missions over dio Research Field Station in Phu Bai, troops who were building the Burma
Southeast Asia. South Vietnam. While at the 8th RRFS, Road in China. His brother was a Navy
Keynote Speaker, Leon Ryder is a he received a promotion to sergeant corpsman who served with the U.S.
native Californian and Vietnam Vet- and was awarded the Bronze Star and Marines in Vietnam, in the mid-1960s.
eran. He is a retired junior high school the Army Commendation Medal. Re- “My brother was in DaNang, a strange
teacher with the Mojave Unified turning home from Vietnam, he com- coincidence, I was stationed 50 miles
School District and served the district pleted he served the remainder of his away, years later, in Phu Bai.”
for thirty-one years, teaching science, enlistment assigned to the U.S. Army “Our quarters weren’t so good, it
math and computer science. Security Agency Test and Evaluation was an old French base, a double-wide
Ryder attended the College of the Center at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. trailer, four people bunking together or
Sequoias in Visalia, Calif., with an As- Leon Ryder came from a family when it got busy, we double bunked,
sociate’s Degree in Science followed that has always served America in the and had eight people.” Photographs by Cathy Hansen
by completion of his Bachelor’s De- military. He gave an emotional talk Ryder related stories about his ser- Dave VanHoy’s North American T-6 was on display at the Mojave Air and Space
gree, majoring in Mathematics, at about his experiences. His grandfather vice in Vietnam and told about conver- Port during the Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11, 2021.
Fresno State College (now called CSU was a mule skinner with the artillery sations he had with those who were in
Fresno). He completed his teaching in World War I, his great uncle was a combat. He was a non-combatant, but America to be prepared to defend our a local Mojave resident, leaving few, if
credentials at CSU Bakersfield, after pilot in a spotter plane in Korea, his had conversations with many men who freedoms. any, dry eyes in the park.
returning home from service with the father served in World War II and Ko- were in combat.
“When they came home, they were Taps was played by Matt Nelson, Homemade cookies and donuts from
never the same,” said Ryder. “War Mojave Air and Space Port Operations Stoken’s Donuts were enjoyed after the
is not nice, I hope my grandchildren Manager on a trumpet borrowed from ceremony.
never have to worry about war.”
“One of the strangest things I
thought, we had a perimeter around
our base with guard towers and we
had to guard it,” said Ryder. “We could
not fire at anybody when they were in
the open field outside of our perim-
eter. It didn’t matter who came by, we
couldn’t fire, even if they were taking
shots at us.”
Ryder reiterated several times the
frustration with the rules of engage-
ment and how war is not nice and it
is not fun. He concluded with his con-
Diane Barney and Dustin Mosher had their PT-17 Stearman ‘Felix’ on display. Also on hand was Tod Schultz’ Vultee BT-13.
cerns about how important it is for

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