Life of the 70s & 80s: Fitting the Military mold

Introduction:

From the research I’ve collected from various sources, this reach project gives the readers an idea of what it was like for my uncle growing up in a military family, and what life is like being in the military during the 1970s and early 1980s. My uncle Joe graduated from Ayer High school in 1978. Throughout this time there was a lot going on in the United States. We were still adjusting from the toll of the Vietnam War. The United States was experiencing a time period like this that was very unique. Much of this was from influences of previous decades which had a lot of influence. This time period was filled with social change, civil rights movements and many other things. My uncle grew up during this time period and was raised in a military family and then went on to pursue a career in the military himself.

A different time period:

The 1970s were certainly a different time period than it is today. There were many differences in society in comparison to how things are in today’s society. Gas engines and cars were not fuel efficient, and also gas and oil prices were not nearly as high as they are today. Another thing that my uncle mentioned that was very common during this time period was smoking. He said that everyone smoked, and they would even smoke right in front of their children. My uncle also said that in high schools today you will see signs that says no smoking allowed, and stuff like that but he said when he was in high school they had a smoking room that was located near the parking lot where students could smoke cigarettes on their breaks."The smoking room would always be packed with kids smoking, it was a big thing for them"(Wallace). Smoking was much more common during this time then it is today because of how the health risks and concerns for smoking were as public and as well know as they are now. My uncle stated that "hippies in Ayer were the same as they were anywhere else in the country during that time period"(Wallace). Another thing that was unique about this time period that my uncle spoke of was how the drinking age was 18. “it was strange because you could go out to a bar one night with your friends and you could see one of your teachers there”(Wallace). Another thing he spoke of was how consequences were a lot less serious. “Growing up when kids would get into a fight at school they would go back to class and that would be the end of it, today in that situation the consequences are a lot more serious”(Wallace).

Life in a military family:

My uncle was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and then moved Ayer Ma because my grandfather got stationed on Fort Devens, which was a military base in Ayer. Very strict, much different than growing up in a modern family today. My uncle explained to me that "it was frustrating at times because you knew you were missing out on a lot in high school when all your friends were going out and partying, having fun and you dad wanted you to be at home at 8:00 on a Friday or Saturday night"(Wallace). Housing market in Ayer was stronger because they wanted to be closer to Devens because of the benefits it had from the post. Fort Devens was like a town within itself, it had hospitals, gymnasiums, movie theaters and many other attractions. "A lot of my friends who weren't in military families would hang out on the base all the time because there was so much to do"(Wallace)

Ayer:

Ayer was similar to any other small town during this time, but it had a military base. “Military in Ayer was very very active because of Fort Devens”(Wallace). Ayer was a middle class, blue collar town, with a similar economy to anywhere else during this era. For a small town it was very diverse because of Fort Devens and it had many Military families and the military was usually diverse. There were many job opportunities for civilians on Fort Devens because the military was so lively at the time. “People in Ayer were very patriotic, because of the post”(Wallace). A lot of retired veterans still live there today. Downtown area was more thriving because malls weren’t as popular as they were today. In the 70s or 80s a normal class size graduating from Ayer High was about 275 students, and then today with Devens not an active military base anymore the average class at high school is about 100 kids or less. "While I was in High School our sports team were unreal, we were a complete powerhouse in all sports, we'd beat all the schools around us, even the much bigger schools"(Wallace). This shows how much of an impact Fort Devens had on the town of Ayer and even in the school systems.

Special Forces:

"I knew I would be going in the military after I visited some colleges in Boston and realized that they werent for me, or actually I wasnt for them"(Wallace) as he said laughing. After being in the army for a few years my uncle became part of Special Forces in 1985. Army Special Forces is such an elite group, it made up of highly qualified soldiers. My Uncle explained the expectations for this and how they were hard, “Of the 144 selected that were in my class in Special Forces, only 4 actually made it”(Wallace). In Special Forces he took part in many high risk tactical missions. Special Forces has five primary missions, Foreign Internal Defense, Unconventional Warfare, Special Reconnaissance, Direct Action and Counter-Terrorism (U.S Army Special Forces). I asked my uncle Joe how he felt during some of these missions and whether or not he was scared? He responded “You don’t have time to be afraid in those situations, your adrenaline better be pumping or it’s not going turn out good for you”(Wallace). He said this in a laughing manner which is quite interesting because you usually expect military people to hold back when talking about stuff like that or they are rather conservative about it. Another thing he explained to me was how he actually got into the military. He was actually quite surprised that he was able to get in because he passed the medical examinations and everything without anyone every finding out that he only had four toes on his right foot. He was born with only four toes on his right foot, and everyone told him that he would never get into the military with that and he rose to one of the highest levels throughout all of the military."A lot of people told me that I had no chance of getting into the military with four toes on one foot, that they would catch that right away and hold it against me"(Wallace). “In the special forces we are the best of the best”(Wallace). Just being in the Special Forces wasn’t just all warfare and tactical training, he also had to become knowledgeable in other languages, and he is completely fluent in Arabic.

Works Cited

SpecialForces.net -. Web. 10 May 2011. .

Wallace, Joe L. "Personal Interview." Personal interview. 24 Apr. 2011.

Special Forces Badge. Digital image. Web. 16 May 2011. .

SF. Digital image. Web. 16 May 2011. .

Fort Devens. Digital image. Fort Devens. Web. 16 May 2011. .

Joe Wallace. 1985. Photograph. Boot Camp, Fort Bragg.