RICHARD F. (DICK) ROUSE Lt Colonel, USAF (Retired)

USAF OCS Class 57C, OC LT, 2nd Squadron Flight LT

I was born in the small town of Elgin, Nebraska (pop. 800) in 1931, and graduated from Elgin Public High School (sixteen in the senior class) in 1949.

My parents did not own a farm or local business, so one of the few options available was the USAF. I enlisted in September 1949 and went through basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas.

From there, I went to Biloxi, Mississippi for radar training, and then spent two years in Anchorage, Alaska. The next exciting assignment was to Dobbins AFB, near Atlanta for three years, where I met and married my wife Nancy. We then went to Nashville, Tennessee, where I spent a few years in the Ground Observer Corps. After eight years enlisted and as a Warrant Officer, I thought I would try OCS.

I was accepted for Class 57C. One of my OCS memories concerned the longer than life first day, which was made even longer due to my being one of the first to report -- dumb maneuver.

I very much enjoy the pictures on the OCS web site and elsewhere. They bring back many memories, too numerous to mention here. And just as I suspected, every one has grown older and lost their hair except me.

After OCS, I went to pilot training for single engine jet at Mission, Texas (T-37), Greenville, Mississippi (T-33), and Valdosta, Georgia (F-86).

My first mission assignment was at Hamilton AFB, California (F-101B). One scary event while on target mission to Canada and Montana involved a blizzard in Montana in which several planes were lost trying to land with no visibility or traffic control. I was lucky and diverted to a civilian airport which had not yet been hit too hard by the blizzard.

From there, I went to Perrin AFB, TX for F-102 training on the way to Keflavik, Iceland. Next was Tyndall AFB, FL for F-106 training on the way to Langley AFB, VA.

In 1969, I went to Shaw AFB, South Carolina for RF-101A training, after which I went to Vietnam and flew out of Saigon. After approximately seven months, we ferried the airplanes back to the National Guard in Georgia --- a short tour.

I spent the rest of my AF career at Shaw AFB as RF-4 pilot, Maintenance Officer, and Commander of the Organizational Maintenance Squadron. I retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1974 with 25 1/2 years service.

Along the line, I also attained a Bachelor of General Studies Degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In 1976, I received a Master of Science degree from the University of South Carolina, after which I went to Penn State University as a PhD candidate -- ABD, completed all but the dissertation.

I applied for and taught Junior ROTC in Raleigh, NC for approximately two years. Then I returned to South Carolina and worked for State Government as a middle manager. I retired from the SC State Government in 1994.

Since then, I have fully retired, except for January - April 15th, during which time I do taxes for approximately two hundred clients.

We have two children: Susan, who was married to an AF pilot, died in Okinawa from hepatitis -- she was a nurse and was 7-months pregnant with their first child at the time. Terrie, a Nurse Practitioner, is happily married and has three beautiful children - two boys and a girl. They live in Sumter, which is a short drive from our home.

Plans for the future: Watching our three grandchildren grow.

Dick