Butler, Sam

Jaggers, Mitchell

Period 3

Jerry Galang

Air Force

4 years of service

2016

Jerry Galang

Jerry Galang was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 12, 1941. At the end of his teenage

years, Jerry started working as a draftsman. After attending college for a year and a half, Jerry

dropped out and then soon enlisted for the United States Air Force. The basic training was not as

tough as other branches of the military like the marines or the navy, but still required the trainee

to be skilled both mentally and physically. He was soon put in as an ACFS, or automatic flight

control specialist. After being stationed at George Air Force Base in Victorville, California for

some time, Jerry was deployed to work in Thailand. Galang worked on only a few specific types

of aircraft such as the F-105 and F-106 along with an early version of the now world-famous SR-

71 Blackbird.

When stationed in Victorville, Jerry had a self-described “wonderful time.” He earned

himself the right to work the grave shift where he could work alone in the hours of the day when

not many people were around; he got to live in his own home and eat normal, everyday meals.

When he was deployed to Thailand, everything changed: he was now required to sleep in a bunk

in a large warehouse full of bunks, eat in the mess halls where food was provided and you ate it

whether or not it was up to your standards, and the weather changed dramatically from sunny

southern California. The most dramatic change for Jerry was the change in aircraft that was

being worked on. At George AFB, Galang worked on F-106’s. Now stationed in Thailand, he

worked on the F-105, a plane that Jerry thought was completely different until after reading

through the manuals. He then discovered that many of the programs and procedures for working

on the F-105 were very similar to the F-106. Jerry would continue to work in Thailand for a total

of four years. This major change in locations also took his grave shift clearance away until he

later earned it back after the “biggest moment of his military career” occurred.

Throughout his stay in Thailand, Jerry endured many stressful moments. When on a

normal day on the job, word got out that a pilot had lost control of his aircraft and flew straight

into the jungle at the end of the runway. Being carried on the aircraft were multiple pods of

explosives that were made to detonate when a large force is acted upon. These pods were torn

open during the crash and hundreds of these pods were spread out through the jungle. Most of

the workers at the Air Force base were called out to search for the explosives in a long line as

they moved forward and continued to look for them. Earlier in the day, some local boys found

one of these explosives and went home with it. The boys began a baseball game using the

explosive as a baseball until the inevitable happened. Then, as the line progressed, Jerry came

across an explosive. He called over and signaled that he found one, leading to a man in a bomb

suit to walk over, pick it up, and toss it with noticeable force straight into the basket which held

many other explosives right in front of Jerry’s face. Jerry was later diagnosed with PTSD due to

the extreme fright that went along with this horrific experience. This was not the only experience

Galang had that affected his health. While exploring the base one day, Jerry accidentally came

across some barrels of Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the United States on the jungles in

Vietnam. After only briefly coming into contact with it, Jerry now suffers from failing kidneys

and diabetes.

As described by Jerry himself, there were “many astonishing moments in my military

career.” One of the most extravagant accolades he received was when he was called in to work

on a normal work day in Victorville before he was stationed in Thailand. On one occasion, as he

drove up to the gate, Jerry was searched, patted down, and escorted to the hangar of the Colonel

working at the base. The colonel said that he was unable to use autopilot because every time it is

engaged, the plane swerves right and dives down. Jerry had no experience working on the type of

plane that the colonel flew and therefore had to learn all by himself how to fix the autopilot.

Jerry fixed the autopilot perfectly and signed it off to the Colonel showing his determination to

take on any project, no matter the complexity of the situation. The plane Jerry worked on was an

early version of the Blackbird. As a reward for fixing the plane, the colonel set up a private flight

for Jerry. He described it as “a wonderful experience” and “exhilarating.” The plane set off

straight up into the sky before reaching 60,000 feet in just a matter of seconds. After leveling out

and showing off the planes stability at high altitudes for a few minutes, they were already in

northern California, right above the Golden Gate Bridge.

As Jerry looked back on his military career, he definitely viewed it as a positive attribute

to his life and it also taught him how to overcome obstacles without any direction. When asked if

he would enlist again, Jerry replied that he would have finished college and then worked for a

full 25 years to earn his full paid retirement. Jerry also stated that he didn’t meet a black person

until he was deployed to Thailand due to the powerful segregation of Chicago during the time he

lived there. However, Mr. Galang described the base as having no discrimination against people

of other races.

Likewise to most Vietnam veterans, when Jerry returned home in August 1967, he faced

brutal discrimination and hatred due to the lack of people who supported the cause of the war.

Galang threw away all remnants of the war to avoid any connection between him and Vietnam.

After he returned back to Chicago, Galang got married and entered the draftsman business again.

He worked as a draftsman until his retirement. Jerry now contributes to war veterans who have

passed away that have no connection to a family. Each Wednesday, Jerry and other members of

the Patriot Guard Riders Club, a motorcycle group, help bury several veterans who have no

family to give them the burial they deserve with military honor and respect. Jerry Galang is now

75 years old and continues to live in Southern California.