Les received a plaque in Seguin at
American Legion;
this plaque has his dates of service in Korean War. He never saw direct
war duty, and was a staff sergeant for US Air Force in Waco, Harlingen
and Johnston Island in the South Pacific. His duty was mostly clerical
duty in the States. On Johnston island, that was a mile long and 1/4
mile wide, he was a billeting officer. Johnston was a fuel stop for
military planes; often servicemen's families were with them; Les was
responsible for providing them a place to stay, usually overnight. He
did a lot of snorkel diving for fish and shells and photography to keep
himself occupied when off duty. In Waco, there was a terrible tornado;
he had been life guarding at the pool; had to call everyone out due to
weather. Later he helped clean up after the storm. I have pictures of
his diving activities and color slides of his photography of the island.
One time for R & R, he went to Hawaii for 2 weeks; I have wonderful
slides of that trip. He had a great time touring the islands those 2
weeks.
His wife Barbara Jean (Bobby) Melton met him on Christmas
Eve 1955 at Curry Chevrolet in Buckhannon. He was sponsored by Mr. Curry
for a 2-year course at General Motors Institute in Flint, Mich. He was
to go to school in Flint for 2 months, then go to the dealership and do
hands on training for 2 months. These were to be alternated 2 months in
Flint, 2 months at Curry's. During his training, he decided to become a
salesman at Curry's.
