Lt. Colonel Wendell Ashley U.S. Air Force King High Remembers Ani Dhruva Cole Azevedo Iann Binalber

Lt. ColonelWendell AshleyU.S. Air Force

King High RemembersAni Dhruva

Cole AzevedoIann Binalber

Early Life

• Born January 15th, 1932 in Tuskegee, Alabama

• His parents are Beatrice Hyde Ashley and Alonzo Ray Ashley

• He had two brothers and one sister

High School & College

• he attended Tuskegee Institute High School, where he was involved in ROTC

• He attended a 2-week summer encampment for ROTC

• Attended Tuskegee University, Alabama

Joining the Air Force

• He joined the Air force in 1953, due to his involvement in ROTC and growing up around the famous Tuskegee Airmen

• He was working for an Architectural Firm before he joined

• Active during the Vietnam and Cold War

First Assignment

• Specialized as a civil engineer

• On his 3rd day at the base in Mobile, Alabama, was assigned to redesign front entrance of the base

• He was featured in the Mobile Press for the design

Air Force Service(60's)

• Stationed in Tokyo at the beginning of the war

• Later transferred to central Thailand for a "top- secret" mission

• Stopped by Phillipines before arriving in Takhli, Thailand

Takhli, Thailand

• Filled with dense jungle, had to build cantonment area

• Jungle full of tigers, elephants, many snakes, and other exotic animals

• had to work with 20-year old supplies (traded with Thai for different food

• Only got mail/news once a week

Thailand (cont.)

• Massive amounts of snakes would appear during monsoon season, would get stuck on jeeps

• had to prepare for potential war during Cuban Missile Crisis

• Later stationed in Utapao in the 70's

• B-52's came in/out of Utapao 24/7

• had to follow behind B-52's that landed to make sure bombs wouldn't fall off(which was dangerous)

Unusual Events in Thailand

• During secret mission in Takhli, Thailand a herd of Elephants stampeded and destroyed base which took 2 months to build

• Had to disassemble and hide weapons on themselves in order to smuggle weapons through Philippines

• Was on nuclear war alert during stay in Thailand for 2 weeks

Discrimination in Thailand

• Americans not allowed to sleep in the base

• Had to sleep outside, had to make latrines and build own sleeping quarters

• Whole unit was not treated fairly by local militia

• General of the base gave unrealistic expectations and deadlines

Life in the Air Force• He often thought

about his wife and family back home

• He kept a stamp collection

• Often only stayed in one place of 2-3 years, as he transferred often

• Racism prevalent when stationed in south

Life in the Air Force (cont.)

• Often spent time in the officer's club

• People often went to movie theaters, and went bowling

• The bases often had the same kind facilities and entertainment as normal American communities

Retirement from the Air Force

• Retired from the Air Force in 1983 at the rank of Lt. Colonel

• At one point oversaw up to 1,700 men

• Worked in the all around the US, Japan, and Germany

After the Air Force

• After his service, he worked for an architectural firm in D.C.

• was the COO and Senior Vice President for US Facilities Incorporated

Wisdom from Wendell

• Management(3 M's)-Money-Men-Materials

• Experience in the military opens doors in life, teaches you life lessons

• Military men given responsibility earlier on

Wisdom From Wendell (cont.)

• Challenges need to be faced head on

• You need to learn to live with mistakes

• "People are people, and will treat you as such"

• Military career is a great career for anybody

Wisdom From Wendell (Cont.)

• Don’t take things for granted, sometimes what you get is what you got.

• Family is what keeps you going through life

• Education is essentially the key to success

• Live life to the fullest; no matter what..