AUSTIN, Texas— Today, Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board (VLB) Chairwoman Dawn Buckingham, M.D., is proud to introduce the next installment of the series highlighting the VLB's Voices of Veterans oral history program. This week, we highlight the service of Senior Airman (SrA) Charles Lackey, who served in the U.S. Air Force.
Born in Gonzales, Texas, Lackey would attend high school in San Antonio and completed two years of college at Mississippi Valley State before leaving college to join the United States Air Force in November 1967.
"It was a hard time finding a job, so I joined up on the buddy system, but the guy that I was going to join with, they didn't take him because he had flat feet," Lackey said with a laugh. "So, I ended up going by myself."
Lackey said following basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, he volunteered to go to Vietnam in June 1970 and said from the moment he arrived, his head was on a swivel.
"It was scary because the day I got there, we were under rocket attack, and that was all brand new to me, so it was scary," Lackey explained. "Things were blowing up all around me, I just wasn't prepared for that, even though I was 21, I had never experienced anything like that."
Vietnam is where Lackey would spend the next year with the 366 Gun Fighter Unit and worked behind the lines as a Supply Sergeant and was responsible for managing and accounting for all supplies and equipment within a unit, outside of ammo.
While he didn't see combat, every Sunday Lackey said they would visit the orphanages and visit with the kids and bring them candy and cookies. He said while most visits were uneventful, one Sunday they did come under attack.
"They were happy to see us, except on one Sunday, this orphanage got attacked because they were trying to get to the Americans, but they didn't care about killing the kids," Lackey explained. "One Sunday, they rocketed the orphanage and we just took to cover and tried to hide as many of the children as we could."
To listen to SrA Charles Lackey tell his story, click the button below:
Veterans can email VoicesofVeterans@glo.texas.gov to tell their stories. Please note that the Veteran must be a resident of Texas at the time of their interview.
Voices of Veterans is a state agency's first Veteran oral history program. It records the stories of Texas Veterans through their time in service and after returning home from combat.
The VLB records interviews with Veterans over the phone or in person. Their interviews are then permanently archived in the Office of Veterans Records at the GLO, where they join the historical documents of other Texas heroes such as Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Barret Travis.
Veterans' interviews are also available to researchers, historians, genealogists, and the public. These precious records inspire future generations and remind us of our Veterans' sacrifices.
To listen to the over 500 archived stories of Veterans documented through the GLO's Voices of Veterans oral history program, click the button below:
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Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., brings a lifetime of experience to the Texas General Land Office (GLO). In 2016, she became the first Republican elected to the Texas State Senate from Travis County and the first woman to represent Texas Senate District 24. She made history again in 2022, winning a statewide election to become our state’s first female Land Commissioner.