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 Master Sergeant (MSgt.) Edward Sanders, who served in the U.S. Air Force.
Sanders was born in Hawthorne, Mississippi and was one of eleven children in his family. When asked about graduating from high school, Sanders said he didn't make it that far, choosing instead to support his family.
"I don't know if it was in ninth grade or 10th grade, but I dropped out because we couldn't afford proper anything, so going to school was not a good thing because we always felt ashamed and embarrassed." Sanders explained. "I worked for awhile at a service station pumping gas and I did that for a couple of years, which was during the Korean War"
Sanders said it was not hard to get into the military at that time, adding that if you had a warm body, they would accept almost anyone. So, he took that as a sign to sign up and begin what would be a very long and successful career in the military.
"I still don't know why to this day, but I chose the Air Force, I came upon an Air Force recruiter and I indicated I was interested in joining and they signed me up," Sanders explained about how he enlisted. "If it hadn't been for Korea and the Korean War was in full bloom, I probably would not have qualified for the military [...] because I didn't have a high school diploma."
Sanders said over the next four years, he would work as a fabric, leather, and rubber products repairman, meaning he was responsible for exposure suits, parachutes and life rafts. If it could save someone's life and was fabric, he helped to handle it. While the work was meaningful, he said he traveled a lot -- from Okinawa to Korea to Japan and various stops along the way, it was a life he enjoyed and because of that, he chose to stay in the Air Force. "Whenever my discharge date would be getting close, I just chose to re-enlist rather than get out."
During one of his re-enlistments, Sanders received orders to go back stateside to Kelly Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio, Texas where he would meet and marry his wife while stationed there. While their family grew, Sanders said he received more orders to go to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, a place he would call home for the next few years before being sent to Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas just as the Vietnam War was getting started.
"When I got to Dyess in Abilene, I was told 'we don't see that you have a sea tour' and now, a sea tour was in Southeast Asia, which translated to Vietnam," Sanders said, "I was in San Antonio for a year and I got an assignment to go to Vietnam and I left my wife and five children in San Antonio and I went to Vietnam."
Sanders said that while he was there for a support role, you were involved in combat in one way or another because the war was happening all around you, no matter where you were or where you went.
"One of the things I remember most is that I was terrified, my wife was terrified, and I spent a lot of time trying to convince her that I'm in the Air Force and you don't have to worry about me, we don't do combat," he explained.
"Nine days after arriving in country, we came under a mortar attack. They started firing, the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese started firing mortars into the base, and during the time they were doing this, a Viet Cong suicide squad came down a drainage ditch [...] they were all equipped with different types of charges."
Sanders said the Viet Cong's goal was to plant those charges in the airplanes, but a young airman on security detail became aware of the plan early on. "He had his dog with him, and the dog alerted him that something was happening, and he sounded the alarm. But earlier, when they were mortaring the base, they were trying to divert our attention [...] but long story short, before it was said and done, there were 30 of them Viet Cong's who got on the base, 28 of them were killed and two of them were captured."
To listen to MSgt. Edward Sanders tell his story, click the button below:
RELATED: Voices of Veterans: Corporal Max Vasquez Shares His Story of Service in the U.S. Marine Corps
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.