The Peru Gazette

Bernhard Jakobetz – Nakhon Phanon (NKP) Thailand 1966-67

By John T. Ryan

Peru/AuSable/Harkness – Each one of the fourteen veterans who participated in the May 14^th North Country Honor Flight has his own unique story. Bernhard “Bernie” Jakobetz’s story began in Czerowitz, Romania. 1932, the year of his birth, was a turbulent time in world history. The Great Depression was beginning, Nazism was growing in influence and Romania was caught between Axis and Allied Powers. Bernie’s stepfather Joseph Massim and his mother Lydia accompanied by Bernhard and his sister Joland eventually moved from Czerowitz to Bucharest and later to Vienna, Austria just before World War II began. When the Germans assumed control in Austria, hunger was common and Allied bombers targeted the family’s Vienna neighborhood.

When World War II ended, Bernie’s father Joseph got a job as a mechanic in the U.S. Occupation Force motor pool. His boss, a Rochester, NY car dealer prior to entering the service, was so impressed with Joseph’s mechanical skills that he offered to sponsor his family’s immigration to the United States if Joseph would agree to work for him at least one year. So in 1952, the family left Austria for the United States as participants in the Post World War II Displaced Persons (DP) program.

It didn’t take long for 18 year-old Bernie to appreciate the opportunities in this country. He said, “I was impressed by life here compared to Europe. I liked it. After only six months in the states I bought myself a used car.” He was so amazed with the opportunities in the United States that he wanted to become a citizen. He recalled, “A guy talked me into joining the service. He said I would be able to become a citizen in six months or a year.” On January 15, 1953, less than a year after leaving Europe, Bernie Jakobetz became a member of the United States Air Force.

Basic training at Sampson Air Force Base just south of Rochester and military police school at Camp Gordon, Georgia followed. His first assignment was the Naval Air Station at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. He said, “I was on shore patrol making sure the guys behaved themselves in New York City.”

1954 was a very volatile period in Korea following the signing of the Armistice. That’s when Bernie was shipped to the 606th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (AC&W) on Old Smokey Hill near Kimpo, Korea. He still recalls sleeping in a tent warmed by a potbelly stove during the long Korean winter. In 1955 he returned to Shepherd AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas where he attained his goal of becoming a United States citizen.

From 1966 to 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, Bernie served at the Nakhon Phanon (NKP) AFB in Thailand. At the time, the U.S. Government did not want the world to know it was conducting air operations out of Thailand and denied that such a base existed.

In 1967 Bernie was assigned to Plattsburgh AFB where he was a member of the Air Police Squadron guarding the base’s nuclear weapons. In 1969, he married Plattsburgh native Dawn Joyce Miller. In 1971 he was assigned to Upper Heyford AFB, England, an assignment the couple loved. Following Bernie’s retirement in 1973, the couple  and their children settled in the Peru area along the Clintonville Road.

After his retirement from the Air Force, Bill McBride Chevrolet hired Bernie as a car washer. He was quickly promoted to service advisor, a job he disliked. When he announced that he was quitting, Bill McBride asked if there was any other job he’d like. He responded, “mechanic” and the rest is history. Over the next several years he attended many training schools and became a respected Chevrolet and Subaru technician. After working at Bill McBride’s for about 11 years he worked at the Plattsburgh Sears Service Center for 5 years and retired at age 63.

Even though many people are worried about this country’s future Bernie Jakobetz still views the United States as a land of opportunity. He said, “It was a great thing for my family to have a much better life than we had in Europe.” He wishes the American people would have a little more respect for their country. He remarked, “Everyone should be spending at least two years in the military. It would encourage discipline and pride. They would see what I saw in Korea and Thailand with poor children eating out of garbage cans.”

Bernie Jakobetz also expressed his appreciation to everyone associated with the North Country Honor Flight, especially Flight Leader Christine Coryea who went out of her way to assist the veterans. He described the trip as the experience of a lifetime. He said, “It began at 6 a.m. when 50 to 75 guys on motorcycles and the sheriff’s department arrived at my house. They put me in the sheriff’s car and brought me to the U.S. Oval for the wonderful send-off. It was impressive!” The excitement resumed at the Baltimore-Washington Airport. Bernie recalled, “As soon as we got on the bus they said, ‘You guys brace yourselves. This trip to downtown D.C. normally takes 2 to 2 ½ hours at this time of day. Today with the special escorts it will take us 30 to 40 minutes.’” Motorcycle police cleared the way with sirens sounding and lights flashing as cars pulled off the highway to make way for the honored veterans.

The National World War II and Korean War Veterans Memorials impressed Bernie. He said, “They told us that each wreath at the World War II Memorial weighs two tons.” The realism portrayed by the Korean War Veterans Memorial was something he’ll never forget. When the veterans arrived at the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier rain began falling; nevertheless, the guards carried out their duty. Carrying out a duty is something very familiar to the North Country Honor Flight Veterans.