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Catalog Number: VIS 201.0797
In this interview, Dominick Fanelli shares his experiences as an aircraft mechanic in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. He recalls growing up as an Italian Catholic in Queens, New York, and not knowing any English until he started grade school. He describes his high school experience and meeting with an Air Force recruiter shortly after graduating. He discusses his training to become an aircraft mechanic before heading to Thailand to participate in Operation Rolling Thunder. He recounts his reassignment to Vietnam and his first impressions of the country including the heat and dampness. Fanelli outlines his duties as Crew Chief and describes the processes of aircraft maintenance. He tells of incidents on base, his R&R experience, helping set up a Vietnamese orphanage, and being treated poorly when he arrived back home. He describes his career after his service including charitable work and jobs at Pan Am, Lockheed, and Northwest Airlines.