John Woerner U. s. Air force 1965-1968 Staff sergeant

The biography of John Woerner by Allie Bourbon and Ming Ullom

The war was in full swing, and men and boys were being drafted daily; therefore, John Woerner made a decision to join the Air Force, instead of waiting to be drafted into the Army. John Woerner then went to Omaha, passed the entrance exam, and waited for basic training orders. If an Army draft letter had been received before leaving for the Air Force, John would have been required to join the Army. However, the draft letter came and remained unopened, as a request to leave early for Air Force basic training was accepted. John then went off to San Antonio to begin his military experience. We are honored to tell his story.

John P. Woerner was born on August 20, 1944, in Superior, Nebraska. His parents were P. B. Woerner and Helen Woerner, and he has one sister Patricia Landauer, who is eighteen months older than him. His father was a parts man at the Ford dealership in Superior. His mom was a stay-at-home mom.

John liked school, but he had other interests and was not very interested in spending time studying. When he was young, he liked to stay with his uncle on his farm and help with cattle. He enjoyed farming very much. After graduating from Superior High School in 1962, he moved to Milford, Nebraska, and attended auto body school. He graduated from the auto body program in 1964. John then moved to Edgar, Nebraska, and worked before joining the military.

In the fall of 1965, John spent eight weeks at basic training in San Antonio, Texas. The airmen marched everywhere they went; they learned to keep their mouths shut, not to talk back, to do what they were told, and to obey those higher in rank than themselves. Since they were not allowed to leave the barracks, John and the other soldiers spent time getting to know each other. When basic training was over, he had to wait an extra week for his orders and spent that whole week cutting grass with a hoe.

John recalled the military conditions in San Antonio. The barracks at basic training consisted of a large open room that contained cots. There was a bathroom at one end, and the mess hall, where they ate, was in a different building. Airmen were not allowed to leave the barracks until they earned privileges. The only time they left the base was for a half-day. The men in training were dropped off by the Alamo and Riverwalk for the afternoon, but these attractions were not fancy like they are today. After this outing, there was not much free time. John said they trained from 5:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M., wore brown-green fatigues, ate “pretty good” food, and experienced warm weather. The commanding officers knew their business and made good choices.

After basic training, John was stationed in Omaha for one year and nine months; this was his favorite location while in the military. He had already been to auto body school and used this training for vehicle maintenance while in the Air Force. During his time in Omaha, he worked on vehicle and grounds maintenance. His favorite task was painting vehicles, and his least favorite was groundskeeping. (There was an excellent golf course where officers liked to golf that was connected to the base, so they were very picky about how the grounds were kept.)

In November, John was sent to Puerto Rico and oversaw all of the vehicle maintenance. While in Puerto Rico, John was not worried about surviving, as the people were friendly to him. He lived in barracks until his fiance graduated from nursing school and moved to be with him. They were married and moved off base into a trailer house and later an apartment. She stayed with him until she was six months pregnant, and then she went back to Omaha.

While John was in Puerto Rico, he had many new experiences. John wore white overalls as a uniform. The airmen had two weeks’ worth of uniforms and turned them in once a week to be washed. John said, “The food was good unless you missed mealtime and then were given C rations.” C rations consisted of canned food that was packaged in 1944; it was not good. The rations came with water to drink and four pre-wrapped cigarettes. While in Puerto Rico, the weather was hot in the summer and pleasant in the winter. Due to the pleasant weather, one time on New Year's Eve, they swam in the ocean. During this deployment, the soldiers could leave the base anytime they wanted but usually used their free time to buy necessities at the commissary. One time Jimmy Dickens came and performed at the commissioned officers club. Once, President Johnson came to the golf course, and John saw him exit and then return to the airplane.

While in the military, John did not correspond with anyone regularly except his fiance. He had one good friend who was in Omaha and Puerto Rico with him. His friend was deployed to Vietnam, and on his way to the airplane that was going to bring him back to the United States, he was hit and killed by a drunk driver. His friend had five children. John has not been in contact with any other individuals who were in the military with him.

When John’s assignment was up, the Air Force wanted to send him to North Dakota. He was not interested, so he decided to leave the military and go back to Omaha to be with his wife, who was pregnant at the time, returning just thirty days before his first child was born. He flew from Puerto Rico into Charleston, South Carolina, and then on to Omaha, Nebraska. He arrived two days earlier than expected and took a taxi from the airport to his house. He got home in the middle of the night, and his wife was upset because she had wanted everything to be perfect when he got home, and she was not ready. After returning to the United States, John was told by military authority to take off his uniform and never put it back on again. There were many revolts and protests going on because of the war; it was a scary time.

After leaving the military and returning to Omaha, John worked in an auto body shop from 1968-1973. In 1973 he moved back to his hometown of Superior, Nebraska, bought into his father’s Ford tractor dealership, and worked with his dad. He worked at the Ford tractor dealership from 1973-1986. Then in 1986 he married Linda and moved to Jewell, Kansas. He worked at the Jewell Implement in Jewell and farmed with a friend for twenty years.

John continues to work on vehicles in his shop building in Jewell. His hobbies include building wagons and buggies. John is still living outside of Jewell, Kansas. Due to the Jewell tornado in 2008, his home was destroyed, but he rebuilt it in the same location. John belongs to many organizations: the Methodist Church, Men’s Prayer Group, Calvary Tuesday Night Bible Study, the American Legion, Water District Board, and Chamber. He also enjoys spending time with his three children: Chad, Chalee, and Troy, and nine grandchildren.

John described his idea of freedom, “To be able to do what you think is right, and make your own decisions, not being told what you have to do by the government. Our freedoms are being taken away,” they are not giving us choices like we should have (for example, the vaccine).” John wants our generation to know, “. . .what it was like to have the freedoms that we did. Our lives are gradually becoming more government-controlled.”

Thank you, John, for serving in the Air Force. Your commitment to our country has not gone unnoticed. We are thankful for you, and appreciate your hard work and dedication to keeping the United States a safe place to live. Brave men and women like you are the reason this country has the freedom that we are allowed today.