At the age of 19, Fred Cook had just attended his first year of college in June 1967 and married his sweetheart Becky Broderick, when the U.S. Military began drafting part-time students. Though he was planning to attend college the following year, rather than being drafted, Fred chose to join the United States Air Force.

“What I remember most about basic training is that it takes away individuality and creates a team,” recalled Fred. “It’s not an ‘I’ anymore; it’s a ‘we’.”

In March 1968, Fred went through basic training in San Antonio. After basic, he was transferred to Lowry Air Force Base (LAFB) in Denver, Colorado for tech school to learn munitions maintenance and bomb loading. In September 1969 he received orders to go to Udorn, Thailand.

“In Udorn, we would frequent a bowling alley in our free time,” said Fred. “Outside you would see water buffalo pulling a wagon, but when you went inside, it was like you were transported to the small town of Dubuque, Iowa, where it smelled like the States and sounded like the States. It’s like I saw Brunswick lanes 10,000 miles away from home.”

In January 1970, Fred was sent to Vietnam for one month to learn how to work on C-47 gunships, which were being sent to Udorn. In March 1970 he was transferred to Carswell Air Force base where he became a nuclear bomb-loader.

Working with nuclear bombs, high security clearance was enforced. The bombs were kept in a concrete revertment, and every day there was a new code to enter to retrieve the bombs. “If you gave the wrong code you could be arrested,” warned Fred. “For two years I loaded nuclear bombs on B-52s so they could be on the ramp, ready to go at the drop of a hat in case of a national emergency. If we got a notice that the U.S. was being attacked, the B-52s could be off the ground in five or six minutes.”

When you hang a conventional bomb, it is hung by lugs on top of the bomb from racks that clip onto the bomb lugs. When a bomb is hung on an ejector rack, it has an arming wire that goes through the fuse. When the bomb is dropped, the wire is pulled out of the fuse propeller and as the bomb falls, the propeller starts turning and the bomb becomes armed. Any impact would cause it to explode.

When asked to dive into his memory, Fred recalled an alarming day in Udorn where a pilot looked death in the eye. “We had a plane come in with a one luger, which meant the front lug released the bomb but the back lug didn’t. The bomb was still hanging off the plane and the arming wire was out of the fuse!” said Fred. “Any impact would explode the ordinance.” After flying around with the 750-pound bomb for several hours, the pilot had to land at base before he ran out of fuel. “As soon as the back wheels hit the ground, the bomb dropped and was skidding along underneath the plane. The pilot finally popped his parachute, hit the breaks—the bomb goes about 100 hundred yards, hits a runway light and explodes, blowing a big hole in our runway!!” Fred was in his hooch (barracks) getting ready for breakfast and distinctively remembered hearing and feeling the bomb’s shockwaves.

Fred was discharged on December 22, 1971. Forty-eight years later and he still remembers the details of that day. “It’s a day you don’t forget,” Fred said. “I can tell you the song that was playing as I was driving out of the gate—’Kiss an Angel Good Morning’, by Charlie Pride.”

“As I’ve grown older, I have a certain sense of pride to have served for my country. At the time, it was an interruption in my life and halted my college plans. Now, I am much more patriotic having served. I look back on my time as a very good learning and maturing experience. You learn teamwork. That impact made me decide that I wanted to continue my education.” Fred became more focused on what he wanted to achieve with his life after having served.

Sadly, Fred feels like he experiences more thanks today than he did when he first got home from the war. “The Vietnam era was not a popular war,” he said. “There was no ‘ra ra’ spirit; people looked down on you, even though 90% of us weren’t there because we wanted to be.”

“I was in the service for three years, nine months and two days,” said Fred. He left the Air Force as Staff Sergeant and went back to college on the GI Bill after his service was complete. He received a degree in architecture, which he would practice for over 35 years. At age 67 Fred retired. Because his family resided in Texas, Fred and his second wife Cathy decided to make the move. The couple began looking for a home in the Austin area, and after visiting Llano, they fell in love with the city.

The Cooks first visited Llano on Heritage weekend and attended a street dance, where the Johnny Rodriguez Band played “America the Beautiful” and the “Star Spangled Banner.” “I recall all the people taking their hats off and putting their hand over their heart. California did not have the strong patriotism that Texas does,” noted Fred. “In Texas it was more evident. It struck us that this was the place that we needed to be—where people still appreciate their veterans and their freedom.”

In 2015 Fred and Cathy Cook moved to Llano and Fred became heavily involved in his community. “I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else,” said Fred. “My wife loves it and it makes me glad to see people still honoring United States veterans.