When Darrell Trout was 18, he knew there was a good chance he might get drafted into military service. It was 1971 and he had been notified to go to St. Louis for his physical; he decided he would prefer military service on his own terms, and would avoid Vietnam altogether.
Trout described himself as being a simple person who enjoys doing what needs to be done at the time. In his early 20s that involved painting cars and spending time with his wife, Kay. However, by the time he was 22 years old, he knew things would change quickly.
“My draft number was 004,” Trout explained. “And the government was coming to the end of its previous draft sequence. I knew I was going to get drafted, but I didn’t want to be a Marine.”
Trout explained that he didn’t want to be a Marine because he wasn’t particularly athletic. So he decided the next best thing would be to enlist in the Air Force.
“I went and met with the recruiter and signed up with the Air Force,” he remarked. “I did my training and was stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas, and then I got sent to Okinawa.”
Though he and his wife were relatively happy in Texas, Kay decided that Japan wasn’t for her.
“I told him he would need to go alone,” Kay explained. “I didn’t like the idea of moving around all the time.”
“It worked out well because, going on my own shortened the length of time I had to be in Okinawa,” Darrell noted. “I was only there for 18 months as opposed to four years.”
Darrell worked as a corrosion control specialist and was responsible for painting all planes and flight equipment on the ground to keep them protected from the elements. And he was able to live in comfortable barracks that overlooked the South China Sea.
“I never did learn to speak the Japanese language. I did learn to sing ‘London Bridges’ in Japanese, though,” Darrell laughed. “Every day there was a phrase of the day on the armed forces radio, and that’s how I learned a little Japanese.”
While stationed in Okinawa, Darrell was able to gain some familiarity with the SR-71 Blackbird — a strategic reconnaissance aircraft that holds the distinction of being the fastest plane in the world, with the ability to reach the speed of Mach 3.3 (2,100 mph).
“Every time Blackbird would fire up, the Japanese would come out to look and take pictures,” Darrell remarked. “It was an impressive piece of equipment.”
Darrell noted that his enlistment passed with little difficulty and he just maintained his focus on work.
“I did design a creeper to paint the underside of an F4. The Air Force accepted the design, but I didn’t see anything from that. Because I was government property at the time, I guess,” he joked.
“I think he would have stayed in if I told him it was OK,” Kay remarked. “But the full-time military life just wasn’t for me.”
After leaving the Air Force, Darrell and Kay returned to Southeast Missouri and focused on their family and careers, but Darrell fondly remembers his time in the Air Force.
“I have heard what other people have said about their experiences, but I would honestly enlist again if I had it to do all over,” Darrell remarked. “The only thing I would do differently is pay more attention to what was going on in the world around me.”
“Being in the military and serving the country is very honorable, no matter who you are or where you served,” Kay noted. “I’ll always be proud of him for his service.”