BOWERS HEALEY: All right. Today is August 10th, 2023. And this is an interview with Holly hoppy, who served in the United States Air Force from May 1971 to August 1993. She entered the service from Green Bay, Wisconsin. This interview is being conducted by Ellen Healey in De pier, Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Oral History Program. No one else is present. All right, that's just a brief introduction. Did I get your dates correct?

HOPPE: Correct.

BOWERS HEALEY: All right. Uh, Holly, can you tell me where you grew up?

HOPPE: I grew up in [XXXXX].

BOWERS HEALEY: Were you born there?

HOPPE: Born and raised.

Speaker 3 And I am family of six.

HOPPE: My dad worked for PRC Appliance Company.

Speaker 3 My mom was.

HOPPE: Part time worker at the big shoe.

Speaker 3 Store downtown green Bay.

HOPPE: And of course, the family. Older sister.

Speaker 3 Janine. Older brother, Donald.

HOPPE: Charles Hoppy, Jr.

Speaker 3 Myself.

HOPPE: My younger brother is Bruce. Arthur. Hoppy.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. And where did you attend school? In green Bay.

HOPPE: I attended grade school at Norwood Grade School.

Speaker 3 On ninth Street, green Bay, then went to Franklin.

HOPPE: Junior High School.

Speaker 3 And West.

HOPPE: Mason Street. Then I graduated from West High School, which was.

Speaker 3 Down on Channel Avenue in Green Bay.

BOWERS HEALEY: Wisconsin. Okay. And when did you graduate?

Speaker 3 Graduate high school in 1969.

BOWERS HEALEY: And, uh, you mentioned your brothers and sisters. Um, how close together were were you in terms of age?

HOPPE: There is four years.

Speaker 3 Between my older sister and my younger brother.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. And you said something about, uh, would you call it an Irish?

Speaker 3 Irish twins?

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay, tell me about that.

Speaker 3 My older brother and I were born the same year. He was born in March, and I was born in December.

HOPPE: So we tend to be real close.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay, so when you were going to high school or after high school, did you have a job or not?

HOPPE: I actually.

Speaker 3 In high.

HOPPE: School I used to work at Al's Hamburger Shop on Washington Avenue, Graduate High School. Then I, uh, wanted to join service right away, but.

Speaker 3 My parents said, no, it's.

HOPPE: You should take some time to really think what.

Speaker 3 You want to do in life.

HOPPE: So I got a job at the green Bay Plastic.

Speaker 3 Company, and it was a manufacturing job. And it was.

HOPPE: Actually at that.

Speaker 3 Time, a well-paying job.

HOPPE: But I still had the adventure bug when.

Speaker 3 I wanted to travel.

HOPPE: So I started checking into.

Speaker 3 Joining the.

HOPPE: Military.

Speaker 3 And finally.

HOPPE: Decided I.

Speaker 3 Would during the Air.

HOPPE: Force.

Speaker 3 Signed up and.

HOPPE: Went through the test phase.

Speaker 3 Went down and had.

HOPPE: The.

Speaker 3 Physical in Milwaukee, came back. Back then the.

HOPPE: Recruiters would drive you back and forth.

Speaker 3 You didn't have to take a bus.

HOPPE: But, uh, the recruiter said is probably 3 or 4 months down the road before we'll call you.

Speaker 3 And I said.

HOPPE: If somebody drops.

Speaker 3 Out, I'm ready to go home. Well.

HOPPE: Two days later, he called and said, could you leave.

Speaker 3 Friday? And I said, of course.

HOPPE: Okay.

Speaker 3 So that was my first time. Got on a bus, went walking.

BOWERS HEALEY: So that was in 1971, 1971. Along was the recruiting process from the time you first kind of walked in to the recruitment center until you actually shipped out.

HOPPE: I would say maybe.

Speaker 3 Six months at the most.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: Because, uh.

Speaker 3 In a.

HOPPE: Manufacturing job, we either sat or stood all day.

Speaker 3 Long. And he said.

HOPPE: You have to be able.

Speaker 3 To run a mile and a half in a certain time frame.

HOPPE: So I started.

Speaker 3 Walking and then running, and I.

HOPPE: Was able to make that transition to being qualified for the Air Force. Um, I went to work.

Speaker 3 In, actually, the first time I ever got on an airplane was flying from.

HOPPE: Waukee.

Speaker 3 To San Antonio.

HOPPE: Texas to go to basic.

Speaker 3 Training.

BOWERS HEALEY: Uh, when you got on the airplane, were you the only recruit on that airplane?

HOPPE: No, there were actually about 12 of.

Speaker 3 Us from the Midwest.

HOPPE: That.

Speaker 3 Went down.

HOPPE: And it was a somewhat culture shock because it's.

Speaker 3 First time I met.

HOPPE: Uh, the rest of the flight was mostly from the south, so we had to experience.

Speaker 3 The language.

HOPPE: Different because they have a draw. They talked a little different, of course. They said we talked too fast.

Speaker 3 Being from the.

HOPPE: Midwest, but it was very exciting.

Speaker 3 It made the adventure of joining service lots of fun because.

HOPPE: I got to meet up.

Speaker 3 And actually when I was in.

HOPPE: Basic.

Speaker 3 Training.

HOPPE: The my dad's advice is never volunteer. Well, I didn't quite follow that because we were.

Speaker 3 In the.

HOPPE: Bay of the.

Speaker 3 Barracks and their training instructor comes in.

HOPPE: Okay, we're going to start with today. We have to get your squad ladies to dorm chief.

Speaker 3 How many of you have ever marched before?

HOPPE: Well, I spent four years.

Speaker 3 In.

HOPPE: High school band.

Speaker 3 So I raise my hand, you go.

HOPPE: And she goes. One, two, three, four. You're all squad leaders. And the fifth lady that was chose. She was the.

Speaker 3 Tallest in our group.

HOPPE: So she became the dorm chief. So the advantage of that was.

Speaker 3 Um.

HOPPE: I was taking care.

Speaker 3 Of my squad, had to make.

HOPPE: Sure all of the details.

Speaker 3 Were done in the cleaning of the dorm.

HOPPE: Make sure everybody was properly addressed, that they.

Speaker 3 In the right uniform.

HOPPE: Gave me responsibility right away and.

Speaker 3 Then didn't have to.

HOPPE: Do KP.

Speaker 3 At any time in.

HOPPE: Basics. Okay, let me back.

Speaker 3 Up image.

BOWERS HEALEY: A little bit. So you joined in 1971 and Vietnam era Vietnam. Any concern or hesitation because of the attitude of the public toward Vietnam veterans?

HOPPE: I would say I.

Speaker 3 Didn't have any.

HOPPE: Some of the other gals in basic did, but we were off to raise one day to go.

Speaker 3 Down to San Antonio on a.

HOPPE: Bus to see the.

Speaker 3 City, and then come back to.

HOPPE: Basic.

Speaker 3 Training.

HOPPE: At the base.

Speaker 3 And I do remember incident.

HOPPE: Where you always buddied.

Speaker 3 Up because you never.

HOPPE: Walked alone, that I was with a.

Speaker 3 Friend and.

HOPPE: Some guy started yelling.

Speaker 3 And ranting and raving and he actually spit on my uniform. And fortunately my mate held me.

HOPPE: Back because I was ready to swing in.

Speaker 3 And that.

HOPPE: That really brought forth the.

Speaker 3 Attention of, you.

HOPPE: Have to be careful where you go.

Speaker 3 Especially during the Vietnam time frame.

HOPPE: And unfortunately it was.

Speaker 3 In my mind.

HOPPE: Ugly incident.

Speaker 3 That continued for many years and.

HOPPE: The people.

Speaker 3 Didn't appreciate the military for many, many.

HOPPE: Years. I think when Desert Storm came along, all of the folks that.

Speaker 3 Were my.

HOPPE: Age back in the.

Speaker 3 70s.

HOPPE: Finally realized, well, our military here to protect us, so we better take.

Speaker 3 Care of them.

HOPPE: So the.

Speaker 3 Whole American attitude changed and.

HOPPE: They started.

Speaker 3 Saying.

HOPPE: Thank you for your service. Or they were.

Speaker 3 Saying, what can I do.

HOPPE: To help you? Or this simple thing of if you were in.

Speaker 3 Uniform, they would buy you.

HOPPE: A cup of coffee and talk to you. And it was in the negative. It was the positive.

Speaker 3 So I think that helped.

HOPPE: A lot of the active.

Speaker 3 Duty members.

HOPPE: But also those that retired or separated in service.

Speaker 3 A lot of Vietnam vets.

HOPPE: Said, well, I don't.

Speaker 3 Deserve any of that. And I see.

HOPPE: You're you were.

Speaker 3 Protecting the nation and you're very.

HOPPE: Important to us, just like our.

Speaker 3 Young troops are now.

BOWERS HEALEY: I thank you for that. So back to basic training in San Antonio. When you went out on Liberty, were you required to go in uniform?

HOPPE: We were required to go in uniform.

Speaker 3 And back then you also, whenever you flew on an aircraft.

HOPPE: You had to wear your class A.

Speaker 3 Uniform. So you had to have blue jacket on. And back then they didn't have pantsuit yet. They only had.

HOPPE: Skirts. So you had high heels.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: We called it the Jackie O area because you had like a puffy hat.

Speaker 3 On and.

HOPPE: The white gloves. You had the black purse, you had the.

Speaker 3 Blue uniform, and.

HOPPE: You had to be very careful.

Speaker 3 On how.

HOPPE: You walked to me at present, a positive image to everybody.

Speaker 3 In.

HOPPE: Public. So I enjoyed that time. It was quite a face to have me grow up.

BOWERS HEALEY: Um, how old were you when you went in?

HOPPE: I was 20.

Speaker 3 When I.

HOPPE: Was in, so I was the.

Speaker 3 Second oldest and basic training.

HOPPE: Which was grateful because the other girl was.

Speaker 3 I think, 3 or 4 months older than I was.

HOPPE: So she was always called.

Speaker 3 The grandma of the.

HOPPE: Flight.

BOWERS HEALEY: And it was all women.

HOPPE: All women. Yeah. Okay. We're totally segregated back then.

BOWERS HEALEY: Besides getting your uniforms and learning how to wear them, what other things did you learn at basic training in San Antonio?

HOPPE: The basic training. You had the discipline.

Speaker 3 And I had.

HOPPE: The extra duty of being a squad leader to take care of other people, to work together.

Speaker 3 Uh, camaraderie.

HOPPE: Because you're only as strong as your weakest link. So those that weren't quite up to par, we always made sure we took care.

Speaker 3 Of them and.

HOPPE: Get through the basic.

Speaker 3 Training.

BOWERS HEALEY: Um. Let's say. When you went into the service, did you know what military occupational specialty we're going to be going into?

Speaker 3 No I didn't. Back then, it.

HOPPE: Was very restricted to what the women could do. So I if.

Speaker 3 I remember.

HOPPE: Right, it was transportation, administrative, medical field. I was.

Speaker 3 Not one for medical.

HOPPE: Field. So I said, you know, toss me wherever you need me to fill in.

Speaker 3 And fortunately, when I went from.

HOPPE: Basic.

Speaker 3 Training, I.

HOPPE: Was what they call is direct duty.

Speaker 3 Assignment. I did not go to.

HOPPE: A technical school.

Speaker 3 So I went from, um, Lackland Air Force.

HOPPE: Base directly to Travis Air Force Base in.

Speaker 3 California.

HOPPE: I was.

Speaker 3 Assigned to the personnel office.

HOPPE: To be administrative for the 16 at the area Squadron Training Section.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: 60th Area Port Squadron was responsible for transporting.

Speaker 3 People and.

HOPPE: The equipment wherever they needed in the world. Back then, it.

Speaker 3 Was called Mac, the Military Airlift Command.

HOPPE: I believe it's the.

Speaker 3 Mobile Combat Command. Now it's totally different name, but.

HOPPE: Basically the same job. And in the.

Speaker 3 Training section, my responsibility.

HOPPE: Was to make sure.

Speaker 3 All their training requirements were done by the different emphasis.

HOPPE: Because we had the customer service, passenger service. You had the equipment folks, so we had to make sure their training was up to date.

Speaker 3 And back then it was manual.

HOPPE: Typewriter that we did.

Speaker 3 Everything on. So I.

HOPPE: Had to put little cards.

Speaker 3 In and.

HOPPE: Type the dates. Everything was completed, uh.

Speaker 3 Appointments made sure.

HOPPE: They had their shots, their.

Speaker 3 Done all.

HOPPE: That was all.

Speaker 3 In the realm of working in the training.

HOPPE: Section.

BOWERS HEALEY: When you, uh, went into the Air Force, did you already know how to type or did you?

HOPPE: No, I.

Speaker 3 Did not know how to type, but I learned in a.

HOPPE: Hurry, because to get your first phase of.

Speaker 3 Training, you had.

HOPPE: Type at least 35.

Speaker 3 Words a minute. And then later on, as you advanced in your MLS.

HOPPE: Each level, the typing requirement became a little faster.

Speaker 3 So by the end.

HOPPE: I think it was 45 words.

Speaker 3 A minute.

HOPPE: To type.

BOWERS HEALEY: So where did you get your, um, typing training?

Speaker 3 Actually, in the office.

HOPPE: The chief that was Chief Lewis was in charge. And he was make sure that I would be able to practice at least a.

Speaker 3 Half an hour a day. I usually took it during lunch and be able pass typing test that was given at the personnel office on base.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay, so as I understand it, from what you're saying, you didn't actually go to schooling after basic, you were just.

Speaker 3 No, I went trick duty assignment. Okay. Back then they were, uh, cutting down on funds for the military.

HOPPE: So they said, well, we'll take the top.

Speaker 3 10% in the military and just ship them off.

HOPPE: We figured they were able to adapt and be able to work in whatever new field. So it was all.

Speaker 3 On the job training.

BOWERS HEALEY: So when you say top 10%, top 10% of what.

HOPPE: The basic training.

BOWERS HEALEY: Course.

Speaker 3 So normally you have.

HOPPE: About 60.

Speaker 3 Women and just said the top ten we're going to ship.

HOPPE: You drag duty. The rest.

Speaker 3 Went from Lackland Air Force.

HOPPE: Base to a technical school.

BOWERS HEALEY: I say, okay, so, um, tell me about more experiences at Travis and how long were you at Travis?

HOPPE: I was at Travis Air Force Base approximately three years. And while I was there, we were.

Speaker 3 In the Waaf.

HOPPE: Squadron.

Speaker 3 Women in the Air.

HOPPE: Force.

Speaker 3 We were again, totally segregated.

HOPPE: We weren't mixed with the men. So we had our own barracks. And, uh, I got involved with the sports, which I'm thankful because I actually played sports for the Air Force for.

Speaker 3 Like 20 years.

HOPPE: Every base.

Speaker 3 I went, I made sure.

HOPPE: I played sports. It was great way to stay in shape. But it also get you.

Speaker 3 Involved in the community.

HOPPE: Activities because not only did you play sports, but you also went with friends to help. And some places we.

Speaker 3 Went and worked in.

HOPPE: Orphanages, other places we did food drives. Back then the military wasn't paid a lot. So the families we do food drives make sure we had some extra activities for the.

Speaker 3 Children while we were doing that. So I get involved in.

HOPPE: Community right away. Um, is very. Rewarding and I worked at the trainee section, but then the.

Speaker 3 Um.

HOPPE: 63 Park Squadron. They expanded in size, so they decided to have two orderly rooms to make sure that all of the enlisted folks were getting their training, their their.

Speaker 3 Medical and personnel stuff done.

HOPPE: So it was orderly.

Speaker 3 Room A and B, and I was assigned.

HOPPE: Then to Orderly Room B to help take care of the records. And who was Captain Donald Harris? I always.

Speaker 3 Remember his name.

HOPPE: Because my dad's name is Donald.

Speaker 3 And my brother in law was here at, so I never forget his name.

HOPPE: He was in charge.

Speaker 3 And he came out and we one day and.

HOPPE: Said, we need.

Speaker 3 Somebody to volunteer.

HOPPE: To help administrative wise and a job, and wouldn't you like to do it? And I said, what's the job? And he says, well, the P.O.W. are being.

Speaker 3 Released from and knowing they're.

HOPPE: Going to have a P.O.W. debriefing.

Speaker 3 Team at Travis.

HOPPE: Air Force Base.

Speaker 3 And they need administrative assistance.

HOPPE: And since you do a good job here, we'd like to.

Speaker 3 Recommend you in that job. And I said.

HOPPE: Sure, I go do it again. Volunteered.

Speaker 3 And the next.

HOPPE: Day I walked into the wing of a hospital and they totally secured it.

Speaker 3 And I walked in the room and the.

HOPPE: Chief was in.

Speaker 3 Charge. And he goes, sign here. You know, I have.

HOPPE: A top secret clearance.

Speaker 3 And don't tell anybody.

HOPPE: What you did, but we're going to work. So that's how I got introduced to the P.O.W. debriefing team.

BOWERS HEALEY: So that was the the extent of your background check sign here.

HOPPE: That's the start of the background check.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: Here it is. Basically is top secret. You don't say.

Speaker 3 Anything.

HOPPE: And of course, I go back to the barracks and everybody else was gone.

Speaker 3 I said, I.

HOPPE: Can't tell you. So that's a famous.

Speaker 3 Line I had for many years.

HOPPE: Afterwards.

BOWERS HEALEY: So when was that, uh, what timeframe was that that you.

HOPPE: Got it right.

Speaker 3 Down.

HOPPE: Here. February 14th through March.

Speaker 3 29th of.

HOPPE: 1973. When the prisoners were released.

Speaker 3 Nolan came back.

HOPPE: Um, basically, we worked with that. We call it the Alphabet Soup Gang, and it's basically different agencies that were.

Speaker 3 Doing the interviews.

HOPPE: Of the mostly pilots were shut.

Speaker 3 Down in these were.

HOPPE: Air Force pilots that came back. So they would tape the interview.

Speaker 3 And one of my.

HOPPE: Jobs was to get specific.

Speaker 3 Items.

HOPPE: Of that type into note.

Speaker 3 And then.

HOPPE: The case officer would review it. We would type up what's called a flash message, which is the highest priority messages that you can do besides a top secret. And they were usually 10 to 12 pages.

Speaker 3 Long and you'd.

HOPPE: Have at least a dozen per day.

Speaker 3 That were going out. So one of my.

HOPPE: Jobs was to drop that off.

Speaker 3 At the communication center.

BOWERS HEALEY: And you call these flask flash. Flash. Okay.

HOPPE: Don't like Flash Gordon flash messages. And when.

Speaker 3 It hit the comm center, they had ten minutes to.

HOPPE: Get it to the wire.

Speaker 3 And back to the Pentagon in Washington.

HOPPE: DC. So you can see they.

Speaker 3 Weren't happy when you walk in with the.

HOPPE: Dozen packages. But, uh, we had specific items you had to listen.

Speaker 3 For to make notes.

HOPPE: And it was.

Speaker 3 Amazing.

HOPPE: The pilot could sit.

Speaker 3 Down and.

HOPPE: Tell you the exact date and.

Speaker 3 Time they were shot down.

HOPPE: The latitude and longitude.

Speaker 3 And then they would talk about what happened during their captivity.

HOPPE: So what got me the most was the brutality that these prisoners had to live through. And I still gets to me that day. The American public really doesn't.

Speaker 3 Understand what these men.

HOPPE: Went to the torture.

Speaker 3 And then.

HOPPE: Also seeing their fellow prisoners.

Speaker 3 Die at the hands of.

HOPPE: The captivity. So we would not only go through a specific item to make notes and then.

Speaker 3 Turn around and type in messages.

HOPPE: But the agency had booklets that you'd page through.

Speaker 3 And they.

HOPPE: Would.

Speaker 3 Nickname the president.

HOPPE: Prison. Guards.

Speaker 3 Uh, one was pork.

HOPPE: Chop because he had big cheeks. Another one was bug eye because he had big eyes. And you would look through the booklets to see if you.

Speaker 3 Could match that up. Then they would.

HOPPE: Go back to the pilot and talk to Mrs. what the garden would be like. Um, there were a few incidents where they.

Speaker 3 Talked about their mate.

HOPPE: Cell mate being taken away and never seen again. So all of this goes.

Speaker 3 Back.

HOPPE: Into what.

Speaker 3 Happened.

HOPPE: While they were.

Speaker 3 In North Vietnam. A lot of them had.

HOPPE: Questions about their.

Speaker 3 Freedom now because.

HOPPE: They could get up and do whatever they.

Speaker 3 Wanted in the room, and they were in a cell before. So I'm.

HOPPE: Sure it was a lot of.

Speaker 3 Post-traumatic.

HOPPE: Stress.

Speaker 3 That they were involved.

BOWERS HEALEY: With. Any idea, um, between the time that they were released from Vietnam until they showed up at Travis Air Force Base. Uh, was it a week or two or a couple of days?

HOPPE: It was days. Just days. Most of them were flown directly.

Speaker 3 From North Vietnam to.

HOPPE: The Philippines. Um, where.

Speaker 3 The.

HOPPE: Major concern was.

Speaker 3 Doing the medicals.

HOPPE: So.

Speaker 3 That they needed any.

HOPPE: Assistance. They were taking care of. Once that was.

Speaker 3 Done, then they were put on the.

HOPPE: I believe it's.

Speaker 3 C 141, some flown.

HOPPE: To whatever base they were going to in stateside, but we had.

Speaker 3 The Northern California.

HOPPE: Base. So of course we had the northwest of the US where most of the pilots were um, they were, if possible.

Speaker 3 Greeted on the flight line by their family.

HOPPE: And there's old news reels that you can.

Speaker 3 Watch the families going up. Um, after.

HOPPE: That, they were.

Speaker 3 Again put in a.

HOPPE: Hospital wing, and they were debrief by the PR teams and as soon as.

Speaker 3 Possible, once.

HOPPE: They had all the information.

Speaker 3 And all the medical is done.

HOPPE: Of course, they were.

Speaker 3 Then going back to their families.

HOPPE: But, uh, there was a lot of tension then because we didn't know what was going on. A lot of security had badges, couldn't go in.

Speaker 3 Certain.

HOPPE: Areas.

Speaker 3 You couldn't others. So, um.

HOPPE: I guess I would have been.

Speaker 3 About 23.

HOPPE: At that time. So it's very.

Speaker 3 Wide.

HOPPE: Eye.

Speaker 3 Awakening to.

HOPPE: See what the nation would do for our pilots. And so anything they desired that was available, they made sure they had they had some of the the pilots were there for years, so they had to tell them about all the technical advances, because there were a.

Speaker 3 Lot of things that they had never seen.

HOPPE: Before. Yeah, it was interesting.

Speaker 3 Uh, little things, like.

HOPPE: I could get up and go get.

Speaker 3 A candy bar would make them happy.

HOPPE: So it made us.

Speaker 3 Working on the teams.

HOPPE: Appreciate our freedom. All we had.

Speaker 3 And, uh. Yeah, it.

HOPPE: Was. It was amazing what.

Speaker 3 These men went.

HOPPE: Through.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: What they did to survive. Um, that was the first I heard about tapping.

Speaker 3 Which I don't know of.

HOPPE: A lot of, uh.

Speaker 3 The American public know, but.

HOPPE: To communicate normally, they were in solitary.

Speaker 3 Confinement.

HOPPE: So they would find ways to make little holes in the.

Speaker 3 Wall and put a.

HOPPE: Wire through, and they would tap the wire.

Speaker 3 And the.

HOPPE: Other prisoner on the other side would tap back. So that's how they communicated with each other. And, uh, of course, he always encouraged, you know, the military code is resist, resist as best.

Speaker 3 You can.

HOPPE: Through the tapping. And it was a way they could talk to each other.

BOWERS HEALEY: He were there, apparently for about a month and a half during this and February and March of 1973. Okay. Can you state how many pilots you may have, uh, seen in terms of you're sitting there taking notes?

HOPPE: Um, I would say ten, maybe. Okay.

Speaker 3 Ten different pilots.

BOWERS HEALEY: And, uh, so there were other people doing the same job you were doing, I take it during the debrief. Right. Okay. And, uh, during the debriefs, who would be present in the room where the debriefing was going on with the pilots?

HOPPE: It was actually.

Speaker 3 In their.

HOPPE: Hospital. Um, and they would just set up a tape.

Speaker 3 Recorder on the.

HOPPE: Hospital tray table.

Speaker 3 And then.

HOPPE: The agency.

Speaker 3 Whichever one of the.

HOPPE: Alphabet soup.

Speaker 3 Gang is what.

HOPPE: We call it.

Speaker 3 Um.

HOPPE: I worked with the Air Force officers, special investigation agents that were at Travis Air Force Base, but there were other.

Speaker 3 People in and out who I don't know who.

HOPPE: They were, but they all had suits.

Speaker 3 And, uh.

HOPPE: Basically, I was in a.

Speaker 3 Room that was typing the notes.

HOPPE: Um, and then gave it to.

Speaker 3 The agent. So I was never in the hospital room.

HOPPE: So I was sick in the hand. But we were me.

BOWERS HEALEY: So you didn't actually hear the briefing at the time. But, you know, at the time I.

HOPPE: Got the tapes, but you would meet.

Speaker 3 Them in the hallway and they'd.

HOPPE: Always.

Speaker 3 You know, welcome home and shake their hand and say.

HOPPE: Glad to see you.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: But yeah, it was.

Speaker 3 Quite an experience.

BOWERS HEALEY: Overall, what condition were the pilots in? Would you say, were they in good health or just.

Speaker 3 No, no. Most from malnutrition of some form or another.

HOPPE: Because if they ate, it was simple watered down rice or just hot water with maybe a few vegetables. So yeah, they were, but their spirits were.

Speaker 3 So high they were all.

HOPPE: Positive, which was amazing for the ordeal.

Speaker 3 They went through. And then I think the.

HOPPE: Hardest part was.

Speaker 3 Probably when they got on with their families.

HOPPE: And that's I just pray all of them were successful.

BOWERS HEALEY: Um, in addition to malnutrition, did you observe anything else in terms of their physical, um, well-being or condition?

HOPPE: No, I didn't say.

Speaker 3 Not just walking in the hallway.

HOPPE: You just just saw them. And we were told try to keep limited communication.

Speaker 3 And that was it.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. So, um, anything else about that experience that you want to talk about?

HOPPE: Uh, it's it's hard to remember.

Speaker 3 It's been.

HOPPE: Quite a few years, but I think it.

Speaker 3 Helped me become a better person.

HOPPE: Because I appreciated what freedoms.

Speaker 3 We had.

HOPPE: And I could just get up.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: Walk down, get in a car and go drive to the local gas station, get a soda.

Speaker 3 If I wanted to. These poor gentlemen were barred in a room in solitary confinement. I don't think I could never handle that.

HOPPE: So it made me appreciate what they did.

Speaker 3 For us in our nation, even though at that time the nation.

HOPPE: Didn't. Have the heart to say they did.

Speaker 3 Good a job that, um.

HOPPE: They were still anti war at that time. But you had here are heroes that survived.

BOWERS HEALEY: Mhm. Okay. Um. After you did that stint of duty with the P.O.W. was what was the next, uh, assignment? Well, let me ask you this. Were you given a military occupational specialty designator? And if so, what was it?

Speaker 3 Uh, when I was at.

HOPPE: Travis Air Force Base, it was called A702, which is.

Speaker 3 Administrative.

HOPPE: Field. So later.

Speaker 3 On, as you advanced.

HOPPE: They gave.

Speaker 3 Fans your names. But I ended.

HOPPE: Up with the senior.

Speaker 3 Information management.

HOPPE: Specialist.

Speaker 3 As an m OS. And over the.

HOPPE: Years it changes. But it all basically goes.

Speaker 3 Down to the administration of paperwork in the Air Force.

HOPPE: Okay. Paper pusher, they say.

BOWERS HEALEY: And you said that, uh, when you started working with peo ws, they said, okay, you're top secret now. Um, uh, are you aware was there more background check in and if so.

HOPPE: Yes, there was, which was very interesting because I had to intern fill out a.

Speaker 3 397 form, which.

HOPPE: Is about six pages.

Speaker 3 Long.

HOPPE: With the local oversight office there at Travis Air Force Base.

Speaker 3 And from that you put references.

HOPPE: So being from green Bay.

Speaker 3 Wisconsin, all my.

HOPPE: References.

Speaker 3 Were there. And they actually.

HOPPE: The FBI.

Speaker 3 Did the background check in green.

HOPPE: Bay because there's no military.

Speaker 3 And they went.

HOPPE: To work locations of the folks I reference. And one was the lady that lived right across the street. And Josepha.

Speaker 3 Skinner Dorr was there, and she had.

HOPPE: Three daughters. And it was funny because she worked for.

Speaker 3 Trainees in downtown green Bay.

HOPPE: Which is a retail store she worked up in.

Speaker 3 The.

HOPPE: Cafeteria.

Speaker 3 The restaurant was on the top of the building.

HOPPE: So the FBI agent.

Speaker 3 Went.

HOPPE: To her work location to ask her questions about myself.

Speaker 3 On my.

HOPPE: Top security.

Speaker 3 Background check, and she.

HOPPE: Avoided him.

Speaker 3 He'd come in there.

HOPPE: In a suit so she would.

Speaker 3 Go in the.

HOPPE: Back cuboid. And because her three daughters had just got back from Washington, DC at the.

Speaker 3 American Indian Movement.

HOPPE: Protest, which was excellent, it was interesting because they were protesting, um, the inadequacy of the Indian Bureau to take care of the.

Speaker 3 Native Americans in the area. And the.

HOPPE: Three girls.

Speaker 3 Were in their teens, and they had.

HOPPE: Just drove back from DC.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: She thought that the FBI was.

Speaker 3 Checking up on her daughters and not.

HOPPE: On my security.

BOWERS HEALEY: Background.

Speaker 3 And then, um, the other one was Mrs. Christianson.

HOPPE: She was, I would see, at least.

Speaker 3 In her 90s when I went into.

HOPPE: Service in 71. And we were raised in the Midwest, where we take.

Speaker 3 Care of our neighbors. So my mom said, now you.

HOPPE: Make sure if Mrs. Christianson goes to the bus stop, that you're there to help her.

Speaker 3 Bring her packages home.

HOPPE: So we always made sure we watched the clock and it was two blocks away. But that's what you do.

Speaker 3 For your neighbors. Or we'd made sure it was raining. I had run up there with an umbrella.

HOPPE: Uh, there was snow. We made sure we shovel the sidewalk.

Speaker 3 And I'm.

HOPPE: Happy to say that type of upbringing is still here.

Speaker 3 In the greater northeast Wisconsin.

HOPPE: You just see people helping each other. And I was actually.

Speaker 3 Picking up my.

HOPPE: Sister at the airport.

Speaker 3 And there was a lady.

HOPPE: Sitting.

Speaker 3 Next to me, and I'm outgoing. I said, hi, how are you?

HOPPE: Was she was in between flights.

Speaker 3 And they canceled her flight out of green Bay for that night.

HOPPE: And she said, well.

Speaker 3 Is there any.

HOPPE: Cafeteria.

Speaker 3 Here? And I said, no, the airport's closed me down.

HOPPE: I said, do you want to wait?

Speaker 3 I'm picking up my.

HOPPE: Sister and we'll take you someplace to get a hot.

Speaker 3 Meal.

HOPPE: Well, this was after 10:00.

Speaker 3 At.

HOPPE: Night because of the late flight.

Speaker 3 That my sister came in. So we.

HOPPE: Took her to the closest QuikTrip.

Speaker 3 And got.

HOPPE: Her a hot sandwich, a cup of soup, a soda.

Speaker 3 Snack.

HOPPE: So she.

Speaker 3 Would spend the night at.

HOPPE: The airport, but she would.

Speaker 3 Have something to snack on. And she.

HOPPE: Just said, well, let me pay you.

Speaker 3 I said, no, that's not what we do here.

HOPPE: We I was born and raised to do an.

Speaker 3 Act of kindness. And you just passed along this. Somebody else.

HOPPE: So fortunately, we helped her. Where she wasn't at the airport by herself.

Speaker 3 Without anything to drink or snacks.

HOPPE: At least. So there's just something we were raised.

Speaker 3 With and it.

HOPPE: Just continues to stick with.

Speaker 3 Us now.

BOWERS HEALEY: Great, right. Okay, let me get you back on to your background check. Oh, you were talking about the two people back here in Wisconsin that the FBI, uh, came to visit. Anything else with your background check, or was it, uh, updated throughout your service?

HOPPE: It's updated throughout my service. Um, we have to tie it back into.

Speaker 3 I went back to my unit.

HOPPE: At the six year area squadron orderly.

Speaker 3 Room.

HOPPE: And I wasn't there for three weeks. Later, all of a.

Speaker 3 Sudden, I get new.

HOPPE: Orders to Washington.

Speaker 3 DC, and it's.

HOPPE: Actually the headquarters of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations or short. It's always side. So I contribute that all back.

Speaker 3 To when I did.

HOPPE: The P.O.W. thing. Well, I get to Washington, DC.

Speaker 3 And I'm assigned to Bolling Air Force.

HOPPE: Base. We have barracks.

Speaker 3 On the.

HOPPE: Base, but we actually were.

Speaker 3 Downtown four blocks from the Capitol.

HOPPE: At the four star building. So I was assigned.

Speaker 3 To do.

HOPPE: The administrative work.

Speaker 3 In the.

HOPPE: Headquarters technical division.

Speaker 3 And those.

HOPPE: Are the folks that do all the technical equipment, the photographing.

Speaker 3 The surveillance and.

HOPPE: All kinds other good stuff.

Speaker 3 But my one of my job was help typing up the.

HOPPE: Reports.

Speaker 3 And again, it was.

HOPPE: Top secret. So I did spend.

Speaker 3 The next 20.

HOPPE: Years with OSA. So every five years they'd update your security clearance at top secret level.

Speaker 3 And they would have.

HOPPE: To.

Speaker 3 Do background check again.

BOWERS HEALEY: I say, okay, before you went to Washington DC, um, were you still on your personal list or had you re-enlisted?

Speaker 3 I was still on my.

HOPPE: First.

Speaker 3 Enlistment.

BOWERS HEALEY: What was the length of your first enlistment? Four years. Okay.

Speaker 3 And then I stayed in the Air Force. And actually, I wasn't even out of basic training, and I knew.

HOPPE: I was going to.

Speaker 3 Spend at least 20 years.

HOPPE: Uh, I enjoyed it, uh, the camaraderie, the work was.

Speaker 3 Challenging and.

HOPPE: Also be able.

Speaker 3 To travel. And that was.

HOPPE: Basically one of the reasons I.

Speaker 3 Joined the Air Force.

HOPPE: And travel.

BOWERS HEALEY: So when you worked at the foresaw building down near the Capitol, um, uh, your barracks were back at Boeing or. Correct? Okay.

HOPPE: It was actually a pre-World War Two.

Speaker 3 Barracks, and they were.

HOPPE: All and it was challenging to pass inspection every day because you had these big asbestos wrap.

Speaker 3 PVC pipes running.

HOPPE: Through the ceiling.

Speaker 3 And the.

HOPPE: Crud would fall down. So, um, yeah, it was interesting because years later.

Speaker 3 I went back.

HOPPE: To the DC area.

Speaker 3 And the.

HOPPE: Spot where the barracks were built was now an officer's tennis court. So, you know, they were on their last legs. But while I was there, it was very interesting because.

Speaker 3 There weren't that many female agents in OSA at that time.

HOPPE: It was until 74, 1974 were there all the career fields in the military opened up? Uh, the Air Force restricted three jobs.

Speaker 3 And those were.

HOPPE: Jet pilots that were.

Speaker 3 Involved in.

HOPPE: Tactical.

Speaker 3 Defense. In other words, they were combat pilots. Women could not.

HOPPE: Enter their career field, but every other job opened up. So jobs were they didn't have women before opened up, like aircraft.

Speaker 3 Mechanics.

HOPPE: Or the fire department or the security police.

Speaker 3 Because when I joined.

HOPPE: The Air Force.

Speaker 3 Did not have female.

HOPPE: Police at all. So all those careers opened up. It was.

Speaker 3 Interesting.

HOPPE: And I was involved with oversight.

Speaker 3 Assigned to that unit. No women.

HOPPE: So I would go.

Speaker 3 Out and help.

HOPPE: With the communications or go along as just.

Speaker 3 A female.

HOPPE: To try to disguise the agents doing the job. So we in a car, I have the radio. We call them bricks because they back then radios were about the size of bricks.

Speaker 3 And I would do.

HOPPE: The communication because it was either.

Speaker 3 Training.

HOPPE: Of. New ages because her school was right there in Washington, D.C.. We would become what was called rabbit. So they give us a scenario that you would go through the store, department store and try to lose the agent that was.

Speaker 3 Trailing.

HOPPE: You, and you actually did that during the exercise. So you have a.

Speaker 3 Jacket on, you.

HOPPE: Go up escalator, take the jacket off and see if.

Speaker 3 The agent can remember, not.

HOPPE: Pick you up. These are new kids and they're just learning the job. So what was interesting, uh, there were a couple of times they actually had live operations.

Speaker 3 Going on, and they needed.

HOPPE: Extra help and communications. So I would sit.

Speaker 3 In the.

HOPPE: Passenger seat, hold the brick, and communicate while the agent was doing their surveillance or.

Speaker 3 Trailing somebody.

BOWERS HEALEY: And were the agents of Air Force enlisted or Air Force officers? Both. Both.

HOPPE: Uh, special agents in the Air Force. If you were field grader above.

Speaker 3 You can identify by rank.

HOPPE: But if you were captain below, they were just addressed as special agents that we have. They conducted an interview with somebody who was suspected of something.

Speaker 3 There was no influence of rank, whether.

HOPPE: It was enlisted or an officer, because they were just a special agent. Uh, again, it is.

Speaker 3 I said in the interviews.

HOPPE: Because there weren't.

Speaker 3 Female agents.

HOPPE: And to protect.

Speaker 3 The male.

HOPPE: Agents.

Speaker 3 Interviewing a female.

HOPPE: Suspect, I would just sit in the.

Speaker 3 Room and be able to say nothing happened during that interview, because you just never know what somebody might say.

HOPPE: And it was protecting the agents and just helping our agency do their job.

BOWERS HEALEY: If it was a female agent doing the interview, did you have to sit in?

Speaker 3 No.

BOWERS HEALEY: So because.

HOPPE: Normally they did two agents doing.

Speaker 3 The interview.

HOPPE: That way they could cover all aspects of it. But if there were.

Speaker 3 Two males interviewing a female, I would sit in on the side.

HOPPE: And just be there to protect the agents.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. Um, with the enlisted agents, although maybe you didn't know their rank. Do they have to have a certain rank to get into that field?

HOPPE: Normally they are on their second.

Speaker 3 Enlistment.

HOPPE: Somewhere. A staff sergeant.

Speaker 3 Or a.

HOPPE: Bump.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

Speaker 3 Yeah, there were a lot of.

HOPPE: Enlisted agents, but I knew their rank because.

Speaker 3 Working their personnel records again, it goes.

HOPPE: Back to the administration part where they need to.

Speaker 3 Get their medical exam or they have.

HOPPE: To have certain tests. And then I had access to what rank they were. But we always addressed just agent.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. And you mentioned that you were used to disguise, um, tell me more about that disguise.

HOPPE: Uh, we went in civilian clothes, okay.

Speaker 3 And we.

HOPPE: Were. And this is actually.

Speaker 3 Training new.

HOPPE: Agents how to do her.

Speaker 3 Surveillance.

HOPPE: So they could follow. Oh, I see me as the rabbit.

Speaker 3 And learn.

HOPPE: How to do that.

Speaker 3 In the civilian world.

HOPPE: Because when we had operations, it could be either a sole Air Force operation or a joint agency operation. Especially when you got to the fraud, the.

Speaker 3 Criminal or narcotics that they.

HOPPE: Investigated. They always expect just men.

Speaker 3 Well, if you went in as sometimes.

HOPPE: As a partner, you to your.

Speaker 3 Husband and wife.

HOPPE: They would never suspect the agent was the male part of the group during the investigation. And you'd see.

Speaker 3 Everything go down and you.

HOPPE: Were able to testify and say, yes, and, uh, obtain this piece of equipment that was stolen from the Air Force.

Speaker 3 And I was there.

HOPPE: And it's always interesting you get to see both sides of it.

BOWERS HEALEY: How long did you do that work?

HOPPE: That was actually, I would say.

Speaker 3 Within the next ten.

HOPPE: Years, wherever I was stationed, because a lot of times I was the only female enlisted female. So they would say, why don't you.

Speaker 3 Come and go on.

HOPPE: This operation to help.

Speaker 3 In the disguise?

HOPPE: So it was fun.

BOWERS HEALEY: Yeah. Okay. You spent three years in the DC area.

Speaker 3 Now I actually did not. Okay, um, normally when.

HOPPE: You're recruited for the headquarters office, they would say you would be there for four years or more, but I pulled it. When I got there, I was.

Speaker 3 Training and doing the job, and I.

HOPPE: Again, the travel bug.

Speaker 3 Wanted to move in and keep going and see the.

HOPPE: World, so I. Put in what we call as a dream sheet, as a form that says, you willing to go travel worldwide duty wherever the Air Force needs you.

Speaker 3 So I have my dream sheet in. And I was.

HOPPE: At the technical division.

Speaker 3 When my.

HOPPE: Boss called.

Speaker 3 Me and said.

HOPPE: You've been working with Joe, the.

Speaker 3 Agent on.

HOPPE: This technical side of an operation.

Speaker 3 Going on, and I just.

HOPPE: Knew the operation.

Speaker 3 Name. I didn't know.

HOPPE: Where it was. So he said, instead of sending you their temporary duty to continue help.

Speaker 3 We want to make a permanent change of station.

HOPPE: So that was maybe 18 months after I got there, and I said, sure, I'm ready to go.

BOWERS HEALEY: Did you know where you were ready to go to China?

HOPPE: That ties it in. And this was on a Wednesday. And since you have the Top-secret clearance, you can do the.

Speaker 3 Operation over there.

HOPPE: Would you like to go? I said sure. So, by the way, where are you sending me? He goes. Athens, Greece. Okay. So that was my next duty station.

Speaker 3 I spent three and a half years in Athens, Greece.

HOPPE: There I worked within the administrative support to the agents in the criminal fraud division.

Speaker 3 And then criminal could be anywhere from stealing equipment.

HOPPE: To drug transport.

Speaker 3 Actions and everything else.

HOPPE: So it was interesting.

BOWERS HEALEY: What does does the Navy have a base in Athens?

HOPPE: The navy? Yeah.

BOWERS HEALEY: The air force. Air force, air force it.

HOPPE: We were attached to.

Speaker 3 Hellenic.

HOPPE: Air Base, which is the Greek air base.

BOWERS HEALEY: Can you spell that for me, please?

HOPPE: H e l l.

Speaker 3 E and I call in Hellenic. Come in.

HOPPE: We actually changed it to.

Speaker 3 Athena.

HOPPE: Air Base before I left. Okay. And I believe it's close now.

Speaker 3 But back then.

HOPPE: It was a prime assignment.

Speaker 3 I didn't know, I said.

HOPPE: Sure, I'll go. And he said, well, this is Wednesday. We need you there Friday.

Speaker 3 I said, I'm gone.

HOPPE: And been in the barracks, you know, couple duffel bags and just say your roommate, uh, signed over. Take care of them, put locks.

Speaker 3 On them. He hopped on a plane.

HOPPE: I was in Greece, called my folks before.

Speaker 3 I left, and I said, well, I'm going to Greece tomorrow. And here.

HOPPE: What? I said, well, that's why I joined.

BOWERS HEALEY: So then you're there for three and a half.

Speaker 3 Years, three and a half years.

BOWERS HEALEY: How large was the air base? How many people?

HOPPE: The air base was actually five blocks by three blocks. If you didn't count the flight line.

Speaker 3 There might have been.

HOPPE: About 3000 people to include dependents. They did not have barracks for women. This is such a small place.

Speaker 3 So I had to rent an apartment on what we call.

HOPPE: The local.

Speaker 3 Economy.

HOPPE: Which was awesome. So I learned a lot of the Greek culture was there. Uh, it was very easy to catch a bus, um, from where I was at, to go down town.

Speaker 3 And this.

HOPPE: Is where I.

Speaker 3 Really enjoyed it.

HOPPE: Is actually see Acropolis and touch it.

BOWERS HEALEY: Um.

HOPPE: One of the oldest civilizations.

Speaker 3 And be.

HOPPE: Able to see their.

Speaker 3 Daily market.

HOPPE: To get used to.

Speaker 3 Talking.

HOPPE: A little Greek, which I do remember, uh, Yasushi.

Speaker 3 Camis.

HOPPE: Which is hello in Greek and of course, Dole Publishers.

Speaker 3 Thank you very much.

HOPPE: So you pick up.

Speaker 3 Some of the language. And I found if.

HOPPE: You were able to just say a few words that most of Europeans appreciated, that most European schools, they have their basic language.

Speaker 3 And English.

HOPPE: As a second business.

Speaker 3 Language.

HOPPE: So if you took the effort to.

Speaker 3 Learn.

HOPPE: At least a few greetings.

Speaker 3 In a foreign language.

HOPPE: They appreciate it, then switch to English. You might be able to bargain or get your meals, or of course.

Speaker 3 A glass of wine with.

HOPPE: Being in Greece. So I get to travel a lot. Uh, I actually traveled to.

Speaker 3 Rome while.

HOPPE: I was there and spent some.

Speaker 3 Time in Rome. Then I went.

HOPPE: To the island of Crete.

Speaker 3 Where our Lion Air Station is.

HOPPE: We did some work there. So is very interesting.

BOWERS HEALEY: So you were TDY there at.

HOPPE: Temporary duty, is that.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay?

Speaker 3 And then I met Ashley. We were having dinner and I'm sat next to.

HOPPE: Teachers at or teaching at the English department and Defense school there. So I swapped keys with the lady there. So she spent a week.

Speaker 3 At my Athens apartment, and I spent a.

HOPPE: Week at her.

Speaker 3 Apartment and are actually, um, on the island of Crete. And I can always remember this.

HOPPE: Because they don't have big refrigerators like we do in the U.S. they have little.

Speaker 3 Bitty ones.

HOPPE: So every day you went to the market to be able to get your food for the day. So we get up and get a coffee. I go to the bakery and get a fresh bun.

Speaker 3 Then next.

HOPPE: Door you get either a piece of cheese.

Speaker 3 Or an apple and walk to the.

HOPPE: Beach with.

Speaker 3 Your blankets. Sit down and watch the sunrise.

BOWERS HEALEY: Oh my.

HOPPE: So yeah, it was quite an interesting life there. And shortly after that a.

Speaker 3 Time was coming up.

HOPPE: So I decided I would do what's called a concurrent assignment.

Speaker 3 So I went from.

HOPPE: Athens to Lindsay Air Station, which was this. But in.

Speaker 3 Germany.

HOPPE: That's our headquarters for Europe.

Speaker 3 And I.

HOPPE: Worked at the counterintelligence.

Speaker 3 Counterespionage.

HOPPE: Division there.

Speaker 3 So again, that.

HOPPE: Top secret clearance used, uh, I was at.

Speaker 3 Um.

HOPPE: That was district 70. I went.

Speaker 3 From.

HOPPE: The little air base or air.

Speaker 3 Station in Athens, Greece, and I got, I got assignment to this one, Germany.

HOPPE: I mean, that's got to be a huge base. Well, the base was turned over to the Army to use.

Speaker 3 And the Air.

HOPPE: Force went to Lindsey Air Station, which I would say was maybe seven blocks.

Speaker 3 By nine blocks.

HOPPE: So I went from little base to little base, but I was there. It was.

Speaker 3 Very interesting.

BOWERS HEALEY: Was it connected to the Army base or not.

Speaker 3 That at all? No, it was actually in downtown Wiesbaden, the city itself, and it.

HOPPE: Was a.

Speaker 3 Half mile away.

HOPPE: From the Air Force Hospital, which was Wiesbaden Hospital. So I spent.

Speaker 3 The next.

HOPPE: Three years there with the counterintelligence division.

Speaker 3 Administratively.

HOPPE: Working again. You need top secret. We did a lot of, uh, top secret, what they call CIA work, special compartment information. I was there during the fall of I.

Speaker 3 Ran, so we.

HOPPE: Were involved with supporting.

Speaker 3 That. And we actually met up.

HOPPE: With two of the OSS agents that were.

Speaker 3 At the embassy when it fell. And they actually went out the back door and were.

HOPPE: Able to get a lot of the.

Speaker 3 Civilians that work.

HOPPE: There out and away from the rioters, and eventually got back to Germany.

Speaker 3 Um, I can't remember.

BOWERS HEALEY: Just out of curiosity, did you see a film about that?

HOPPE: I was just going to say that there was a movie made about that.

BOWERS HEALEY: And I can't remember the name either in Hollywood sort of thing. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 And it was embellishment of.

HOPPE: Basically what they did. Okay.

Speaker 3 Uh, one of the.

HOPPE: Agents.

Speaker 3 Ran a.

HOPPE: Crash the garage and make believe he was on his brick.

Speaker 3 And that was the radio.

HOPPE: But they disarmed it before.

Speaker 3 He went out.

HOPPE: And most student protesters followed him. And while the other agent was going the opposite direction, leading all of the employees to a different embassy building.

Speaker 3 And then they eventually get out.

HOPPE: But both of these.

Speaker 3 Gentlemen ended up getting.

HOPPE: The Air Medal for their activities.

Speaker 3 During that time.

HOPPE: Saving so many lives.

Speaker 3 And the one he actually stayed in Germany instead of.

HOPPE: He was stationed.

Speaker 3 In Iran.

HOPPE: But he went to Lindsey Air Station. He stayed there as a choice of his next assignment.

Speaker 3 And I.

HOPPE: Actually worked for.

Speaker 3 Him.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

Speaker 3 And they promote him to major. And then he transferred.

HOPPE: To Washington, DC, eventually.

Speaker 3 Became.

HOPPE: Uh, brigadier general in charge of the OSCE, which was interesting. It was Jerry.

Speaker 3 Hoffman.

BOWERS HEALEY: Hoffman. Yeah. Okay.

Speaker 3 And, uh, and then, um, years later, when I was retiring out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

HOPPE: He just happened to be there.

Speaker 3 Doing the inspection. The.

HOPPE: So I got to say hello and goodbye. Okay, but it was interesting.

BOWERS HEALEY: What year was that? That I ran for?

HOPPE: So I want to see C70. Let's see.

Speaker 3 It had to be in their.

HOPPE: Early 80s because I got to.

Speaker 3 Germany in.

HOPPE: 76.

Speaker 3 79.

HOPPE: Yeah. And to be there early this year.

BOWERS HEALEY: I'm not sure of the date.

HOPPE: Yeah. Okay. It was interesting, in fact. But I also got me as we had type classified documents.

Speaker 3 And the comparable ones I.

HOPPE: Typed were at.

Speaker 3 Iran, and the.

HOPPE: Student got a hold of the.

Speaker 3 Shredded material.

HOPPE: Well, back.

Speaker 3 Then.

HOPPE: All they had is what we call spaghetti shredders, which were just streaks. Oh well, the students got Ahold of the plastic bags.

Speaker 3 And they took months, but.

HOPPE: They were able to put letters back together.

Speaker 3 Again. And I'm.

HOPPE: Sitting in Germany getting ready to go to.

Speaker 3 Work. And then we had CNN for TV news, and they were holding up a letter and it said top secret CIA. And now I'm going.

HOPPE: Oh my gosh. It's going to be interesting day at work today because we had changed.

Speaker 3 A whole bunch of.

HOPPE: Activities because they were actually showing letters at.

BOWERS HEALEY: Home.

HOPPE: Top secret. But it was major mazing of the patience to take those little strips. Now they have what's called crosscut. So they cut the paper to the size of rice. So it's almost impossible put together again. But that was interesting.

Speaker 3 All the different.

HOPPE: Changes in security because and past incidents. But I was at.

Speaker 3 Germany and again I.

HOPPE: Played sports after duty. So I got to travel. We got up to.

Speaker 3 Amsterdam and.

HOPPE: Play international.

Speaker 3 Softball with the other nations.

HOPPE: Uh, involved in bowling. So I actually finished once with the European Championship.

Speaker 3 In London, England.

HOPPE: So I got involved.

Speaker 3 In.

HOPPE: Volunteer activities. So you would be able to help with the kids.

Speaker 3 And I taught them how to bowl. And we're talking a very young.

HOPPE: They'd have the bumper pads, but you would still teach them.

BOWERS HEALEY: Because they were.

HOPPE: Dependent, dependent.

Speaker 3 Children on the.

HOPPE: Base. All right. Yeah.

BOWERS HEALEY: So so softball and bowling were your basic sports.

Speaker 3 Basketball and.

BOWERS HEALEY: Volleyball. Basketball and volleyball too.

HOPPE: Basically, it was all year round because you'd.

Speaker 3 Have one section of sports and that would finish and then go right into the next.

HOPPE: So I kept good Air Force shape by doing that, because I didn't believe sitting.

Speaker 3 In the barracks.

HOPPE: At all. I wasn't what they called as a barracks rat. I would, uh, go to NWR real well for recreation Department. Every base I was at had one.

Speaker 3 And they would.

HOPPE: Have tours that.

Speaker 3 You could go on. So in Germany every weekend, you always had someplace to visit.

HOPPE: And you'd make a little bag lunch, a sandwich and a piece of fruit. And you could go out and go and see the castles, see the vineyards, go to Beer Fest.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. Uh, did you go by yourself or did you buddy up with somebody?

HOPPE: Usually buddy with somebody else in the barracks. Or if somebody was there and they didn't. Say, let's go, because you can't be a barracks and get out and enjoy the the local folks.

BOWERS HEALEY: So in Germany, you lived in the barracks or on the economy?

HOPPE: The barracks.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: But every weekend I was either playing sports.

Speaker 3 Or I was on my.

HOPPE: Bus tour. Great.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. How much time do you spend in Germany?

Speaker 3 I spent another three and a half years in Germany. And then from there I went.

HOPPE: To a Quarter Air Force base by.

Speaker 3 Tacoma.

HOPPE: Washington.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

Speaker 3 And that.

HOPPE: Was.

Speaker 3 I think another.

HOPPE: Three years there while I was there. Again, the military's downsizing. So we had Alaska was a separate district in itself. So at that time they said, well, we're.

Speaker 3 Going to consolidate.

HOPPE: Alaska with McChord, which is North west state.

Speaker 3 And make.

HOPPE: It one district instead of two. So we had to travel up to Fairbanks.

Speaker 3 And then.

HOPPE: Anchorage to do inspection. Of the detachments.

Speaker 3 That were going to be assigned there.

HOPPE: It was interesting as.

Speaker 3 I went along with.

HOPPE: The logistics guy. He was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas. Never saw snow. So we're.

Speaker 3 Watching.

HOPPE: The weather report, and it was.

Speaker 3 Somewhat mild when we.

HOPPE: First got notified we're going, but a storm blew in, so we had to not only get the regular uniform, civilian clothes, and luggage, but we had to get Arctic gear.

Speaker 3 Because when we landed.

HOPPE: At.

Speaker 3 Eielson Air.

HOPPE: Base, it was 67 below with the wind chill factor and which was extremely cold even for me from Wisconsin. And we spend a week there and then a week at Anchorage. So we were in the cold weather the whole.

Speaker 3 Time and.

HOPPE: Early gear. The funniest part is we have the bunny boots, which are white boots they put air in to protect the feet, the overalls.

Speaker 3 And the.

HOPPE: Parka. And then you had your gloves.

Speaker 3 Which were deerskin on the inner side and rough fur on the outside.

HOPPE: And of course the strings, so you wouldn't lose it. And we were.

Speaker 3 Trying these on in by McChord.

HOPPE: And the guy goes, well, what's all this.

Speaker 3 I'm this.

HOPPE: Bad for? I said, well, if you get a.

Speaker 3 Runny.

HOPPE: Nose, you wipe your nose and get the ice off your face and just knock it off. He didn't believe me at all. So we got up there and he asked the agents and they said, the same thing is to protect you from having ice freeze on your face.

BOWERS HEALEY: Oh my goodness.

HOPPE: And then the other part of that was funny. It was you had to plug the.

Speaker 3 Cars in every night.

HOPPE: You plugged in the radiator and you had an interior plug heater, because if you didn't, the plastic seats, if you sat down.

Speaker 3 The next.

HOPPE: Day would shatter.

BOWERS HEALEY: Oh my, without the heat.

HOPPE: So those are the different nuances living up.

Speaker 3 Up there in Alaska. And it was quite interesting.

BOWERS HEALEY: And you just went to Alaska for temporary duties. Yeah.

HOPPE: So fortunately I went back to Seattle area. We flew in there and it was actually the same.

Speaker 3 Time the Border man half gang.

HOPPE: Terrorists of Europe.

Speaker 3 Were bombing our Ramstein.

HOPPE: Headquarters. And since I had just returned from Germany to be assigned to McChord Air Force Base, they were.

Speaker 3 Setting up.

HOPPE: Always. I was asked by the Air staff to set up a debriefing.

Speaker 3 Team in Germany.

HOPPE: So they would brief all of the back. Then it was started with feel great officers above at air bases on how to do security because of the terrorists attack. Another team were investigating the terrorism, so they tapped.

Speaker 3 Me when I was still in.

HOPPE: Alaska to go to Germany. So I had come back and that was on a Friday.

Speaker 3 Saturday morning I went to the office.

HOPPE: Turned in my reports.

Speaker 3 Hopped on a plane to.

HOPPE: South.

Speaker 3 Carolina that went to.

HOPPE: Frankfurt.

Speaker 3 Germany, and got a ride from Frankfurt, Germany, Ramstein, which.

HOPPE: Is about a half hour south, and walked in and they were briefing at 5:00.

Speaker 3 And Monday.

HOPPE: Afternoon, and they said.

Speaker 3 To Tom, we're going.

HOPPE: To work. So they said initially it was going to be administrative support for this debriefing team, but because the team did such a good job, they decided to expand the briefing criteria. So instead of spending just maybe ten days to two weeks in Germany, 70 days later.

Speaker 3 I finally get.

HOPPE: Back to my home base at McChord. But the whole time we were there, we were debriefing.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: Teaching the Air Force.

Speaker 3 Members and their families.

HOPPE: What to do in case of terrorism.

Speaker 3 Attack and how to prevent it.

HOPPE: To make sure that while the briefings were given to encourage the military.

Speaker 3 Member and family members.

HOPPE: To alter their routines, so then.

Speaker 3 They wouldn't become.

HOPPE: A regular.

Speaker 3 Routine and be a.

HOPPE: Target. And actually, while we were there, General Dozier.

Speaker 3 Of the Army was kidnaped by the bottom half gang and he had not.

HOPPE: Changed his routine.

Speaker 3 And he went jogging the same time that morning.

HOPPE: They captured him. He got.

Speaker 3 Them back.

HOPPE: Later without incident.

BOWERS HEALEY: But it was this that the terrorist that you were there for your 70 days. And the general who was.

HOPPE: That would have been.

Speaker 3 I would say, around 84.

BOWERS HEALEY: And by that time you'd been in the Air Force. About how long?

HOPPE: Okay. It went in 71. So that.

Speaker 3 Would have been.

BOWERS HEALEY: Up 13 years. Ten years. And your rank at the time.

HOPPE: I was a staff sergeant in the Air Force.

BOWERS HEALEY: And pay grade. That is what, um.

HOPPE: In five.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: You're making me think, huh? Well. Go ahead. All right. Yeah.

BOWERS HEALEY: And you know, as you're talking about this, you're indicating, I think, that throughout your career you stayed in the admin aspects, but you always worked for. Cause I always say, did you ever consider shifting over or did you try to shift over to to become an agent or not?

HOPPE: No. It really didn't entice me to.

Speaker 3 Become an.

BOWERS HEALEY: Agent because.

HOPPE: Basically sometimes you had to lie to.

Speaker 3 Get the job done. I'm not a good liar.

HOPPE: I don't have that poker face. And I just enjoyed supporting the okay.

Speaker 3 Organization and doing the paperwork and helping and training.

HOPPE: Because not only was we had.

Speaker 3 Younger airmen that.

HOPPE: Would be tax to fill jobs too. So you had your job and then if.

Speaker 3 You had young airmen, you had to make sure they would advance in.

HOPPE: Their career. So you were always making sure that they would pass the test or train or I always had, um.

Speaker 3 When I did.

HOPPE: Become a division chief later in my career, we would have the commander would brief all division chiefs, and then I would come back and brief.

Speaker 3 But then the next day I said, I'm going to come.

HOPPE: Back with a career question to keep them on their toes and give a detailed.

Speaker 3 Question on something relevant.

HOPPE: Whether it was the typing job or the forms we needed, or security wise, because all of us had the higher security. So we were always.

Speaker 3 Training to make sure we.

HOPPE: Kept our security.

Speaker 3 Top notch.

HOPPE: Okay. Then eventually I.

Speaker 3 Became appointed.

HOPPE: Security officer for the district. So I was always briefing and training on that.

BOWERS HEALEY: That was back in McCord or where.

HOPPE: It was actually when I got I went from McCord to Torreon.

Speaker 3 Air.

HOPPE: In Madrid, Spain.

BOWERS HEALEY: Can I can you spell that, please?

HOPPE: T o r r e j.

Speaker 3 O n.

HOPPE: Air base. Okay. And I don't believe.

Speaker 3 That one's there anymore either.

HOPPE: I said I might have some bad luck, but I got there before. Uh, yeah, I was at TJ for another three years, and there I was assigned the administrative division chief. So I worked for the commander, just the colonel.

Speaker 3 And that's why.

HOPPE: I started.

Speaker 3 Picking up on.

HOPPE: The career question.

Speaker 3 And that was my way of challenging.

HOPPE: Because I believe I had 83.

Speaker 3 Airmen that work for me, challenged them to be on their.

HOPPE: Toes, to know.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: Then say a lot of the stuff we.

Speaker 3 Trained on were part.

HOPPE: Of their test to.

Speaker 3 Get promoted.

HOPPE: To. So that always.

BOWERS HEALEY: You mentioned some of the people that you worked for, uh, up until this time, who would you consider being some of the your trainers or your mentors that helped you along your career in the Air Force?

HOPPE: I usually worked in the administrative section.

Speaker 3 At the.

HOPPE: District.

Speaker 3 Level, and.

HOPPE: It was a senior NCO that was always in.

Speaker 3 Charge, and.

HOPPE: All of them were there to encourage, uh, they got you to be.

Speaker 3 Very knowledgeable in your career job.

HOPPE: And also they would.

Speaker 3 Be the one to tell the commander, well, we need.

HOPPE: Support in this operation. So I would like.

Speaker 3 To send this staff member to be the administration.

HOPPE: Now, the sport like at McChord, they would do what we call.

Speaker 3 This, the round up.

HOPPE: Every year.

Speaker 3 And it was.

HOPPE: At a base in the northwest were high traffic of drugs were involved. So they would have the agents go there.

Speaker 3 And do.

HOPPE: The investigation.

Speaker 3 Apprehend.

HOPPE: Drug users or. Dealers, but they needed to have administrative support.

Speaker 3 To make sure we.

HOPPE: Had all the equipment, the transportation, the forms to do the reports and get everything together to do this, because they actually reported to a.

Speaker 3 Base commander.

HOPPE: And said there's a drug problem. So the last.

Speaker 3 One I went on.

HOPPE: They were targeting just dealers too. So my support was to make the the visual charts, as you see in the police department, the whiteboards, you would put all the information. So we would actually have names of the individuals that were dealing drugs. Well, from that initially I think they had eight.

Speaker 3 And we ended up with 21.

BOWERS HEALEY: Are these Air Force people or not?

HOPPE: These are Air Force active duty people dealing drugs. And the base commander, of course, was involved and.

Speaker 3 Come in every day and you had to have the.

HOPPE: Board up to date and say, this is where we're at. They did it in between the academy schools training. Therefore, they could put a suspect in a room by themselves so they couldn't talk.

Speaker 3 Together and get.

HOPPE: A strategy or whatever.

Speaker 3 So again, there I.

HOPPE: Was, the only.

Speaker 3 Female. So I sat in the interviews.

HOPPE: To protect the agents. If they.

Speaker 3 Interviewed females and they had strong enough.

HOPPE: Cases where the Jag.

Speaker 3 From the base would come in and.

HOPPE: You could prosecute. It was weeding.

Speaker 3 Out the bad, unfortunately, and that was one of their jobs.

HOPPE: That's why a lot of the non side.

Speaker 3 People on the base.

HOPPE: When you should work I work right down the street out of.

Speaker 3 West I in Holliston.

HOPPE: That's last you ever talked with them. And I said you shouldn't be that way because if you're doing something bad you're going to get caught.

Speaker 3 And we're not.

HOPPE: Here to bust you. We're here just to be in the Air Force, supporting the mission.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: To be able to get camaraderie with fellow folks on base. That's why I was involved in sports and.

Speaker 3 Volunteering.

HOPPE: To help the kids with sports. Because most people. Oh, if you're always sad, we.

Speaker 3 Don't want unjust.

HOPPE: Administration.

Speaker 3 And know it's.

HOPPE: I push the paper.

BOWERS HEALEY: What type of drugs? Uh, this is in the 1980s. What type of drugs? Uh, common.

HOPPE: There was LSD involved. There was some.

Speaker 3 Amphetamines.

HOPPE: But mostly it was.

Speaker 3 Marijuana.

HOPPE: Because they actually we worked with another agency, which is DEA, and they said they were.

Speaker 3 Flying off from Mexico.

HOPPE: With bales.

Speaker 3 Of marijuana, and they would push them out of.

HOPPE: The aircraft in the middle of the desert. And then whoever was going to get it knew the land to land latitude, pick up the drugs. So the DEA agents, DEA agent we worked with was.

Speaker 3 Actually an oversight.

HOPPE: Reserve agent, too. So we got both sides covered.

Speaker 3 In one.

HOPPE: Guy. So it was interesting. And of course, you don't want drugs involved with the job. So that's part of it is to make sure we eradicated that. Of course, somebody replaced it later.

Speaker 3 But during my time, that was our mission is.

HOPPE: To get the drugs off of the base.

BOWERS HEALEY: Where'd you go from McCord then?

HOPPE: I went to.

Speaker 3 Toro and Air Base.

HOPPE: Oh, okay. All right. And there I worked as the administrator for the commander.

Speaker 3 Didn't do many travels and.

HOPPE: TV wise there because, um, the location, uh, I did get up to Barcelona.

Speaker 3 Where one of our detachments were assigned.

HOPPE: But I did travel sports again. Get up to.

Speaker 3 Germany.

HOPPE: And play softball.

Speaker 3 Came back.

HOPPE: And that's where I have to say I have to.

Speaker 3 The command I.

HOPPE: Worked for was always.

Speaker 3 Willing to have.

HOPPE: You participate. Um, it was great.

Speaker 3 For my morale. And the.

HOPPE: Other aspect was it showed always.

Speaker 3 Shine member in the.

HOPPE: Community. So it was positive on the other side because most people didn't want to talk to the agents. Now you're out here to bust me.

Speaker 3 I said, no.

HOPPE: We're either.

Speaker 3 Doing this.

HOPPE: Security checks or doing.

Speaker 3 Something.

HOPPE: Investigation because it would be harmful. The Air Force. So that's how I look at it.

BOWERS HEALEY: When you were in Spain, how large was the OSI office? How many people were attached?

HOPPE: Oh, that was actually we.

Speaker 3 Had a wing of a building. So there must have been.

HOPPE: 35 or 40 at least.

Speaker 3 And we had three civilian.

HOPPE: Secretaries, and I believe we had one.

Speaker 3 Civilian agent.

HOPPE: That was there, and he stayed because he was very.

Speaker 3 Fluent in Spanish.

HOPPE: He built, uh, coordination with the, uh, Spanish agencies and militaries.

Speaker 3 So we worked with them a lot.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. Anything else about your Spain, uh, experience?

Speaker 3 No, no, that was kind of a short and sweet one.

BOWERS HEALEY: Oh. How long was it?

HOPPE: That, again, was three years.

BOWERS HEALEY: Oh, okay.

Speaker 3 And then, um, from Spain, I went to Andrews.

HOPPE: Air Force Base in Washington, uh, Maryland, just north of Washington, DC. And that was district four. That was interesting.

Speaker 3 Because, again, I was working in the administrative.

HOPPE: Side, but we also supported the State Department because Andrews Air Force Base.

Speaker 3 You know, of.

HOPPE: Course, where the president flies out of, but all dignitaries would fly.

Speaker 3 In to Andrews Air.

HOPPE: Force Base. Um, we had Air Force security police, then we had the State Department.

Speaker 3 But sometimes they.

HOPPE: Would ask for additional support.

Speaker 3 And ask.

HOPPE: The oversight to help. And since our district headquarters was there.

Speaker 3 And the detachment, we were.

HOPPE: Able to help. So actually, one of the times I was there.

Speaker 3 When, um.

HOPPE: Prince Charles and Lady Di.

Speaker 3 Came in and unfortunately, I had my back to.

HOPPE: Them and I was just there being visual.

Speaker 3 And I had the radio communication.

HOPPE: And if we saw somebody acting kind of goofy, we just radio the agent.

Speaker 3 And they would.

HOPPE: Take over. But most of the.

Speaker 3 Time it.

HOPPE: Was just the press that was in.

Speaker 3 So we didn't have a whole.

HOPPE: Lot, but it was interesting. I was also there when the State.

Speaker 3 Department.

HOPPE: Asked us to support.

Speaker 3 Giving administrative.

HOPPE: Security for the vice.

Speaker 3 Chairman of China.

HOPPE: Visiting, and it was interesting because the State Department actually rented the whole top floor of one of the motels. That's how high the security was. The whole top floor.

Speaker 3 Only had.

HOPPE: The vice.

Speaker 3 Chairman of China and.

HOPPE: His staff. We had the airforce security police with the dogs.

Speaker 3 Bomb sniffing. We were in a small.

HOPPE: Communication room off to the side.

Speaker 3 And I was.

HOPPE: Helping the agents.

Speaker 3 With the administrative.

HOPPE: Side and communication, because as soon as a dignitary stepped down at the airport airbase, I should say, and got in their vehicle. We knew exactly where they were. We had to know where all the hospitals were and emergency room treatment.

Speaker 3 Fire department.

HOPPE: So if any incident happened, be able to divert the agents with the detail and the State Department folks there to get taken care of.

Speaker 3 Fortunately, nothing happened.

HOPPE: But it was interesting that work that was involved, because we see it with the president.

Speaker 3 All the time.

HOPPE: How he has his inner circle and all the, well, people don't see.

Speaker 3 All the background.

HOPPE: Work that goes in.

Speaker 3 Where you have to know where every.

HOPPE: Location is. Uh, so you.

BOWERS HEALEY: Work for work also with president, presidential details you mentioned.

HOPPE: No, he didn't run for president.

Speaker 3 Okay. Now they had enough secret service.

BOWERS HEALEY: All right. Okay.

HOPPE: But we did. Um, whenever the president did fly out, our office actually was.

Speaker 3 In the middle of the.

HOPPE: Golf course.

BOWERS HEALEY: In the middle of.

HOPPE: What, a golf.

BOWERS HEALEY: Course. Golf course? Okay.

HOPPE: And there were no other buildings around. So the Secret Service would.

Speaker 3 Come in and.

HOPPE: Say, just.

Speaker 3 Pull the blinds on.

HOPPE: Yours. Don't go outside at.

Speaker 3 This time and this, that.

HOPPE: And it was additional, even though we all had clearance and more Air Force, they were just due diligence in their jobs. So we would make sure we didn't go to lunch that day. Oh, okay. But yeah, it was interesting. And people don't realize how much it takes to protect our president, which is important.

BOWERS HEALEY: Yeah. So did you do a three year tour at Andrews also?

HOPPE: Uh. Let's see. I get to stop and think.

Speaker 3 Uh, no, I didn't.

HOPPE: I got out early again because I volunteered to go overseas, and from there I went to Seoul, Korea. And it's considered a.

Speaker 3 Remote assignment because limited.

HOPPE: Opportunities. But I was.

Speaker 3 Assigned to yung some army.

HOPPE: Garrison, which is where housing. It was. And we actually worked.

Speaker 3 In a.

HOPPE: Building off with the Army post.

Speaker 3 About a half mile drive, and it's called Embassy.

HOPPE: Row.

Speaker 3 And that's where all the embassy work.

HOPPE: And for.

Speaker 3 Some reason, that's.

HOPPE: For our district headquarters for where I was located. Okay. So there I'm 574 Air Force people.

Speaker 3 Among a sea.

HOPPE: Of 36,000.

Speaker 3 Army.

HOPPE: I had to learn a whole new language because army talks different than the Air Force. But while I was there, they asked for volunteers again to help the Korean.

Speaker 3 Nationals.

HOPPE: Who are.

Speaker 3 Hosting the 1988 Olympics.

HOPPE: Practice or English. So of course I volunteered. So for about eight.

Speaker 3 Months.

HOPPE: There were four Korean.

Speaker 3 Gentlemen that.

HOPPE: Would visit the hooch where I lived at with three of the fellow, uh, or psi guys, and we'd had a living room that we would.

Speaker 3 Sit and.

HOPPE: Practice.

Speaker 3 The English language, and then I would provide a meal.

HOPPE: And they loved barbecued hot dogs and baked beans for us as picnic food, but that's what they legs. So then on Saturday, a couple days later, they would be my host to travel.

Speaker 3 In.

HOPPE: The greater area of Seoul city. They would show me their culture because that would be part of their.

Speaker 3 Job when the.

HOPPE: English speaking folks.

Speaker 3 Would come over.

HOPPE: So I'd help them practice their English. So we got to the different markets.

Speaker 3 And they showed.

HOPPE: Me the culture, the chopsticks, eat everything with chopsticks and spoons.

Speaker 3 They didn't have knives and forks.

HOPPE: So I learned to manipulate chopsticks. But then they had outside the city, we cut a bus to what they call is the Korean Village, and it was a replica of the very early.

Speaker 3 Korean lifestyle.

HOPPE: Where no electricity. They had the running water, the fires, and they showed different sections of their.

Speaker 3 Culture in their.

HOPPE: Early years to weaving the silk from the worms that produced it.

Speaker 3 To hammering metal in a forge or making clay pots. And then, of.

HOPPE: Course, the last exhibit was always how to make kimchi, which is.

Speaker 3 A Korean fermented.

HOPPE: Cabbage.

Speaker 3 And you can have anywhere.

HOPPE: From 24 to 28 different spices. They add to this cabbage every spring.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: Fall. Then once they put it in the jars and seal it with wax, they bury it for six months and their fermentation happens.

Speaker 3 Then they dig it up, and then they break the seal. And then you have.

HOPPE: Your.

Speaker 3 Kimchi. And in.

HOPPE: Korea you have.

Speaker 3 Kimchi and rice for every meal.

BOWERS HEALEY: And did you have kimchi?

HOPPE: I definitely acquired the taste for cooking.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: We would go to the village by the, um.

Speaker 3 Army garrison, and.

HOPPE: We would go to one specific restaurant because you could order the barbecued beef, and they they didn't eat a lot of meat. They had small portions, but what they would do is serve it with a sesame leaf. Then you would put your rice and your beef on.

Speaker 3 And then you.

HOPPE: Had about ten different dishes of different items.

Speaker 3 You pile on to that.

HOPPE: Twist in a bowl.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: Just pop it in your mouth. So you'd have slices of garlic, not chopped up big slices or ginger or root plants. So it was awesome to learn their.

Speaker 3 Culture and all the.

HOPPE: Different food there.

Speaker 3 Um.

HOPPE: Then the Olympics arrived.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: As so being the host.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: There were no tourist activities we had to.

Speaker 3 Worry about.

HOPPE: We were.

Speaker 3 Given time off to.

HOPPE: Go to.

Speaker 3 The Olympics, and.

HOPPE: We were given free tickets to the.

Speaker 3 Games.

HOPPE: Which was.

Speaker 3 Very interesting. I enjoyed.

HOPPE: It because there was a bus stop right.

Speaker 3 Where my.

HOPPE: Hooch was located. I catch the bus stop.

Speaker 3 I and another.

HOPPE: Car. We would drive, uh, ride the subway to the.

Speaker 3 Island that they had.

HOPPE: And the island was actually where some of the games were held, but also a huge park.

Speaker 3 Was made and they.

HOPPE: Asked each.

Speaker 3 Nation. And that.

HOPPE: Participated in the Olympics to build.

Speaker 3 An art.

HOPPE: Piece to put outside. So it was awesome to see all the different art pieces.

Speaker 3 That the nations donated to.

HOPPE: Stay there. Because after the Olympics left, the park was open for the Koreans to visit year round.

BOWERS HEALEY: I need to ask, was this a summer or winter? Olympic? Summer? Summer? Okay.

HOPPE: We also get tickets for the opening ceremony, and I think I was like six rows.

Speaker 3 Behind.

HOPPE: Bryant Gumbel because we are waving. We're Americans. He turned around and waved, but then we got to watch some of the field and track. I got to some swimming events.

Speaker 3 Uh.

HOPPE: Our tree and the source. I never seen fencing, so was learned. They gave you a.

Speaker 3 Paper and explained how fencing.

HOPPE: The what the rules were.

Speaker 3 And everything else. And it's.

HOPPE: Such a.

Speaker 3 Balance.

HOPPE: That they have. So it introduced me new sport. That was really awesome.

Speaker 3 And interesting.

HOPPE: To see. That was the first week. The second week is where most people see the televised of.

Speaker 3 The finals and the medals presented.

HOPPE: Well. The second week started.

Speaker 3 And they.

HOPPE: Had a special.

Speaker 3 Ceremony for all the volunteers, and we had the Korean volunteers, the American well.

HOPPE: I was selected.

Speaker 3 Along with another Army gentleman, to.

HOPPE: Receive a special medal from the Seoul City Representative.

Speaker 3 Chairman.

HOPPE: For.

Speaker 3 Holding the event.

HOPPE: So that was quite interesting for mine.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay, so you got that for your training of volunteer military.

HOPPE: Yeah.

Speaker 3 And representing to all.

HOPPE: Of the military, they had a.

Speaker 3 Man and woman go.

HOPPE: Up to accept them. So that.

Speaker 3 Was one of my.

HOPPE: Highlights. I also made sure.

Speaker 3 Again, I went to NWR.

HOPPE: And took all the tours that were available because you'd pack.

Speaker 3 Your little lunch and soda and they.

HOPPE: Would take you to.

Speaker 3 There were mounds in the.

HOPPE: Country that were special to the.

Speaker 3 Koreans and a Korean village.

HOPPE: You can the ugly stick, which is a fishing rod that sold in the US. They took us to the factory to show us how they were being made. Because I enjoyed.

Speaker 3 Fishing. My dad taught me.

BOWERS HEALEY: What's the name of that's.

HOPPE: Ugly, ugly, ugly.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: And then we went to a celadon factory.

Speaker 3 Is where they make.

HOPPE: Pottery, the old fashioned style. And it's a special color. And they would crack it so it looked old. But it was amazing to watch.

Speaker 3 How they made.

HOPPE: Everything. And then and we did get to one brewery and it was OBX beer, Oriental Beer, which is.

Speaker 3 About a half an hour from.

HOPPE: Where I was stationed in Seoul. So yeah.

Speaker 3 Visiting, um.

HOPPE: I was lucky.

Speaker 3 Enough because.

HOPPE: Being in the district office, we would visit detachments to inspect.

Speaker 3 Make.

HOPPE: Sure they were keeping.

Speaker 3 All.

HOPPE: The documents, especially the classified ones, in their specific security.

Speaker 3 Frame. And then I would help.

HOPPE: The staff.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: Saying, this is how your files should be set up, and this is what we're going to do to help. So I got to all of the different.

Speaker 3 Detachments in Korea.

HOPPE: So I went from Seoul.

Speaker 3 Down all the.

HOPPE: Way down to it was called Pusan.

Speaker 3 Back then to Busan, now to Austin to.

HOPPE: Tae goo. So I get to see the whole island.

BOWERS HEALEY: Um, how did you do the travel?

HOPPE: How travel was by car.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: There were usually three of us that would go as a group and visit the different detachments, make sure.

Speaker 3 They were in compliance, who it needed to be, and help.

HOPPE: Them with whatever. They had an administrative size. The agents would help the agents at the detachment.

Speaker 3 Level.

HOPPE: Training. And one of the trips we did take to the DMZ. And then we also went to the ROC, which is Republic of Korea DMZ. So we got to see both sides and it was interesting. I did a weekend trip to.

Speaker 3 Inchon.

HOPPE: Beach, where MacArthur landed because they were in Battle.

Speaker 3 Of down in Pusan, moving north, and he.

HOPPE: Split his forces to do a beach.

Speaker 3 Landing.

HOPPE: North of Seoul to cut off.

Speaker 3 The North Koreans.

HOPPE: And they still Revere MacArthur as a great leader for them. They have park in the statue. So I get to see all that.

Speaker 3 Part of my travels.

BOWERS HEALEY: Is I park up on Inchon beach, uh, with my father.

Speaker 3 Inland from there.

HOPPE: Okay, but it is by.

Speaker 3 The beach landings.

HOPPE: I believe they had yellow green and.

Speaker 3 White beach landings.

HOPPE: Or there were three amphibious assault but that wasn't heard of of dividing your forces do that. You said that should be the last tactical move.

Speaker 3 Well, MacArthur.

HOPPE: Nope. That's what we're going to do. And he proved it was a correct move. But yeah, it was very interesting that the other part was used to go to.

Speaker 3 Olson Air.

HOPPE: Base, which is about 40.

Speaker 3 Minutes.

HOPPE: Away from Seoul. That was a big air force base. So we used.

Speaker 3 The commissary.

HOPPE: Or go to the store. But on the way back, if you were certain days.

Speaker 3 During the month where.

HOPPE: The whole.

Speaker 3 Nation shut down.

HOPPE: The practice, a war.

Speaker 3 Event, and what it.

HOPPE: Was is they would have the sirens go off, everybody had to pull inside the road.

Speaker 3 And if.

HOPPE: They had the exercise.

Speaker 3 Going at certain times.

HOPPE: The highway has big white stripes.

Speaker 3 On it.

HOPPE: That was actually used by the jets to.

Speaker 3 Land on the road in.

HOPPE: Case you were ever invaded again. So they would be able to tactically be able to either refuel or put the plane down to save for later. But the whole nation was involved. They would just stop.

Speaker 3 Everything.

HOPPE: Which is amazing because we have noon sirens here just for testing, for warning, for like tornadoes were there.

Speaker 3 The whole nation shuts down and it takes about a half an hour. And then the sirens go on, and then you hop in your car and drive again and go on.

HOPPE: With whatever business units.

BOWERS HEALEY: Are they announced or not?

HOPPE: No.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

Speaker 3 Because when the.

HOPPE: North Koreans invaded South Korea, there was.

Speaker 3 No announcement.

HOPPE: So they know it's going to happen once.

Speaker 3 One day in a month, but they don't know what they.

BOWERS HEALEY: Say.

HOPPE: So know it was interesting is different culture.

Speaker 3 And that's.

HOPPE: How they protect themselves. But if you ever see a.

Speaker 3 Map.

HOPPE: From space of Korea and Asia and that the southern is part is all lit up and it's amazing what they have.

Speaker 3 Done to overcome the war.

HOPPE: But the North, you see maybe 3 or 4 spots of.

Speaker 3 Lights and that's it.

HOPPE: So it shows that democracy is, well.

Speaker 3 They wanted me and they thrive in it.

BOWERS HEALEY: So just spent a full three year tour in Korea.

HOPPE: Now Korea.

Speaker 3 Is only a one year.

BOWERS HEALEY: Old one year.

HOPPE: Or so remote. So I actually extended to two years so I could be there for the Olympics.

BOWERS HEALEY: Oh, okay. Did you ever get out of North Korea? Did you go anywhere outside of North Korea while you were there for those two years?

HOPPE: No, I was in South Korea.

BOWERS HEALEY: South Korea I'm.

HOPPE: Sorry. I had to go North Korea.

BOWERS HEALEY: So, uh.

HOPPE: Actually, no, I stayed.

BOWERS HEALEY: There at the hotel. Okay.

Speaker 3 And then.

HOPPE: From there is assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Speaker 3 In Ohio. Dayton, Ohio.

HOPPE: I just.

Speaker 3 Spent.

HOPPE: Three years there. While I was there, we had Desert Storm, so I was deployed for that, went over to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Speaker 3 And then spent several months there. And that was interesting in itself.

HOPPE: The, um, again, I was far enough away that it wasn't.

Speaker 3 Involved in the war, but you were in a war.

HOPPE: Zone status.

Speaker 3 And one of the.

HOPPE: Jobs we had at our detachment was protective service operations.

BOWERS HEALEY: So any is what what is protective service ops?

HOPPE: So is basically protect protecting a high ranking officer or individual in the State Department.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: And we acquired through the approval of Congress's purchasing a armored Mercedes okay. They actually built it in Germany. And Adrian from Germany.

Speaker 3 Was on the vehicle.

HOPPE: Because they added special things to it. Plant a vehicle was then put.

Speaker 3 On a plane directly from.

HOPPE: The factory. They flew to Riyadh.

Speaker 3 And from there I, an agent.

HOPPE: Acquired the vehicle. We signed a three quarters of $1 million vehicle. And I'm signing for. And I'm.

Speaker 3 Gonna. I'm gonna.

HOPPE: Make sure somebody signs for.

Speaker 3 This when I.

HOPPE: Leave. But that was part of the acquisition of the.

BOWERS HEALEY: When were you in Riyadh? What time period?

HOPPE: Uh. Let's see. It was right after the actual war. So 2nd August. The 90 is when Desert Shield started. January and February is when the actual armed offense started. So I would say May or June.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: It was still within Desert Storm.

Speaker 3 But then we were there during.

HOPPE: Operation Southern Watch because the end of conflict.

Speaker 3 Happened. But then the Southern.

HOPPE: Watch started.

Speaker 3 To make sure that.

HOPPE: The Iraqi planes weren't.

Speaker 3 Flying.

HOPPE: Outside of their authorized zone. So that's where the Air Force would do a lot of the aerial.

Speaker 3 Surveillance to make sure.

HOPPE: They complied with the treaty.

BOWERS HEALEY: Are you talking about the no fly zone?

HOPPE: No fly zone? Yeah, it was Operation Southern Watch.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. So you were in Riyadh. What were your accommodations like? And what was the phase, uh, or. Yeah, where.

HOPPE: I actually lived at as Gun Village. It was the village that the Saudi.

Speaker 3 Government built for the nomads.

HOPPE: It had.

Speaker 3 Running water, apartments.

HOPPE: Little kitchens, air conditioning, and there were usually two stories. The nomads did not like it because he couldn't get the goats to the roof of the building. Mm. Okay. Because they were nomads. They travel in the desert trying to say you got to live here. And.

Speaker 3 No.

HOPPE: So we actually saw the.

Speaker 3 Better ones camping right.

HOPPE: Side outside of where we were staying. Afghan village. It was a five.

Speaker 3 Bedroom apartment, air conditioned.

HOPPE: I had a little kitchen.

BOWERS HEALEY: To share with somebody.

HOPPE: I was the only.

Speaker 3 Woman there at that time, so.

HOPPE: I had the whole place by myself.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

Speaker 3 Later on.

HOPPE: In more of our.

Speaker 3 Detachment.

HOPPE: Folks from different parts of the state. So yeah, I eventually shared it with a couple guys. Um. So by the.

Speaker 3 Time I left, I made sure.

HOPPE: We took care of the folks. We had a big colored TV. We only had CNN.

Speaker 3 But.

HOPPE: At least we had TV.

Speaker 3 Um, we.

HOPPE: Had a grill outside.

Speaker 3 I got a washer and dryer so we didn't have to run down bass dos.

HOPPE: So yeah, I kind of had it made there. Okay.

BOWERS HEALEY: Um, and so where you lived, where did you work?

HOPPE: I worked.

Speaker 3 Down on the.

HOPPE: Airbase, which.

Speaker 3 Was downtown next to.

HOPPE: The airport strip, and we had a small office there and then.

BOWERS HEALEY: And what were your duties?

Speaker 3 My duties.

HOPPE: Were administrative to the detachment.

Speaker 3 Commander.

HOPPE: I also was involved with the security, the logistics. And the most important job I had was mail. The guys loved to get their mail.

Speaker 3 And I coordinated.

HOPPE: With the.

Speaker 3 Base commander, Finance Department.

HOPPE: Because we had to purchase.

Speaker 3 Items.

HOPPE: And basically we had a computer.

Speaker 3 In our.

HOPPE: Go kit, which is a big, uh, green Foot Locker. Of course, when you're stateside, you're going to throw the worst piece of.

Speaker 3 Equipment in there and say, yeah, we're.

HOPPE: Ready to go.

Speaker 3 So we didn't have our.

HOPPE: Computer, but two days before crashed.

Speaker 3 And boom. So then.

HOPPE: Basically.

Speaker 3 We went downtown and had a commercial company build.

HOPPE: Us the tower.

Speaker 3 And the new.

HOPPE: Computer system and let's see five, five of those.

Speaker 3 So within.

HOPPE: Four hours we were.

Speaker 3 Up and running again.

HOPPE: But I think what helped a lot is.

Speaker 3 We had the money.

HOPPE: With the base to authorize the purchase. So they gave us the credit card. We worked with some logistics folks.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: Security wise.

BOWERS HEALEY: So were your computers at the time? Were they online or were they still along?

HOPPE: They were standalone. Okay. But by purchasing the new computers, we.

Speaker 3 Were smart enough to.

HOPPE: Install a security system so that the screen would go blue if you were just doing just regular typing. But if you were typing classified, the screen would go red. So then you would make sure.

Speaker 3 That nothing.

HOPPE: Was.

Speaker 3 Emanated. That shouldn't be because you were in the security mode of the red, and then you'd turn.

HOPPE: It off and then switch back to the blue again. Nowadays, things are totally different. We had big towers on.

BOWERS HEALEY: Everybody back in those days. How did you save material? Were they saved on a hard drive or hard drive? Hard drive. Okay.

Speaker 3 And that was.

HOPPE: Part of the security that you had to get extra safes with digital.

Speaker 3 So every night.

HOPPE: You would pull the tower and.

Speaker 3 Put it in that lock compartment.

BOWERS HEALEY: Oh, okay.

HOPPE: So, yeah, it's quite interesting.

BOWERS HEALEY: And what was the security around the small office that you had?

HOPPE: We had cipher locks.

Speaker 3 To get in and.

HOPPE: Okay. You had digital.

Speaker 3 And then the.

HOPPE: Base itself was secure.

Speaker 3 Because any time it came in or.

HOPPE: Left, you had to show military ID.

BOWERS HEALEY: How many people worked on that base?

HOPPE: On the base?

Speaker 3 I didn't know.

HOPPE: I could just say our office had ten people.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: All right. So their major job was the protective service operations, because a lot of the high ranking officials that we needed to make sure risk would fly in to Dhahran.

Speaker 3 And then.

HOPPE: The team.

Speaker 3 Would pick them up and bring them to Riyadh, because.

HOPPE: That's where the Riyadh air staff would hold meetings. Shows. Interesting. Hot, hot and hot. So I sat there and.

Speaker 3 I remember 112.

HOPPE: Degrees.

Speaker 3 And I was.

HOPPE: Their dream this.

Speaker 3 Summer. So when I left several months later.

HOPPE: I think it was 113. So it never.

BOWERS HEALEY: Outside.

Speaker 3 Outside?

BOWERS HEALEY: Yeah. Air conditioning.

HOPPE: We had air.

BOWERS HEALEY: Conditioning. Both, uh, in your quarters as well as your workspace. Correct. Okay.

HOPPE: Because the computers had to have air conditioning. So that's why I like computers. Yeah. Um, we actually had next to us was the the Army folks with their Patriot missiles.

Speaker 3 And then.

HOPPE: We worked a lot with the folks that were doing the aircraft, bringing.

Speaker 3 Supplies in. That was a unit that was flying out of Nebraska. So you cannot.

HOPPE: Have bratwurst in. Because it's a pork product. Oh, but the folks that were.

Speaker 3 Flying out of.

HOPPE: Nebraska would bring boxes of bratwurst, and their unit would sell them for a buck. So I made sure we got a lot.

Speaker 3 Of our Army friends.

HOPPE: Bratwurst every time that they had was black men.

Speaker 3 And we.

HOPPE: Also had access to.

Speaker 3 The emissary embassy commissary.

HOPPE: So, uh, with, um, I acquired a microwave.

Speaker 3 And I would buy.

HOPPE: The brownies and cookies.

Speaker 3 And cook them in the microwave and take them to.

HOPPE: The office and share them with.

Speaker 3 The mail.

HOPPE: People.

Speaker 3 So anything important mail.

HOPPE: Wise came in? We were notified right away.

Speaker 3 Then the finance.

HOPPE: Folks and the, uh, commander secretary would make sure. Plateful of cookies. It's just.

Speaker 3 Been smart.

HOPPE: Then the logistic folks ordering supplies. Same thing. We give them treats.

Speaker 3 So if anything came up on short notice.

HOPPE: We'd work with.

Speaker 3 Them and say.

HOPPE: Well, this is what we need.

Speaker 3 And they were very amendable because.

HOPPE: We gave sweets all the time.

Speaker 3 But that's in any job, you know, be nice to somebody.

HOPPE: It doesn't matter where they're working, whatever. You build.

Speaker 3 That camaraderie.

HOPPE: So as I said, our computers went.

Speaker 3 Down in.

HOPPE: Four hours. We had.

Speaker 3 Brand new ones.

BOWERS HEALEY: That. What was your dress attire when you were in Saudi?

HOPPE: I wore a.

Speaker 3 Uniform. The desert.

HOPPE: Fatigues.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

Speaker 3 But if I.

HOPPE: Wanted to go.

Speaker 3 Downtown to shop at.

HOPPE: Uh, you call it the zouk or market?

Speaker 3 The gold market.

HOPPE: Bought a few items here, or I bought, um.

Speaker 3 Two handcraft items from Saudi.

HOPPE: I had to wear the black dress of fitness black scarf. And underneath you had to have your tennis shoes, socks.

Speaker 3 Long pants and long blouse because they didn't want any of your.

HOPPE: Skin.

Speaker 3 Showing. And when I.

HOPPE: Did put the headscarf.

Speaker 3 On.

HOPPE: I had.

Speaker 3 Just my glasses.

HOPPE: Area that you could look out later.

Speaker 3 On. There was an Air Force captain that challenged that, she said, and part of the military side here I shouldn't have.

HOPPE: So they eventually did away with that. And you could go with.

Speaker 3 Just your uniform.

HOPPE: But while I was there, I had that.

BOWERS HEALEY: Where did you black your black attire?

HOPPE: Right. Um, they had a merchant.

Speaker 3 That would come in.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: In fact, the first scarf I bought because I.

Speaker 3 Had blond hair.

HOPPE: Was sun bleached, was in dark.

Speaker 3 Enough.

HOPPE: So I had traded in for a darker scarf. Okay. But again, it was respecting their culture.

Speaker 3 You know, I'm in their country.

HOPPE: It didn't bother me to take these extra steps. But it was interesting when you went to the market or go out to eat, there were a couple of times you were able to go to a restaurant. They pray.

Speaker 3 Five times a day.

HOPPE: So during their pre.

Speaker 3 Prayer time everything would close down. They would turn off the lights off in the restaurant, and they'd bring 1 or 2 candles and you had to be very quiet.

HOPPE: If you were outside you would sit on. They had a lot of.

Speaker 3 Metal benches around. You would sit there and be very quiet. And then after the end of.

HOPPE: Prayer, you could go back.

BOWERS HEALEY: How long were the prayer sessions?

HOPPE: It depends. Some could be five minutes, some could be 20 minutes.

Speaker 3 You just.

BOWERS HEALEY: Wait until people start moving.

HOPPE: Have the respect to wait and then start moving.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

Speaker 3 And I.

HOPPE: I always told folks, especially the young folks.

Speaker 3 I know, that join the military.

HOPPE: Go out, enjoy and learn.

Speaker 3 That culture.

HOPPE: Because you're.

Speaker 3 Expanding.

HOPPE: What you can do to and you have the amphitheater work with other folks.

Speaker 3 I might not believe what they're doing, but.

HOPPE: I respect what their culture is.

Speaker 3 And I think that helped me a lot.

HOPPE: My endeavors.

Speaker 3 After the military.

HOPPE: Too.

Speaker 3 But my mom was always one to.

HOPPE: Volunteer and be.

Speaker 3 Adventurous.

HOPPE: My thing that's held over my dad was very quiet, reserved.

BOWERS HEALEY: Let me ask you about your culture. Uh, before we started filming today, you indicated that you have Native American, um, in your family.

Speaker 3 Correct? My grandfather.

HOPPE: Is.

Speaker 3 Menominee Nation, and my mom actually.

HOPPE: Grew up and.

Speaker 3 Lived in Europe and on the Menominee.

HOPPE: Reservation. My dad is, uh.

Speaker 3 100% German.

HOPPE: Is always proud of it. He grew up in Antigo. He actually grew up.

Speaker 3 On the family farm. Unfortunately, my grand.

HOPPE: Father got Parkinson's disease, and. They had to leave the farm, moved to the city.

Speaker 3 So they had a nice big.

HOPPE: House in the city.

Speaker 3 And go on.

HOPPE: Fulton Street. I remember because had a tin roof and whenever we visited.

Speaker 3 Grandma.

HOPPE: Happy at night, if it rained, you could hear.

Speaker 3 The rain on the.

HOPPE: Tin roof. I love you to sleep, but, um, older brother.

Speaker 3 Donald or.

HOPPE: Column chart because.

Speaker 3 My dad's name was Don too.

HOPPE: He had cerebral palsy.

Speaker 3 They diagnosed it when he was.

HOPPE: Like five months old, so he would have a lot of seizures.

Speaker 3 So our family, we never went on long vacations.

HOPPE: Because we had to be close to.

Speaker 3 A medical.

HOPPE: Facility. Well, fortunately my dad had five sisters and we have.

Speaker 3 Family.

HOPPE: Gatherings. Three of the five sisters were nurses, so we could go to and go and spend.

Speaker 3 Time there because if anything happened, they could help take care of my brother.

HOPPE: Chad. But, um, we were rich.

Speaker 3 Because sometimes my dad's.

HOPPE: Paycheck could not cover the cost.

Speaker 3 The medicine, my brother. And that's one reason my mom.

HOPPE: Started working.

Speaker 3 Part time. And actually.

HOPPE: When all of us kids 10 or 12, we always got babysitting jobs. And we actually help.

Speaker 3 Supplement the family income. But our adventures were going out for an afternoon.

HOPPE: To pick apples.

Speaker 3 Some places, a family because of my older brother's limitations. But my parents.

HOPPE: Did have the choice of whether to.

Speaker 3 Keep them in the home or.

HOPPE: Institutionalize.

Speaker 3 Them, and they know he's going to be part of the family.

HOPPE: So we were all raised together.

Speaker 3 And if one got in trouble, you know, we all got.

HOPPE: Punished. My older brother.

Speaker 3 Handicapped or not.

HOPPE: But it was, you know, just sit down for five minutes. And as a kid, that could be the worst thing in the world is to have to sit on the damn board. But my folks were able to keep him in because of his handicap. He went to a special class in school at Norwood.

Speaker 3 So my younger brother and I.

HOPPE: Really took care.

Speaker 3 Of him. And if somebody made fun of them, well, we let them know.

HOPPE: You don't do that. And so we were kind of scruffy growing up, I would say. But we had lots of adventures with.

Speaker 3 The family, um.

HOPPE: Simple outings that we could.

Speaker 3 Do in one day and then come back. Um.

HOPPE: My brother did have a handicap in his legs, so we would.

Speaker 3 Be running around playing.

HOPPE: Ball, and we'd always call them crazy legs, but we made sure all the other kids knew to make be careful and take care of them.

Speaker 3 And, uh.

HOPPE: You have the neighborhood kids. We're all scruffy. We're all kids of, uh, World War two or create war parents. And they have the, uh.

Speaker 3 Training in.

HOPPE: Ethics. We're all.

BOWERS HEALEY: I didn't ask for sure. Did your dad participate in World War two or not?

HOPPE: He was actually army tank driver. World War two. He was D-Day plus 14, which means 14 days after D-Day.

Speaker 3 He landed on the beaches.

HOPPE: And he followed.

Speaker 3 Patton all.

HOPPE: The way to Berlin.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: He was tank.

Speaker 3 Driver.

HOPPE: And there's a movie out saying you don't learn the new guy's name because they could.

Speaker 3 Be dead the next.

HOPPE: Day. He told us that his kids, he didn't talk a lot about it, just little. And he said it was tough.

Speaker 3 Being the tank commander.

HOPPE: Because he could be.

Speaker 3 There one minute, gone the next.

HOPPE: He went over with 273 guys.

Speaker 3 Unit 13 made it back. Um.

HOPPE: I'm positive he had PTSD.

Speaker 3 My mom would.

HOPPE: Tell stuff later about it, but with her help he was able.

Speaker 3 To manage it.

HOPPE: Then again, I said he didn't.

Speaker 3 Talk much about the.

BOWERS HEALEY: War.

HOPPE: He did say he got to Birmingham.

Speaker 3 And back then they were drafted and.

HOPPE: Retained for the good of the nation for six.

Speaker 3 Months. And that's actually on his discharge.

HOPPE: Oh, for the convenience of the government.

Speaker 3 Retain an extra.

HOPPE: Six.

Speaker 3 Months.

HOPPE: Well, he fell into that category because he knew how to type and he spoke high German.

Speaker 3 German.

HOPPE: There's two languages.

Speaker 3 High and Low German.

HOPPE: He spoke the High German, so they made him a code clerk for the next six months before they released him and let him go back stateside. I think part of his coping with the trauma was he said it was a 34 day ship travel from Europe to New York, and a lot of the.

Speaker 3 Veterans on that ship.

HOPPE: Had the same post-traumatic stress problems. So they would walk, talk through it, work through it. And I think that helped him a lot.

Speaker 3 He came back and he actually.

HOPPE: Went to a technical school to learn how to repair appliances like refrigerators, washing machines.

Speaker 3 Later on it was dishwashers.

HOPPE: But he limited his own.

Speaker 3 Career advancement to take care of the family. And my older.

HOPPE: Brother.

Speaker 3 Um.

HOPPE: We have a CPP.

Speaker 3 Telethon held in the.

HOPPE: Greater green Bay area, northeast Wisconsin. And my folks and five other couples started it.

Speaker 3 And it's been going on for.

HOPPE: Since the mid 50s and is still one of the.

Speaker 3 Longest running telephones in the nation.

HOPPE: And the community raised millions of dollars to support the cerebral palsy, which is awesome.

Speaker 3 And that's where I think part of volunteering started.

HOPPE: Because as kids.

Speaker 3 I remember.

HOPPE: We had a little coffee.

Speaker 3 Can and my mom would cut.

HOPPE: A square.

Speaker 3 In the lid and we'd look for donations and we'd take it back.

HOPPE: In the early years, they used to have a big plastic bowl.

Speaker 3 And you could dump it in there, and they.

HOPPE: Show it on TV.

Speaker 3 In and out. So now it's mostly by phone and credit card. But back then it was.

HOPPE: Fun to go around all the neighbors new check, so they.

Speaker 3 Definitely would donate.

BOWERS HEALEY: Um. I guess I got off on that one we were talking about. Yeah. You're right. Patterson. Yeah. That's where you were when you deployed to Riyadh.

HOPPE: Correct.

BOWERS HEALEY: So what else? Uh, well, how long were you in Riyadh?

Speaker 3 Seven months. Okay, then I came back and.

HOPPE: Uh, let's.

Speaker 3 See, I want.

HOPPE: To say spent 30 days.

Speaker 3 Came back to visit my folks and family, and then went back.

HOPPE: And was in shortly.

Speaker 3 Thereafter.

HOPPE: My dad had a stroke.

Speaker 3 So again, I ran back home.

HOPPE: Trying to take.

Speaker 3 Care of my mom.

HOPPE: And I called down to write back because I had 22 years.

Speaker 3 At that point.

HOPPE: Of active duty.

Speaker 3 And asked.

HOPPE: If I could get a real early.

Speaker 3 Retirement, take care of the family. And fortunately, things worked out.

HOPPE: Where I could. So the commander said yes, and we gave a target date when to retire.

Speaker 3 And I came back and it was.

HOPPE: Within a week that dad passed. So I had to run back to green Bay again and take care of the funeral. Went back to right pan.

Speaker 3 In the interim. I got.

HOPPE: Approval to retire.

Speaker 3 After 22.

HOPPE: Years. So then I sold my.

Speaker 3 Condo and I was able to come back to Wisconsin because my mom was by yourself and your apartment. So I came back and then I started my civilian career.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: So that was my first retirement year.

BOWERS HEALEY: Uh, military retirement was, uh, in 1993, August 31st.

HOPPE: August 31st.

Speaker 3 1993.

BOWERS HEALEY: And it sounds like it came up all of a sudden. So when you came back, I'm guessing, did you have a job or not?

Speaker 3 No, I did not.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

HOPPE: So I was lucky to have my retirement.

Speaker 3 So then in the interim, I did.

HOPPE: Read about loss of a.

Speaker 3 Loved one and how.

HOPPE: He should go forth.

Speaker 3 And. One of the main.

HOPPE: Key was.

Speaker 3 To get my mom.

HOPPE: Moved out of.

Speaker 3 The apartment.

HOPPE: Because she went well. Um, the loss.

Speaker 3 That much.

HOPPE: So we moved to a new apartment.

Speaker 3 Then I went to find a job.

HOPPE: And, uh, I was.

Speaker 3 Lucky enough. At that time, they were looking.

HOPPE: For an administrative clerk.

Speaker 3 At the county employment in the county veterans.

HOPPE: Service office. So I.

Speaker 3 Got my application and did my interview, and I was.

HOPPE: Hired. So I.

Speaker 3 Became.

HOPPE: A clerk at.

Speaker 3 The Brown County Veteran.

HOPPE: Service Office. So I spent the next six years there. And I did tell the they call it CBS. So for short, uh, it was Jerry Palace. I told them my goal was to become a CBS, so so I would continue, look.

Speaker 3 On.

HOPPE: The website, see which CVS shows.

Speaker 3 Were going to retire.

HOPPE: And I found out the CVS show up.

Speaker 3 In Oconto County plan to.

HOPPE: Retire because he did run for a county supervisors job.

Speaker 3 And won the election.

HOPPE: So he could.

Speaker 3 Not be an employee.

HOPPE: And a supervisor at this same time. So he retired.

Speaker 3 So the county was.

HOPPE: Looking to replace him.

Speaker 3 So I got my application and I went, you.

HOPPE: Have to test.

Speaker 3 And pass.

HOPPE: The test. Then the county takes your resumé.

Speaker 3 And.

HOPPE: The test and decide who they're gonna interview. So I believe there were like 74 test. There were five of us interviewed.

Speaker 3 And I.

HOPPE: Clearly.

Speaker 3 Remember.

HOPPE: This because I was the last interview of the day.

Speaker 3 I was in and out in 20 minutes.

HOPPE: Which amazed me.

Speaker 3 The thing that helped it was my Air Force background.

HOPPE: That I already.

Speaker 3 Worked in a county service.

HOPPE: Office. Then I knew how to apply for federal and state benefits. I had to.

Speaker 3 Learn what the county's.

HOPPE: Availability of benefits for their veterans are.

Speaker 3 And how they ran their.

HOPPE: Office. So the next day, I get a call about.

Speaker 3 10:00.

HOPPE: And they said, we'd like to offer you the job.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay.

Speaker 3 And I.

HOPPE: Accepted. But the very last.

Speaker 3 Question they asked, and this is why I thought I might not.

HOPPE: Have the job, is if we decide to hire you, can you come to work for us right.

Speaker 3 Away? Well, my answer.

HOPPE: I have to give the courtesy of a two week or.

Speaker 3 Just to my employer. So then.

HOPPE: He said, okay, that's.

Speaker 3 The end of the interview. I happen my truck. I drive back to greet me and I go.

HOPPE: Well, I blew that one. But I think because of what I said.

Speaker 3 And also I believe strongly in.

HOPPE: Assisting veterans that I was hired.

Speaker 3 So then I worked up in Oconto County.

HOPPE: For 16 years as the.

Speaker 3 County veterans.

HOPPE: Service officer.

Speaker 3 So then I retired.

HOPPE: A second time.

BOWERS HEALEY: What were some of your highlights as the Cbso and I kind of, um.

HOPPE: It is a rural county, but they are very.

Speaker 3 Strong, veteran minded county.

HOPPE: To assist their veterans. I worked closely with the county supervisors.

Speaker 3 And I didn't ask for an.

HOPPE: Extravagant budget. I worked within the means.

Speaker 3 I never went.

HOPPE: Over the budget except for.

Speaker 3 One time when they changed.

HOPPE: The cost of reimbursement for travel for.

Speaker 3 Volunteer.

HOPPE: Drivers.

Speaker 3 And they.

HOPPE: Said, we're.

Speaker 3 Going to pay them the same rate that the county.

HOPPE: Employees get. Well, that blew.

Speaker 3 My.

HOPPE: Budget apart.

Speaker 3 So then next county meeting, I had.

HOPPE: To explain the.

Speaker 3 Extend and they said, no problem, we'll vote on it and get back to.

HOPPE: You. They passed it right away. Uh, we extended our outreach. Used to be once.

Speaker 3 A month.

HOPPE: The service officer would go to mountain, Wisconsin. They had a community center they let us use to work with the veterans so they.

Speaker 3 Wouldn't have.

HOPPE: To drive all the way.

Speaker 3 Down to Oconto County.

HOPPE: Well, we.

Speaker 3 Expanded it.

HOPPE: To three out of four Tuesdays a.

Speaker 3 Month.

HOPPE: I would be out of the office. I would go to the town of Gillette. I continued.

Speaker 3 With Mountain View, and then we included.

HOPPE: Townsend.

Speaker 3 Uh, there's.

HOPPE: Either 4 or 5 Tuesdays during.

Speaker 3 The month. So the other times.

HOPPE: If there was something special.

Speaker 3 Going on in a small town like Clam Dike.

HOPPE: Or Oconto Falls.

Speaker 3 I'd make.

HOPPE: Special visits there. So we were.

Speaker 3 Expanding the outreach.

HOPPE: Program quite a bit. We obtain new computers in the system. We're able to do a lot of work.

Speaker 3 In the.

HOPPE: Outreach instead.

Speaker 3 Of having the veteran.

HOPPE: Drive.

Speaker 3 To O'Connell.

HOPPE: The board's.

Speaker 3 Supplemented our income to make sure we.

HOPPE: Can go in the field, assist the veterans so they.

Speaker 3 Didn't have to worry about driving. A lot of the clients.

HOPPE: Were World War two or Korean vets older.

Speaker 3 They didn't like to drive. And we.

HOPPE: Said, we.

Speaker 3 Don't want you to miss your benefits.

HOPPE: We're going to go there. Uh, I also did home visit where the.

Speaker 3 Veterans, if they.

HOPPE: Were disabled, they.

Speaker 3 Couldn't get out at all.

HOPPE: I would go visit.

Speaker 3 Them and.

HOPPE: We would make sure we got as.

Speaker 3 Many enrolled in the VA.

HOPPE: Health care system as possible.

Speaker 3 And I think that.

HOPPE: Helped with number wise, because.

Speaker 3 Now we.

HOPPE: Have the large green Bay.

Speaker 3 Health Center for the.

HOPPE: VA. They service about 26,000 veterans and.

Speaker 3 Greater Green Marion North.

HOPPE: We provided transportation.

Speaker 3 To any veteran that call that.

HOPPE: Needed to be transported from their home to a VA facility.

Speaker 3 And back, and these are all volunteer.

HOPPE: Drivers that did it. So we recruited.

Speaker 3 Volunteer.

HOPPE: Drivers. They would drive to Iron Mountain, the green Bay.

Speaker 3 Clinic, the Appleton Clinic.

HOPPE: The.

Speaker 3 Cleveland.

HOPPE: Trauma Hospital for the PTSD veterans are Waukee. So that was a large budget and a lot of travel that we had a lot of dedicated local veterans that would do that, and they still do.

BOWERS HEALEY: Hmm. So did you live in, uh oh kind of county or did you commute?

HOPPE: No, I commuted every day because I did.

Speaker 3 Find a house in green Bay. My mom and I moved into it.

HOPPE: She moved to.

Speaker 3 Green Bay in.

HOPPE: 1947.

Speaker 3 And says, I don't want to live in any other town.

HOPPE: She was able to still drive, which was great. So we had I purchased new vehicles, so I gave.

Speaker 3 Her my small.

HOPPE: Truck and she drove it all.

Speaker 3 Around town and got around.

HOPPE: So I would commute. I'd also commute to all the different.

Speaker 3 Towns towns Townsend Mountain and Gillette. Um, the.

HOPPE: Tuesdays, uh, I had a part time secretary. She was awesome. She had worked there like 20 years, so she.

Speaker 3 Knew all the ins and outs of what kind of county. And, uh.

HOPPE: Yeah, Nancy was true asset, and she would be able to explain things.

Speaker 3 And this.

HOPPE: Is how the.

Speaker 3 County.

HOPPE: Does it. If I didn't like it, we would chat.

Speaker 3 Over, you know, how can.

HOPPE: We do it better?

Speaker 3 And they answered it and we'd work together. And then I'd present the program to the county board.

HOPPE: But as I said, it was a very veteran, friendly county. So they supported their veterans all the time. Uh, we participated.

Speaker 3 In the O'Connell County.

HOPPE: Fair every year. We had a booth set up. Another form of outreach. Um, I would go to Iron Mountain.

Speaker 3 Once a month.

HOPPE: The director.

Speaker 3 Had meetings with the county veterans.

HOPPE: Service officers, so we would know what was going.

Speaker 3 On in Iron Mountain to make sure.

HOPPE: The needs of our veterans.

Speaker 3 Were met. And also.

HOPPE: Again, good communication. So I could call up.

Speaker 3 There and.

HOPPE: See if veterans have any.

Speaker 3 Problem.

HOPPE: Could you help us later? Yeah.

Speaker 3 Bring them up tomorrow. We'll have a.

HOPPE: Spot for them. So. Yeah. And again, our dedication drivers I'm sure, helped a few veterans that were contemplating suicide. That's a problem. We still have at least.

Speaker 3 20 veterans a day. Either attempt or are.

HOPPE: Successful in suicide.

Speaker 3 But we want to be out.

HOPPE: Be able to reach them because one minute thought could change.

Speaker 3 And ten minutes later.

HOPPE: You could feel, oh well, it's not that bad.

Speaker 3 Um, I do.

HOPPE: Distinctly remember one father calling me. His son was suicidal, and he said, I'm holding his weapon. And I said, we will.

Speaker 3 Get him an appointment. Unfortunately, I can't get it today.

HOPPE: But I will.

Speaker 3 Get an appointment for him in Waukee tomorrow to make sure he's not left alone at all. Someone who's got to be there all night.

HOPPE: The driver was there.

Speaker 3 The next morning at seven and got up to walk.

HOPPE: So we know we saved a couple.

Speaker 3 And the.

HOPPE: Key is the parents are lost.

Speaker 3 Or family members.

HOPPE: What do we do? The important thing is to be.

Speaker 3 There and get them in a program.

HOPPE: We refer a lot of veterans to the Vet.

Speaker 3 Center on Ashland Avenue in Green Bay. And it's not only the veteran. They have opened.

HOPPE: The doors for the.

Speaker 3 Family members.

HOPPE: Because I still have a Vietnam vet that lives here in green Bay refused to go there, but the wife goes there and she said that's helped the.

Speaker 3 Family tremendously.

HOPPE: Because they would.

Speaker 3 Plan on going on a.

HOPPE: Picnic, say, at Bay beach, which is a big.

Speaker 3 Entertainment spot in green Bay, and pack up.

HOPPE: Now the grandkids would be ready to go and all of a sudden grandpa would say, nope, can't go.

Speaker 3 Well, they didn't understand he was having anxiety with that.

HOPPE: So the wife started going to the vet.

Speaker 3 Center, and.

HOPPE: She was able to.

Speaker 3 Explain.

HOPPE: To the children.

Speaker 3 And the.

HOPPE: Grandchildren, this is the post-traumatic stress caused.

Speaker 3 By the war, and this.

HOPPE: Is what.

Speaker 3 Happens to grandpa.

HOPPE: So he might be able to do it this week.

Speaker 3 But not next week. So and we have to understand, there's the illness there.

HOPPE: It never goes away. But the.

Speaker 3 Vet center.

HOPPE: Teaches a.

Speaker 3 Lot.

HOPPE: Of how to cope with it. Avoidant stay away from loud noises, large crowds. So that's a God bless for our.

Speaker 3 Veterans that were got a government that will have their program and continue with it. And I'm sure.

HOPPE: That to us.

Speaker 3 Saved many a veteran.

HOPPE: Um, the opening of the.

Speaker 3 Families.

HOPPE: So that the.

Speaker 3 Family can understand because they've never been at war, that you don't know.

HOPPE: What it is to be in.

Speaker 3 The jungle and shot at or in the.

HOPPE: Desert. It's helping a new generation, too, and you got to keep those benefits available. Um, some of the other highlights personally during my career as a CVS. So I'm proud to say a.

Speaker 3 Friend nominated me for a Woman Veteran.

HOPPE: Of the year through the Wisconsin.

Speaker 3 Department of.

HOPPE: Veterans Affairs. I was also the, uh, CBS show of the year for the Wisconsin Department.

Speaker 3 I was on.

HOPPE: The. CBS Show Council executive board. So again, just doing more than.

Speaker 3 Just the minimum what's.

HOPPE: Expected.

Speaker 3 And making.

HOPPE: Sure that we let the state know what the needs of our veterans are. And of course, we do a lot of legislative work with supervisors, um, get bills introduced, make sure they retain the benefits. Um, I also went to King quite often. I still do as a representative for the, uh, Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, Disabled American Veterans.

Speaker 3 And, um.

HOPPE: I was also with DAV.

Speaker 3 When I became their veteran of the year.

HOPPE: For the state. So it's nice to work.

Speaker 3 Hard to be recognized.

HOPPE: But that's.

Speaker 3 Now that.

HOPPE: I do the job. I just enjoy helping a veteran, especially if they can get through a tough time.

Speaker 3 Uh, being able to.

HOPPE: Help a veteran get their first home to the better state benefits.

Speaker 3 Being able.

HOPPE: To get veterans to referral, to seek.

Speaker 3 Treatment.

HOPPE: Because we did.

Speaker 3 Have one homeless gentleman in green Bay, and we eventually got him through a program the state.

HOPPE: Had had King, and he eventually quit drinking. He said, I finally hit.

Speaker 3 Bottom, I know I can't do this anymore.

HOPPE: He was at the programing.

Speaker 3 King and they taught him a.

HOPPE: Skill.

Speaker 3 So when he.

HOPPE: Finished the year long.

Speaker 3 Program, King hired him. He is now an LPN.

HOPPE: He went to school, he was older, is a Vietnam vet and he did go to school. That school.

Speaker 3 Became an LPN and he said.

HOPPE: You know that saved his life.

BOWERS HEALEY: And an LPN is a licensed practical nurse, correct? Yeah, okay.

HOPPE: F king because he was able to stop the.

Speaker 3 Dependance on substance.

HOPPE: And harm to get the state has a great program for disabled veterans, children to get to.

Speaker 3 College, and a lot of the families come in and ask for.

HOPPE: That assistance. Uh.

Speaker 3 Another program I'm still working is, um, Disabled American Veteran, chapter.

HOPPE: Three chapter service officer helping veterans file claims. But I have a widow that.

Speaker 3 Came in yesterday.

HOPPE: Her husband's a Vietnam veteran. He's passed away.

Speaker 3 Under.

HOPPE: The Pact act of.

Speaker 3 10th August of 2020, signed by President Biden.

HOPPE: He was a.

Speaker 3 Veteran in Thailand, never recognized.

HOPPE: As exposure to.

Speaker 3 Agent Orange.

HOPPE: And unfortunately, that was the major contributor in.

Speaker 3 His demise recently.

HOPPE: So we're able to help the wife filed for DIC.

Speaker 3 Dependent.

HOPPE: Amendment claim.

Speaker 3 And if the.

HOPPE: VA grants it, they're stating the husband died due to service connected disability. And it goes back to the exposure chemicals at the.

Speaker 3 Base in Thailand.

HOPPE: So she could receive a staff in about.

Speaker 3 $1,300 a month.

HOPPE: Extra tax rate, which she said would.

Speaker 3 Tremendously.

HOPPE: Help her. So that's paperwork or.

Speaker 3 Filing.

BOWERS HEALEY: Claims and or these things. Is that something you did while you received so or after that? Both. Both.

HOPPE: I did it while I was CVS. So because I was recruited through the state.

Speaker 3 And now I'm doing it because.

HOPPE: I'm accredited through the.

Speaker 3 Disabled American Veterans Care Program.

HOPPE: Otherwise the veterans or.

Speaker 3 Family members.

HOPPE: Would have to drive to Waukee to go to.

Speaker 3 Regional office.

HOPPE: Well, if we can do it in green Bay and she lives in green.

Speaker 3 Bay and I work at.

HOPPE: The office of the peer.

Speaker 3 That's only the former. I'll drive.

HOPPE: And we can do all the paperwork and get.

BOWERS HEALEY: It. Are you working as a volunteer or volunteer? Interim. Okay, great.

HOPPE: I said I shouldn't waste that knowledge. I have to help. So what I usually do. Try to be in the office Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. That way I give myself a long weekend or I have other activities.

Speaker 3 I'm not only.

HOPPE: Involved in as disabled.

Speaker 3 American veterans, I'm also involved with.

HOPPE: The American Legion Post.

Speaker 3 539 in green Bay.

HOPPE: It's an.

Speaker 3 All women's.

HOPPE: Veteran post, and this year we're having our first golf outing.

Speaker 3 On August.

HOPPE: 19th. Majority of the funds of that online.

Speaker 3 Are going to go.

HOPPE: To help with the tiny houses that are being built by the clinic at green Bay, off University Avenue, to help veterans, homeless veterans get.

BOWERS HEALEY: Off that project. Gotten off? Have any has that launched yet? Uh. Have you it helped.

Speaker 3 Launch.

HOPPE: As far as programs that were set up to.

Speaker 3 Get donations.

HOPPE: And sponsors. The county and the city have designated a area for it. I believe the.

Speaker 3 Groundbreaking will be within the next month.

HOPPE: Okay. And both of the CEOs for the.

Speaker 3 Program.

HOPPE: Are veterans themselves. And then part of the other part is the golf tournament. Funds will go to scholarships.

Speaker 3 To members and or family members right here in American Legion.

HOPPE: So always.

Speaker 3 Having something to.

HOPPE: Do. And I just said, even though I'm retired twice, I'm not going to sit home and do nothing.

Speaker 3 I'm going to.

HOPPE: Help fellow veterans.

BOWERS HEALEY: And you mentioned again before we started, um, that you recently were kind of off your feet at the time. You, you had you broke something. What did you break?

HOPPE: Oh, I shattered, actually, at home.

Speaker 3 I fell down the steps and I shattered my tibia and fibula.

HOPPE: So basically six months of no weight bearing.

Speaker 3 And then.

HOPPE: Took me about two years.

Speaker 3 Learn how to walk again. But I'm out and about.

BOWERS HEALEY: Out and about now. Okay. Well, you covered a lot, but I want to give you. I know you made an outline. Uh, I don't if you want to check your outline. And, uh, is there something else that you'd like to talk about? Um.

HOPPE: No, I think that the big highlights were the, um, successful career.

Speaker 3 During Operation Homecoming or of the Vietnam.

HOPPE: Vets. Prisoners of war were released.

Speaker 3 Um, then we.

HOPPE: Did Operation Seven.

Speaker 3 Kings.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay. And what was that?

Speaker 3 Protective service operation in Germany. Okay. The bottom half gang. The bombing of.

HOPPE: Our headquarters at.

Speaker 3 Ramstein.

HOPPE: Of course.

Speaker 3 Desert storm, that's a big one.

HOPPE: Successfully got through.

Speaker 3 That, came back home and.

HOPPE: Luckily could retire.

Speaker 3 Early and then come back and.

HOPPE: Start his second career as, uh.

Speaker 3 County veterans.

HOPPE: Service officer.

Speaker 3 And retired from that and then joined life. Okay. Um.

HOPPE: Been retired.

Speaker 3 You can say no, but I haven't learned.

HOPPE: How to do that. I do enjoy engaging with folks.

Speaker 3 And helping out a.

HOPPE: Lot. And, um, I probably continue with the service officer job because the DAV does certify us, but we have.

Speaker 3 To train every 18 months.

HOPPE: So this October I get more training and they're just updating.

Speaker 3 On.

HOPPE: How to fill the paperwork.

Speaker 3 And then send it to the National.

HOPPE: Service officer in Milwaukee to file it. But it's saving a lot of veterans time traveling there. But also, you can explain in simple layman's terms what it takes to.

Speaker 3 Win a claim in the.

HOPPE: DAV. That's, uh, DAV assists and winning claims in the VA system. The VA system is so complicated.

Speaker 3 And there's a myriad of different things.

HOPPE: Every time Congress meets, new laws are made. So what we do is help the.

Speaker 3 Veteran and family members understand what they are.

HOPPE: And if there's benefits, to help them with the paperwork necessary to seek that benefit. Because a couple of years ago, the VA would accept the claim. If you wrote.

Speaker 3 It on a plain sheet of paper and say, my name.

HOPPE: Is and this is what I'm.

Speaker 3 Claiming, and date it.

HOPPE: Well, that changed where the VA says there is a specific.

Speaker 3 Form.

HOPPE: For each specific.

Speaker 3 Item that you're going to file.

HOPPE: So that's our job to make sure we get the right.

Speaker 3 Form for the. Seeking their benefit and or family member and each form, every time they revise.

HOPPE: It, it gets bigger and bigger. They used to have a form, uh, call, witness and statement was two pages is now three pages. They just get.

Speaker 3 Bigger and more involved.

HOPPE: The claim for the disability form used to be like five pages. Now it's 8.

Speaker 3 Or 9.

HOPPE: Pages. Um, if we can basically interpret what it means.

Speaker 3 And then explain how claim is one.

HOPPE: That there are specific.

Speaker 3 Things that must be met.

HOPPE: So we help the veteran either get the.

Speaker 3 Statement from the.

HOPPE: Doctor, called.

Speaker 3 The medical opinion.

HOPPE: For the disability.

Speaker 3 Claim, or help the veteran write the statement.

HOPPE: To file with it. And fortunately, the system is changed. Used to have 2 or 3 years before a claim was totally adjudicated. Now they have what's called the fast track. It's fully developed claim system, and you send all the paperwork upfront. You're telling the VA there's.

Speaker 3 Nothing else to submit, and they try.

HOPPE: To get the claims.

Speaker 3 Done with the 125.

HOPPE: Days. The last statistic I.

Speaker 3 Found out of Milwaukee.

HOPPE: Is their successful rate.

Speaker 3 On claims.

HOPPE: Processing.

Speaker 3 Is about 118 days.

HOPPE: So we do all the paperwork at this level and it goes through the VA. They'll look at it if the veterans in the VA system.

Speaker 3 And if.

HOPPE: They have had.

Speaker 3 Medical treatment.

HOPPE: For that condition within the last year, the review officer can make a.

Speaker 3 Decision on that alone.

HOPPE: Or they file a compensation claim exam.

Speaker 3 That exam.

HOPPE: Is given. Then the issue to get a receives the information and they show there is a condition.

Speaker 3 Or an increase.

HOPPE: Of the disability.

Speaker 3 They can grant that benefit. And then the.

HOPPE: Veteran gets the award letter first successful they get the award or increase. They're seeking.

Speaker 3 An album out.

HOPPE: When the veteran.

Speaker 3 Passes. Then we help the family with the burial benefits.

HOPPE: Or the Disc.

Speaker 3 Claim that dependent indemnity claim.

HOPPE: To help the widow or whatever. So it's challenging, but it's.

Speaker 3 Rewarding when you can say.

HOPPE: You help somebody.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay, well, I don't have anything else to ask of you at this time, but no other than to say one more time. Is there anything else that you would like to add to either your military service or your civilian service?

Speaker 3 No, I.

HOPPE: Think in the time we were together.

Speaker 3 We had it all. And thank you for letting me do this.

BOWERS HEALEY: Well, I appreciate it very much. Uh, thank you for both your service in the military as well as your service post military, because that's greatly helps people navigate through a complex system.

HOPPE: I was honored to do both.

BOWERS HEALEY: And oh, one more thing. How did you learn about, uh, or what encouraged you to do this oral history for the Veterans Museum?

HOPPE: It was actually for, um, the VA, Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. I've always kept close.

Speaker 3 Contact with.

HOPPE: Them during the CVA.

Speaker 3 So jobs and afterwards. And we were at a meeting and they just said, you know, we're doing oral.

HOPPE: History. Would you like.

Speaker 3 It?

HOPPE: And I said, yes.

BOWERS HEALEY: Okay, good. That's great. All right. Well, thank you very much. And this will be the end of our interview.