J. Vinyard:
CLASS OF 1941
Pine Bluff High SchoolClass of 1941
Pine bluff, AR
Louisiana State UniversityClass of 1954
Baton rouge, LA
University of ArkansasClass of 1942
Monticello, AR
Ouachita High SchoolClass of 1940
Monroe, LA
A. L. Smith Elementary SchoolClass of 1936
Sterlington, LA
J.'s Story
School
I attended A. L. Smith Elementary School in Sterlington, LA, from 1929 to 1936. I attended Ouachita Parish High School in Monroe, La 1936 to 1937. We moved to Pine Bluff, AR in the summer of 1937 where I graduated from high school in 1941. I went to my first year of college at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, AR. I attended one semester in 1941/42 on a music scholarship. After the war I returned to school 1952 - 1955 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA where I graduated in 1954 with a BS in Accounting. I attended one semester of graduate school there from 1954 - 1955 at which time I was transferred in my job to Fort Worth, TX.
Military
I left college in January, 1942, and shortly afterwards took my U.S. Army Air Forces Aviation Cadet examination. I was sworn into the Air Forces March 24, 1942 and called to active duty as an Aviation Cadet May 27, 1942. I attended Preflight at Kelly Field, San Antonio, TX in June, 1942, then on to Primary at Bruce Field, Ballinger, TX, Basic at Goodfellow Field at San Angelo and single engine Advanced at Moore Field, Mission, TX. After graduation on January, 1943 (Class 43A), I was assigned to the 5th Ferry Group, Air Transport Command (ATC), at Love Field, TX. I was later assigned to Ferry groups at Palm Springs, CA and Long Beach, CA. In May/June, 1944, I attended Curtiss twin-engined C-46 transition school at Reno, NV. In July, 1944, I ferried a C-46 from Nashville, TN to the Assam Valley, India - 79 hours flying time. I then remained in India until February, 1945, where I was assigned to flying the HUMP from India to China. I made 87 round trips across the HUMP, basically without incident. Basically we were flying in support of General Claire B. Chennault's U. S. Army 14th Air Force based in China.. Living conditions in India were not all that great. I returned to the States in late February, 1945, where I flew as pilot in the Airline portion of the ATC until my discharge in December, 1946. I remained in the Air Force Reserve until 1962 at which time I allowed my commission to expire. That ended my military experience. My final rank was Captain.
Civilian Life
Following my discharge from the Army Air Forces I moved to Tyler, TX. I spent 6 months there as an airplane flight instructer. In December 1947 I went to work for the Civil Aeronautics Adminstration (CAA), later the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) I retired from the FAA on Jan...Expand for more
uary 3, 1984. During that time I worked in Flight Service Stations, Combined Station/Tower, VFR Tower, and radar controlled airport traffic control. I worked at Tyler, TX, Alice, TX, Baton Rouge, LA, Ft. Worth, TX, El Paso, TX, Albuguerque, NM, and Amarillo, TX. From 1969 to 1984 I served as Manager of the Amarillo, TX, tower and radar approach control.
Family Life
I was born in Pine Bluff, AR, on August 7, 1923. My parents were Clyde A. Vinyard and Hazel Elaine Douglas. My dad worked for the Arkansas Power and Light Company in Pine Bluff where he was a street car motorman and later worked in their local power plant, In early 1929 he was transferred by the company to work in the power plant in Sterlington, LA. His position was Turbine Operator. In May, 1937, he was transferred back to the Pine Bluff power plant with a promotion to Watch Supervisor. I attended Pine Bluff High School for four years where I played French Horn in the band. I graduated from Pine Bluff High School in May, 1941, just barely. My father died in September, 1942, shortly after I joined the Army Air Forces. In March, 1945, I married Sarah Caroline Tucker from Monticello, AR. I originally met her in 1941 when she was in Junior High School in Monticello, AR, while I was attending College there. By chance I met her again in Long Beach, CA, in December, 1943, where I was stationed with the 6th Ferry Group at the time. Her mother had moved from Monticello to Long Beach in 1943 where went to work for the Douglas Aircraft Company. Her mother had a sister who also lived in Long Beach. Along the way we had three sons, James Vincent, Michael Clyde and Robert Carson. Sarah died on December 5, 2005, after almost 61 years of married life. On March 28, 2011, I remarried to Ruby Jane Hutson-Pipes of Choudrant, LA. Ruby and I had known each other since chiildhood in Sterlington, LA. Her husband of 66 years died in January, 2010. On September 4, 2013, my son James died in Amarillo, TX. He had one adopted son Kevin and one natural son Thomas Damon. My son Michael lives in Albuqueque, NM. Robert lives in Austin, TX. Michael has 4 children, a boy and girl from his wife's previous marriage, and two natural sons Paul and Kenny. Robert has two sons Micha and Josh, and a daughter Amy. At the present Ruby and I are dividing living in Choudrant, LA, and Amarillo, TX. We travel quite a lot. We are still in pretty good health.
Activities
To come later.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Register for Free to view all yearbooks!
Reunions
Register for Free to start a reunion event!
Photos
