Air Force veteran flew to six continents

Feb. 18—Today's veteran: Julius Williams, 54

Born: St. Simons Island

Residence: Brunswick

Service: Air Force, 20 years

Duties: Jet engine mechanic, crew chief and flight engineer

Rank: Technical sergeant

Recognitions: Aerial Achievement Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Combat Readiness Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Longevity Medal and NCO Professional Military Education Ribbon.

Duty stations: Guam; Moody Air Force Base; Charleston Air Force Base, Charleston, S.C.; Andrews Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.; Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio; San Antonio, Texas and Chablatte Air Force Base, Illinois.

His story: Julius Williams had no doubt about the branch of military service he wanted to serve in thanks to his father.

His dad worked at the St. Simons Island airport as a maintenance man and believed his son's future would also be working at the airport.

Williams, however, had goals that were much higher.

"I spent lots of time at the airport and fell in love with airplanes," he said.

He enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from Glynn Academy, with the goal of working on jet engines.

"I just wanted to get away," he said. "I wanted to see the world and try something new."

After completing his training, Williams was assigned to a team in Guam working on B-52 jet engines. He said there were some homesick days during his 15 months in Guam, but he served with three other men from Brunswick who he knew before he enlisted, which made separation from his family more tolerable.

"The only thing we had to deal with was typhoons," he said. "We'd evacuate to Japan or Hawaii."

There was no separation anxiety days at his next duty station, Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta.

Williams said he'd make the two-hour drive to the Golden Isles every two weeks or so for some home cooking and to spend time with family.

He was promoted to crew chief for a F-16 fighter jet, with the responsibility of ensuring it would be capable of flying every day. He went to school for two months, followed by six months of on-the-job training before he worked as crew chief on his own.

New tires were changed daily because of the wear and tear a takeoff and landing put on them. Engines were replaced once or twice a month, and he was trained to identify foreign object damage his jet may have suffered.

He decided to reenlist after serving three years, even though he had another year remaining on his original commitment to the Air Force.

"At that point I knew I wanted to fly," he said.

He was trained to be a flight engineer, which took 10 months of training at Charleston Air Force Base, his new duty station, followed by a year of training with an instructor.

He would spend the next 13 years in Charleston, flying in missions in C-141 cargo jets across the world.

"Every week I was going somewhere," he said.

Cargo included household goods, personnel equipment and lots of missions in support of the president of the United States.

He was still based in Charleston, but was flying from Iraq to Germany the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But details were scarce when the got on the ground.

"It was weird flying from Iraq back to Germany," he said. "We were stuck there a week."

Once he returned to his home base in South Carolina, his crew conducted many missions in support of the recovery in New York City.

In 2004, Williams was assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. where they picked up and delivered a wide variety of cargo.

After two years in the nation's capital, Williams was assigned to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, as a flight engineer. He flew to Iraq on medivac missions as often as once a week. Some flights were refueled in the air, weather permitting. His longest non-stop flight was from Cairo to New Jersey, lasting 14 hours and requiring a mid-air refueling twice.

"My job was easy," he said. "I just had to pull a handle and open a receptacle. The pilot did the hard work."

Williams retired shortly after serving 20 years. He traveled to every continent except Antarctica.

Among his fondest memories are when he met Sir Edmond Hillary in New Zealand at a book signing event and seeing the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil.

"I remember flying so high you could see the curvature of the earth," he said.

The most rewarding times were when he went on humanitarian missions to Africa and saw children waiting on the runway for the cargo jet to land.

"People knew food and humanitarian relief," he said. "It was an eye-opening experience."

Williams said his Air Force career changed his life.

"I was raised in poverty," he said. "You don't have to stay in poverty.

He works at the Port of Brunswick and is the recording secretary for the longshoremen's association 1423. He is also a member of American Legion Post 507 and a member of the A. Philip Randolph Institute.

His goal is to inspire other youth to consider a career in the military.

"I didn't plan to make the Air Force a career," he said. "I enjoyed it so much money could not buy it. I'd do it again."