American Legion Beaufort Post 207 brings you Jim Berry, 74, who joined the United States Air Force upon graduating from the ROTC program at Clemson in 1973. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant he specialized as a base civil engineer. He first served at Blytheville AFB, Ark., a B-52 base. He had secondary duties involving the honor details at funerals. He next served at Campion Air Force Station at the early warning radar site in rural Alaska. From Alaska he was reassigned to Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, where he earned a Masters Degree in Facilities Management. Back to South Carolina, he then served at Shaw AFB in Sumter, helping to convert it for the F-16 (Fighting Falcon) fighters. While there he met and married Barbara, as well as deployed to Egypt to support the Iranian hostage crisis. Having become an expert in preparing for the F-16, the Air Force assigned him as an active duty officer to McEntire Air National Guard facility in Hopkins, S.C. as the Base Engineer to convert it for F-16s. He retired in 1994 as a Lt. Colonel and began a 20-year career as the Physical Plant Director of South Carolina for the Department of Mental Health. His duties were statewide including managing the construction of Victory House in Walterboro. In 2019, he and Barbara moved to Port Royal.
Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207. For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.
