Air Force
Rank: Master Sergeant
Years of service: 1986-2007
Town: Elkmont
A
framed photograph of a 21-year-old Sandra Thompson clad in a U.S. Air
Force basic training uniform sits on a shelf inside her back office at
the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives. Beside the photograph,
Thompson’s current uniform, crisp and neatly pressed, appeared on a
mannequin. Rows of ribbons and service medals covered the left chest,
and the insignia for master sergeant was stitched to the upper left arm.
“I
came from a poor family and didn’t have any money for college. The Air
Force was my ticket out of Wabash, Indiana,” Thompson said. “My family
said I was too hard-headed and would never make it. That was a challenge
for me. I thought, 'I’ll show you.' My plan was to do four years to get
money for school.”
When she
finally retired in 2007, Thompson, who trained as a cook and in
education, had served 21 years, earned two associate degrees, bachelor’s
and master’s degrees, traveled to England, Korea, Germany and Saudi
Arabia and witnessed the transformation of the military.
When
I enlisted, the Cold War was on. There was a threat, but you knew who
the enemy was. Sept. 11 changed the world completely. Today, you don’t
know who your enemy is,” said Thompson, who deployed to Saudi Arabia for
six months after the 9/11 attacks."
Thompson
was 21 — the second oldest in her class — when she joined the Air
Force. Today, women make up about 20 percent of all Air Force personnel.
Growing up in a home with four brothers and a father who served in the
Air Force helped prepare Thompson for the military.
“I
did encounter some men that worked for me who thought women should be
at home and not in the military. It didn’t bother me. As long as they
did what I said, we were fine. That’s why you have rules of order,”
Thompson said.
After retiring,
Thompson moved from Santa Fe to Elkmont and earned the role of director
of the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives.
With
uniforms, weapons and photographs from Germany, Beirut, Haiti,
Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea and France, the museum serves as a
tangible link to the past.
“History
ignored is history repeated. This place teaches future generations
about the past so that we won’t do the same things again,” Thompson
said. “I know ‘freedom isn’t free’ is a cliché, but when you look around
at all the stuff in the museum, it really brings that saying home.”
A
benefit for the museum featuring Elvis tribute artist Michael Dean and
Memphis, will take place Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Limestone County
Senior Center. Tickets cost $15 in advance at the museum or $20 the
night of the show.
