Staff Sgt. Kenneth Hugh Kauffold
    I graduated from Dodge High in May 1948. On March 10, 1949,1 (Ken Kauffold) entered the United States Air Force. I took my basic training at Lackland A.F.B. in San Antonio, TX for 13 weeks. I had to adjust from the cold temperatures in Nebraska to the hot climate of San Antonio. In June, I transferred to Warren A.F.B. outside Cheyenne, WY for clerk typist school. After a month, I was transferred to Wright-Patterson A.F.B. at Dayton, OH. Here I learned Key Punch (IBM machines) for several weeks. I was transferred back to Warren A.F.B. at Cheyenne, where I spent 2½years in Headquarters. I learned coding and key punching morning reports from all organizations on the base.
    In August of 1951, I was transferred to Kadena A.F.B. on Okinawa. I was to work in the key punch section on IBM machines. When I arrived as a NCO (non-commissioned officer) three of the four airmen working in that section, went home on the same ship I came on. Trying to keep up, I was swamped. The Colonel in charge gave me his secretary, (a civilian) to help me out. Of course, she didn't know anything about key punch or IBM machines. In typical 'Service' fashion, the Air Force had air-conditioned quonsets for the IBM machines, but the keypunch section, where I worked, was quartered in a quonset that was not air-conditioned. The IBM cards curled up in the damp Okinawa climate. We had a heck of a time getting them through the machine.
    There were B-29's leaving Kadena A.F.B. every day, flying north to Korea, where they bombed bridges and strategic targets. Hence, I was awarded the Korean medal, even though I had never been to Korea. One incident I encountered, may be worth noting. Everyday 1 received Morning Reports from all the organizations on the base. These reports listed all men available for duty, at the hospital, sick, temporarily somewhere else, etc. It was S.O.P. (Standard order of procedure) with rows of figures, supposedly totaling to a balance. After struggling with the figures that did NOT add up, I became upset and called the organization in question. Now most organizations have a clerk on duty, to answer the phone, usually the  morning report clerk or at best the First Sergeant who manages the local orderly room. So when I got an answer that it was such and such squadron, I blasted away at the person for failure to check the figures on the Morning Report, that did not balance. I literally gave him hell. There was a pause. The voice asked in a  stern tone, "Do you know who this is?" Taken aback, " I said, No" He said, "This is Major Johnson." I asked if Major Johnson knew who he was talking to. He said, "No." I gently hung up the phone.
    After a year, I returned to the states and was discharged at Offutt A.F.B. south of Omaha. It was Air Force policy to discharge you at the nearest base to your home. As I waited in a long line for physicals, I was weighed and the corporal attendant leaned out to report to his Sergeant in the next room, "Hey Sarge, this guy only weighs 141 pounds." the answer came back, "That's OK, he's getting out." Yep! You guessed it! I was OK for civilian life, but I might not have been able to re-enlist. I spent three years and eight months in the Air Force, before being discharged on November 10,1952.



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