Oral history interview with Adelard F. Dusseault recorded 2007 May 1

• Main Author: Dusseault, Adelard F.
• Other Authors: Ferrance, Nathan
• Format: Moving Image (Video)
• Language: English
• Published: Central Connecticut State University. Center for Public Policy and Social Research 2007
• Subjects: Korean War; 1950-1953; United States. Air Force; Veterans > Connecticut > Interviews; 1950-1953 > Personal narratives; American; Military meteorology; Floods > Connecticut; Iceland
• Online Access: http://content.library.ccsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/VHP/id/5572

Interview conducted by Nathan Ferrance. Adelard Dusseault enlisted in the United States Air Force in the spring of 1953. He went to basic training at Sampson Air Force Base in New York. From there he was transferred to Lackland Air Force Base (Texas) to join the air force cadet program (this was prior to the establishment of the Air Force Academy). He passed all the aptitude test required to start navigator training, however, the air force had a rule that cadets could not be married. Dusseault had gotten married on a leave between New York and Texas, and was not aware of the rule. He unfortunately was asked to leave the cadet program, but was offered a chance to train as a meteorologist, which he describes as the “second best option” given to him. He trained as a Weather Observer in Illinois for about six months before his graduation. His first assignment was at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. He describes the base in Florida as civilian-like, he was able to live in housing on base with his wife and child, and it was an enjoyable job. He received his overseas orders in July of 1954, and he was stationed in Iceland for a year. Dusseault was part of a base that shared its space with the international airport. He describes Iceland has a bit of adjustment because of the 24 hours of darkness experienced during the winter. When his year in Iceland was up, he was stationed again in Texas, at Goodfellow Air Force Base. The day he and his family left Connecticut for Texas was memorable for him, because it was the same day that the first rains of the “flood of 55” fell in his hometown. In Texas he obtained his private pilot’s license. When he was discharged in 1957, he and his family moved back to Connecticut. He bought a small airplane just after receiving his first paycheck, and after building up his flight time over a period of two years, he used the GI Bill to train for his commercial pilot’s license. He became a commercial flight instructor, and he and his brother owned the second largest flight school in New England until his retirement. Weather Observer Weather Observer Veteran