Interview, John Kiereck, USAF

John Kiereck (b. 1942) was born in Rochester, NY. He enlisted in the United States Air Force on July 19, 1960, when he was 18 years old. Kiereck completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and specialized in electrical power production. He was stationed at Schilling Air Force Base in Salina, Kansas, and worked as part of an Atlas missile launch crew during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. Kiereck was in the Air Force for 4 years and was honorably discharged on July 17, 1964. After his service, Kiereck returned to Rochester, where he worked in computer operations for several different companies.

In this interview, Kiereck explains that he considers himself a Cold War veteran because he was out of the service before the United States started sending troops into Vietnam. He discusses how much he enjoyed his time in the Air Force and what it was like to experience the Cuban Missile Crisis from a missile launch site, where he says he had a “front row seat.” Kiereck says that he agreed with President Kennedy’s politics during his time in the Air Force.