Interview with James Trigg [May 6, 2002]

Linda Barnickel:

My name is Linda Barnickel. It is May 6, 2002. We are at the Nashville Room of the Nashville Public Library in Nashville, Tennessee. Today I am going to speak with Mr. James Trigg about his service in the military spanning several different wars. Mr. Trigg, when and where were you born?

James Trigg:

I was born on the 19th of June, 1922 in Marshall County, Tennessee on the farm that belonged to my grandparents, Claude and Dottie Lyndon Fox.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay... okay.

James Trigg:

And that was real close to my home town which was in Giles County. And in that part of the country, sometimes you can't tell which county you're in, the way it is laid out.

Linda Barnickel:

What were your parents names?

James Trigg:

My father's name, he was James Knox Trigg, Jr. And, of course, I'm James, Jr. then. And my mother was Wilba G. Fox. F. O. X.

Linda Barnickel:

Brothers and sisters?

James Trigg:

Yes, I have one sister. And she lives in Gallatin now. Her name is Betty Trigg Murphy. She was married to John Murphy and he is deceased. And of course she has children and grandchildren right there at Gallatin.

Linda Barnickel:

okay, all right. Tell me about your growing up years.

James Trigg:

They were lovely. (laughing)

Linda Barnickel:

Was that down at Giles county?

James Trigg:

It was in Giles County some. It was in Marshall County some. It was in Nashville some and Old Hickory some. My parents kind of moved around a lot and we lived, we lived in Hermitage once. And that little town right before you get to Hermitage. And, I lose my trend of thought sometimes.

Linda Barnickel:

That's okay.

James Trigg:

And so I started to school at Jerry Baxter, to school for two years and then we moved out to Madison and I went to school there for two years.

Linda Barnickel:

Was that in High School?

James Trigg:

No, that was first and second grade-

Linda Barnickel:

okay.

James Trigg:

and the third and fourth grade out at Madison and the depression hit in 1929, and so my father went broke in his store and we all moved back to the country.

Linda Barnickel:

What kind of store did he have?

James Trigg:

He had a very large department store in Old Hickory at one time where he had built the building himself and then there was in (?Dupontonia?), just north of the, south of the reservation.

Linda Barnickel:

Uh huh. that's okay. Go ahead.

James Trigg:

and so, I lose my train of thought on these things. I went to school there two years out at Madison and then we went back to the country, which was with the Fox family down there and then, he, my father was always a merchant, and he opened a cash store over at Linnville, Tennessee. And, it was all cash. He didn't have any credit. He didn't give any credit. But, he always got along with the black people fine. So there was one who worked with the railroad, he wanted to get his chewing tobacco on Monday, then pay my daddy when he came back on Friday. And that was the only credit customer that my father had the whole time. (laughing) We lived in Linnville from1932 to 1937, and then moved on to Pulaski. And stayed there for one year. And then I went back to my Grandparents, my Fox grandparents. And graduated from high school on the, I believe the 6th of May, 1940, Cornersville High School at Cornersville, Tennessee. So that's kind of a corny name, but it was in the corner of three counties. So, that's where it got its name.

Linda Barnickel:

I would have guessed. (laughing)

James Trigg:

got its name.

Linda Barnickel:

So you graduated in 1940. What did you do when you got out of school?

James Trigg:

As soon as I got out, my Father came down that night, that we graduated and I went back to, came back to Nashville with him.

Linda Barnickel:

They were living in Nashville at that time?

James Trigg:

Beg Pardon?

Linda Barnickel:

They were living in Nashville at the time?

James Trigg:

Well my mother was sick then, and he had moved back.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay.

James Trigg:

To Nashville. And he moved back to Nashville, and I was with him. And I had always had a great interest in airplanes. I had seen them fly over, there was a man from Birmingham that had spoke to me, near my Fox family, he would come up the railroad track in his airplane and visit his folks. And I was in love with airplanes. And so, on the, July the 6th, 1940, I joined the Army Air Corps right here in Nashville, and when I took the eye test to be a pilot, I don't have any depth perception, so I flunked out before I got started.

Linda Barnickel:

oh.

James Trigg:

So-

Linda Barnickel:

How did that affect you? How did you feel when that happened?

James Trigg:

Well, it was just terrible because I wanted to be a pilot, but as I look back on it, it probably saved my life. I was a, I did ground work, on the airplane. In other words, I was what they, a lot of times I was what they called a Ground Crew Chief. And I would take care of the airplane as soon as the pilots come in, like that at the various places that I was stationed.

Linda Barnickel:

uh huh.

James Trigg:

And it, it probably saved my life that I didn't have the depth perception anyway.

Linda Barnickel:

uh huh. Well what, so what did you do when you first went into the service then after they first told you you couldn't be a pilot? Tell me what happened next.

James Trigg:

Oh, I just got to be, to work on the ground crew.

Linda Barnickel:

Where did you go for your training?

James Trigg:

I was at Maxwell Field, Alabama that's where I started, in six weeks of what they called the Recruit Drill. And I was there, and then they were building a new base over at Selma, Alabama. And that was Craig Field, C-R-A-I-G, Craig Field, Alabama, and of course, it wasn't anything there but a cow pasture when I got there and they built the runways and all the places that needed to be built and the, had a hospital and everything. And by the way I caught malaria. It like to have put me out of business. (laughing)

Linda Barnickel:

Wow.

James Trigg:

And so I overcome that and I just stayed with the airplanes on the ground.

Linda Barnickel:

Uh huh. Were you involved in any of the construction, since it was recruit training, did they have you doing some of that kind of work at the time?

James Trigg:

You mean on the base itself?

Linda Barnickel:

Uh huh.

James Trigg:

No, no, I didn't. I didn't. I had, I did other jobs, so all kinds, and everything, but when the base was ready I got on the flight line and got to be the, on the ground crew chief there, which is real important. We kind of bedded down the airplane after the pilot left. So forth, see how much gas it needed, see that everything was all right. And that was at Craig Field, Alabama.

Linda Barnickel:

okay.

James Trigg:

At first-

Linda Barnickel:

What uh, where were you when Pearl Harbor happened?

James Trigg:

Pearl Harbor? I got Alzheimer's Disease and it's hard for me to think sometimes.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay. That's all right. When you heard that the world was-

James Trigg:

Yeah, uh huh. Um, I can't think of it right now.

Linda Barnickel:

That's all right.

James Trigg:

Oh, I know one thing.

Linda Barnickel:

Uh huh?

James Trigg:

We had to send all of civilian clothes home. And we were in a uniform or our work uniform.

Linda Barnickel:

Uh huh.

James Trigg:

We had two kinds of uniforms there and so that was the 6th of July, 1940, wasn't it?

Linda Barnickel:

Okay. What uh, where did you go after Craig Field?

James Trigg:

I went on temporary duty down at Barksdale Field, at Shreveport, Louisiana. And I saw the funniest looking vehicle that ever was. It was in 1941, I think it was. And they called it a jeep, and I had recently seen it on TV telling all about the jeep. And I had thought that I had been down there in 1940, but they said 1941, so I'll take their words on it. (both laughing) I was there on temporary duty for a while and loved Barksdale Field and everything.

Linda Barnickel:

What did you like best about it?

James Trigg:

Uh, I liked the relationship that they had with the people in town. That was very important and it worked real good there at Barksdale Field. And also in Maxwell Field, it worked tremendously good. Like the-

Linda Barnickel:

That's back in Alabama, right?

James Trigg:

Uh huh, Montgomery.

Linda Barnickel:

Well, you mentioned that you were a crew chief. What were some of your major duties that you performed?

James Trigg:

Well, duties were, was really, to get the aircraft ready to be flown. Put the right amount of gasoline in it and check the oil in it, and check the tires. And see if it was ready to go. And then they would take off and be gone a while and then they would come back, and park about the same thing. I put the chocks underneath, you know to hold them. And everything like that, so I enjoyed my stay there at Craig Field, Craig Field, Alabama.

Linda Barnickel:

Now, I know that you served overseas as well. Did you, during World War II?

James Trigg:

Uh.

Linda Barnickel:

Or do I have my, your service is so extensive-

James Trigg:

I've got it written down here, let me see. I've got it here. 19th of June, 1922 I was born on the Fox Farm, in 1924-

Linda Barnickel:

Right, we have a copy of that. I'm looking at the same thing right here.

James Trigg:

Okay now house and family moved to Diana. My grandparents gave a home to all of their children when they got married, which is very unusual for anybody to do. And they had four children, so that is four houses they gave away. Well, my Father, he moved the house over to his Mother's farm, which was in Giles County. So the place I was born was in Marshall County and the house that I was born in is in Giles County at Diana, Tennessee. And the same family has lived there all of these years. I can't place it right now, but the same people have lived there all of this time.

Linda Barnickel:

Wow.

James Trigg:

And I still claim Diana, Tennessee as my home town.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay.

James Trigg:

After being all over the world (laughing).

Linda Barnickel:

Well, you didn't stay anywhere too long, did you?

James Trigg:

No, oh yeah, 1926 we moved to Chickamauga Avenue, 1927 we moved to Donelson. That's where I was trying, and we lived in a large house on one side, then moved across the street. My Father, he moved a lot. And we moved across there. 1927. 1928 we were back in Greenfield and I started at Jerry Baxter and I just remember Miss Adair was my first teacher. And I can't remember none of the rest of them. Then went to Madison, then went back to the Fox Farm in 1932. And the teacher there was Miss Nanny Clift. I spent two months under her. Then we moved to Linnville. Oh, that was a good teacher, Elizabeth Pickens, she was mean as hell. But she made you learn whether you wanted to learn or not (both laughing). And then she, in the summer time, she would invite all of us out to her house, and everything, and she was act just like a normal person then. Come back to the class (Barnickel laughing). Okay. So, you had it there at the same time?

Linda Barnickel:

Right, right. Now I guess what I was wondering about was you mentioned that you in 1945, you were stationed in Kansas and then you went all the way over to Guam.

James Trigg:

Okay, that is real good. 19 what?

Linda Barnickel:

45.

James Trigg:

1945. That is right. I was stationed at Herrington, Kansas. I was just a ground crew. And this crew picked me out to go with them on the B-29 to help them out. And of course, I flew with it, but I was just there to help the-

Linda Barnickel:

You really were just a passenger, weren't you?

James Trigg:

Uh, yeah. The engineer was the enlisted man, but he was kinda in charge of things, and had so much to do with it, that I really assisted him. Is what he wanted to do. And I never could think of his name. Oh yeah, Island of Guam.

Linda Barnickel:

What do you remember about that flight? Was that the first time that you had-

James Trigg:

I remember just like it was yesterday. We took off from Herrington, Kansas and flew to California, and so, went in at night and saw all these lights on, you know, all over. San Francisco, I believe. And -

Linda Barnickel:

Do you recall how long it took to get there?

James Trigg:

It was several days. I don't want to say how many, but it was several days and we took off, I don't know all the way to Guam, it was, I believe at the most it was three days. The complete trip.

Linda Barnickel:

Kansas to Guam? Wow.

James Trigg:

And it was a great airplane, it was a new type of aircraft and had pilot, co-pilot and didn't have a engineer. And of course, I assisted the engineer in whatever he wanted me to do. They just, and it helped me out because I didn't have to go by boat. I was handpicked to be the assistant like that. And I really appreciated that because I would have been on a boat going over there, all the ground crew. It worked real well.

Linda Barnickel:

What do you think, brag on yourself a little bit, what do think were the qualifications that they saw in you that made them decide to pick you for this?

James Trigg:

They just , well, they were going to the unknown, you know, and they just, the flight engineer, he ran all the leaders and everything. He was the one who picked me. And I don't really know why. But he did, if he hadn't, I would have gone by boat. (both laugh)

Linda Barnickel:

And so then once you got over to Guam, were you basically doing the same job that you had been when you were in the States? Or did you-

James Trigg:

I was, yeah, the only difference was, I knew some of the crew again. After we landed over on there, and it was 30 or 40 B-29s lined up, you know. I was with one, but we, very close, we had our living quarters to the airplanes, but they had already been building up all the stuff, the landing strips and the engineers are really what run this world because they had it all ready for us when we landed, everything was just in shape, like that. Even the mess hall and everything. They was real funny about the mess hall, they, somebody found out that there was Japanese going in there and eating at night. And, the Commander was from Nashville here, I'm not sure what his name was, it seems like it might have been Brown. And they said let's leave it open and let them come in because nobody's hurting each other. Nobody's getting killed. And so, I believe that that pilot was the commander over there, I believe his name was Brown, and I know that he was from Nashville, so you can't get away from it. Even over there in Guam. But it was wonderful. Another thing I found out that was interesting. The most important man on Guam was from Franklin, Tennessee. His name was Johnson. And I never did meet him, but after the war, his little half-breed children visited Franklin. I saw them, I didn't get acquainted with them, but I saw them, they were-

Linda Barnickel:

What did he do over there? You said he was the most important man.

James Trigg:

Well, he was already there. I don't know whether he was a sailor and got there or I don't know what he did, but I knew that the natives and the people who were there considered him the most important man on the island.

Linda Barnickel:

So he was actually living there?

James Trigg:

Oh yes. He was there before, he wasn't in the service at all.

Linda Barnickel:

Oh, okay, I understand.

James Trigg:

And so, I thought that was rather strange thing, and I didn't meet him. I never did, for some reason or another.

Linda Barnickel:

Well what kinds of missions were they flying out of Guam at that time?

James Trigg:

They were putting bombs on Japan. And this was right at the tail end of the war and really I just got there just about in time when they dropped the atomic bombs from my outfit there. I don't know airplane it was, but anyway, they put them out of business there. So, it didn't last long after we got over there.

Linda Barnickel:

Now, prior to the dropping of the atom bomb, what kinds of shape did the airplanes come back in? Were they coming back okay at that point or were some of them shot up pretty bad?

James Trigg:

Some of them didn't even get back.

Linda Barnickel:

Right.

James Trigg:

Some of them didn't get back and some of them were shot up and everything. I just don't recall. I know that, I just don't recall. I couldn't pull out any certain thing about it.

Linda Barnickel:

What, the planes with the bombs they left Guam with the atom bombs?

James Trigg:

Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay. Do you-

James Trigg:

Some of those islands over there. I don't know if it was Guam or another island because they had B-29s on several islands. We were just one of them. Guam was just one of them.

Linda Barnickel:

What was your reaction when you heard about that?

James Trigg:

Well it was all over then, when the, when they, very soon the war was all over, you know. And mainly, we were chewing at the bits to come home. (laughing) We had seen all that we wanted to see at that there Pacific.

Linda Barnickel:

I bet. (laughing) Well, what were the living conditions like there?

James Trigg:

It was good conditions because the engineers had already got there before we got there and they built these runways and everything, and they built these places for us to live, they built the mess hall, and all that stuff.

Linda Barnickel:

Well, was it a tropical paradise? (laughing)

James Trigg:

Yeah, it was in a way. It was, yeah. And we were kind of high, we wasn't close to the ocean there.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay.

James Trigg:

But, and the engineers were building highways, and I kinda believe most of them were dirt roads, to a certain extent. I have to give the engineers credit because they got there first and did the dirty work.

Linda Barnickel:

Well, tell me about when you came home, after the war was over. How long were you over there before you came home?

James Trigg:

I wasn't there very long when I came back and decided to go to the University of Kentucky, and stayed there for a little while and let's see, I stayed in Kentucky a little while and then I came back and joined the W.T. Grant Company, one of the big chain stores at that time. And they eventually went broke, and we always said that W.T. meant Work Tonight. (both laughing) And so, I was with W.T. and then transferred to Alton, Illinois in East Saint Louis. Alton was a good little town in Illinois there. East Saint Louis was the dead end of the world. It was just nothing, nothing, nothing. Then, the last place we went to was Minneapolis, Minnesota. And I do remember I got in bad health there and got out of the military and went home to the Fox Family.

Linda Barnickel:

So you were still in the military, well no, because you said you were working for W.T. Grant.

James Trigg:

Yeah, yeah, uh huh.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay. So you were out of the military for a few years then.

James Trigg:

Yeah, I sure was. Yeah.

Linda Barnickel:

Well, you reenlisted in '52, what motivated you to reenlist?

James Trigg:

Well, I already had some service and then the company didn't work out that I was working for, and I decided that would be the best thing for me to do. I didn't want to go back down to the country. The old folks were gone and all that. I just decided that I think I will make a career of this, and by that time, it was the-, it wasn't the Army Air Corps any longer, it was the United States Air Force that I went back in. And I remember we had a big discussion on what rank that they would give me coming back, you know. And they went back and forth, and I said you just give me the lowest rank here, and if I'm any good I'll get it back anyway. And so they said okay, well okay. And so, that's how I started all over again.

Linda Barnickel:

Did you start as a Private?

James Trigg:

Yeah, yeah.

Linda Barnickel:

Really?

James Trigg:

Yeah, as an airman. That was in the Air Force.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay.

James Trigg:

And I just decided, after being there I didn't know what else I would be doing.

Linda Barnickel:

Well, you overseas again, right? In Korea?

James Trigg:

Yeah, let's see. Naw, I was stationed in Japan.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay, Okay. But it was near to Korea?

James Trigg:

Oh yeah. That was one of the best duties that I ever had, 1952 and 53. I was stationed in Ashyi, Japan. And I never could find out exactly where it was on a map, but there was a seashore and everything. And we - I went into Tokyo, landed at Tokyo and had to take the train down to Ashyi to the airbase where I was going to be stationed there. And that was a real good year that I spent in Japan. And what I did, I worked combat cargo and we were resupplying the people over in Korea, and so I made fifty four (54) missions, what they call combat cargo.

Linda Barnickel:

Now, you were still working on the ground crew right, is that right? So, you would what, load the planes? Is that most of what you would did?

James Trigg:

Well, no, take care of the planes. I didn't do any loading cause they had Loading Masters. They did the loading.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay, so you were making sure the planes could get over there though.

James Trigg:

Well, we just checked what, what needed to be checked on the aircraft itself to let us know if it was ready to go, if it was gassed up, ready and everything.

Linda Barnickel:

Why was that particular assignment so satisfying to you?

James Trigg:

Let's see. Back when was that, let's see.

Linda Barnickel:

When you were in Japan with the airlifts.

James Trigg:

Ah, I should have brought my book along with me. The most satisfying things were pictures of my 13 Japanese girlfriends.

Linda Barnickel:

(Laughing)

James Trigg:

I have them all. And, you know if you are in Nashville, you date Nashville girls. If you are in Japan, who do you go with? And they was a clean bunch of people. They lived in shacks, but they were very, very clean people and everything. And so, I should have brought my book. I had 13 Japanese girlfriends while I was there (both laughing). And of course, they all wanted to come back to the United States with me, every one of them.

Linda Barnickel:

So I guess then, even though this was just a short time after World War II, it sounds like relationships between people on base in Japan were pretty good.

James Trigg:

(laughing) That's right. You're trying to kill them one day, and you're trying to go to bed with them the next. (both laughing) Oh me.

Linda Barnickel:

Well, so you were overseas-

James Trigg:

I'll tell you, a few times when I was in Japan, some older Japanese man would look real mean at me because then I knew that they was in World War II, just like I was. (laughing) That's the only thing that happened to me. But, that was one of the best years that I had. Flying the 54 Combat Cargo Missions to Korea, and I got credit for Korean service and there I was in Japan with 13 Japanese girlfriends. (laughing)

Linda Barnickel:

Well now Korea was the first time that they began to use jets. These weren't jets, were they that -

James Trigg:

No, I was on a cargo airplane, but then on the B-29, I was on C-119 aircraft first and then a C-130. And it was probably the C-130 that went into Korea.

James Trigg:

the 54 Combat Cargo to Korea. In other words, I went over there 54 times, and I got credit for 54 missions and everything.

Linda Barnickel:

Now another thing that happened during that war was the armed forces were integrated.

James Trigg:

Uh huh.

Linda Barnickel:

Did you have any African Americans in your unit?

James Trigg:

They were coming in, but I don't remember when they came in. And I don't know of any problems that happened at all with them coming in. Not where I was, it wasn't anything. They just did their job and everybody else did their job.

Linda Barnickel:

Uh huh, when you were over there, what were you thinking about the Russians at that time? Did you feel like there was a threat from them being posted so close?

James Trigg:

Well, I'll tell you my thoughts about Russia. It was big and it was cold. And I think Hitler was a fool for trying to fight Russia. I think Hitler was a fool for trying to do that. Because you can't win fighting Russia because they are too big and it's too cold. It just can't be done.

Linda Barnickel:

But when you were in Japan there wasn't any concern that they would become involved in the Korean conflict?

James Trigg:

No.

Linda Barnickel:

So, then after Korea, let's see, you came back to the states, and then you went all over everywhere again, didn't you?

James Trigg:

Started off at Seward Air Force Base, I been stationed there three times. And-

Linda Barnickel:

What were you doing this time when you were in these other countries, Canada, Bermuda, ____-

James Trigg:

That was Combat Cargo.

Linda Barnickel:

Oh, okay.

James Trigg:

C-119 or C-130. This was later in the game, so it was probably the C-130. That was the good thing about the cargo work. It was some of the best duties that you could have on the cargo, because you're always going with the airplane and it was just a, just better.

Linda Barnickel:

So you would actually fly with the airplane?

James Trigg:

Sometimes I would and sometimes I didn't. It was according to the, whether they needed someone else to come work on it.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay. Now when you would fly with the plane, what were your duties? Similar to what you had described before?

James Trigg:

Still Ground Crew Chief, doing things like that.

Linda Barnickel:

So would you be assisting the engineer like you had been doing earlier?

James Trigg:

uh huh. Well, they didn't have an engineer on the, nothing but the B-29. They didn't have an engineer like that. Yeah, mainly I was taking care of it, as a, what they called a Ground Crew Chief.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay. Well, now you were also involved in the Conflict of Viet Nam. Tell me a little bit about that.

James Trigg:

I was over there twice. And with this Alzheimer's I can't just remember what I did, over there. Uh, I just don't remember much about it.

Linda Barnickel:

That's all right. Now you mentioned Operation, what it Mule Chair? You say it was a top secret operation, so-

James Trigg:

Oh, this is pretty good. In 1953, I was back at Seward Air Force Base, and, and we were doing Combat Cargo, Alaska, Canada, Bermuda, Grand Turk Islands, France, Greece. Down at the bottom there. Then I went to Europe for 6 months and by the way, when I went to Europe for 6 months, the Commander was Major Murphy. He was from Murphy Road, here in Nashville, Tennessee. (laughing) And he was the Commander and I saw him much later and he had become a full Colonel, Colonel Murphy. And that was the first time that I went to Europe. He was in charge of it as a Major. We went over there for 6 months to help'em out. And we really got to see places, got to see the Belly Dancers, and National Museum. I looked that old Pyramid in the eye. I always wanted to do that, so Buddy I did. (Barnickel laughing) And then in 1953 I was back at Pope Air Force Base. And they was still flying missions out of Fort Bragg. Pope Air Force Base is on Fort Bragg Reservation. It is not an airport of its own. It's the little bitty airport that is on a great big military, Fort Bragg is. And I was at Pope Air Force Base at Fort Bragg. And Fort Bragg was very unusual. It had an open post. It had two main highways going right through it, in part of it there. And you, it wasn't like having to show your ID or something on your bumper to get in, or something like that. It was just it was wide open, and that was people there because of the relationship between the Brass at Fort Bragg and the local people. They had some kind of deal going on that everything was working good.

Linda Barnickel:

Wow. (laughing)

James Trigg:

And that was good duty there. I'm sure by then it was 130 that I was on, but I don't remember when -

Linda Barnickel:

Well, actually, the mission that I was asking about earlier went into Viet Nam. I misspoke, I said Mule Shoe, elsewhere in the material that you provided, it said Operation Mule Train.

James Trigg:

Operation Mule Train.

Linda Barnickel:

And that was, I guess, some sort of a secret mission? Are you able to share any information about that?

James Trigg:

Ah, I can't remember much about that. And, I know it's nothing that I couldn't tell you, but I just don't remember much about Viet Nam for some reason.

Linda Barnickel:

All right, that's all right. You mentioned that you were under house arrest in Greece, in 1966. What happened there?

James Trigg:

Okay. I loved Greece. And the Greek people, and let's see what happened there. The, the revolution. That's what it was, and we were under house arrest. When you are, when you are in your house and there is a revolution going on, you're under house arrest. And we were in house arrest, my family, my wife and my son, my son that brought me here [to the Library], and they were just little then. But the General's finally took over the government.

Linda Barnickel:

The Greek Generals?

James Trigg:

Uh huh.

Linda Barnickel:

And so, were you just on an airbase over there, and did the base kind of go into lockdown, is that kind of what happened?

James Trigg:

Well, let's see, where are we talking about here?

Linda Barnickel:

1966.

James Trigg:

1966, Athens, Greece. Yeah, there were two revolutions. Yeah, October 1966. We were under house arrest, but it didn't last long. It didn't last long. And I see here is where we took the, we went on the Island Tour of all the Greek islands there. And it was amazing that little girls always put on a show for us and the amazing part, every, all these little girls that lived on one island, they looked alike, and on another island, they looked different, like that. And we got a nice cruise on that. It was just gorgeous. And we got along, yeah.

Linda Barnickel:

That must have been before the revolution, I bet.

James Trigg:

Yeah, that's right. (laughing) But, they had the revolution and then they took over the, generals, the generals took over the, from whoever they took over from.

Linda Barnickel:

And so the house arrest, wasn't, that wasn't imposed upon you by the Greek Government-

James Trigg:

Yeah.

Linda Barnickel:

It was?

James Trigg:

uh huh.

Linda Barnickel:

Okay.

James Trigg:

That means that you don't stick your head out the window.

Linda Barnickel:

Is it sort of like -

James Trigg:

You are under house arrest, you don't go anywhere or do anything. You just stay in the house.

Linda Barnickel:

Sort of like Martial Law?

James Trigg:

Yeah, that's what it is.

Linda Barnickel:

Now, were you scared at that time? With this revolution going on?

James Trigg:

No, because they were just fighting among themselves and they didn't want to hurt any of their foreigners that were living there, you know (laughing) They didn't have any problem with us. And, they had us under house arrest so we wouldn't get hurt, or anything, But they, the Greeks, were fighting among themselves.

Linda Barnickel:

So it was more a protective measure-

James Trigg:

Oh, absolutely.

Linda Barnickel:

Not punishment-

James Trigg:

Yeah, of course, that's what it was.

Linda Barnickel:

Oh, all right. Well you were in the Air Force until the '70s.

James Trigg:

1973.

Linda Barnickel:

What, we've kind of gone in a chronological order-

James Trigg:

Yeah, uh huh.

Linda Barnickel:

What are some, just in general, what are some of the most memorable times for you during your service?

James Trigg:

My __ service? Oh me-

Linda Barnickel:

Any specific instant, incidence, or particular people?

James Trigg:

Well, like we went with Major Murphy, temporary duty for 6 weeks, I mean, 6 months, and it was just wonderful to think that you're going to Europe, you know you're going to fraternize with the French and the Germans and the Brussels, and I-talians and all of that, and everything. And they all learned enough a little English so that we could get by over there and almost every place we were, and you go up to Switzerland, it's going uphill to get there. And it's like you're on top of the world. And I see that picture of that old mountain, on TV every once in a while and that's the same thing that I saw when I went up to Switzerland. And it is the top of the World.

Linda Barnickel:

Hmmm. Is there anything else you would like to share with me about your service or anything else that you would like to mention?

James Trigg:

The only thing that I know of that I want to mention, is how well the military take care of its people. Like my son, every once in a while, I tell him, I say you cost me $2.00 or something like that, you know, when they are born. He was born at Fort Bragg, and of course the charge was $2.00 and something like that. (laughing) But they look after the whole family. I don't care what happens. You get run over with a car, they'll get the better doctors in there and fix you up, you know, and everything. And that was one of the great things about the military. And, they did, they took care of everybody. Just like my wife went to Europe, you know. Not the temporary duty the first time we went, but on regular duty, she went with us, and the boy went with us.

Linda Barnickel:

Like when you went to Greece.

James Trigg:

Right, uh huh. Well, I'm glad to see that you have this [referring to papers].

Linda Barnickel:

Well, I think-

James Trigg:

That's the reason I brought it along, I didn't know what I sent to you and what I didn't. So I had a wonderful career. I just had a wonderful, wonderful career, and of, we had some, it's always a little bit dangerous, but Nashville's dangerous. Just riding around in your car.

Linda Barnickel:

Yep.

James Trigg:

Somebody could run into you, all these wild drivers.

Linda Barnickel:

(laughing) Well, I think that's all the questions I have for you. Is there anything else you would like to add?

James Trigg:

That's all. You've got this ____ thing.

Linda Barnickel:

Well, thank you very much.

James Trigg:

Oh, here's one, I wanted to give you. There was a British Lord in Nashville, and I got him to join the Sons of the Confederate Veterans because his mother was a Brown from down in Giles County. A British Lord now, if you can imagine. I want that to go with your record over there. And here's my- do you have one of these? That's my citation.

Linda Barnickel:

I believe so, let me check. I think we're done with the interview so I'll go ahead and stop the tape.