A2C Joyce L. Lester Oral History Tape 1, Side A

title:

A2C Joyce L. Lester Oral History Tape 1, Side A

creator:

Lester, Joyce (Blackstock) (1933 - )

subject:

Air Force

description:

Tape 1 of 2, side 1 of 2. This is the original, unedited interview audio. Joyce Lester (formerly Blackstock) was born in Dacula, Georgia in 1933. Her father was a non-commissioned officer in the Army who was stationed at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina so she grew up on Sullivan’s Island. She was in first grade when World War II started, and because of her father’s military affiliation the family moved on-base. Her father was sent to India for several years during the war, and remained in the Army for 30 years. She was often the one taking care of her siblings because her mother struggled coping with their father being largely absent. She graduated from high school in Savannah, Georgia and began working at a local radio station. She enlisted in the Air Force in October 1952 after her father sent the military police to force her to join the family overseas in Heidelberg, Germany. Her mother signed her enlistment paperwork, Joyce believes because she didn’t want her at home. She was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for training. She was one of four women who arrived then, and upon arriving the WAC squadron told them there were only three spots remaining in the flight. Lester volunteered to start a new flight in a different barrack because she didn’t want to be with the other women. She ended up becoming very close friends with the 52 other women who joined her flight. She was sent to radio school in St. Louis, Missouri for advanced training, which was the case for most of her flight too. She studied ground to ground rather than air to ground communication, and after her training was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland in the fall of 1953. Most WAF squadrons were partnered with another WAF squadron, but at Andrews hers was paired with a men’s squadron. While at Andrews, she got married in 1954 and left the service in 1955 because of frustration with promotions. When she left the service, she applied for federal civil service and worked as an electronics technician with the Bureau of the Census and stayed there until her husband was sent to Hawaii in 1957. After a divorce from her first husband and her second husband passing away, she got a bachelor’s degree and MBA from Georgia State University and continued working in various capacities as of the interview. When she left the service Lester had reached the rank of airman 2nd class, and for her service she was awarded and Air Force Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Korean Service Medal. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Binker, Mary Jo

date:

2001-09-18

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

563.01; 2001.563

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

364988

coverage:

Korean War (1950-1953)

rights:

Unrestricted