Recollections and Connections Transcript

[Transcript of interview with Frederick Grant, recorded as part of the Springfield-Greene County Library District's 2010 Big Read. For more information contact the Library at 417-883-5366 or visit us on the web.]

JR: This is John Rutherford and I'm the host of the Recollections and Connections audio recording project. Today, March 2, 2010, we're talking with Frederick Grant, and what are we going to talk about today?

FG: Well, I want to tell a story what happened to me when I was in the Air Force over in Turkey 50 years ago. Well, you have to build up a background of the Turkish people before you can ever tell this story. The thing is, you're either really rich or you're really poor over there. And another thing they do not make cars in Turkey. The guys took 2-year, 3-year-old cars over there and sold them for $50,000 dollars in Turkish money and they'd have to convert it before they come home. So here's the deal, they called the night clubs pavions, and one night we was walking and we were walking in this pavion and two young boys come up to us and seemed just like American boys and so they said would you come with us and so we went with them. We got outside and there was a brand new pickup. So we got in the pickup and we drove the 30 miles out to the base and so we invited them into the dormitory and we sat there and talked and everybody seemed to know what was going on so everybody was happy and they said well, we're going to have to go now and, uh, I said well, we'll see you around town, because it's just, you know, it's only one town outside the base. And you always seen everybody every day. Well, the thing was the next day we never saw these people and I thought about it and thought about it. I said it was probably angels that saved our lives and the, uh, Moslems were going to knife us that night, they told us, and they saved our lives. So I thought that was a pretty good deal. Well anyway, that's my story and if you understand Turkey you know that was a real miracle. And I thank God for it.

JR: How long did you serve in Turkey?

FG: 18 months. I was there before they ever built the base and, uh, they didn't even have refrigeration or anything when we first went over there, or any telephone or any TV or radio or anything. It was kind of an isolated area and for Christmas Bob Hope came over there so you can imagine how bad the deal was, he was there Christmas day so we got to hear Bob Hope and we was really in a resort, I mean a, uh, we was really in a restricted area kind of. We, we didn't have much to do. Well anyway, but they did build a base and we wanted to build a base, the boys drove us out there and I thank God that my life was saved because of these two boys which I thought was angels.

JR: That's a terrific story.

FG: You like that story?

JR: Thank you, Frederick. Oops.

FG: You like that story?

JR: Thank you.

Recorded as part of the Springfield-Greene County Library District's 2010 Big Read. For more information contact the library at 417-883-5366 or visit us on the web at thelibrary.org.