Lt. ColonelWendell AshleyU.S. Air Force
King High RemembersAni Dhruva
Cole AzevedoIann Binalber
Early Life
• Born January 15th, 1932 in Tuskegee, Alabama
• His parents are Beatrice Hyde Ashley and Alonzo Ray Ashley
• He had two brothers and one sister
High School & College• he attended
Tuskegee Institute High School, where he was involved in ROTC
• He attended a 2-week summer encampment for ROTC
• Attended Tuskegee University, Alabama
Joining the Air Force
• He joined the Air force in 1953, due to his involvement in ROTC and growing up around the famous Tuskegee Airmen
• He was working for an Architectural Firm before he joined
• Active during the Vietnam and Cold War
First Assignment
• Specialized as a civil engineer
• On his 3rd day at the base in Mobile, Alabama, was assigned to redesign front entrance of the base
• He was featured in the Mobile Press for the design
Air Force Service(60's)
• Stationed in Tokyo at the beginning of the war
• Later transferred to central Thailand for a "top- secret" mission
• Stopped by Phillipines before arriving in Takhli, Thailand
Takhli, Thailand• Filled with dense
jungle, had to build cantonment area
• Jungle full of tigers, elephants, many snakes, and other exotic animals
• had to work with 20-year old supplies (traded with Thai for different food
• Only got mail/news once a week
Thailand (cont.)• Massive amounts
of snakes would appear during monsoon season, would get stuck on jeeps
• had to prepare for potential war during Cuban Missile Crisis
• Later stationed in Utapao in the 70's
• B-52's came in/out of Utapao 24/7
• had to follow behind B-52's that landed to make sure bombs wouldn't fall off(which was dangerous)
Unusual Events in Thailand
• During secret mission in Takhli, Thailand a herd of Elephants stampeded and destroyed base which took 2 months to build
• Had to disassemble and hide weapons on themselves in order to smuggle weapons through Philippines
• Was on nuclear war alert during stay in Thailand for 2 weeks
Discrimination in Thailand
• Americans not allowed to sleep in the base
• Had to sleep outside, had to make latrines and build own sleeping quarters
• Whole unit was not treated fairly by local militia
• General of the base gave unrealistic expectations and deadlines
Life in the Air Force• He often thought
about his wife and family back home
• He kept a stamp collection
• Often only stayed in one place of 2-3 years, as he transferred often
• Racism prevalent when stationed in south
Life in the Air Force (cont.)
• Often spent time in the officer's club
• People often went to movie theaters, and went bowling
• The bases often had the same kind facilities and entertainment as normal American communities
Retirement from the Air Force
• Retired from the Air Force in 1983 at the rank of Lt. Colonel
• At one point oversaw up to 1,700 men
• Worked in the all around the US, Japan, and Germany
After the Air Force
• After his service, he worked for an architectural firm in D.C.
• was the COO and Senior Vice President for US Facilities Incorporated
Wisdom from Wendell
• Management(3 M's)-Money-Men-Materials
• Experience in the military opens doors in life, teaches you life lessons
• Military men given responsibility earlier on
Wisdom From Wendell (cont.)
• Challenges need to be faced head on
• You need to learn to live with mistakes
• "People are people, and will treat you as such"
• Military career is a great career for anybody
Wisdom From Wendell (Cont.)
• Don’t take things for granted, sometimes what you get is what you got.
• Family is what keeps you going through life
• Education is essentially the key to success
• Live life to the fullest; no matter what..