[To be read with Neale “Snuffy” Smith’s oral interview of the same date.]
I’m Bill Frith, Class 8-48.
[Snuffy Smith interjects: “I’m timing you, (Frith), to see if you take too much time.”]
[Again, Frith]: Snuffy has given you the preliminaries. When I got my wings [1-27-50, PNS], I went to VF-172 at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, flying the Banshee.
After that, I got out of the Navy [and] went back to the University of Cincinnati, and got my degree.
And, then came back into the Navy again in 1957 … at Pensacola, Florida, where I was a flight instructor at Whiting Field for two years. Then on [CNATRA--Chief of Naval Air Training] staff for a year.
From there I went to VA-23, flying A-4s at NAS Lemoore [CA], then to the carrier Constellation [USS Constellation, CV-64] for two years ship’s company duty.
From there to Washington, DC, for a year with NAVCOSSAC [Naval Command System Support Center]. And, in 1966, I came to Jacksonville [to] VA-44—the A-4 RAG [Replacement Air Group] at that time. [In] ’68, I was ordered to VAP-62. [It was] decommissioned in October of ’69.
And, completed my 20 years’ commissioned service in NARF Jacksonville, where I retired in 1970.
At that time, I lived in Jacksonville.
[As far as] my personal life is concerned, [I’m] married, have three sons. Two of them are graduates of the Air Force Academy. Both of them are now majors in the Air Force. My third son is a senior in high school at this time—applying for the Air Force Academy—naturally.
I run my own business at this time—the W.C. Frith Company—Jacksonville. [With]
full intent of retiring from that [in the] very near future.
That is all.
Class:
Pensacola Preflight Class 8-48