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Vietnam vet shares photography skills with next generation

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nathan Gallahan
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFPN) --  It’s just one of the stops; after picking up groceries at the commissary he ducks into the visual information office here. He never stays for long because his food would spoil and he doesn’t want to interrupt their mission.

For 31 years he has walked in, dropped off his photography magazines to share with others and left. But it wasn’t until the past few years they understood why.

“He would come into the shop, and I always wanted to talk to him, but it took awhile to get to know him,” said Airman 1st Class Clay Lancaster, a photographer with the 92nd Communications Squadron here.

After a few months, Airman Lancaster learned the man had retired from the Air Force 11 years before he was born, that he had spent a year in theater documenting the Vietnam War, and that he has dedicated his life to the art of photography.

A. Gordon Winegard was drafted into the Army in 1949 and assigned to the 24th Infantry Division. After a few years of transitioning from active duty to the reserves and then civilian, he finally made his way to the Air Force as a photographer in 1954.

“In 1965 I volunteered and was sent to Camron Bay, Vietnam, to document the construction of the airfield. When I got there everyone’s first priority was to get the base operational,” Mr. Winegard said. “I spent four or five weeks in the labor pool before I was able to take any photos.”

In addition to his tour in Vietnam, his 20-year Air Force photography career included other highlights, such as his time spent with the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service. There he traveled the world and photographed thousands of servicemembers for publication in their hometown newspapers.

After retiring in 1972, he moved to the Pacific Northwest and continued his relationship with the Air Force by visiting the visual information shop.

Listening and learning, the Airmen found out how their career field had a historical impact on the Air Force. At the same time, Mr. Winegard has learned about digital photography and has kept up on current Air Force trends.

The New York native said it feels like he is giving something back to an industry that has given him so much.

“Men like him are incredible,” Airman Lancaster said. “Every time I listen to him I can see myself in those same situations. I come out of every conversation with a deeper respect and admiration for what our veterans did for our country.”

“So many of his experiences and challenges he faced as a young Airman in Vietnam apply today, such as difficult working environments and documentation of historical events,” he said. “I seem to learn something new every time we sit down to talk.”

Sometimes the conversations last for more than three hours, while other times they may last only long enough for Mr. Winegard to drop off the magazines and head out the door -- it all depends whether he has milk or vegetables in the trunk of his car that could spoil, Airman Lancaster said.

“It’s very exciting and enlightening to me,” Mr. Winegard said. “I’ve maintained a deep interest in photography, and I really enjoy the contact with these guys and hope that they can gain something from me, too. I’m very impressed with the technical skills and equipment they’re using today, and I wish that I had this stuff when I was growing up.”

The relationship shared between these two generations of photographers does not stop at education, but continues through friendship as well.

“We call him up at home just to talk and make sure everything is OK,” Airman Lancaster said. “(Mr. Winegard) doesn’t have any family other than a distant relative (who) doesn’t live around here; I like to think we’re his family.”

Perhaps dropping off the magazines is his way of giving back to the Air Force, but at the visual information shop they feel he is just visiting family.