Harvey “Huck” Finn’s Autobiography

    After graduation, Bob Eden and I stayed in Cortland working at the country club and getting into trouble. (We never took advantage of our “Sons of Ireland” regional scholarships).

    In November 1963 we enlisted in the Air Force.  After finishing basic training together, the Air Force sent Bob, who couldn’t change a car tire, to mechanics school and sent me to motion picture cameraman school.  I completed the course and was sent to Vandenberg AFB in August 1964.  I was quickly qualified as an aerial motion picture cameraman, filming missile launches from the open door of C-47 (DC-3) “Gooney Bird” aircraft.

    In July 1965 I went to Vietnam and began filming air strikes from the rear seat of fighter aircraft.  Over the next year and a half I flew 365 missions in F-100, F-4C, A1E, 01, HU-16 and other aircraft.  On most of the fighter missions the pilots would let me fly while they instructed me.  They told me I had the aptitude to be an Air Force pilot and encouraged me to begin the process.  There was one big problem: to be a pilot you had to be an officer, and to be an officer you had to have a college degree.  They didn’t know they were talking to a guy who had to take two periods of shop the last year of high school just to graduate.

    In December 1966 I returned from Vietnam to Orlando AFB, FL, where I taught aerial combat photography.  In March 1967 I married Jeri Van Dien, a freshman at Cortland State I had met in 1964 at the Tavern while on a weekend leave.  In September 1967 I left the Air Force to start school at the University of Maryland, where I majored in motion picture and TV production and earned a private pilot license though Air Force ROTC.  In 1971 I graduated with a commission in the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant.

    Over the next year I completed undergraduate pilot training at Vance AFB in Oklahoma and received my Air Force pilot wings.  My daughter, Casey was born while I was in pilot training.     I was then assigned to fly the C-141 Starlifter, a four-engine jet cargo aircraft, at McGuire AFB, NJ.  While at McGuire, I flew extensively to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific and upgraded to C-141 aircraft commander.  I flew in the 1974 Israeli Airlift and landed on an ice runway in Antarctica.  My son, Cass was born while I was in New Jersey.  In August 1976 I was reassigned to Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth, Texas as a TV director.  The Air Force had cut back on flying hours and pilots were being assigned to non-flying jobs.  I wrote, produced and directed audiovisual programs for aircrew training.  I later became the commander of the unit and earned an M.A. at Texas Christian University. In 1979 Jeri and I divorced.

    I was then assigned to Travis AFB in northern California, where I resumed flying the C-141 on worldwide missions.  In 1980 I met my wife, Therese, an intelligence officer at the base.  We were married in September 1981.  Therese had a degree in German language and literature from UC Berkeley , spoke German fluently and had been an exchange student in Munich during college. We shared a love of travel and worked out a joint assignment to Ramstein AB, Germany.

    We arrived in Germany in the summer of 1983. Therese was the intel officer for the airlift division commander and I flew the T-39 Saberliner (an executive jet) and the C-12F ( a two-engine turboprop) carrying ambassadors, general officers and foreign dignitaries throughout Europe, Africa and the Mideast.  We loved living in a little village outside the base, exploring the local area and traveling throughout Europe.  We were able to share the experience with my kids, who spent a school year and every summer with us.  In 1986 I took a staff job at Ramstein so we could stay for another tour.  I was able to fly part time, instructing and flying weekend missions in the C-12F. The following year Therese went back to Travis for hip replacement surgery, subsequently returning to full active duty at Ramstein.  In 1988 I reached 20 years active duty, retired as a Major, and became Therese’s “dependent” in Germany.

    Historically the airlines didn’t hire “older” pilots (over 30), but there was a shortage of qualified applicants in the mid-80's, so they began interviewing and hiring retired military pilots. The timing worked out perfectly for me and I began to commute back to the States to interview with several major airlines.  In the summer of 1988 we returned to Travis AFB, where Therese had a second hip replacement and was medically retired from the Air Force as a Captain.  I was hired by American Airlines and assigned to Washington, D.C., flying as an engineer on the Boeing 727.  The airlines have a seniority system so everyone starts at the bottom no matter how much experience they have.  To get back to California I switched to engineer on the DC-10 later that year and we moved to Vacaville, CA, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.  I began commuting to work in San Francisco and checked out as an MD-80 copilot in 1991.  In 1993 we were able to buy some land and build a house in Newcastle, CA, about 120 miles east of San Francisco in the Sierra foothills. As my seniority increased,  I had more time off and put in a Mandarin orange orchard on my property.  In 1999 I started flying the Boeing 777 to Japan.  The international flying gave me the perfect combination of time off and income to work at home on my “money pit.”  On my 60th birthday, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day), 2005 I was forced by law to retire from the airline.

    Therese and I are now where we want to be and are very fortunate.  I was a better pilot than a farmer and the orchard is limping along.  I love living in the country, hanging out with my Australian cattle dogs and working on projects.  We have five grandchildren aged from 16 to 6 months and one more on the way.  Our lives were recently enhanced when Bill Padavona discovered that we lived only five minutes from him and his wife Stephanie.  We actually lived this close together in the small town of Newcastle for 13 years without knowing it.  We’re now making up for lost time with these two great neighbors.

    Things keep getting better and better since Barb and Steve decided to devote their lives to the class of ‘63. I’ve been having such a great time laughing at the photos and corresponding with old friends that I will forever be indebted to them. Can’t wait to see you all this summer.

......Harvey "Huck" Finn