SOUTH PARIS — The Maine Veterans’ Home-South Paris June Veteran is Richard Andrews, a native of Waterford and an Air Force veteran who served as a Morse Code operator.

Andrews grew up on his parent’s farm in Waterford where he and his five siblings cared for the cows and chickens. The Norway High School graduate fondly recalls building a cabin in the woods with his brother behind the family farm. He always enjoyed being in the woods and one of his first jobs was as a logger for Richard Jones Logging.

Andrews enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on Jan. 27, 1954, and served during the Vietnam War. He attended basic training at Sampson Air Force Base in Seneca Lake, New York, and went for additional training at Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, for the Morse intercept operator course. Originally stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Hanover Township, New Jersey, Andrews was deployed to Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfurt, Germany.

As a Morse Code operator, his assignments entailed sending messages to ships about arrivals and departures, inclement weather and the news when a vessel had sunk. Andrews said much of the work he did was classified and he wasn’t allowed to talk about it. He spent nearly four years overseas until his tour ended on Jan. 24, 1958. He went on to reenlist two more times.

His last duty assignment was with the 4238th Civil Engineering Squad (SAC) at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana, where he trained as an apprentice electrician. He also served in the security forces during his time in the Air Force. Andrews finished his enlistment on May 25, 1962, after serving for seven and a half years. He earned his Good Conduct Medal while in the service and says that he enjoyed his time enlisted, especially the camaraderie.

Upon his discharge from the military, Andrews went to art school where his focus was on writing courses. Later in life, he was a school bus driver and bus operator for Trailways. Some of his most loved hobbies include fishing, being in the woods and reading the newspaper. He has six children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is now a resident at Maine Veterans’ Homes-South Paris.

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