Interviewer(s)
Julia Capron; Mackenzie Enich
Description
Tyler Preston served as an Aircrew Survival Equipmentman or "Parachute Rigger" and was stationed with many commands. His first assignment was with VFA-22 (fighter attack squadron) in Lemoore, California. His first deployment underway was on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. On September 11, 2001 he was two days out of Singapore. The entire ship stood still and watched the second plane hit live. He turned to people in his shop and said, "Best get ready, guys, we're going to war!" His carrier was the first one to deploy to Afghanistan. His squadron was the first to drop bombs with a combined total of over 600,000 pounds of ordnance. This all happened during his first three years. He ended up spending a total of a year and a half on the open sea, all on the same carrier. Ironically, the same carrier that started the fight was the same one to bury Osama Bin Laden ten years later.
Keywords
Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001-
Service Dates
1999-2010
Branch of Service
United States Navy
Type
Oral History
Date of Recording
10-10-2013
Location of Recording
Missoula College Library
Collection Description
This interview was conducted as part of the Journalism 340 class project in the fall of 2013. Students conducted interviews with local war veterans. These interviews are available in this online collection and will also be included in the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.
Rights
Images and materials associated with this interview are intended for non-commercial personal, educational, or research purposes only. Interview participants retain copyright.
Language
eng
Media Type
Sound; Text
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
65 minutes
Local Filename
preston_tyler.mp3
Citation
Preston, Tyler Ryan, "Interview with Tyler Preston" (2013). University of Montana Student Veterans Oral Histories. 6.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/voh/6