Airman 1st Class Walter Fisher
U.S. Air Force – Weather Observer
Air Weather Service
Osan, Korea and Otis AFB, Cape Cod
1960-1966
U.S. Air Force – Weather Observer
Air Weather Service
Osan, Korea and Otis AFB, Cape Cod
1960-1966
Walter Fisher was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1942. His parents were divorced when he was two years old. His mother remarried and his stepfather adopted him when he was four years old. Walter grew up with a brother and a sister.
His father was in the vending machine business and with his continued success came new territory assignments. “I grew up all over the country". California, Connecticut and Delaware. Eventually the family returned to the Farmington Valley in Connecticut where Walter graduated from Farmington High School in 1960.
After high school Walter attended the University of Hartford for two months but found college was not for him. After he dropped out, he was eligible to be drafted. “Uncle Sam came looking for me”. Walter decided to join the Air Force and headed for boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base on January 1st, 1961. Boot Camp lasted eight weeks and Walter said, “It was tough, but I got through it”. He scored well on his ASVAB and was slated to attend language school. The ASVAB is an aptitude test given by the military that measures skills and predicts success in certain fields. When it came time for Walter to start his Advanced Individual Training the Air Force had other needs and sent him to weather school at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois. After 15 weeks at weather school Walter graduated second in his class.
At the age of 19 Walter boarded a plane and headed for South Korea. “I loved it. We had the top weather service in the Air Force. We got an award. I got a promotion. I was Airman of the month four times”. Walter’s job involved weather observation from a ground location. He worked in a weather tower which was adjacent to the air traffic control tower. He would receive weather information from ground instrumentation and aircraft designed to track weather systems.
Walter had quite a bit of interaction with the local Koreans and thought they were very nice people. “I met some nice people there”. He made the most of his time in Korea and went sight-seeing. He recalled visiting the DMZ and said, “it was pretty rough. It was still pretty dangerous”.
After 14 months Walter went to the Tachikawa Airfield on the Yokota Air Force Base just outside of Tokyo. Walter spent only three months in Japan until he transitioned to Otis Air Force Base in Hyannis, Massachusetts on Cape Cod.
Walter loved his time at Otis AFB. “It was fantastic”. He worked closely with his commanding officer. His job was to provide the training for new Weather Observers as well as verify the base weather records. “It was a great time. I learned a lot”. Walter was also able to join the NCO Club and that was a big benefit.
Walter was at Otis AFB during John F. Kennedy’s term as President of the United States. He recalled seeing President Kenndey and his family most every weekend when they flew into Otis AFB on their way to the family compound in Hyannis. “I used to see him and Jackie and the kids. They flew in every weekend on Air Force 1”. On one such occasion in 1962 Walter got to shake hands with the President. “It was a big thrill”.
Walter recalled when President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. The mood in the country just after the shooting was fearful and uncertain. “We didn’t know what was going on. We didn’t know if there was an invasion coming. We had no idea. We were scared”.
While Walter was in the Air Force and became buddies with Mark Taillon. When Walter left the service Mark introduced him to his sister Agnes. The couple hit it off and in 1966 they were married. They were married for 58 years and had four children and six grandchildren.
When Walter returned to the states, he took a job in the family construction service business his father owned. After a short time, he landed a job with a roofing company. After a year and a half, he started his own roofing business. Walter successfully sold that business and went back into business with his father and formed a manufacturer’s representative business selling specialty roofing products. Bill Fischer Enterprise supplied a variety of specialty construction products such as metal roofing, skylights and roof hatches to a variety of customers including casinos and schools. When Walter’s dad retired, Walter’s wife joined the business. “We had a very successful business for years and years”.
Walter recounted a strange, but true story. In Korea, Walter lost his high school class ring. He searched for it and couldn’t find it anywhere. Then in late 2024 his daughter received a phone call telling her the class ring had been found. “The guy who found it, his brother went to Farmington High School”. He recognized the ring and traced it to Walter by using his initials from the inside the ring. Walter never did learn where or how they found it.
Walter looked back on his time in the Air Force fondly. “I enjoyed it. I fully enjoyed it”. Thank you Walter for serving your country and keeping our Airman safe in all kinds of weather.
His father was in the vending machine business and with his continued success came new territory assignments. “I grew up all over the country". California, Connecticut and Delaware. Eventually the family returned to the Farmington Valley in Connecticut where Walter graduated from Farmington High School in 1960.
After high school Walter attended the University of Hartford for two months but found college was not for him. After he dropped out, he was eligible to be drafted. “Uncle Sam came looking for me”. Walter decided to join the Air Force and headed for boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base on January 1st, 1961. Boot Camp lasted eight weeks and Walter said, “It was tough, but I got through it”. He scored well on his ASVAB and was slated to attend language school. The ASVAB is an aptitude test given by the military that measures skills and predicts success in certain fields. When it came time for Walter to start his Advanced Individual Training the Air Force had other needs and sent him to weather school at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois. After 15 weeks at weather school Walter graduated second in his class.
At the age of 19 Walter boarded a plane and headed for South Korea. “I loved it. We had the top weather service in the Air Force. We got an award. I got a promotion. I was Airman of the month four times”. Walter’s job involved weather observation from a ground location. He worked in a weather tower which was adjacent to the air traffic control tower. He would receive weather information from ground instrumentation and aircraft designed to track weather systems.
Walter had quite a bit of interaction with the local Koreans and thought they were very nice people. “I met some nice people there”. He made the most of his time in Korea and went sight-seeing. He recalled visiting the DMZ and said, “it was pretty rough. It was still pretty dangerous”.
After 14 months Walter went to the Tachikawa Airfield on the Yokota Air Force Base just outside of Tokyo. Walter spent only three months in Japan until he transitioned to Otis Air Force Base in Hyannis, Massachusetts on Cape Cod.
Walter loved his time at Otis AFB. “It was fantastic”. He worked closely with his commanding officer. His job was to provide the training for new Weather Observers as well as verify the base weather records. “It was a great time. I learned a lot”. Walter was also able to join the NCO Club and that was a big benefit.
Walter was at Otis AFB during John F. Kennedy’s term as President of the United States. He recalled seeing President Kenndey and his family most every weekend when they flew into Otis AFB on their way to the family compound in Hyannis. “I used to see him and Jackie and the kids. They flew in every weekend on Air Force 1”. On one such occasion in 1962 Walter got to shake hands with the President. “It was a big thrill”.
Walter recalled when President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. The mood in the country just after the shooting was fearful and uncertain. “We didn’t know what was going on. We didn’t know if there was an invasion coming. We had no idea. We were scared”.
While Walter was in the Air Force and became buddies with Mark Taillon. When Walter left the service Mark introduced him to his sister Agnes. The couple hit it off and in 1966 they were married. They were married for 58 years and had four children and six grandchildren.
When Walter returned to the states, he took a job in the family construction service business his father owned. After a short time, he landed a job with a roofing company. After a year and a half, he started his own roofing business. Walter successfully sold that business and went back into business with his father and formed a manufacturer’s representative business selling specialty roofing products. Bill Fischer Enterprise supplied a variety of specialty construction products such as metal roofing, skylights and roof hatches to a variety of customers including casinos and schools. When Walter’s dad retired, Walter’s wife joined the business. “We had a very successful business for years and years”.
Walter recounted a strange, but true story. In Korea, Walter lost his high school class ring. He searched for it and couldn’t find it anywhere. Then in late 2024 his daughter received a phone call telling her the class ring had been found. “The guy who found it, his brother went to Farmington High School”. He recognized the ring and traced it to Walter by using his initials from the inside the ring. Walter never did learn where or how they found it.
Walter looked back on his time in the Air Force fondly. “I enjoyed it. I fully enjoyed it”. Thank you Walter for serving your country and keeping our Airman safe in all kinds of weather.