Leonard Burke

Ohio Historical Society
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00:00:08 - Introduction

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Segment Synopsis: Leonard Burke was born in Youngstown, Ohio in the 1970s. In his interview he describes what growing up in Youngstown in the 1980s was like, going to college at Youngstown State University, and the variety of jobs he held before entering the Ohio National Guard. He talks about how he met his wife and his family's history of military service.

Keywords: Cincinnati (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio); Disc jockeys; Youngstown (Ohio)

Subjects: Family; School; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001.; Work and jobs

GPS: Youngstown (Ohio)
Map Coordinates: 41.0944608,-80.7095869
00:29:01 - The Ohio National Guard

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Segment Synopsis: Burke discusses his feeling about joining the National Guard, boot camp, learning to work as a team in the Guard, his Military Occupational Specialty in avionics, and his Advanced Individual Training at Fort Eustis. He explained his decision to volunteer to go to Iraq in 2009, how he became a 15T Blackhawk repairer, and the job of a crew chief on a Blackhawk. He also gives an overview of the steps of his pre-deployment and deployment to Balad Air Base in Iraq. Burke reviews the types of missions he flew on Blackhawks, which include ring routes, detainee ops, state ops, and time sensitive target missions. He details his interest in Iraq history, dealing with the stresses of being in a combat zone, the positive aspects of belonging to the military community, and his humanitarian missions transporting high-profile guests. Burke talks about how he and others on the base stayed in touch with their families and how being on a military base could insulate you from things going on back home.

Keywords: Balad Air Base (Iraq); Black Hawk (Military transport helicopter); Crew Chiefs; Fort Eustis (Va.); Iraq; Ohio. National Guard

Subjects: Boot Camp; Deployment; Iraq; Life on Base; Missions

GPS: Balad Air Base (Iraq)
Map Coordinates: 33.933333, 44.366667
02:30:52 - Back Home

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Segment Synopsis: Burke came home 3 days before Christmas and one day after his anniversary to a welcome home party at St. John Arena. He closes with his return home from deployment, finding a new career, coming to Columbus, Ohio and how the National Guard can have a positive influence on a person’s life.

Keywords: Columbus (Ohio)

Subjects: Coming home; What you learn serving your country; Work