EAST FALMOUTH, Mass. — Dr. Roger Landry served his country from 1973 to 1995 in the Air Force with honor and distinction as a chief flight surgeon, and retiring as a colonel.

 

He grew up in Worcester's Grafton Hill neighborhood and graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and earned his medical degree from Tufts University's School of Medicine.

 

Landry did his basic training in San Antonio, Texas, at Brooks Air Force Base for six weeks, then was assigned to the Philippines with a C-130 squad, which dealt with armaments and evacuations. 

 

"I planned to stay in for only two years, but that changed," he said. "As a flight surgeon, I worked with some really solid people." 

 

The biggest challenge as a flight surgeon? 

 

"You need to know the environment they're in. You walk a fine line, you don't judge them," he said. "You have to totally understand them — there's a fine line between physician and trust — only way to do that is to immerse yourself in everything they do — hang with them, fly with them, do everything."

 

He offered this on his first impression of Vietnam and gave credit to the guys on the ground. 

 

"We got shot at [flying] but nothing like the Army guys, guys on the ground. They took the brunt of it, the combat medics what they did in WWII and in Vietnam was simply amazing" he said.

 

When asked about the holidays, he offered this perspective on the camaraderie they shared. "I was one of the lucky ones as my family was with me, we were all in it together. We hung together, celebrated together," he said. "We were all doing it together so it was rare for someone to feel sad."

 

I asked Landry of the many situations he was in, if any stood out in particular. He conveyed that going to crash sites was extremely difficult but shared this story. 

 

"I was stationed in Germany and my good friend was flying a mission. He had a pregnant wife; unfortunately, the wife got pneumonia (influenza) and died, she lost the baby, too," he said. "I was the one who had to make the call to tell my friend." The memory still causes him great emotion.

 

One of the highlights of Landry's career was giving physicals to Gen. Charles "Chuck" Yeager, the famed test pilot who was the first to exceed the speed of sound in 1947. 

 

"The highlight of my life! He was just a great guy, nice, down to earth and humble. A definite American hero. I had the chance to fly in the F-15s and F-4s. Flew in the U-2s," he recalled with pride. "To do all of that, I mean, I'm a Worcester kid, it was great."

 

As a chief flight surgeon, he would go on to mentor four or five men who would become surgeon general of the Air Force, something that means a great deal to him.

 

"My first boss was a physician and handled me well. I was kind of a renegade and his mentorship lead to my decision to stay in," he remembered. 

 

Col. Landry's impressive assignments included two tours of Germany, the Philippines, Beale AFB, the National Defense University in Washington, Brooks AFB and back to Washington as the chief flight surgeon in the Air Force Surgeon General's Office. After his 22 years in the service, he published books on health and wellness and been featured on numerous news shows and magazines.

 

Thoughts on being a Vietnam veteran. "For the longest time we didn't talk about it, kept quiet," he said. "It's changed a lot, it's made me a better person and I feel good about my service." 

 

He has not stopped giving back and making an impact in people's lives and is president of Bright Side of Longevity, which helps people with their aging process. He and his wife, Paula, have been married 55 years and he proudly states that "we were only apart one year during his service." They have two children and four grandchildren.

 

Col. Roger Landry, thank you for your outstanding service and welcome home.

 

Wayne Soares is the host of the popular new veterans cooking show, "The Mess Hall" that airs Saturdays on NBC's NECN at 9:30 a.m. He also entertains our troops around the globe and is the host and producer of the Vietnam veterans documentary "Silent Dignity – The Chapter That Never Ends." He can be reached at waynesoares1@gmail.com.