July 10, 2024
Every Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Veterans Day, and whenever needed, the American flag outside of Graceview Courtyard is raised and lowered with diligence, thanks to resident Matt Dillon.
Matt, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is Graceview’s flagmaster. Since 2021, he has volunteered to maintain the American flag on the community's grounds.
“I was very proud to serve my country,” Matt said. “I’ll take care of that flag for as long as I am here. As long as I am capable.”
In the fall of 1956, Matt wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father and three brothers. The United States was three years past the armistice of the Korean Conflict and six years into sending military assistance advisory groups to Vietnam.
Matt, a native of Elmira, New York, was 17 years old when he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. His father had been a U.S. Army Air Corps member, and his three brothers were in the Air Force. Matt underwent basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and from there, he was sent to radar school in Biloxi, Mississippi, to train as a radar operator. When his training was completed, he was sent to Misawa Air Force Base in Japan where he would spend the next two years.
“I helped train the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force recruits,” Matt said. “Their recruits learned fast. They learned in two weeks what would have taken our guys a month and a half to learn.”
In 1959, he was assigned to a Strategic Air Command radar base at 72nd and McKinley Streets in Omaha, Nebraska. A few years later in 1961, his duties would make him a part of Operation Looking Glass: the code name for the Air Force’s airborne command and control center operated out of Offutt Air Force Base.
The Boeing EC-135C aircraft was set up to work like a mobile version of a command center on the ground. It allowed for command, control, and communication activities that were normally done from a stationary place (like a headquarters) to also happen while the aircraft was in flight. This capability was used at StratCom's Global Operations Center. It was also designed to help maintain a working government in the event of a nuclear attack.
It was also designed to help maintain a working government in the event of a nuclear attack on the United States.
In October 1962, the country and the military braced themselves during the Cuban Missile Crisis – 13 days in which the U.S. and Russia seemed to be on the brink of nuclear war as the two countries’ leaders tried to come to a diplomatic resolution.
“Things really got tough; we had to be on alert 24 hours a day,” Matt said. “We weren’t allowed to leave the base or anything until that was over.”
In August 1963, Matt was shipped to Lancaster, South Carolina, to help train Alabama Air National Guard members. Then, he returned to his duties in Omaha, where he would remain through the end of his service in December 1964.
After his service, Matt became a truck driver and started his family.
In his civilian life, Matt also served as the commander of the American Legion Post in Yutan, Nebraska, for many years. He moved to Graceview Courtyard in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to be closer to his children. Two of his grandchildren joined the U.S. Army, and two of his great-grandchildren joined the Navy.
“They wanted to serve the country like (their) grandpa did,” Matt said. “That meant a lot to me.”
