User:Lcstandrie

Lester Clarence St. Andrie (born December 19, 1931) on the bank of Red River in Grant Parish, Louisiana below the town of Montgomery. His parents were Oleat Joseph St. Andre and Lena Mae Du Bois St. Andre. He was a United States Air Force enlistee before and during the Korean War. He left the Air Force in 1953 and began a career as a communications specialist with the Alaska Communications System in Seattle, Washington. He left Seattle and moved to Shreveport, Louisiana where he began working as a baker. He then entered the United States Army in 1953 and retired in 1971.

While in the Air Force he was a teletype operator and cryptographer in the 16th Communications Squadron, Far Eastern Air Forces Command in Tokyo, Japan. He then transferred to the 1st Air Postal Squadron, FEAFCom and served at Ashiya AB in Southern Japan before being sent to Korea (Pusan East AB) where he served until his rotation home. His next assignment was at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, LA, before being sent to Sedalia Air Force Base (now Whiteman AFB) at Knobnoster, Missouri. He subsequently was assigned to East River Depot, Spokane, Washington where he was discharged in Sept 53.

While living in Shreveport, Lester began to visit radio station K C I J where he met Tommy Sands, T. Tommy Cutrer and a disc jockey called Daddy O Hot Rod. The tree of them taught him about radio announcing and disc jockey work, but he did not work at the mike.

When he entered the army, he was sent to Fort Chaffee, Fort Smith, Arkansas, then to Germany. From Germany he was transferred to Fort Hood, Killeen, TX, then to Korea. From Korea he was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland, then another tour in Germany. He returned from Germany and was sent to Korea again, then to Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, NC. He applied for Recruiting Duty and was stationed in Baton Rouge, LA as part of the New Orleans Recruiting Company. After 4 years he was sent to Vietnam where he served a year and returned to Hammond, LA as a recruiter, but was transferred to Fort Polk, Leesville, LA where he retired February 28, 1971.

While on recruiting duty SSG St. Andrie became friends with some of the musicians in the area and most of the announcer/disc jockeys of the radio stations where he would deliver advertisements for the recruiting station. When a CPL Applewhite left the army and the recruiting country music stopped being shipped to the local recruiters, he approached radio station W L U X about a slot on the weekends to promote the local recruiting effort. When he was sent to Vietnam, he could not get a slot on AFNV. Upon returning to the Hammond station he again started doing announcer/d j work on radio and adopted the moniker "The Cajun Cowboy". Later her worked at WLCS in Centerville, Mississippi, then WLDS in Denham Springs, La. Upon being transferred to Fort Polk he worded at KLLA in Leesvill, LA. He later worked at KCTO in Colunbia, LA, until 1989. While in the Korea, St. Andrie started a 5 piece band to play in service clubs and NCO clubs.

While stationed in Tokyo S5t. Andrie bought a 1946 Gibson J-45 and loaned it to Glen Ash, who became a musician and television actor (appearing on MASH, The Andy Griffin Show and the Beverly Hillbillies).