05/05/2026
Deborah K. McClain
United States Air Force
Sergeant
Vietnam War
Deborah was born in Sacramento on December 12, 1951. Her father was in the Air Force, so she grew up as an Air Force nomad until age 8, moving frequently and attending 17 different schools. She graduated from Redondo Beach High School in 1969. Before joining the military, she spent a few years working various small jobs while "trying to find herself.”
Deborah joined the Air Force on June 22, 1972, inspired by her father's service. She attended Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where she remembers riding a floor buffer to help wax the floors. After BMT, she attended tech school at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi for 8 weeks to train as an Administrative Specialist, learning clerical skills and typing.
Her permanent assignment was at Randolph Air Force Base in Universal City, Texas. She was assigned to the Inspector General’s (IG) office, working a standard 8-to-5 clerical job typing accident reports. The office was small, with about 10 people, and with so few enlisted personnel on the base, they shared one chow hall with officers. She worked at the IG for approximately two and a half years. She participated in a "no-notice inspection,” during which she was responsible for checking clerical records and "books" to ensure they complied with regulations. During her time at the IG office, she tested in the top 10%, earning a promotion to sergeant with proficiency pay.
Sergeant McClain completed her service and was honorably discharged on November 15, 1974. Sergeant McClain received the National Defense Service Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal. She continued working in the clerical and financial fields, processing property loans for Mercury Savings and Loan in Huntington Beach and Republic Federal in Anaheim. She also worked as a notary. In 1981, she trained as an EMT but transitioned to medical records work at a doctor's office and eventually at the Loma Linda VA Hospital.
