ABINGDON, Va. _ John Burson helped keep the chili hot and ready for Lyndon Johnson. He flew with Richard M. Nixon to China. And, he soared in the skies above the Vietnam War on Air Force One.
In all, this Abingdon resident put in 7,000 flight hours during this 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and figures he had 500 hours flying with the presidents and other dignitaries on Air Force One.
Burson, 79, flew from 1962 to 1976 with four presidents, serving as a flight steward.
"I had to have a top-secret clearance," Burson said. "And I had to be squeaky clean."
And then?
Flying high was actually tough, he said. "You sat right on a bubble all the time. There was pressure.”
>>> ‘To serve’
Burdon made his first flight in April 1962 with President John F. Kennedy, serving as a flight steward on an auxiliary crew.
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"We didn't go one-on-one with the president. He was basically a dignitary and you had to, sort of, respect his position,” Burson said.
You also had to stay out of the way.
On that plane, even in 1962, Burson recalled Air Force One had satellite communications and an actual red telephone, which President Kennedy could use to talk directly to Russian President Nikita Khrushchev.
"Our job was to serve ... for the comfort and safety of the passengers," Burson said.
"We'd bring drinks, snacks for them ... You had to mix certain drinks."
And you had to mix well with people, Burson said.
"You're dealing with strictly dignitaries - people who have got big egos,” Burson added. “So you've got to manage those egos."
>> Texas chili
In 1965, Burson was named a regular member of the Air Force One staff and flew with President Johnson on the first of more than 20 flights.
"He was always concerned about his weight, so he would drink Shasta," Burson said.
Yet once, the on-board crew – including Burson – could not find any Shasta diet drinks to serve the president. Upon the next takeoff, however, Burson said. "The aircraft was loaded with every type of diet drink that Shasta made."
In the air, Burson also learned of President Johnson's fondness for chili – specifically, Texas chili.
"Every time we took off, we always had a big pot of chili boiling in the back. Just about any flight he'd love that chili," Burson said with a smile. "And in the back of the aircraft, we had a gentleman who was from Pennsylvania. And he would make the chili. Johnson just loved it. I don't think he ever found out that it was made by a person from Pennsylvania - this Texas chili."
>> Around the world
Making trips around the world with presidents - to France, Vietnam and China - were quite a contrast to Burson's early life.
This retiree grew up "extremely poor" in a broken home near Benhams, Virginia, and attended the old, two-room Oak Grove School in rural Washington County. He graduated Wallace High School at what is now Wallace Middle School.
In 1956, Burson enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and remained in the military for 20 years - until he retired in August 1976. Later, he moved to Lebanon, Virginia, then eventually to Abingdon, where he remains today with his wife.
Earning a degree at East Tennessee State University, Burson spent 16 years as a reclamation inspector in the coalfields of Southwest Virginia, largely in the 1980s.
All through the years, too, Burson has remained interested in politics – especially when it comes to recalling the presidents that he served in the skies:
On Gerald Ford - "He was one of the nicest people that you ever met.”
On Richard M. Nixon - "I think history will sort-of change as far as Richard Nixon ... He was making history. He was the first president to enter China since the communists took over.”
On Lyndon Johnson – “He knew where the power was.”
On John F. Kennedy - "He could read a paper about as fast as you could turn the pages. He had a photographic memory. He was a brilliant man. He had a lot of finesse … I considered him to be the epitome of what a president should be."
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