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Ruth Rice

Ruth Rice is originally from Texas. Her father worked for a small retail automotive company and was transferred about every two years so she spent her childhood moving from town to town in west Texas. In 1942, when she was a teenager, her family was living in Abilene, Texas which is where she met Howard Rice. She and Howard married in September, 1957. Howard joined the U.S. Army and Ruth led the life of an Army wife, including time in Anchorage, Alaska while Howard worked at the Site Summit Nike Missile Site (B Battery B/4/43) in Anchorage. After Alaska, they also lived in San Francisco, California when Howard was stationed at the Presidio. Ruth and Howard have two children. Howard retired out of the Army and they now live in Indiana.
Ruth Rice appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
Howard and Ruth Rice, Part 1

Howard and Ruth Rice were interviewed on September 5, 2014 by Leslie McCartney and Karen Brewster at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage Alaska. At the time of the interview, the Rice family was attending the conference "A Cold War, 2014 Alaska Conference and Nike Veterans Reunion" held in Anchorage, Alaska on September 4 and 5, 2014. In this first part of a two part interview, Howard and Ruth discuss their background, how they met and married, coming to Alaska, and his responsibilities as a platoon leader at a Nike Missile Site in Anchorage. Ruth also talks about being a military wife in Alaska, what life was like in Anchorage in the 1960s, and living through the 1964 Alaska Earthquake.

 2014-18-08_PT.1 Cold War in Alaska Sep 5, 2014
Howard and Ruth Rice, Part 2

This is a continuation of an interview with Howard and Ruth Rice on September 5, 2014 by Leslie McCartney and Karen Brewster at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage Alaska. In this second of a two part interview, Howard and Ruth continue their story about living through the 1964 Alaska Earthquake in Anchorage and the devastation that occurred at Site Point Nike Missile Site (A Battery A/4/43) Anchorage. Howard mentions the clam shells that protected the radar, and reflects back on the stress, responsibility, and routine while working at the Site Summit (B Battery B/4/43). He also discusses the rest of his military career after leaving Alaska, and how meaningful it is to be attending the Nike veterans reunion.

 2014-18-08_PT.2 Cold War in Alaska Sep 5, 2014