ron wrote: (12-18)

Thanks for the greeting Larry. Perhaps I can contribute.

A series of memories of those times for me that always brings a smile to my face occurred on the way over to Korat.

 

I was in the first wave of crews and airplanes to be sent from Otis in 1967. We did the first leg of the journey to McClellan AFB around SanFrancisco and then were off to Hickem in Hawaii. My first of two times on the islands.  Both times were memorable for the beauty that is almost indescribable and the outrageous price of Budweiser at $2.50 a bottle in the hotel with a swimming pool window over the bar. That was in 1967. As a side note, in 1968 on the way home I couldn't keep from grinning like the village idiot in the same bar when I didn't have to beg for service to get a beer which was usually the case in the airman's club and the taverns of Korat. And, service with a smile. :-)

 

The best memories for me of that trip was on Wake Island. Wake is very small airstrip in the pacific that is/was a refuel point for planes taking the long way across the Pacific.  We stayed in GP Medium tents with the roll up sides. I remember laying in my bunk some 100 yds. away from the Pacific watching the waves breaking on the shore in the moonlight. The moon was at a low angle and visibility was very good. Absolutely something right out of a movie like South Pacific.

 

The big DC8 commercial airlines were a sight to behold when they were taking off in the dark. We were also not very far away from the airstrip and the light show from the airliners was great and the NOISE was incredible. That was in the old days when they weren't too concerned with the noise airline jet engines made.

 

The next morning I went exploring. Wake is a WWII buff's explorer's dream. The rusting hulk of a Japanese supply ship resting 150 yds. off the beach starts the tour. I explored many Pill Boxes and collected many samples of small arms ammunition cases for my collection. On the other side of the island were two smaller islands that were connected to the main island by shallow lagoons. it was possible to see wrecked US war birds in the lagoon. the water being as clear as ... water. At the time I didn't recognize them but remember they had 4 blade props that were bent. I talked to the folks that maintained the installation and they told me that the marines had just finished cleaning up the debris from the war a couple of years prior.

 

The hotel for the airline employees was on that end of the island and I visited the duty free store and stocked up on .... pop. :-)

 

I returned to the flight line after circling the island by probably lunch time and was greeted by Major Lefferts, our airplane commander. He was not a happy camper as they had been waiting for me to show up for an hour or so .... lol. I scurried upon the airplane and off we went to Guam.

 

Guam was not a long stay as I remember. I think we fueled and left for the Phillipines. In the Phillipines we picked up rations and brought them on board. This was my first time seeing fresh Pineapple. The only pineapple I had ever seen was taken from a can with Dole on the label. I liked pineapple before but I LOVED fresh pineapple. What a difference. That memory is as fresh today as it was in 1967.

 

When we left the Phillipines we were within range of Korat and everyone started to get excited. Well it was some hours before we arrived as we were making headway at approx 250 mph at a couple hundred feet off the deck. We entered Vietnam airspace at altitude and remember seeing my first bomb craters. First of many many more. At ~ 49+ flying hours we touched down on the runway at Korat along side the red dirt fire lanes.

>

It began.

 

BatCat14