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37 TAS Langley AFB 1966-1975


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I was in the 37th at Langley and took the ESTA thru Goose Bay and I remember Don Asay well, He's the guy that shot us the moon during taxi out and all the maintenace men lined the bus and shot him the moon thru the windows, it was cold about -30 degrees and there were a lot of cold snowballs to be had. Anyway I made a few phone calls in regards to a reunion, everyone is for it but no one wants to take the bull by the horns and run it. It could be started by some names and info.

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Jerry,

Where did you go after Langley--I did the Rhein Mein rote with you, Mike Sunde, Charlie Fletcher, Don Eichenlaub etc--to many buds my memory isn't what it use to be I can't remember all the crew chiefs that where there--My asst cc Chuck Whiting and myself spent very little time at RM--good paying rote tho--if there ever is a reunion I would like to attend--did rotes with all the sqs but perfered the 37th--great crews

Smitty

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  • 4 weeks later...

Smitty,

I retired and moved to OH. I went to work for the AF Reserves at Rickenbacker AFB in the 907th TAW (C-123's) then converted to C-130's. I went to quite a few Rodeos at Pope as an observer. the Wing then converted to C-141's and the Wing then moved to Wright Patterson and became the 445 AW.The C-141's retired and Wing then got C-5s. What a difference. I'm still in Plans & Scheduling. I'm looking forward to a reunion if one can be accomplished.

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I was at Langley from 1973 to 1976 ... I was a Crew Chief.. It was my first assignment out of Tech School and it was the best.. I remember being a B Flight. Many great memories.. I was also with Jerry Haines on the ROTE to Rhein Main.. That was a very memorable trip.. My first was to Mildenhall must have been some time late 73 or early 74.... After Langley I ended up at Pope and then cross trained C141 Flight Engineer at Mcquire.. 1981 I moved back to Buffalo NY and joined the Reserves and Flew C130A's for a while then was hired as and ART in Maint as a crew chief.. Cross trained again to Plans and Scheduling . retired in 2008... Of all the times I remeber my time at Langley the most...

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Tinwhistle,

I'm not sure if we are talking about the same time frame because frankly I don't remember. On my second tour in the 37th ended up as the nite shift line supv. This was a difficult period as the sqd. was very undermanned. However, on my crew were several 431 troops, mostly Sgt/SSgts just back from SEA, that were nearing the end of thier enlistment. Every nite these guys amazed me with thier technical ability and work ethic. There wasn't anything these guys couldn't do, run engines, replace nesa glass, ect. You name it they could do it. They didn't need a lot of supervision. Tell them what needed to be done and they went and did it. The down side to all of this was thier appearence. They were all getting short, so uniform maintenance was not on thier priority list. In fact they were quite a motley looking crew. I had trouble with this at first but then came to understand it would not be on mine either. I knew if sqd. leadership saw these guys we would all be in trouble. So, at the beginning of each shift would have them get in the truck and wait for me on the line behind the most distant parked aircraft. I would get the work load from job control, go to where they were waiting, assign tasks and away we would go. I'm wondering if you might have one these guys.

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I think I may have commented on the 37th once before on this thread but I'll check in anyway. I rotated back from CCK to Langley in January of 1967 to be told that I was no longer a crew chief and would spend the rest of my enlistment (7 months) in Post Dock. I wasn't the only one: a whole slew of us were treated that way. Lots of deep seated hard feelings which led to a lot of drinking, etc. Really bad attitude toward the Air Force over such treatment to maybe 2 dozen of us. The AF would have retained most of us had they recignized the fact that we were combat crew chiefs and a lot of pride in the job we did overseas. As you can tell I'm still p---ed over it!! However, the answer to your question is; yes, I probably am one of those guys. Chris

Edited by tinwhistle
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I am willing to set up a reunion in Dayton OH in 2011 if any of you are interested. Dayton is the home of WPAFB and the USAF Museum and many other areas of interest, and I could do all the leg work. If any are interested please let me know and I will get the necessary information and publish it. I can be reached at my home phone # (937) 325 9306 and Email: [email protected]. give me some input. Your humble servant. Jerry

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  • 3 months later...

TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE 316TAW TO INCLUDE ALL SQUADRONS. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF FORMING A REUNION FOR THE WING TO BE HELD IN THE DAYTON AREA HOME OF THE USAF NATIONAL MUSEUM AT WPAB AFB. OHIO. FORMING A REUNION FROM SCRATCH IS NOT EASY SO I WOULD LIKE ALL THE INFO AS POSIBLE SUCH AS NAMES, ADRESSES, PHONE#'S, EMAIL ADRESSES AND ANY OTHER INFO I CAN GET. ALSO WHAT TIME FRAME IS CONVIENT FOR ALL. ANY SUGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. MY HOME ADRESS:

G.A. HAINES 'JERRY'

2411 S. TECUMSEH RD.

SPRINGFIELD, OH 45502

PHONE# (937) 325 - 9306

EMAIL [email protected]

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  • 1 month later...

sent my info by e mail, I'll be there any time but August.

Bob

37 TAS 1969-1973

OK Bob, the dates have been set for the reunion to be held in Dayton OH. June 22 - 26 2011. I'm going to a reunion in Newport News in Oct and will be getting with Rex Riley to discuss prices, location of hotels and other details. As soon as I can, I will send more info as I recieve it. The two proposals that I have now are real good. Also the USAF National Museum is hosting its annual "TATOO". It consist of music, flyovers, fireworks and much more. Our group will be the guest of the "Greene County visitors and Convention Center". Once again if you could get the info out, I need names and addresses and any other info I can get. Thanks Jerry

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  • 1 month later...

Gerry: You can count me in on the 37th TAS reunion. I sent you my info via e-mail, a few weeks ago, but haven't heard whether you got it or not. I was a loadmaster at Langley, 71-73. I am starting to plan my vacation for June 22-26, 2011 in Dayton. Looking forward to it.

Tim

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:)Well the reunion is all over, those of you who didn't make it sure missed a great time. The next one will be in the Langley area next year and I hope that all of you can make it. If any of you are on Face Book, there is a site for the "316 TAW" with pictures (to be posted) and comments about the reunion.

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Jerry did a great job gettin' things lined up, especially that 40,000+ bunch of people who greeted us at the tattoo.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously doubt if there has been a C-130 cheered so heartily on a fly-over in a long time. Big question, to me, is why did all the wives look so young and the guys so worn out???????? I am so glad i went, and my wife enjoyed it immensely as well. can't wait 'til the next one!!!!!

Giz

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Hey Giz, and the rest of you that attended the reunion, it sounds like you had a good time!

I would probably go to something like that if there was ever one for the guys I was stationed with at Naha and CCK!!!

I would just like to see and touch one of those beautiful birds again!!

Ken

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