Mt.crewchief

A friend gave me a book to read the other day thinking I might be interested in it! I was, to say the least!! This is a true WWII story that took place in New Guinea!

It is another one of those "I never knew anything like that ever happened" books! In other words a true story!!

I won't go into any other details but I am sure you would all enjoy it!

If you want any other details, let me know. I'll bet some of you guys have already read it, but for those that haven't I think you will like it!!

Ken

Leland, That is neat, it seems that these people must have attached some importance to keeping their arrow preserved!! Maybe I should take a drive to Wyoming just to see if I can fine one of them closest to me! I forgot, and am too lazy to look it up, but how far apart are they?

Ken

What deep thinkers men are . . .

What deep thinkers men are... I mowed the lawn today, and after doing so I sat down and had a cold beer. The day was really quite beautiful, and the drink facilitated some deep thinking.

My wife walked by and asked me what I was doing and I said 'nothing'. The reason I said that instead of saying 'just thinking' is because she would have said 'about what'. At that point I would have to explain that men are deep thinkers about various topics which would lead to other questions.

Finally I thought about an age old question: Is giving birth more painful than getting kicked in the nuts? Women always maintain that giving birth is way more painful than a guy getting kicked in the nuts.

Well, after another beer, and some heavy deductive thinking, I have come up with the answer to that question. Getting kicked in the nuts is more painful than having a baby; and here is the reason for my conclusion. A year or so after giving birth, a woman will often say, "It might be nice to have another child." On the other hand, you never hear a guy say, "You know, I think I would like another kick in the nuts." I rest my case.

Time for another beer.

Wow, great story/recollection!! What a nice post for your first!! How are you going to top that?? With pictures, I hope!!

By the way Doug, welcome to the forum and thanks for your input!!

Ken

Subject: Why Old Men Don't Get Hired..

Sorry, still one of my favorites…..

Why Old Men Don't Get Hired...

Job Interview

Personnel Manager: "What is your greatest weakness?"

Old Man : "Honesty."

Personnel Manager: "I don't think honesty is a weakness."

Old Man : "I don't really give a $hit what you think"

CATHOLIC HORSES

A punter (gambler) was at the horse races playing the ponies and all but losing his shirt.

He noticed a Priest step out onto the track and blessed the forehead of one of the horses lining up for the 4th race.

Lo and behold, that horse - a very long shot - won the race.

Next race, as the horses lined up, the Priest stepped onto the track. Sure enough, he blessed one of the horses.

The punter made a beeline for a betting window and placed a small bet on the horse. Again, even though it was another long shot, the horse won the race.

He collected his winnings, and anxiously waited to see which horse the Priest would bless next.

He bet big on it, and it won. As the races continued the Priest kept blessing long shots, and each one ended up winning.

The punter was elated. He made a quick dash to the ATM, withdrew all his savings, and awaited for the Priest's blessing that would tell him which horse to bet on ...

True to his pattern, the Priest stepped onto the track for the last race and blessed the forehead of an old nag that was the longest shot of the day.

This time the priest blessed the eyes, ears, and hooves of the old nag. The punter knew he had a winner and bet every cent he owned on the old nag.

He watched dumbfounded as the old nag came in last. In a state of shock, he went to the track area where the Priest was.

Confronting Him, he demanded, 'Father! What happened? All day long you blessed horses and they all won. Then in the last race, the horse you blessed lost by a mile. Now, thanks to you I've lost every cent of my savings!'.

The Priest nodded wisely and with sympathy.

'Son,' he said, 'that's the problem with you Protestants, you can't tell the difference between a simple blessing and last rites.'

--

Well, I received the book and have finished reading it! I found it quite interesting although a little repetitious at times. I guess the missions I was on were also that way --especially with cloud cover!! (we would orbit for hours)! I see that after I was there they went to two navigators (one on the scope). I think that was a good move resulting in more accuracy etc. Also the use of bombers full time was a great improvement. We called Moonbeam (ABCCC) and they sent us available aircraft to do the bombing etc. I hate to say it, but the Air Force F-4's missed more than they hit!! Now, the Navy and the Marine pilots were much more accurate!! I really felt like I was there during the missions described in the book & definitely remember the "not so fun" parts . I do think having an officer (navigator) in the back would have had a negative effect on some of the"fun" things us regular guys did!!

The author does mention the ROE (rules of engagement) we had to comply with. They were definitely a political thing!!!

Overall, the book brought back some good and not so good memories and I think that his best audience would be former Blind Bat guys!

I guess I just gave more than my $.02 worth, but I am glad I bought the book!

Ken

The twin engine did exist. Check out page 20

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/dam/lockheed/data/aero/documents/global-sustainment/product-support/Service-News/V7N2.pdf

Bob, thanks for the info!! Another one of those "I didn't know that" moments!!

Any idea how many of them were made?

Ken

This fine young gentleman from Michigan recently called me from home and said he was going to Billings MT. to visit his mother and sister and other relatives. He had seen my name and posts/gallery on our forum. Well, we met this morning and had quite a visit ( non-stop into the afternoon). I even let him talk every now and then!! tinwhistle would know what I mean!!

This guy was a crew chief on 63-7840 at CCK for two tours from 70 to 73. His name is Gary Radatz! He is also a member on this forum but I think he is kind of shy!!!! he goes by gary005 . Don and Larry, I reminded him to get his profile up to date as I see both of you guys still beat me to the new guys! He also thinks he knows several of you regulars so you probably know him. He has a very interesting story and I would like him to share it with you guys!

Casey, I want to thank you for the creation and care of this forum. It is like one big family and sometimes we get to put faces to the names!!

Well, enough said,

Ken

PS Gary, have you put anything in your "about me" section yet????

I'd like to get back to the Bird in Hand for a lime and lager, but doubt if we can make it...........Can't believe that, after 42 years, I'm goin' back to London....... Might recognize some tater sacks full of doorknobs........

Giz, you knew I would have to comment to your tater sacks full of doorknobs statement! You may see some that meet the requirements, but probably not the same ones you saw 40 years ago!!

Hey, that ain't funny at all!!!! Especially with me and the wife leavin' next Saturday for London!!!!!! Shame on you!!!!!!!!!!!

Giz

Have a nice trip Giz---be sure to check out the Brew Pubs!!!!

Ken

New Brew Pub for Seniors

Very well could have been! They told us not to drink the water!! I just can't remember drinking any water at the Airmen's Club!!!!!

Ken

Good pics Sonny. I wish I had written down the numbers on the aircraft I flew on as a Blind Bat member!!

I do know that for the 40 missions I went on there were no aborts or maint. delays!!

Oh wait, we had to abort our 2nd. mission due to extreme diarrhea. Pilot and co-pilot both had it at the same time. We did make it 7 hours though!!

After we took our "cement pills" no more shits!!!

Ken

Sonny, I wasn't aware of some of the maint. guys doing both jobs. Kind of the best of two worlds huh?

I guess the best part of being a full time crew member was not having to do anything else but fly!!

I will have to admit, we were treated better than I was ever treated as a Crew Chief!! (not intended to start any comments if you know what I mean)

Ken

Ken,

I, too, spent my hard earned money on this book and was a little disappointed. You should write a book from the maintenance perspective as many don't seem to believe what role we Crew Chief's/maintenance people played in these missions. Some still don't believe we actually went on any of the missions.

Sonny

Sonny, I am sorry that I can't write about maint. at Ubon. I only went to Ubon as a flight crew member. Back at Naha, in 1968, (late summer,) there was a notice that they were looking for volunteers to go to Ubon as flare kickers/loadmasters on Blind Bat mission. Chris Carter and I volunteered and since we were 5 levels, Msgt. Haskell said we could go. We, like most maint. guys didn't know what that consisted of, but we ended up having flight physicals, Physiological Training, the altitude chamber included and some parachute training. We went to Ubon with our crew and started flying immediately. We never did any maint. at all, other than pre-flighting the dual rail system before each flight. I can honestly say, that we both had a good time there, as we were quite well taken care of. Including 2 R&R's ! To me, it gave me a whole new perspective on what was actually going on during the war other than what was happening in Viet Nam!

I'll admit, that it was kind of a let down going back to maintenance after 90 days of flying only duty!! But, I was very glad when our 40th and last mission was complete. I had the shit scared out of me quite a few times!!

Ray, we only flew with one Nav. on our missions and never had any guests other than the combat photographer that took our crew picture I have in my gallery.

Sonny, I am still jealous of your Navy stint while you were at CRB :D

Ken

Thanks for the info both of you guys. I just couldn't stand it anymore so I bought the book!! (it's just money!!) I guess anything that might have some kind of Blind Bat story in it will be somewhat interesting. I know the real missions were!! I do recall messing around in the back from time to time! Sometimes I felt like I was falling out over the top of the scope when we made a sharp "break right" while avoiding AAA! I guess it was good that the Navigator wore his chest pack when he went back to take a look. Our nav. had a hand held star scope and usually laid on the flight deck floor and looked out of the bottom windows!

There are a lot of Blind Bat questions and comments I need to sort out but will not do it on this thread! Questions that I have always had and experiences to compare!

I will give my $.02 worth when I read the book!

Thanks,

Ken

Sarg,

Thanks for the reply. I think will probably pass on the book. I flew 40 missions in 1968 as a load master/flare kicker and I never saw any of the guys up front come to the back of the airplane unless it was to take a pee! I guess maybe somebody would come back to look at something cool we spotted through the scope ! I know none of those guys never wore their chutes. (chest packs). We in the back, hardly ever wore ours but knew where they were at all of the time.

Like you said, maybe the mission was done differently in the early years of Blind Bat!!

Thanks for you input--also thanks for saving me the money!!

Ken

The book is called/named "Blind Bat C130 Night FAC over the Ho Chi Minh Trail" By Frederick NYC, III

It is on E-Bay for $49.95 + shipping. It was published in 2004.

Do any of you know of this author or book?

Ken

Bill,

Are you in that group picture? Or any of the other pics? If so, point yourself out!!!!

I envy you and your chance to do something like that. Are all of the other guys ex C-130 troops?

If they are, sign em up!

Ken

THESE ARE ACTUAL COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY THOMAS COOK VACATIONS FROM DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS :

1. "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."

2. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallarta to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -- this should be banned."

3. "On my holiday to Goa in India , I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food."

4. "We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price"

5. "The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room."

6. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow."

7. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax."

8. "No-one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared."

9. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers."

10. "We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish."

11. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."

12. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England . It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair."

13. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends' three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller."

14. "The brochure stated: 'No hairdressers at the resort'. We're trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service."

15. "There were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners."

16. "We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning."

17. "It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel."

18. "I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes."

19. "My fiance and I requested twin-beds when we booked, but instead we were placed in a room with a king bed. We now hold you responsible and want to be re-reimbursed for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."

----- End forwarded message -----

I've received many remarkable nature photographs over the years but this photo of a nesting Falcon is perhaps the most remarkable Nature shot that I've ever seen. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Nature is truly breath-taking!

A FALCON NESTING IN A TREE

Damn Giz, you really know your stuff!! I already knew all of that---I was just checking to see if you knew!

Ken

Sonny, Keep up the good work!!

Ken

mongo,

Have you gone on your road trip yet? According to the map, the closest one to me would be in Wyoming. I would drive several hundred miles just to look at one & take pics of it!

Ken