Mt.crewchief

Just my take on this subject! When it came time for my re-enlistment in 71, as a crew chief, I really wanted to stay in and go to Europe & the rest of the world. With Viet Nam still going strong, I knew there was no chance of going to anywhere else and they so much as told me that!! Also, if they would have offered me a shot at going to Europe, I wouldn't have believed them!!! I think , like all of the rest of the guys, think your choice would be to see the world first and then if you decide to stay in, go for what you want! Every time I talk to young guys around home I try to get them interested in going for the C-130 field just for what you have had happen to you Take the guys on the forum's advise seriously, they know what they are talking about. Just a note, most of these guys are "old farts" and they still remember the good times they had in Germany and the rest of Europe! They probably forgot about their "good" times in the States!! Good luck with your tour in Germany! Ken

Just one more----must have too much time on my hands!!

I have no title for this!!!

Bill, Thanks for all of the good pics and updates on The Ghost Rider. That's really cool that you guys that live in C-130 country are able to see these old birds and take part in keeping them in the public eye!! Thanks Bill, Ken

From a teacher -- short and to the point In the world of hi-tech gadgetry, I've noticed that more and more people who send text messages and emails have long forgotten the art of capital letters. For those of you who fall into this category, please take note of the following statement: "Capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse and helping your uncle jack off a horse." They also don't take off all the names of the people who forwarded the email. Is everybody clear on that?

Morris Schwartz is dying and is on his deathbed. He is with his nurse, his wife, his daughter and 2 sons, and knows the end is near. So he says to them: "Bernie, I want you to take the Beverly Hills houses." "Sybil, take the apartments over in Los Angeles Plaza ." "Hymie, I want you to take the offices over in City Center ." "Sarah, my dear wife, please take all the residential buildings downtown" The nurse is just blown away by all this, and as Morris slips away, she says to the wife, "Mrs. Schwartz, your husband must have been such a hard working man to have accumulated so much property." Sarah replies, "Property shmoperty...the schmuck had a newspaper route."

I knew somebody would say that!!!!!! Good one! AMP

When the old C-130 Hercules Headquarters forum closed where I had made contact with my two best buddies from CCK , I thought there went my chance to get in touch with other guys I might have known. It seemed like the next day this great forum started and the rest is history!! I have not only gotten to meet guys from this forum in person but I feel like I have known a lot of you other guys for the last six years. This forum has become a part of my life and hardly a day goes by that I don't log in. I read every post even if I don't know what you are talking about and I am very impressed by what you "old " guys remember! I could go on forever about what this forum means to me but Casey, I just want you to know what a good job you are doing and I hope that in six more years this forum is still going strong! Congratulations on a job well done, Ken

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

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????

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!!

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

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