nascarpop

I worked on the flight line at CRB on and off for eighteen months and never realized there was a bunker. Stupid kid I guess!

Balls 7 was at Naha, Okinawa when I was there with the 41st in 67-68. Along with Balls 8 and 9.

I don't know. He is coming for a few days stay tomorrow. I will ask him.

Some of us are Red, White and Blue through and through. But always remember, without us protecting everyone's rights we would probably not be here to disagree! We are the 0.45%! Dallas

My brother flew A-4s and F-18s. A very interesting commentary: From a General: Thank you to the 0.45% I remember the day I found out I got into West Point. My mom actually showed up in the hallway of my high school and waited for me to get out of class. She was bawling her eyes out and apologizing that she had opened up my admission letter. She wasn't crying because it had been her dream for me to go there. She was crying because she knew how hard I'd worked to get in, how much I wanted to attend, and how much I wanted to be an infantry officer. I was going to get that opportunity. That same day two of my teachers took me aside and essentially told me the following: Nick, you're a smart guy. You don't have to join the military. You should go to college, instead. I could easily write a tome defending West Point and the military as I did that day, explaining that USMA is an elite institution, that separate from that it is actually statistically much harder to enlist in the military than it is to get admitted to college, that serving the nation is a challenge that all able-bodied men should at least consider for a host of reasons, but I won't. What I will say is that when a 16 year-old kid is being told that attending West Point is going to be bad for his future then there is a dangerous disconnect in America, and entirely too many Americans have no idea what kind of burdens our military is bearing. In World War II, 11.2% of the nation served in four years. In Vietnam, 4.3% served in 12 years. Since 2001, only 0.45% of our population has served in the Global War on Terror. These are unbelievable statistics. Over time, fewer and fewer people have shouldered more and more of the burden and it is only getting worse. Our troops were sent to war in Iraq by a Congress consisting of 10% veterans with only one person having a child in the military. Taxes did not increase to pay for the war. War bonds were not sold. Gas was not regulated. In fact, the average citizen was asked to sacrifice nothing, and has sacrificed nothing unless they have chosen to out of the goodness of their hearts. The only people who have sacrificed are the veterans and their families. The volunteers. The people who swore an oath to defend this nation. You. You stand there, deployment after deployment and fight on. You've lost relationships, spent years of your lives in extreme conditions, years apart from kids you'll never get back, and beaten your body in a way that even professional athletes don't understand. Then you come home to a nation that doesn't understand. They don't understand suffering. They don't understand sacrifice. They don't understand that bad people exist. They look at you like you're a machine – like something is wrong with you. * *You are the misguided one – not them. When you get out, you sit in the college classrooms with political science teachers that discount your opinions on Iraq and Afghanistan because YOU WERE THERE and can't understand the macro issues they gathered from books, with your bias. You watch TV shows where every vet has PTSD and the violent strain at that. Your Congress is debating your benefits, your retirement, and your pay, while they ask you to do more. But the amazing thing about you is that you all know this. You know your country will never pay back what you've given up. You know that the populace at large will never truly understand or appreciate what you have done for them. Hell, you know that in some circles, you will be thought as less than normal for having worn the uniform. But you do it anyway. You do what the greatest men and women of this country have done since 1775 – YOU SERVED. Just that decision alone makes you part of an elite group. Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.* *AMEN!* Nascarpop

I don't know if this was part of the upgrade, but I do remember the ECM gear being put on the plane I crewed. It was very secretive and the Nav panel was kept covered all the time. Need to know and all that. Dallas

Try this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_lung Dallas

Absolutely! The B1 and B2, the Herks doing touch and go's and flying so low you can almost touch them. The U2 taking off (loud), all sorts of great planes. I always have my camera with me, but the good shots always get away!

I work in Palmdale, California. The Lockheed Skunk works is just down the road. C-130s fly overhead everyday, plus many more interesting aircraft. I always look up when I hear a C-130. ALWAYS. You never forget!

Yeah, we tried hard to kill brain cells! When you talk to Jerry, tell him I said hello. I went to Langley one weekend from Pope to visit Jerry and I don't remember much of it. Must have been a good time. At one point on Okinawa, we were afraid we would run out of beer! Ha ha ha ha. Dallas

Glad you enjoyed the photos. I just got a cool converter to post my 35mm slides. I am sure we crossed paths, but there was a lot of beer drinking going on and it is hard to remember a lot. My roommate was Jerry Pegg. I just reconnected with him through facebook. Lots of good time, I guess. The older we get the more romantic they seem. Work and sleep was all that happened at CRB. Having my engine run and taxi license helped break up the time. I was too young to know what I was doing was dangerous. I once saw a crew chief run engines with the chains still on and tied to the ground. It was a real nasty night at Naha and he didn't want to take them off. Dallas

Interesting story. I reminds me of the one that tangled with a tank at Kesahn (sp). Right landing gear gone. Landed safely at CRB. Total loss. I have photos of the remains somewhere.

Great video. The eyes look like some AC's I flew with.

I remember one time at Pope, I was in the maintenance van. A Jr pilot landed in a thunderstorm and the tower couldn't locate the aircraft. I was cleared to drive onto the runway and spotted the air frame at the end of the runway. Both outboard engines were broken off. The crew had blown the crew door and scattered. I don't think the Jr. pilot ever flew again.