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jconner2

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Everything posted by jconner2

  1. Was part of the group that moved from Evereaux to Mildenhall in 66. Remember it seemed so crowded when we got there after all the open space around Evereaux. Did another TDY after Mactan. I remember a club in Norwich that everyone went to but forget the name.
  2. Another Lapes disaster ocurred in 1966 during a NATO exercise in Saragoza Spain. This is solely from memory, so correct me if I don't have it 100% correct. Most of us were 346th / 347th on cross-switch to Evereaux or maybe Mildenhall by then. There was to be a tandem drop involving a Jeep and communications trailer. First extraction was to be the jeep with the second chute deployed by the first extraction. So the story went the second load didn't have an extraction chute and the head L/M decided in the interest of getting the job done, to just chain the two together. Obvious result was no adjustment time for weight loss of first load and the second pallet went out higher than the first and nosed in flipping both loads over and over. Total loss of jeep and communications trailer and serious issue for crew; especially L/M for not following proper procedures. I was in Athens on a Turkey Trot when the incident went down so I heard it second hand. Anybody else remember this one?
  3. In addition to Sam's comments about proving in-country service, few people remember that you were tax exempt for any month that you spent a day or even landed in-country. You have a resource in the IRS to research that as well. My DD-214 also shows the VSM and AM as awards which are proof of in-country service. Most crew were awarded their air crew badges (wings) permanent for combat duty service as well and if you have that form it will work as evidence. For some reason I kept every document from the service including trip orders, receipts from expense reports, receipts from changing green to script or local currency and even food receipts from the clubs. Thanks for all the info on the hearing loss as the volume keeps going up for me as well. As an aside to all this, has anyone utilized the USAA supplimental insurance for medi-care? I am facing that choice now.
  4. Must not forget puzzle rings from Ankara, or those 3' Teak wood fingers or Oil on Velvet anything in the Phillipines. Used to trade "17 jewel" Timex's for camel saddles at Wheelus and take them back to Evereaux and Mildenhall to trade up. I still have the finger and an Oil on Velvet 3 stooges. Wife will not allow them to be displayed. I mentioned them at the 2005 Dyess loadmaster reunion. Anybody remember the clock guy at Mildenhall? This guy was stationed there and had collected all kinds of antique grandfather clocks, mantle clocks and cookoo clocks. When he rotated back he had a fire sale and everyone on TDY with the 346th bought them and on the rotation back to Dyess we had clocks on every plane chiming and going off. I bought a wall clock and practically hand carried it back to Dyess. This was in late 68 when they sent us back to Dyess for 2 days and then on to Clark. There was hoof and mouth in the UK and we all got fumigated in a hangar and all the booze and cigarette "overage" was confiscated and all the clocks had dust sprayed in them. Everyone was really PO'd at the time.
  5. At Mactan we were issued old Navy 38's with the little rings on the handle. They were in a room between the two squadrons as I remember and they had little yellow tags with the squadron number and your name on it. There was a holster in the survival vest, but most of us bought cowboy holsters in-country. I actually fired my pistol in-country while leaving Song Be with the CCT team. It was nothing but a dirt strip with daylight only flights in early 67. We had a main tire shot during landing and a 123 was flown in with a spare and jack as they couldn't land any C-130's because we were blocking the runway. Took almost until dark to change it out and we left hot with incoming small arms. The CCT guys were firing out the back in the direction of the incoming and I figured I might as well take the opportunity to shoot my "weapon" as I was closing the ramp and door. I'm sure I hit the runway and perhaps killed some weeds. Bad choice. Back at Mactan I had to fill out paperwork to account for the missing rounds. Missed return night in Cebu because of that.
  6. loved the pictures. One of my favorite in-country runs was to Dalat to do a vegetable pickup. They grew great tomatoes and cucumbers and I would feast all the way back to CRB.
  7. Alan, Enjoyed reading your site. Your trip to Phuc Quok Island reminded me of a similar run in 67 or 68 (I was a Loadmaster). We took several VC prisoners, complete with burlap sacks over their heads, along with other PAX to the island. The guards uncovered their heads during the flight and I remember how young and scared they looked. Glad you kept such good logs. I'm sure your stories bring back a lot of memories for all of us. Regards, John
  8. Went to Fairchild in October. We were considered the last summer class and were issued regular gear for the E&E. It snowed several times and was really cold at night. An elderly Major in our class had a heart attack and died. I still have my E&E map for navigating around the mountains. I also remember crawling through the obstacle course and getting captured at the end of it. Oddly I got sent to jungle survival in Panama after coming back from Mactan. Hell I thought I'd already been through it.
  9. In the 60's Wake Island was great and of course the army chow hall at Weisbaden was fantastic. The worst was the flight line tent at Saigon. Meat by-product hamburgers and Hawaiian Punch. I can't stand smelling Hawaiian Punch to this day.
  10. We got them at Mactan in 67. but they could have originated at TSN. I got one from a couple hits at Song Be but it along with most of my stuff was stolen hitching a ride on a C-97 out of TSN on the way back home. Had one of those hand made garment bags made by the riggers at TSN; which was a real prize that I hated losing. Most of my pictures, camera and personal stuff were all taken off that plane by "handlers". Appreciate a scan. You should post it up here. Seem to remember they were orange and black? The old memory is vague. Hope you had a good T-Day. John
  11. "Now you all be good to my buddy John we've known each other since we were just wet nosed teenagers." Thanks, tough crowd here. Ralph, they used to give away "Wounded Herky" awards at Mactan for hits. Image of a "B" Herc with a crutch under the wing. Did they have something similar at Clarke? I went back to Clarke from Dyess in 68 on "E"'s for a 90day TDY. No hits, so it must have been the "B" models and not you. BTW - Great pic of your grand-daughter. John
  12. Muff, I see that my comment did not come across as humor; which is what was intended. For that I am sorry. If in any way it infers that I am disrespectfull of Ralph's experiences, achievements, honors and above all his exemplary career I also apologize. Ralph knows me and the comment was intended to tease him not insult him. I have the utmost respect and trust in anyone who has ever looked at, walked on, maintained, crewed or otherwise loved the C-130 as I do. I would fly anywhere anytime with all of them. John
  13. He was awarded the Silver Star for that episode. We all got together at Dyess in 2005 for our Loadmaster reunion and notible attendees were Ralph and Gary Speer who was the only survivor of the Dyess crash in 66. He also forgot to mention no one is his right mind would fly with him because he was a bullet magnet! Hi Ralph. John
  14. We were in Athens in 66 staging for a NATO exercise. One of the not to be mentioned first time overseas loads (me included) fell in love with an especially endowed working girl. Following the breakup (cash ran out), he managed to keep her DD bra as a rememberence. On the trip back to Texas, we (I was not alone in this) got ahold of it and closed one strap between the ramp and door on the last leg from Dover to Dyess. Surprisingly it survived the trip and was on display when the squadron landed in front of family and friends for the welcome home. The load was known as DD for quite a while. Weren't you RW? Anyone besides me ever ride chocks on the rollers until the A/C asked why the weight was shifting when we didn't have any cargo? I called it air surfing back then.
  15. I am saddened to report the passing of Col. Jerry James "JJ" Smith. JJ flew C-130's at Dyess AFB as part of the 346th and I was lucky to be a young A3C loadmaster on his crew. We flew many missions, including early cross-switch rotations to Evereaux and Mildenhall. We went on two NASA Gemini support missions to North Africa and Kano Nigeria. JJ flew C-121 Super Coni missions out of Udorn Thailand tracking movement along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He later spent almost a decade as an Instructor pilot and liason to the RAF at Lakenheath England. JJ was a wonderful pilot who loved flying the C-130. He logged thousands of hours covering the globe. I was honored to have him as a mentor and my commander while in the USAF and as a close friend for many years. JJ was preceeded in death by his wife Joan. He leaves behind his two daughters and numerous grandchildren and many people who were lucky to have him as a friend. Please take a moment to say a prayer for this special man and member of the Herc community. John Conner
  16. Since we have an ex Herky jock as the new CS of the Air Force, a series of petitions and letters from active members and vets would be a start to get it saved. Lots of us logged hours on these old \"E\" models including 865, bunch of 7\'s and other with history dating to the early 60\'s. John
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