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As suggested by Mr. Norman in another thread, let us have a thread for those who have served our country (or its very close allies) in uniform. Share your dates of service and a memory or two!
I served in the US Navy from December 1982 to December 1988. Boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois during the winter; went to and graduated from Navy Nuclear Power School but took a swing at officer training instead of going to a prototype plant. Washed out there and sent out to the fleet aboard the recommissioned battleship USS Missouri (BB-63). Was aboard for her around-the-world shakedown cruise in late 1986 and an Operation Earnest Will deployment to the Persian Gulf in 1987 following the USS Stark incident. Left as a Machinist's Mate 1st class (E-6) and proud of it!
Who's next?
-------------------- --------Eric H. Bowen
Stop by my website: Streamliner Schedules - Historic timetables of the great trains of the past! Posts: 413 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: Mar 2006
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3708 BMTS Lackland AFB TX Sep 65-Nov 65 1906 Comm Sq Dover AFB DE Nov 65-Jul 67 Hq 7th AF, Tan Son Nhut AB RVN Jul 67-Jul 68 1976 Comm Sq Hill AFB UT Jul 68-Jan 69
Proud I was called to serve as it was a life experience; and not just some kind of 'four years out of my life'.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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4/2/64 - 9/6/68: USAF, Released as Captain (ResAF).
4/64-6/64 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB, TX (Medina Annex)
7/64-5/65 Communications-Electronics Training School, Keesler AFB, MS
6/65-6/66 4660 Support Squadron, Richards- Gebaur AFB, MO
7/66 Military Assistance Institute, Arlington, VA
8/66-9/67 6146 Air Force Advisory Group, Taejon, Korea
10/67-9/68 509 Bomb Wing, Pease AFB, NH
SAEMR, NDSM, & AFLSA
Just realized in typing this that I served with two different historically significant USAF units, albeit many years after they made history:
509 Bomb Wing - think "Enola Gay" 6146 AFAG - think of the 1957 film "Battle Hymn"; I lived some of the orphanage scenes in that film while over there.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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Entered the US Army in August 1989.... Basic Training at Ft. Dix, NJ.
AIT began in late October 1989 at the Armed Forces School of Music at the Little Creek, VA Naval Amphib Base.
Graduated in June 1990 and assigned to the 101st ABN DIV Band Ft. Campbell, KY
Deployed to Saudi Arabia September 1990 where we functioned as a military band entertaining the troops until the shooting started. Opened a show for Bob Hope on Christmas Day 1990 "Thanks for the Memory....." Guarded a strategic sewage treatment plant thereafter. (seriously - it mattered.)
Returned to the US in April 1991. Marched a half-dozen Desert Storm Victory Parades - got called a 'Baby Killer' in New York City and a 'hero' in Chicago. Didn't particularly feel like either. Played Taps more than 750 times for retired veterans. ETS'ed as an E-4 the end of June 1992. Entered graduate school using, in part, GI Bill money in August 1992....
Would not do it again today (not at my age......) but owe much of what I have accomplished to my time in the US Armed Forces..... either directly or indirectly.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Navy, 1967-71, OCS commission, class 6805. Engineer Officer & Navigator, USS Sedgewick County (LST 1123); resupplied outposts in the Mekong Delta and on the DMZ. Instructor, Officer Candidate School, Newport, RI
In those days, we had no electronics to aid navigation. We did it the same way it was done 100 years before, and we always got there on time!
Posts: 518 | From: Maynard, MA, USA | Registered: Sep 2000
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Oh yes Mr. Black; whatever happened to Charts, Eldridge's, Dividers, Parallel Bars, and a Sextant; all on which I had adequate proficiency during my Fairfield Navy Cadet days.
I even thought using Loran-C, on my Father's last and only stink pot, was cheating.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Gilbert, They still have all that stuff. In fact, my good friend Robert Eldridge White, continues to put out the Eldridge Tide Publication here in Boston. Sextants, alas, are usually found in antique stores. Which is probably where I should be. BTW, someone once told me that if you like trains, you'll like ships. I notice when Vicki or Frank talk about their latest cruise, it starts a lively discussion amongst our group. Maybe some truth to that observation?
Posts: 518 | From: Maynard, MA, USA | Registered: Sep 2000
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I can certainly attest to your observation as we, also, vacation at least once a year by cruising. And keeping with the topic, My late father served in Europe as an airplane mechanic during WW II..
Posts: 332 | From: Long Island, NY USA | Registered: Jan 2004
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Kudos to everyone who have served in our military. I served in a uniform, but not military.
I served in the Commissioned Corps, US Public Health Service, for about 6 years. Back then, the USPHS was not a part of the military but was under the old Health, Education, and Welfare dept.
Richard
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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I must be a rarity, as I love trains but can't stand to be on the water. As far as aviation, I am a "white knuckles" flyer as a passenger, but change completely when I'm given the opportunity to fly from a cockpit seat; something about the control aspect, I guess.
Several experiences while in the military and while accompanying my father-in-law in his two-seater lead me to the conclusion that, if it weren't for poor vision, aviation might have been my first calling.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Ocala Mike: Welcome aboard, Richard. Isn't the USPHS practically part of the Navy? What rank or rating did you hold?
***************************************** Yes, Mike, there was an assciation with the Navy and, later, the Coast Guard. I believe, however, the USPHS was always independent. When I came aboard, in 1967, the PHS had a number of hospitals, throughout the country, which mainly served the Coast Guard. Today, I don't know if they still serve the Coast Guard. The PHS does run the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in Atlanta and the NIH (National Institute of Health). The other division, the one I was in, was the Indian Health Service, which takes care of health care needs on Indian reservations and for the Eskimo population in Alaska.
We did have Navy-like uniforms. The only difference was that we had our own insignia. We never addressed anyone, including ranking superiors, by anything other than their first name. I had 2 1/2 stripes, when I got out, whatever that is.
Richard
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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quote:Originally posted by TBlack: Gilbert, They still have all that stuff. In fact, my good friend Robert Eldridge White, continues to put out the Eldridge Tide Publication here in Boston. Sextants, alas, are usually found in antique stores. Which is probably where I should be. BTW, someone once told me that if you like trains, you'll like ships. I notice when Vicki or Frank talk about their latest cruise, it starts a lively discussion amongst our group. Maybe some truth to that observation?
I have always had more than a passing interest in Riverboats if that counts for anything. I also always take notice of vintage motor coaches but as Mike mentions regarding flying, I have little interest in travelling by bus unless I am the person driving the bus.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Thanks for the reminder...... we're travelling tomorrow and an Applebee's might be just the ticket for lunch.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Richard, no Cowboy Burger listed on the "free items" menu, only a Bacon Double Cheeseburger. 1120 calories between a bun sounds to me like the whole cow.
Anyway, my fellow veterans here in Ocala tell me that the local Applebeee's was pretty much inaccessible to most vets last year due to the extremely long lines, so I'll probably pass on it.
Maybe a mixed blessing, as it sounds like I'll be doing my cardiac health a favor.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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US Army, 1969-1971 Drafted May 1969, just short of one year after receiving a BS in Civil Engineering. Basic and AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, otherwise known as Ft. Lost-in-the-woods. OCS at Ft. Belvoir VA. Date of commission, April 2, 1970. Permanent part in the Office Engineer School there until going to Nam, in January (I think it is unbelievable that I can't remember the date right now.) After a couple months being the low rank gofer I became a platoon leader in a construction platoon. Our first project: Flush toilet latrines, septic tanks, sand filters, and a pump station to pump the effluent into the nearest ditch for the MP Battalion that provided guards for the various headquarters in Saigon. After that was done various other small things in Long Binh post, including a part of building an in-country drug treatment center in the Long Binh Stockade, finally pouring concrete floors then installing water and sewer lines for a PX warehouse facility. Got stuck with doing several Reports of Survey. (Had gotten our Battalion CO mad at me.) One was for a body. That is where I learned that the drill sergeants were not joking when they said we are not going to kill you because we do not want to do the paper work. Left Nam as a 1LT. Did enough reserve activity to avoid losing the commission until passing 40, so I ended up as a CPT in the reserve, but never really did anything with it. (When it comes to luck, if it were not for bad luck I would not have any, so I thought that if I did not do enough to keep the commission something would happen to get me and a lot of other people recalled, and after running, sweating, and doing millions of pushups to get that brass bar I did not want to go back to being an enlisted man if I got recalled.
During my time in Nam I had quite a few Vietnamese civilian workers attached to my platoon which gave me a little different perspective on them as people than a lot of GI's had.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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Canadian Pacific will halt all trains system wide in the US and Canada at 11 am today and observe two minutes silence to honour veterans and fallen soldiers.......then sound a long whistle in tribute to Remembrance Day and Veterans Day.
A Class Act!
Wonder if the Empire Builder will halt too as it will be on the Canadian Pacific at 11am between La Crosse and Tomah WI......and what about METRA trains on CP in the Chicago area?
posted
I was too young for National Service in the UK as it had been stopped by the time I would have been old enough to serve. However, I did 3 years in the Cadet Force at college and spent nearly 22 years working for the MOD in the UK and abroad attached as a civilian to the Royal Navy and the Army in differing locations. On this day I think, in particular, of my maternal Grandfather who fell at Passchendaele in 1917. He was a poet and I still have some of his original work, written about the Front, which is very moving.
Posts: 211 | From: Norfolk England | Registered: Sep 2007
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If you are ever in Ottawa go to the Chapel of Remembrance (I believe that is the correct name) in the Parliament building. They have beautifully calligraphed books on display with the names of all who have died in the service of Canada. I was especially moved when a "Constable" helped me use the computers to find the names of two great uncles who died in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France. They later sent me beautifully printed copies of those two pages and information about the days those pages would be on display. (They turn the pages once a day.) Family is invited to have a private time before the public opening that day.
Very classy indeed.
We have a U.S. Navy ship, the U.S.S. Milius, anchored off West Beach for the weekend.
Frank in chilly and soon to be wet SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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Stephen, was your grandfather perhaps Ellis Evans (Hedd Wyn)? Or maybe Francis Ledwidge?
As for me, I am a 4-F sandwich between two lieutenant commanders (dad was on USS Randolph, son is at SuBase New London as we speak).
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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No Henry, my grandfather was called Stanley Plumpton and he was a private in the Seaforth Highlanders. He was 27 when he died. Although he was a motor mechanic by trade I know from what my grandmother told me that poetry was what made his soul sing. His poems are unpublished.
Posts: 211 | From: Norfolk England | Registered: Sep 2007
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Last night, in honor of the vets, I reread a few pages from Paul Fussell's "The Great War and Modern Memory." The quoted poetry is powerful still, especially Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et decorum est."
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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