I don't remember many (I guess I should say "any") names from that long ago, but I do recall that there was a Filipino dude in my company who, when he heard that I was from Guam, was bound and determined to stick up for me in any jam that I got into. And he did on a few occasions. I also remember my boy from West Chester, John Nevin. If either of you guys are still around, email me here.
Gary K. from Iowa, who I just found out passed away back in 1998. You can read his obituarary here here. Hagopian, and my buddy from Zanesville, Ohio, Joanne E. Are you still alive, girl? Get in touch!
Holger, you were right. Dow is a great electronics technician because of his Navy training.
Permanent Party, Co. A, USAICS, Ft. Huachuca, AZ
SEP 78
Worked on the Grumann OV-1B, OV-1C and OV-1D Mohawk aircraft. Got about 50 hours of flight time with Bucky Buchanan and a cracker CWO2 from Georgia named Jones who always tried to make me puke while I rode second seat with him.
We had civil-servants in our shop who fixed the SLAR, IR and camera systems on the Mohawk. One of them was a guy named Connie. Another fellow was J.C. Nichols, and there was a third guy named Jerry something who called me "two-stroke" after I made the mistake of asking what the difference was between a 2- and a 4-stroke engine (big mistake for a 20-year-old who didn't know his ass from his elbow). I also remember a young guy who had serious problems with kidney stones (ouch!).
Since the civilians worked on the systems that the Army spent 40 weeks training soldiers to fix, we ended up doing nothing more than the grunt work of installing the systems in the aircraft and removing them when they needed repair. The civilians fixed 'em all. Pretty frustrating, but we did do something productive -- we played pinochle. All day (well, in between the grunt work at least).
I worked for an SFC named Craig Basgall. He was a great boss and a good guy, and not a bad pinochle player. His dad, Monty, was the infield coach for the Dodgers and used to get us autographed baseballs and other collectibles. I gave a ball to my oldest son about fifteen years ago, but I doubt his mother allowed him to keep it.
This is also where life ended as I knew it. Marriage. "D'Oh!" as Homer would say. Chalk it up as another learning experience. Got two great kids out of it, though. Hey, guys! Email your Dad sometime.
