OP
AJ
US Veteran
A friend of mine was in the VNAF. He is my height and weighs a touch over 200 pounds.
Sgt. Mike Viet Nam Humor
- Thread starter AJ
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OP
AJ
US Veteran
I never really drank beer back then. So probably would not have made me sad. Hard liquor would have been another story!
Alpo
Member
Sounds like a wonderful thing to me. I inherit a brewery, but because I am allergic to beer, I won't drink up any of the profits! Win win.
OP
AJ
US Veteran
Was lucky, never was cursed! Did know one guy that was cursed by the same daughter of Ho, three times............He never did learn! Could it have been the water?
Uncle Ho must have had a lot of those daughters. Half of them lived on Tu Do Street and the other half were scattered amongst the villages.
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LOL, I can still hear them " clapping"…….
OP
AJ
US Veteran
Have seen this on a few occasions! Probably resembled that myself on at least one occasion.........
OP
AJ
US Veteran
Hopefully not my youngest Grandson and his platoon members.
F4phantom
US Veteran
Going through ITR at Camp LeJeune we learned about all kinds of stuff. We were exposed to things like BAR's, M60's and of course grenades. The grenade range was setup with concrete bunkers with troughs along the side. The instructor handed you a grenade and you were suppose to hold it next to your chest. The instructor then gave the command to pull the pin. Twist and pull was the proper method. You were than instructed to throw the grenade at some fifty gallon drums about thirty feet down range. After you threw it you and the instructor would duck down in the bunker and wait for the explosion. You were suppose to throw it like a baseball, but one bright lad decided to throw it like John Wayne, stiff arm back and loft it over his head. Unfortunately he released it when his arm was straight up. The grenade came down in front of the bunker. The instructor grabbed the guy and pushed him down. The grenade exploded about two feet in front of them. The instructor remained calm and did beat the crap out of the private.
Oh the fun we had.
I'll bet we all remember the bursting radius of a hand grenade. That was drilled into my brain.
Quick story on the frag. We were dead heading to pick up some troops in a 9 ship formation when the guy I was flying with (WW) pulled a grenade from somewhere. He was hefting it with this big weird smile on his face. I asked him what he was doing and then he pulled the ring. A few seconds passed and then he let the spoon go and it went between my feet, into the chin bubble. He held it for what seemed to be an eternity then threw it out the door. When it exploded right below us the radios lit up. Taking fire...B-40!!! WW thought it was so funny he laughed butt off. No one else thought it was funny but nothing happened to WW. I have other stories about WW. He was one crazy dude and very dangerous.
That should have gotten WW invited to a sock party.
He started out in the gun platoon but was moved to my lift platoon because he was killing too many friendly Vietnamese. That just slowed him down a little. There was only one person I knew over there that I would consider a war criminal.
OP
AJ
US Veteran
Aircrew have been known to tell some whoppers!
Not just them.
Or in Detroit just long enough to run in and use the restroom.
I am getting tired of the air force "abuse". I was stationed at Plattsburgh NY AF Base for almost 3 years. Yes, it was tough. Slept in a barracks with a bed, tile floors, and normal shower. The chow hall was available with hot meals, but not always edible in my opinion. The city had multiple bars, some with bands, some with dancing girls (not on Sunday). The local university had a large population of young, intelligent women. Some of the young ladies married AF members. The university encouraged young air men to attend classes to further their education. I went to school to guarantee that I could stay on night shift and avoid most of the daytime events on base. I had the good fortune to get promoted to E-5 in less than 3 years
Udorn, Thailand was a wonderful 10-month vacation in the orient from 1973 to 1974. No university, but barracks, beds, chow hall, on-base Thai restaurants, and amazing women. I was leaving Plattsburg on a Friday afternoon, went to the motor pool to take the driving test for GI driver's license, and was told to come back on Monday. Replied, "Ok. thank you." and left for leave. In Thailand, was sent to driver's course to get "Udorn" endorsement on GI license. "I don't have GI license" and was told to leave. I was asked how I left the States without a GI license. Very easy. I could not be issued an original GI license in Thailand. Rules are rules.
I am on night shift, supervisor has GI license but can't back an F-4 with tow tractor into a revetment. I become his 'driver' when we have to put a plane in revetment. This happens about 3 times each week.
Seven months later there is an aircraft launch exercise. I am assigned to a career E-5 as his driver for this exercise. We are sitting in tow tractor smoking at the end of active runway at the edge of the taxiway. I tell him, "I don't have a GI license, and I am not 'Tow Supervisor' qualified. This means he is supervisor, and I must be his driver. He spends the next 2 hours worried about what will happen if we have to tow a "broke" aircraft from the end of the runway. My friends sitting on the tow bar know the whole story and don't say anything. It was our finest 'aircraft tow' ever. After 4+ hours we returned to the revetments. Oh, the fun I had.
Udorn, Thailand was a wonderful 10-month vacation in the orient from 1973 to 1974. No university, but barracks, beds, chow hall, on-base Thai restaurants, and amazing women. I was leaving Plattsburg on a Friday afternoon, went to the motor pool to take the driving test for GI driver's license, and was told to come back on Monday. Replied, "Ok. thank you." and left for leave. In Thailand, was sent to driver's course to get "Udorn" endorsement on GI license. "I don't have GI license" and was told to leave. I was asked how I left the States without a GI license. Very easy. I could not be issued an original GI license in Thailand. Rules are rules.
I am on night shift, supervisor has GI license but can't back an F-4 with tow tractor into a revetment. I become his 'driver' when we have to put a plane in revetment. This happens about 3 times each week.
Seven months later there is an aircraft launch exercise. I am assigned to a career E-5 as his driver for this exercise. We are sitting in tow tractor smoking at the end of active runway at the edge of the taxiway. I tell him, "I don't have a GI license, and I am not 'Tow Supervisor' qualified. This means he is supervisor, and I must be his driver. He spends the next 2 hours worried about what will happen if we have to tow a "broke" aircraft from the end of the runway. My friends sitting on the tow bar know the whole story and don't say anything. It was our finest 'aircraft tow' ever. After 4+ hours we returned to the revetments. Oh, the fun I had.
OP
AJ
US Veteran
You should have been down the road at MCAS Rose Garden, Nam Phong, Thailand. Going to Udorn was like a Stateside visit! In the Corps, GI Driver Licenses were issued by the Station Motor Pool. For towing aircraft those license were issued by Group Support Equipment (GSE). I had a license for up to a duce and a half in both the states and in Japan. My GSE license was good for only on the flight line. Motor Pool Licenses and GSE licenses had nothing to do with each other. You could have either or both. A Motor Pool License did not allow you to drive aircraft towing equipment, only GSE licenses did.
OP
AJ
US Veteran
Speaking of driving.............. At one time there was a gate sentry at Naval Station Norfolk, Va, called "Speed Bump". He had attempted to stop a car by standing in front of it. Luckily it did not kill him, but he was pretty banged up. Hence the name "Speed Bump".
OP
AJ
US Veteran
Would the Reporting Seniors "gild the lily" about their people to get them promoted? Oh, heck Yes! I had a reporting senior that had me "wordsmith" the narratives in Fit Rep's because I was good at doing that.
The worse OER I ever got was from my Captain hooch mate. Something about military bearing. Coming from this guy I was somewhat surprised.
Rest in peace Rick.
Rest in peace Rick.
