Subject: DAYS OF OUR LIVES
#39
Date: 1 Jan 2002 12:03:36 -0600
It's been a
frenzied year for me and the candles burn at both ends and I've
reached the ripe old-age of 65 with fanfare fm Patty who is
62. Both senior citizens and proud that we've been blessed
with two fine boys and good health It's
been almost one year since (I finally dropped a dime) Ronnie
Deese and I brainstormed the Det 27 and 4-4 reunion idea. It was
initially to be for our TA gang only, but it wasn't
long that we encountered barriers that soon led to the decision
to organize the reunion for all who served at Det 27 and
4-4. Soon Det 17, 53 and 66 joined and the
results is what exists today. I admit that I've had my ups and
downs trying to keep the Master Roster and missives up-to-date. I
believe that the grassroots support that originally
gave my missives (FOCK Rock, et al) its appeal creating the
spirit of sharing yore memories - have faded into biting rebukes
and into the delete or recycle bins of PC's This
nagging thought bothers me. In the beginning there was a sense
and spirit of comaraderie, but now it is lacking from the
original contributors and I suggest that we let bygones be
bygones. It's worth noting - in retrospect, its
funny an inevitable, the outrageous things U remember.
Unfortunately, the old joke is true: "TOO SOON OLD, TOO LATE
SMART." I need everyone's input for the DAYS OF OUR
LIVES MISSIVES. Some say that I've drifted too far, while
others say that they enjoy the way it is. I try and keep it
simple, credible and sensible in fashioning my thoughts in a
judicious way to bridge up unknowns that might open the door
of long forgotten memories by tossing tidbits here and
there. There are no sacred cows in my backyard and I've
said it many times before, but it bears repeating unequivocally,
whatever my flaws are, and there are many, I will never succumb
to the LIBERAL views. My desire is that the
non-contributors stop procrastinating. Don't look at your
TOUR OF DUTY in TURKEY as a WASTE. Regret is an appalling waste
of energy My thoughts regarding the Memory
Book meander from day to day and my plans are now vague. The
ideas come easily to me, but enacting them comes harder,
especially when many vet's didn't give a hoot about
following the forwarding instructions for the Memory Book CD-R or
to email me their BIO's. Maybe it's me barking at
the moon or the blind leading the blind or better yet, "U
can lead a horse to water, but U can't make it drink!" I
remain optimistic and sorta upbeat even though I haven't heard
from a lotta vet's! TO ONE AND ALL, THE BEST TO ALL IN 2002 and
agn I urge the procrastinators to get the questionnaires and
BIO's to me ASAP. Sincerely, Elder RC and Patty
Green- - -gH --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bah Hum Bug! Did you
get scrooged this year?!
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Fm: Howie Ramey w7oj@hotmail.com Subj: ASA Memory Book October 2001 Elder,
What a terrific Xmas gift! I rcvd the CD-R in
the mail on 12/30, TY!!! My hm computer's CD-R decided to go
TU so I had to wait until today to view. Mighty fine work
you have done!! If you could use some financial support let
me know I'll glad to help. I stopped by a local Photo Shop
for some ideas on copying my color slides and super 8
movies. I think I'll have the slides copied to CD-R, the
movies copied to VHS tape and available to those I might
black-mail...he ha. We'll see.I'll work on my personal info
and e-mail you when I've jogged what memory I have
left. Thanks Again. Happy New Year to You and
Yours! Howie Ramey [[Tks
Howie. When U get the slides copied to a CD-R, please send
a copy to me and I'll sort thru them for additions to the Memory
Book and maybe put them on power point and save to a floppy and
show at the Hershey reunion fm my Laptop- - -gH]]
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Fm: Chas Mcclevish cmcclev@earthlink.net Cc: Philip W. Kelly <res037jb@gte.net> Subj: TRIP TO ATHENS ELDER: I've
been wanting to relate the below for a while and just
decided to do it today.
REMEMBERED: Phil Rivaldo, Russ Sciandra, Jim Cozee and I
went on a trip to Athens. We were picked up by van at
about 4 or 5 AM by a Turkish driver. Since I was the last
one to arrive at the van, I had to ride in the
front passenger seat. He was to take us from
Manzarelli to the Ankara Airport. The ride was uneventful
from the barracks to the front gate, however it was hell
after that. He was speeding the whole way, and worse,
passing on curves and hills. It was amazing we were
not killed just getting to the airport. We asked him
if he knew where the airport was and he said he did. His
English was pretty good, so he went into the airport with us, to
help get us on our way. We showed our orders (copy
attached) to the man at the information desk and he
proceeded to explain to our driver that we were at the
civilian side of the airport and if we were flying military, we
needed
to go to the other side of the airport.
Anyway, we saw the info guy draw a picture of the airport
layout which looked like a "Y", with the military
building in the upper left hand corner, the civilian building
in the upper right hand corner, with Ankara (from where we
came), at the bottom point. Our driver told us he knew
how to get there and we all piled back into the van.
After about 5 minutes of driving, we were dozing off. In a
sense I guess we were thankful to have at least gotten to the
airport
alive. The sun was just beginning to rise and I opened my
eyes for a second to view the surround-ings. I was
just amazed to see this huge highway on my right, which
reminded me of a hotrodders drag strip. I think if
someone was outside the van, my _expression would resemble a
deers face caught in headlights.
- - - - -WE WERE ON THE AIR STRIP!!!! - - - -
I think I have a mental block of the events after that. I
may have woken the other guys with a scream, I don't
remember. Yep, our driver knew the way all
right. Not back down the road to Ankara and take the left
fork, but right across the damn airstrip. The tire
marks were where the 707's, etc. touch down is branded into
my brain. Luckily none were landing or taking
off at the time. We arrived at the terminal alive and I had
to fill out the drivers critique sheet since I was the
unlucky soul sitting up front. We finally boarded the C130
for our flight to Athens, which was uneventful, except we
had to sit in canvas jump seats and could see daylight
through the panels of the fuselage. Anyhow, upon my return
to work the next week, I was notified by my boss that the
investigators wanted to see me. A zillion things must of
run through my mind about what they wanted to talk
about. At least they were just next door, so I didn't
have a lot of time to stress out. I sat down and the
agent handed me the Turkish drivers critique sheet. He said
that he thought I would like to change my wording a little,
otherwise he would have to stamp it
"OBSCENE". I had written "I think the
son-of-a-bitch was trying to kill us". Of course
I changed it. After reassignment to Vint Hill, I
spoke to someone who left Turkey after me, and he told me that
the Turkish driver had been fired. He had then gotten
a job driving a tour bus in the mountains, drove it and his
passengers over a cliff, killed himself and some
others. I was saddened to hear the news, but was happy it
wasn't us.
ps: Phil, do you remember this? --- Charles Mcclevish
[[Thanks for your great remembrance. Your experience is
well written and shud cause a lot of VET's to snap their finger's
and say, "Hey, I remember a similar experience & then
sit down and jot the story to me so that I can share it with the
other turkey-trotters. Remember, remembering means that dementia
has not taken over ones best friend, our memory! And, oh, by the
way, I do remember the ugly driving habits of the TURKS. During
the 13 weeks in 1965 that I worked out of Det 120 (NSA) in
downtown Ankara, I had a Rolly-poly Turkish Army PVT, named
Tafik, as the driver of a Dodge 4-dr, OD in color, vehicle and
his driving skill was based on how loud he cud TOOT the horn and
intimidate the other dolmuses, etc and, yes, he honked at every
female that he saw. I thoroughly enjoyed him and kept in
touch until about 1975. I'm certain that he took full advantage
of the vehicle when I was otherwise in the field with the Turkish
Intelligence Service which included Army, Navu and Air Force
personnel. Tafik's wife was an extremely attactive person as I
recall and I often wondered about her happiness- - -gH]]
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Fm: Charles Mcclevish cmcclev@earthlink.net To: Philip W. Kelly res037jb@gte.net Cc: ercgreen ercgreen@yourinter.net Subj: Re: TRIP TO ATHENS PHIL:
Yep. I meant to send it to you. I haven't spoken to
Rivaldo about it yet. I had just remember-ed the
incident. I do have his son's email address, but his
mail system had a problem. Are you planning to attend
the 2002 reunion in Hershey, 13-15 Sep? I am thinking
about it, since it is only about 2 hrs away. By the
way, The Athens trip was around 10 Sep 63, as shown on the
attached pass.
PHIL/ELDER: Sorry, I attached the wrong orders. I
meant to attach TURK3, the orders and pass for Athens,
instead of the orders assigning me to Det 27.
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Please note that LTC
Raphael J. Dooley, S4, Det 27 circa 64-65 passed away in
April 1993. He was born 6 Oct 1914. I will include him in
the TAPS section of the revised Memory Book. I wud
appreciate a write-up regarding Ltc Dooley fm
those who knew him or worked with him. I have not found his
obit.- - -gH
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Fm: grichard2@juno.com> To: <ercgreen@yourinter.net> Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2001 10:44
PM Subject: Memory Book Elder....I received the CD you sent last
week..It has some great memories and I recognize some of the
names of people who were there when We were..Your note
inside the mailer said to hold onto it until you send
me instructions as to who to send it to next..I read in your
last writing to Ray Bernstein that I was to send it to him ?
? ? Let me know if that's what you want me to do...
thanks again for the book and I think your doing a great job
with it. I found some pictures of our time at KAS that I
want to send you but I'm having trouble with my scanner
right now..Looking forward to your ans about the CD.
Gary Richard [[Merhaba Gary.....Many thanks. I've had
a lot of trouble trying to keep track of who has received the
Memory Book and who hasn't because MOST people simply do not
follow the forwarding instructions and I'm the one trying to keep
track of where all the CD's are: plus UP-DATE it too
and paste together the DAYS OF OUR LIVES MISSIVES. Please send
the CD to Ray Bernstein at 7516 Alleghany Rd., Manassas, VA 20111
and include a note for Ray to mail it to: Tom Bodine, PSC 61,
DCSG, APO AE 09642 and for Tom Bodine to hold the CD-R until I
send him his forwarding instructions.
FOR TOM BODINE: Is your mailing address correct as listed
above?
Gary - - -I'll be looking forward to rx'ing your foto's and will
include them in the DAYS OF OUR LIVES MISSIVES and the revised
Memory Book. If U can't scan them, then mail them to me at
3094 Warren Rd., Indiana, PA 15701 and I'll mail them back to U
or, maybe, give them to U at the Hershey reunion. Now that
you've reviewed the Memory Book, I'd appreciate it if U wud sit
down and write about your TOUR OF DUTY at MANZARALI and
KARAMURSEL. Do it on WORD and that way U can revise, revise and
revise some more before U email it to me. This is also true for
Ray Bernstein and Tom Bodine. Again, many thanks- - -gH
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Fm: Tom Bodine tebodine@hotmail.com To: ercgreen@yourinter.net; grichard2@juno.com Cc: raysbern4@juno.com Subj: Re: Memory Book Hello Elder, I
guess you mean is my email address correct. I know some
people have had trouble with my email address. My
correct email address is tebodine@hotmail.com.
FYI, Elder, I have contacted a couple of the guys on the
roster. I´v e contacted Preston Bell, Richard Corriveau
and Al Lafo. I´m not sure they are all on your list, but I
think so. By delving into other links I have also contacted
two of my mates from the 371st RRC in Viet Nam (1966-1968
time frame). It´s been great talking over some of the old
times. Keep up your efforts. Tom Bodine [[Tom. It's ur USPS mail
ADR that I was asking about. I, too, served with the 371st
RR Co in 1969 as Ops Sgt and 1SG. Other
Manzarali/Karamursel Vet's who served in the 371st were Ralph
Tilney , Mike Hazelbaker and Spanky Madison, et al. - - -gH]]
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Fm: John Bircher bircher@erols.com To: RicRalph@aol.com; ercgreen@yourinter.net Cc: mrgabe@hotmail.com Subj: RE: Memory Book Thanks Ralph,
received the Memory Book. . Will copy it immediately and
then forward on to Mike Garbriel. John Bircher
[[Mike. Please email me when U rx the CD-R and then I will give
U an address where to mail it. tks- - -Gh]]
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Fm: RicRalph@aol.com To: bircher@erols.com ercgreen@yourinter.net Cc: mrgabe@hotmail.com Subj: Re: Memory Book John--Glad it got to
you OK. Wish you all the best during this New Year.
Ralph Richter
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Fm: Roy Des Ruisseaux Subj: Seasons Greetings Elder: Just
received the latest Days of our Lives #38. The wife just left for
work,1st day back since Oct. surgery. In a little while I'm off
to see some of the family. Anyhow I'll talk to the wife about the
next reunion and will be making reservations shortly.
Tomorrow Dec. 24th 2001 marks the 40th anniversary of
getting drunk for the first time in my life. NCO club 1961. Fun
night but spent most of Christmas day working in a guardshack and
puking in the snow. Ah well, memories are made of this. Merry
Christmas and Seasons Greetings to all the Maulers and their
families. See you in Hershey.
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From: Tom Beall To: innfo@stayholiday.com Cc: Elder Green Subj:
Det 27, 4-4 & 66 Reservation Request I will be attending the
ASA reunion and request that a non-smoking room be reserved for
me and my wife for 13-15 September 2002 at $79 per day per
agreement with Elder RC Green and Donna Centofanti. Please
confirm my reservation by return E-mail. Thank you.Thomas
Beall, 6670 Heisley Rd., Mentor, OH 44060, 440-255-8642 [[Tks Tom. I'd appreciate it if
everyone wud include me as Cc for the reunion reservations so
that I can keep abreast for future planning- - -gH]]
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Fm: RNewman244@aol.com Subject: Merry Christmas Merry Christmas
to all and may 2002 bring you God's richest blessings. Ray
and Laura
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Fm: James Nolan Subj:
Update of Roster. Thanks for the roster, looks great, the only
change is that my grade should be CW-4. my spouse was with me the
entire tour and we lived in Ankara. Spouse name; Rita, She was a
avid bowler and golfer while we were in Turkey. --- James
Nolan--- jimmyqnolan@earthlink.net
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Fm: James Nolan Subj:
Christmas Attachments Yes I did enjoy those two Christmas
attachments that you forwarded to me, thanks so much. If you
should look on the inside of one of the attachments you will see
a prayer, Although I did not get credit for writing the
paper it was mine. The Catholic Priest was a friend of mine
and when I call him and ask for a prayer, he said write it
yourself, your a Catholic and so I did. Oh well the prayer may
not of been too good but the food was great . Regards, Jim
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Fm: Mark Hamilton hama@iag.net To: Jimmy Q NOLAN jimmyqnolan@earthlink.net Subj: Good to Hear From You!! Jim:
Good to hear from you after all these years. I sure do
remember the Captain. His name was William H.
Hardy. Got to be the same guy. Having worked for
you, Dooley, Wolf, and Morgan for so long, I wasn't a big fan
of Hardy. Just wasn't crisp like the rest of
you. I remember his habit of leaving all manner of
classified documents laying open on his desk
without coversheets. Turkish nationals would come and
go and this guy just leaves stuff laying around like no big
deal. I had a chat with Dooley about it Dooley hauled
him down to the conference room and set him straight. I
looked up the POW lists and did some research on Wm H.
Hardy. He sure did get captured all right. I'm
attaching a couple of items I found. He was released,
returned to the states, retired as an LTC and now lives in
NC somewhere. Jim, please keep in touch with our
group. It was great to hear from you. Mark Hamilton
FM: Nolan to Hamilton: Hi, sure do remember you at the S-4
office. Yes that sure was along time ago which tells us all
that we are sure getting old. Yes it would be nice
to see some of those Manzarali members at the 2002 reunion.
Of course as of now I have no idea that I will be able to attend
but rest assured I will try. I remember most of the people
that was in the Hqs building and of course all that was in
our office, Wolf, Morgan, Dooley etc., Do you remember
the black Captain that was assigned to our office a few
months before I left? Anyway I met him in Vietnam
before he was taken a prisoner. Can't remember his name so I
don't know if he was returned home on the prisoner exchange.
I understand that Dooley died but never heard from Wolf or
it.Morgan. Thanks for sending the e-mail, enjoyed. James Nolan
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Fm: Ted Midtaune midtaune1@llnl.gov Subj: Timing What great timing you have!
The package with the hat, T-shirt, and an unexpected
Suprise Polo shirt arrived just before Christmas. The medium T
was a perfect gift for my wife. Shame on me for not
thinking that she would like a remembrance too. As it turned out,
she was ecstatic over it, prob-ably thinking that I had forgotten
that she was over there also. So, my friend, you did me a big
favor. I Thank You!
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Fm: Tom Bodine tebodine@hotmail.com Subj: Re: Det 27 reunion group Hello
Elder, Just a note to let you know I got ur email and
appreciate the contact. I see from your dates at det
27 that we overlapped a bit. I left there in Oct 66, you
arrived in June. I don´t have any memory of you but I must
have seen you because I was in the TA shop also. Seems I
remember an E7 who was in charge for a while with the name of
Bowine or something like that, very similar to my own name,
Bodine. Anyhow, hope you all had a merry Christmas and will
enjoy the new year. CUL AR SK Tom Bodine
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Fm: DBMJL@aol.com Elder..I mailed the CD-R to Art Handy and
mailed a copy of the history to Nathan Hamrick..and he should
receive next Wednesday..UPS. Art will receive the CD
tomorrow. Dave Cribbs/Charlotte, NC/Det4-4/MY70-JL72
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Fm: David Comroe Please change the e-mail address for Michael
Comroe to: "mfcomroe@onix.com" Thanks, -dave
[Done, & thanks for relaying the msg's to your Dad- - -gH]
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Fm: James Nolan To:
ercgreen ; Hagan, Rocky A (FL51) Cc: 601@kyis.net Subj: RE: Then Memory Book
Since I haven't been home since the 17th the Memory Book may be
at my address in Hopewell. I will read the book, down
load/copy as soon as possible. I will them mail it to
Ronald Hudson as you requested. Sorry that I was a little
bottle neck in passing the book on, holidays and
vacations have a way of slowing things down. Expect to
be home on Jan 2 and will accompolish the mailing as soon
as possible after that. Regards, Jim
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Fm: William Bender bbender@tobiasinc.com Subject: follow up to your phone message
Dear Elder: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I'm
actually in my office today, not flying around the World.
I'm happy to pass along my current E-mail address but this is
subject to change once again as I'm using Comcast Digital Cable
as my provider and they use Excite as the Home page. Excite went
bankrupt but Comcast and few other users stepped in and provided
a few million dollars to keep them afloat through the end
of March. Now according to what I read Comcast will start its own
service within the next month and I'll be provided with another
E-mail address! Currently it is (wddcbender@home.com)
Bonnie Cooper sent me an E-mail requesting information about the
reunion. I suggested that she contact you for all of the details.
I think that the only detail to finalize is the location of the
Saturday breakfast. I may have found a place large enough to hold
a group a large as ours. It's located about a 10 - 15 minute
drive from the hotel along Route 22 East of Indiantown Gap. I
also will inquire about the facilities at the hotel as well.
While we haven't actually pulled off the 2002 reunion, I received
a suggestion from Ron Moore that the next reunion location be
considered in the Maryland, Ft. Meade area. This may be a great
site as the NSA museum is there, as well as a lot of interesting
things to see and do. Annapolis is nearby, Baltimore Inner Harbor
etc. I think he would make a great organizer for 2003!!!!
With regard to the memory book, was this on the 3 1/2"
floppy disk? I haven't had a chance to review this yet as I've
been busy with personal problems. First it was the hot water
heater bursting, the repainting of the house, new carpets, and
Dawn breaking her neck during the process when the leg of
the ladder she was standing on broke. It hasn't been easy these
last eight weeks!!!! But I see a light at the end of the tunnel
and I just hope it isn't a train coming down the tracks!!! I'll
be in the office today and Friday if you need to reach me,
(1-800-877-3367). Best Regards, Bill
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Fm: Jones, Ed To:
innfo@stayholiday.com Cc: ercgreen@yourinter.net Subj:
Det 27, 4-4 & 66 reservation request I
WILL BE ATTENDING THE ASA REUNION AND REQUEST THAT A NON-SMOKING
ROOM BE RESERVED FOR ME (& MY WIFE) FOR 13-15 SEPT 2002 AT
$79. PER DAY PER AGREEMENT WITH ELDER RC GREEN AND DONNA
CENTOFANTI. PLEASE CONFIRM MY RESERVATION BY RETURN E-MAIL. Thank
you. Herbert E.
(Ed) Jones, Sr Global Tech Support Mgr., ESCO Corp., (217)
477-7223 (217) 477-7213 (Fax) (503) 805-2180
(Cell) hejones@escocorp.com
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Fm: Gary Winch Subj:
Re: Memory Book Hi and Happy Holidays! No, I did not
receive the Memory Book CD. I did see, at one point, where
it was to be sent. Things are beginning to settle down,
after several trips to Vermont to spend time with my wife's
ailing dad (he passed away about a week ago). best
wishes/Gary
[[FOR BOB ANCELL: DID U RX THE MEMORY BOOK FM Tony Salinger?
Please advise.- - -gH]]
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Fm: Gene Cram Subj:
POLITICS IN AMERICA A woman in a hot air balloon
realized she was lost. She lowered altitude and
spotted a man below . She shouted to him, "Excuse me,
can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet
him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am." The man
consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air
balloon approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346
feet above sea level. You are 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes
north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west
longitude." She rolled her eyes and said, "You
must be a republican." I am, replied the man, "How did
you know?" "Well," answered the balloonist ,
"Everything you told me is technically correct, but I have
no idea what to make of your information, and I'm still lost.
Frankly, you've not been much help to me." The man
smiled and responded, "You must be a Democrat."
"I am, replied the balloonist, But how did you know?"
"Well, said the man, "You don't know where you are or
where you're going. You've risen to where you are due
to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you
have no idea how to keep, and you expect ME to solve your
problem. You're in EXACTLY the same position you were in
before we met, but somehow now its my fault."
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From: Robert Dandridge
Subj: HAPPY NEW YEAR Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and
has a Happy and Healthy New Year. Bob D. :-)--- Robert
Dandridge--- http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=MSG1009904682.17&start=1229648&len=122039&src=http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/&type=x&to=bobbyd4%40mindspring%2ecom&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=F000000001&a=c9b22fad0a3c26f205922521a9365bf1
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Fm: Joe Carvalho http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=MSG1009904682.17&start=1229648&len=122039&src=http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/&type=x&to=kohala61%40pacbell%2enet&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=F000000001&a=c9b22fad0a3c26f205922521a9365bf1
Subj: Re: HAPPY NEW YEAR The best to everyone and like Bob
Dandridge says, Happy and Healthy New Year. Joe
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Fm: Dumbo <lstupid1@starpower.net> Subj: Time funs when
you're having fliesHow times flies...Can you believe it?
Monica turned 28 this week. It seems like only
yesterday
she was crawling around the White House on her hands and knees.
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Fm: Dumbo (Bill Binney) lstupid1@starpower.net Subj: More Shameful Clinton Legacy In
Retrospect gH - I had never seen this piece..prior to now -
fyi. Bill Binney
Dead Hero's Father Tears into Clinton
London Sunday Times
Copyright 1994
Newspapers Limited
May 29, 1994, Sunday
SECTION: Overseas news
Dead hero's father tears into Clinton
BYLINE: James Adams
It was the moment President Bill Clinton wanted to restore his
tattered reputation with the military before his departure
for the D-Day celebrations in Europe this week, James
Adams reports.
He had just presented posthumous Congressional Medals of Honour,
America's highest military decoration, to the widows of two
soldiers for valour in Somalia. After inviting the
families for a moment of quiet reflection in the Oval Office, the
president approached Herbert Shughart, the father of one of the
two soldiers, and offered his hand.
To his astonishment the handshake was declined. ''You are not fit
to be president of the United States,'' said Shughart Senior.
''The blame for my son' s death rests with the White House
and with you. You are not fit to command.''
The president reeled and the unprecedented onslaught continued
for some minutes. According to witnesses it was a ''highly
charged emotional moment'' which resulted in Clinton
trying to explain to Shughart,Sr. why the events of that day
last October were not his fault.
Shughart and his colleague, both sergeants, were killed trying to
rescue fellow rangers from a vicious fire-fight in which 18
died and 75 were wounded. A later Pentagon investigation
revealed that the troops had been refused the right
equipment and there was no political or military
plan to justify the American presence in Somalia.
Although the president has tried to escape the blame, he is
largel credited with the failure of the whole American
effort to bring peace to Somalia.
According to witnesses to the Oval Office scene, the Shughart
family remained unconvinced by the president's arguments.
''The medal doesn't help anything, other than that we are
grateful that Randy will be remembered in such an honourable
way,'' said Lois Shughart, the soldier's mother.
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Fm: Dumbo lstupid1@starpower.net Subj: B-1 Crew Member Rescue Here's the
story from one of the US Navy Sailors involved in the
rescue of the 4 USAF Crew-members.
A good read from the rescuer's point of view. The Navy comes
through again....
"As everyone knows, we had a busy night. No matter
what you hear on the news, this is the story:
We watched on radar and talked on radio to this B-1 that left
Diego Garcia around 2100 hours last night. At about 100
nautical miles out they called in an emergency. One
of their engines was out and they couldn't get it going
again. They turned around and started heading back,
stating that they were okay and that they would get back to
Diego Garcia and fly around the island a little to burn off extra
fuel, then land. They didn't make it back.
Shortly after the u-turn, they disappeared from our
scopes without a trace. It's close to 2200 when this goes down
and the Captain gets on 1MC (announcing system) to tell us what
happened. We head straight for their last position at
over 30 knots. On our way there, we started preparing for
the worst. We manned up our two RHIB's (rigid hulled
inflatable boats) with a whole bunch of guys and
gear. We had night vision gear, blankets, first aid,
stretchers, Gatorade (they were pretty happy about the Gatorade),
and a whole bunch of other stuff. Each boat had a
corpsman (for medical help), signalman (in case the radios died),
engineer (to fix the boat), officer (to be in charge),
coxswain (he drives the RHIB), a seaman to do anything the
coxswain says), and a rescue swimmer to bring the pilots out
of the water. Onboard the ship, they are preparing
stretchers and stretcher bearers. All sorts of lookouts are being
manned. It was a pretty hectic transit. So the Captain gets
on the 1MC announcing system again, and tells us what he
knows.
"A B-1 bomber went down. They have a crew of four. We
are talking to one of the pilots on his rescue radio. He is
in his life raft and doingokay. He can hear voices
around him. Where they are is a shallow area that the ship
can't get to. We are going to stop about 5 - 10 miles away
and send the RHIB's down the bearing to the
pilots." Just when we stop and begin to put the RHIB's
in the water, he gets on again. "Two pilots are now
together and in their rafts and doing ok. They can hear
voices around them still." So I'm now
thinking that all four are accounted for and alive and
talking. This is good. We dropped the RHIB's
into the water. Mine went in second. Then, it
didn't start... but that's what the engineer is for.
It only took a few minutes to discover a loose cable
on the battery. We got going a mile or two behind the other
RHIB. On our way out, we could smell all of the jet
fuel. All I was thinking was that I hope I don't have
to swim in it. After about 7 miles, the other RHIB said that
they had found the two that were talking on the
radio. We slowed down a bit and begin to close in on
their location. We were looking all around. So
were the planes. There were three planes all doing low
flying runs this way and that way with their landing lights
on. It was kind of wild. As I watched the
water that one was lighting up I saw a flash. As the
plane flew by and the area darkened, it was easy to see a strobe
light not too far from us. We jammed straight for
it. When we got closer and slowed down, we saw that it
was indeed a pilot. He said that he was okay, so we
just leaned over and pulled him in. The ejection process is
a pretty
violent evolution. He had 'rope burns' on his arm and neck
and face from various straps and stuff pulling tight when the
chute opened. He was pretty stiff and sore, too.
Also, he didn't have his raft. It was torn away from him at
some point before he got to the water. At this point
we were told to transfer our guy to the
other RHIB with the two guys in
it. Then, they were going to take them back and we would
stay and look for the fourth. As we were about to start
over to meet the other RHIB, we saw a flare. All three
pilots said, don't worry about us, lets go get our
buddy. So, both boats headed straight for him. We got there
about the same time as the other one. We decided that we'd
pick him up to even out the loads in the RHIB. I
actually got to get into the water for this one. The
guy was in his raft and we didn't want to get too close
because we might foul our prop on his parachute or sea
anchor. I jumped in and swam up to him.
"Good evening, my name is Jim and I'll be your Rescue
Swimmer for the evening." It got me a smile and a
chuckle - this guy is okay, too. He asked me
what the drill is to get him out of the raft and into the
RHIB. I tell him that he rolls out and I give him my
floatation device. Roger that. He rolls out and grabs
the SAR-1 (floatation device), I grab him, and we kick over to
the boat. They lifted him into the RHIB and we were on our
way. Mission complete, job well done. On the way
back, they told us what happened. Once their engine
failed, other systems started dropping offline, too.
They were down to one generator when the last straw came.
The attitude (not altitude) indicator malfunctioned. Now
they couldn't tell if they were flying level or not. And
when they did figure it out, they were flying upside down
and heading for the water. At night with calm seas
and the stars reflecting on the water, it looks like sky
all around. So they all ejected at over 15,000 feet.
Kind of a wild story...Anyhow, the Captain gave us a holiday
routine today, so I am going back to bed."
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Fm: Mark Hamilton hama@iag.net Subject: Manzarali Station Web Site - New
Pictures Added Gentlemen: Happy new year from sunny
Orlando. I have completed some housekeeping on the
site and have added pictures #87-#100. As always, if any of
you have anything you would like added to the site just
e-mail me the item and I will set it up. There will be
lots more added in 2002. Have a safe, prosperous, and
profitable 2002. Mark Hamilton www.images-by-markhamilton.com/ManzaraliVets
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