Happy Veterans Day
- Thread starter kappykaplan
- Start date
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,686
My father passed away this year. He was a cold war veteran of the Army Security Agency, Field Station 14, Hakata, Japan. He was very proud of his service in this elite part of signal corps; he was a Morse code interceptor, aka a "ditty bopper", spying on the Chinese and Russians from 1957-1960. Those guys were so good that they could tell individual operators by the cadence of their dits and dots, to the point that they gave them all nicknames. His work was classified for his lifetime, but he did share that he regularly tracked and provided signal guidance for U2 spy planes and was aware of Gary Powers' being shot down as soon as it happened. Most of the stories he shared were evocative of MASH and Catch-22, and likely the product of being a young man prone to pranks and hijinx, but he treasured the mission and his time as a soldier.
Sorry to hear. I lost my father in 2009 - he was a WW II veteran and served in Germany. He never really spoke about his service. Tks for sharing.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,686
Thanks for sharing @Indysailor. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
My father passed in 2012. He shared some but not all of the stories. After all these years, I wish he had shared more.
My father passed in 2012. He shared some but not all of the stories. After all these years, I wish he had shared more.