SBO veterans... when, where, and how did you serve?
- Thread starter Phil Herring
- Start date
i enlisted in the army national guard in 1965 and trained at ft polk la and ft eustis virginia and served six years total worked on single engine fixed wing aircraft and served activated in 68 for ten days defending the streets of memphis ..also destroyed potato hill in franklin county arkansas from the woods of fort chaffee one summer at time with 105mm howitzers ......the national guard was an option i exercise due to the fact that i didn't agree with the thing in asia at the time and as it turned out for me was a very good choice for me i did like my time in there and to this day wonder why i didn't do 20 years...my dad was a CB in WWII and was on one of the aircraft carries in the pacific ......the one that sank wasp or hornet can't remember which..... but he made it home and that is why i am here
Enlisted Nov 1974 delayed entry. Active June 75. Ft Dix for basic and then off to Fort Eustis, Va for remaining 3 years driving LCM8s, LCU15s, 65 ft Tugs, and of course the John U. D. Page. Great place to learn how to operate watercraft. ETS from active and joined NY Army National Guard 1st of the 209th FA. 8" self propelled howitzers (Nuke) for 7 more years as a fire direction controller. All expense paid Trip to Elmira Correctional Facility 16 days while the prison guards were on strike. Check out the propellers on this bad boy. No rudders needed.
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Uhhhh.. Not too hot grades in Aero Engineering brought me to enlist in Navy in 1968. San Diego for boot camp (no longer there) Memphis/ Millington NAS (Not in training any more) for electronics and Training Device Man (TD) schools (a rate no longer in existence) Starting to see a pattern? Then to Beeville Texas for Flight Simulator Instructor duty. That base is no longer a base either.. Seems like every place I went to got de-commissioned! Never saw a ship for the 4 years. After that, I went back to school and grades were much better having seen how not to spend my life!.. I learned a lot and still see a couple of buddies from back then..
Signed up with the Marines in Nov 74. During my tour, I did several "special duties"; Marine Security Guard (Embassy Guard), Drill Instructor, Navy-Marine Corps MARS (Military Affiliate Radio Service). Was also in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Restore Hope. Retired in '94. In 2009, I was a civilian contractor in Afghanistan support the Army with their Satellite Communications.Systems.
Once a Marine... ALWAYS a Marine!
Once a Marine... ALWAYS a Marine!
Enlisted US Navy August 1961 largely because of the Cuban Missile Crisis. San Diego boot camp. Then to Millington, TN for aviation school. Back to San Diego assigned to VF-!21 F4H Phantom training. Two cruises on the USS Kitty Hawk with VF-114. While doing high speed surveillance tests against Russia's ability to detect intruders in the frigid north Pacific, we received orders to steam south entering the Vietnam conflict secretly in 1963 targeting SAM missile sites among other missions. Discharged from the Navy August 1965
Quartermaster 3rd class, US Navy Submarine service... 1966-1970
not lame just not picked..... how many power balls have you won...you were avaliableI'll start: draft lottery number 221.
Commissioned in 1973, Active Duty Nuclear Submarines 1975 to 1980 (Engineer Officer on SSBN), Retired from the Navy Reserves as Engineering Duty Officer.
Enlisted in Navy (1971), boot camp in San Diego, A and B schools in Millington, TN for Advanced Electronics. Attached to VF 124 at Miramar, training squadron for the brand new F-14! Went on one Med. cruise on the USS JFK as a PO 2nd Class Aviation Fire Control Technician. Spent most of my working time on the flight deck performing checks on the weapons systems. Spent last year at NAS Pax River before discharge in 1977.
Like Smokey, USNA '73. 9 deployments on carriers, Med, West Pac, Persian Gulf. Retired navy pilot. Would do it all again in a heartbeat. Go Navy!
enlisted USN 1972 to avoid being drafted into the Army. Boot camp in frozen Great Lakes then off to Millington Tenn NAS for Aviation structural mech training. Served in VF-102 on F-4J Phabulous Phantoms. A couple of cruises both on the flight deck and hanger deck. Spent 5 more years as a reservist at NAS South Weymouth with VP-92 on P-3s. Saw the Med from the carrier. I ended up with a career in Aviation as a Mech. Good Times. Would do it over again in a heartbeat if I was still young and dumb...and could go home every night. Fly Navy! NavAir rocks the world. If you get a chance, go see the USS Midway ( or any of the other Carriers made into a museum ) in San Diego.
not to hijack this thread but i felt this belonged here....
While visiting some cemeteries you may notice that headstones
marking certain graves have coins on them, left by previous visitors to
the grave. These coins have distinct meanings when left on the headstones
of those who gave their life while serving in America's military, & these
meanings vary depending on the denomination of coin.
A coin left on a headstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to
the deceased soldier's family that someone else has visited the grave to
pay respect. Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited.
A nickel indicates that you & the deceased trained at boot camp
together,while a dime means you served with him in some capacity. By
leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were
with the solider when he was killed. According to tradition, the money
left at graves in national cemeteries & state veterans cemeteries is
eventually collected, & the funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery
or paying burial costs for indigent veterans.
In the U.S., this practice became common during the Vietnam war, due to
the political divide in the country over the war; leaving a coin was seen
as a more practical way to communicate that you had visited the grave than
contacting the soldier's family, which could devolve into an uncomfortable
argument over politics relating to the war. Some Vietnam veterans would
leave coins as a "down payment" to buy their fallen comrades a beer or
play a hand of cards when they would finally be reunited.
The tradition of leaving coins on the headstones of military men & women
can be traced to as far back as the Roman Empire.
While visiting some cemeteries you may notice that headstones
marking certain graves have coins on them, left by previous visitors to
the grave. These coins have distinct meanings when left on the headstones
of those who gave their life while serving in America's military, & these
meanings vary depending on the denomination of coin.
A coin left on a headstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to
the deceased soldier's family that someone else has visited the grave to
pay respect. Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited.
A nickel indicates that you & the deceased trained at boot camp
together,while a dime means you served with him in some capacity. By
leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were
with the solider when he was killed. According to tradition, the money
left at graves in national cemeteries & state veterans cemeteries is
eventually collected, & the funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery
or paying burial costs for indigent veterans.
In the U.S., this practice became common during the Vietnam war, due to
the political divide in the country over the war; leaving a coin was seen
as a more practical way to communicate that you had visited the grave than
contacting the soldier's family, which could devolve into an uncomfortable
argument over politics relating to the war. Some Vietnam veterans would
leave coins as a "down payment" to buy their fallen comrades a beer or
play a hand of cards when they would finally be reunited.
The tradition of leaving coins on the headstones of military men & women
can be traced to as far back as the Roman Empire.
Enlisted in Uncle Sam’s Canoe Club in 1983. Was stationed on both coasts and Hawaii. Deployed to Med, Red Sea, Persian Gulf twice (Gulf War I, 1999), East Pac, West Pac, IO, Southern Ocean. Served on AGI (A Gatherer of Intelligence) LST, CGN, DDG. Retired ETC(SW) in 2004. Loved it and would do it again if they would let me.
We might have crossed paths. I joined the Marines in '73, my MOS was avionics. I trained at Millington, then I was with VMCJ1 and later with VMFP3 on RF4B's. We deployed often with the Midway. The coolest thing was a few opportunities to catapult launch and trap! Our home base at the time was Iwakuni, Japan. We participated in Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon.
What a great meaningful tradition....I had not heard of this. Thank you for sharing.....I enlisted in Navy in 1968 and ended up
as a Dental Tech serving 3..25 years in Newport, RI....met my wife there...she going to college...Her parents had warned her about marrying a Navy guy...but she was brave....still is....my last 6 months I was on the USS Lexington...not so joyous, but interesting and it was fun living on Pensacola Beach.. If I could go back and do it all again, I would not hesitate...the most fun I have ever had.....Anchors Aweigh My Boy..! Thank you Woodster .
as a Dental Tech serving 3..25 years in Newport, RI....met my wife there...she going to college...Her parents had warned her about marrying a Navy guy...but she was brave....still is....my last 6 months I was on the USS Lexington...not so joyous, but interesting and it was fun living on Pensacola Beach.. If I could go back and do it all again, I would not hesitate...the most fun I have ever had.....Anchors Aweigh My Boy..! Thank you Woodster .
Enlisted in the Marine Corps March of 2000. I was an 0311 (Rifleman) served with 2nd bn 4th marines
Good to read about all the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard vets, but my heart swells when another Marine enters the room. Semper Fi!
Very high lotto # but was drafted in 69. Aircraft maintenance (Ft Rucker Alabama) was my MOS, but mostly what I remember was that between having KP and guard duty a lot, the stockade became a familiar place. apparently they felt I didn't take orders well. I still believe I was right to resist that war, but ya…. I could have done better.
Bumper sticker still pertains: "War doesn't determine who's right. just who's left"
Russ
Bumper sticker still pertains: "War doesn't determine who's right. just who's left"
Russ
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