Fifty Plus (50+) - VERY OT: Remembrances from the past - 49 years ago

I was searching the internet and happened to put in 3428, the name of the US Air Force Squadron at Lowry TTC in Denver, of which I was the Administrative Officer and then the Commander from 1962 - 1965 (as a buzz cut 24 year-old First Lieutenant). The student squadron had between 700 - 800 students at any one time, and a permanent staff of about 9 trainers, admin officers, clerks, First Sergeant and others.

I found some pictures posted from an airman who was in the squadron at the same time I was the commander, about 1964-65.

Anyway, they have a lot of meaning to me, and I thought I might just share them, also in the hopes that others might share some of their past, also.

Here is a picture of the squadron patch which I had designed - we had a contest in the squadron to design this.

http://ecrt.us/LAFB/LAFB710.jpg

And in color - I just found this on EBay where the patch below sold this April of 2011 for $2.25!! Wish I had seen the bidding, I would have bought it.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqQOKnEE2Z)vq54KBNrLr5eoJQ~~_3.JPG

One day the First Sergeant and I were cruising the base dumpyard, and found a t-38 trainer canopy. We comandeered it, and turned it over, and some of the troops built a wood stand, and - voila - an aquarium in the day room.

http://ecrt.us/LAFB/LAFB729.jpg

I had this fence put up - we found some scrap lumber - to enhance and define our area. I was then told that it did not fit into the base requirements and we had to take it down. Aahh - bureaucracies.

http://ecrt.us/LAFB/LAFB714.jpg

The day room, where the troops (and I) would play pool.

http://ecrt.us/LAFB/LAFB656.jpg

I'm supposed to be the 6th man from the right in the flight cap.

http://ecrt.us/KB0TYS/Q235.JPG

We supported a highly classified mission - requiring a top-secret plus clearance. I thinkit is safe to say now that the troops we supported lived and worked as civilians in some supposedly non-friendly countries in small outposts monitoring atomic expolsions in the USSR.

Vietnam was just starting, and I decided to get out while the getting out was good - in August, 1965. The GI bill paid for my Master's and Doctorate - a good investment!!

Please share some of your past!!

Thanks for serving our country!

Thanks for serving our country!

Good morning - I see you live across I-25 in Highlands Ranch. Well, it is almost 6am, time to get out on a ride! Got to go to church at 8:30.

No thanks necessary. In 1962, just about everyone went into the service, unless you could figure a way out. I decided that, rather than being a drafted enlisted person, I would join and become, in 90 days, an officer and a gentleman.

DnvrFox, I too thank you for your service. I flew a T6 a couple of years ago for the first time. While you may not have had them in the '60s it was a wonderful experience. NASA's T-38s are a semi common sight in my area and that airframe spawned some other very good aircraft.

Brad

... I was the Administrative Officer and then the Commander from 1962 - 1965...
Thanks for the memories. I was at Lowry from August 1962 to May 1963. Why didn't you cut me some slack when I had to march to Bomb-Nav Radar school in -20F temperatures. It was frickin cold!!!

Thanks for the memories. I was at Lowry from August 1962 to May 1963. Why didn't you cut me some slack when I had to march to Bomb-Nav Radar school in -20F temperatures. It was frickin cold!!!

Were you in the 3423rd squadron? If so, the permanent staff there were all jerks.

We supported a highly classified mission - requiring a top-secret plus
clearance. I think it is safe to say now that the troops we supported lived and
worked as civilians in some supposedly non-friendly countries in small outposts
monitoring atomic expolsions in the USSR.


Looks like I spoke too soon. There's a black SUV parked across the street with two guys wearing fedoras. Just call me Foxileaks. Anyone got a ticket to Sweden - I hear there are some pretty girls there?

Just to take this OT thread a bit further OT, there was a story on NPR tonight that says Denver has more cannabis stores than it has Starbucks. So, pretty girls in Sweden on the one hand, or Denver and its easy pot availability on the other. What's an elderly cyclist to do?

Just to take this OT thread a bit further OT, there was a story on NPR tonight that says Denver has more cannabis stores than it has Starbucks. So, pretty girls in Sweden on the one hand, or Denver and its easy pot availability on the other. What's an elderly cyclist to do?

Yes, the legislature passed some laws this year to try and rein things in.

Never smoked it myself, don't plan on it, unless it really is medically necessary. Oops - where we headed with this thread, anyway?

Pot is for weak minded fools. Cyclist are generally clean living people. There is simply no excuse for using illegal drugs.

Good morning - I see you live across I-25 in Highlands Ranch. Well, it is almost 6am, time to get out on a ride! Got to go to church at 8:30.

No thanks necessary. In 1962, just about everyone went into the service, unless you could figure a way out. I decided that, rather than being a drafted enlisted person, I would join and become, in 90 days, an officer and a gentleman.

Did the great "they" succeed? :innocent:

I was in the Royal Marines and saw active service in Malaya----But was also in the boxing team so you can guess how much "Active" that service was. Spent 5 years there and was invalided out in 69. But from then on and my real life started.

Got into the sport of Karting. Although English- the form of karting I liked was endurance Racing. 6-12 and 24 hour racing. We didn't do this in the UK so it was out to France- join a French Club and race in Europe. Has my own Karting business out there and it paid for me to travel Europe and race. Came 2nd in the European Endurance championships 4 years running and raced up against a lot of other drivers that a few years later became big names in F.1. I never wanted to progress away from Karting.

But eventually you have to settle down and marry- get a house- start a family and pay for the mortgage.

Now at the end of my working life and looking Back I had some good times- in fact a lot and no regrets. Well there is one---I wish I had got into cycling earlier. I only started 20 years ago.

Did the great "they" succeed? :innocent:

Well, one thing I know for sure is that I am no longer and "officer." About the "gentleman" part - you will have to ask others. I know some folks who would say "no" for sure. I am a very active, verbal and strong advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities, and tend to piss some folks off quite regularly, as you might be able to tell by reading some of my position papers (http://www.ourwebs.info/indexpad.htm)on topics here in Colorado!!

However, I would guess that this answer is far too much TMI for your question!! :)

I've always thought of you as a Gentleman of the finest ilk but the question just begged to be asked. :D

Good morning - I see you live across I-25 in Highlands Ranch. Well, it is almost 6am, time to get out on a ride! Got to go to church at 8:30.

No thanks necessary. In 1962, just about everyone went into the service, unless you could figure a way out. I decided that, rather than being a drafted enlisted person, I would join and become, in 90 days, an officer and a gentleman.

Just moved back into our HR home after 5 years overseas where I got started into mountain biking in my old age.

I allowed them to draft me in '68 after almost enlisting for OCS and tried to be an enlisted man and a gentleman. Likewise have to ask others if I actually became the 'g'. I'm just west of Quebec now.

In June of 1962 I was proudly moving up from the fifth grade to the sixth grade....same school just different teacher.

My sixth grade teacher was very young and a Sister of Saint Joseph (I'll not mention her name as she's still active in the area). I discovered in the sixth grade that school can be fun as long as you didn't get caught goofing off...the beginning of my end.

Forty one years later this very same woman, still a Sister of Saint Joseph but with a different name, is the President of the private High School that my twin daughters attended. I never approached her so I don't know if she remembered me or not. If she did, she would have seen that the biggest goof-offs can raise some of the most sincere students a teacher could ever encounter. Or maybe that was my wife's influence. :rolleyes:

In June of 1962 I was proudly moving up from the fifth grade to the sixth grade....same school just different teacher.

My sixth grade teacher was very young and a Sister of Saint Joseph (I'll not mention her name as she's still active in the area). I discovered in the sixth grade that school can be fun as long as you didn't get caught goofing off...the beginning of my end.

Forty one years later this very same woman, still a Sister of Saint Joseph but with a different name, is the President of the private High School that my twin daughters attended. I never approached her so I don't know if she remembered me or not. If she did, she would have seen that the biggest goof-offs can raise some of the most sincere students a teacher could ever encounter. Or maybe that was my wife's influence. :rolleyes:

In June of 1962, I was celebrating my first birthday....

I got married in '62 and became a father in '63. (yeah, yeah, I know:o). Anyhow, I was working as a TV technician and realized how screwed up my life was. I really wanted to join the Navy and become a Radio Operator as I was already quite proficient at radio code. President Kennedy had some idea about not taking married men into the service at that time. My draft classification went from 1A to 4A.

Turns out I never did go into the military. Ended up working for Ma Bell for 31 years.:o

Please share some of your past!!

There's a lot more notable and noble past stories here than I can step up to

But accepting the invitation - I took French as a subsidiary subject in my BA, so I spent '73/4 in Toulouse, SW France, and needed some income to pay the rent

So I found myself teaching English to aeronautical engineers in Aerospatiale where they were building the Concorde and (later) the Puma helicopter - so at 21 I was linguistic go-between for Toulouse and Filton, Bristol UK.

Got to do 'circuits and bumps' in Concorde before it was certified airworthy. Got to fly to Bahrain, have a coffee, fly back in '73 in the airframe without seats during my 6 hour class time!

Now - still an industrial trainer, still Bahrain!

Pot is for weak minded fools. Cyclist are generally clean living people. There is simply no excuse for using illegal drugs.

"Cyclist are generally clean living people"

Oops. I've been riding with a non-general crowd for years. Pot's a wonderful thing in it's place. I'd much rather run into a pack of teenage potheads than a bunch of alcohol-soaked frat boys.

Been about 8 years since I last indulged. No supplier and I hate the medical marijuana nonsense. Inhaling the smoke of burning material and holding it in your lungs is a bad idea.

I remember going out to Lowry in the late 40's,it was a very interesting place then...Its a wasteland now..

Bud

Spent a few months at Lowry back in early 1952. Liked Denver, a great town!
Shipped out to Korea before year's end . . .
Typically, being Air force, we went to the Far East by boat while they flew the Navy guys.