We are reorganizing the shop, cleaning up stuff and getting rid of crap we've collected. In it all I ran across some things that brought back old memories. Here's a bit of it.

1966 - 67
55th Aviation Company
Yoido, Korea
K16

When I was 19 I joined the U.S. Army. Vietnam was heating up and Draft Notices were going out. I had received my notice to report for the Draft but I decided I wanted a little control of what I was doing and with my friend Bill Mance went to the Recruiters office and joined. We took some tests and I aced the mechanics test. I believe Bill did also. They gave us our choice and we chose Aircraft Maintenance.

We were sent to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas for Basic Training and after we finished that we were sent to Fort Rucker, Alabama for Aircraft Maintenance School. Bill was assigned to rotor wing and I was assigned to fixed wing.

I finished the school and in October was sent to Korea, assigned to the 55th Aviation
Company. The base and airstrip were located on an island in the middle of the Han River
about 8 miles south of Seoul, near Yongdongpo. The mission of the 55th was to provide
support for the 8th U.S. Army Headquarters and the U.S. Embassy.

There I was assigned as a Crew Chief on a twin-engine Beechcraft the Army called the
“Seminole” but Beechcraft called it the “Twin Bonanza.” For the next 13 months I worked on the airplanes, did daily inspections and maintenance and some repairs. For several months I was moved to Tech Inspection where we inspected the work done by Crew Chiefs and ground crew. Then I was assigned as Crew Chief on a Beechcraft Queen Air that was the aircraft of the Commanding General of the 8th U.S. Army, General Bonesteel. I crewed that airplane until November of 1967 when my tour in Korea was up and I transferred to Camp Zama, Japan.

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

OV-1?

Three big things happened that summer.....

The I.D.F. captured Jerusalem.

The Forrestal shot itself.

And Ma squeezed me out into the light of day two months early. Four pounds/four ounces.

The long black tube on the side is a Side-Looking Radar. They flew the DMZ every night watching for infiltrators. We lost quite a few guys in early '67 to a North Korean team that came in and set up a heavy machine near one of the camps on the DMZ. When they lined up for chow the North Koreans opened up on them. Killed at least 50 if I remember correctly. Then beat it back across the DMZ and got away. Our government filed a protest. As far as I can tell nothing was ever done about it.

It was during this period that is now called "The Korean DMZ Conflict" and is also referred to as the Second Korean War by some. This was a series of low-level armed clashes between North Korean forces and the forces of South Korea and the United States, largely occurring between 1966 and 1969 at the Korean DMZ.

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

In 1967 the Han River flooded and we had to evacuate the island. We packed up everything and moved to Kimpo Air Base which was also the International Airport. We were there 4 months while the river went down and our base was dried out and repaired.

When we moved into Kimpo the OV-1's were the last to arrive. There were 3 assigned to the 55th. They came in to the field in tight formation, landing 1 ... 2 ... 3 maybe 100 yards apart. As they rolled out Number Two went full throttle, lifted up and did a loop and landed behind #3! Then they all rolled into the tie down area, pulled up and then backed into their respective bays. They impressed the Korean Air Force that was based at Kimpo.

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

least and they tried infiltration by tunnels and floating down the river up until at least 1981 when I left the second time.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

was close to home as we were in the compound of the guys who got killed. Our compound was shot up one night. The commies managed to kill a jeep and shoot up some buildings but no one was hit.

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

My dad was at Rucker for a bit. I’m. It sure when he was there but probably 67 or 68. He ended up in Pleiku, Vietnam and made it home safely.

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

Doing what I did in my first tour we knew when to be watchful...

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Sincerely,

Hobie

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

Because I wouldn’t be here!!

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

Next to Davis-Monthan AFB. Then I saw several a few years back at my local airport. Several Broncos on the way back from spotting duties in the California fires.

Along with it, another of my all time faves, the Twin Beech, which had been doing the same job.

I think this was at Ft Rucker. With the BFA on the M60, it was definitely state side. Dad is celebrating his 78th birthday today, hopefully with a ride on his new motorcycle we picked up Monday. He’s not been on one side he had a bad wreck in May and broke his neck!

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

Appreciate it. I have no idea what my pictures randomly post sideways. I’ve heard it’s something to do with how the phone is turned when you take the pic but I’m not sure if that’s true and if it isX no idea how to adjust it on my phone!

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

The phone generates code in the picture that tells which way it was oriented (to the best of the phone's addled ability to do so) when the picture was snapped. I've NO idea how to modify that in a phone (Android and Apple are guaranteed to have different approaches), but as Jim says - it's easy on a computer. I don't see how you guys do forums on your phones... that must make me an old fogey.

it doesn't run apps

it don't have a gps

it won't receive photo though it does have a camera .. sort of

it makes calls and receives calls

it texts .. barely ..

it's an old flip phone and I have hopes it will outlive me because I ain't getting one of those new phones ... I would rather have a hemroidectomy than try to mess with one of them.

If I could have my way I would have a land line and a phone machine so I could screen the calls.

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

Jim, I feel your pain with phones. I too am a neanderthal about modern electronic gizmos. I have an old flip phone that I make calls on now and then (when I absolutely have to) and SOMETIMES I can receive one. I don't text. My wife, bless her, does all that for me when it has to be done.

Back to back we face the past.
- MOFAC

6th picture down. Is that a Sgt Major?

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.