From October 31st, 1980 to March 31st, 1986 I served at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Kunsan AB in Korea and Lowry AFB in Denver. I also spent 30 days at Bentwaters RAF in England and 45 days at Clark AB on Luzon Island in the Phillipines. Becky and I started our married life in Las Vegas, visited orphanages together in Korea and camped and skied in Colorado. I worked on the flight line in 120 degrees in Nevada and in 10 inches of snow in Korea. History was relatively quiet during my service but here are a couple of highlights. July 1981, four Thunderbird T-38s crashed in the Nevada dessert due to pilot error. For the next year we saw them transition to F-16s. Almost everyday you could see close formation flying as well as the solo pilots upside down about 200-300 feet over the runway multiple times daily. Airplanes I saw fly at Nellis: F16, F15, F4, F5 Aggressors, A10, C130, C5, F111, T38, U2 (yes, really), F16, Harrier, and I sure to be leaving out some. Korean Airline flight 007 was shot down by Russia. We went on alert at Kunsan AB. Some issue with President Reagan in Burma. We went on alert at Kunsan. Heres a test question. What is the current name of Burma? In Phillipines, Begnino Aquino was assassinated. He was running against Ferdinand Marcos. Test question 2. Do you remember Ferdinand wifes name and for what she was most well known? Took a helicopter ride from Clark AB to the US Embassy in Phillipines. We flew past the volcano that ultimately eliminated Clark and the surrounding town of Angeles City. The world was quiet during my time in Denver but that time has influenced everything since. I taught electronics 6 hours a day for 2 years. In every job since I have used education as my means to relationship building and selling. It equipped me well to provide for my family. Thank you Air Force. Thanks to all who serve. Thanks to those left behind who have experienced the ultimate sacrifice. Thanks to my Dad who served in the Navy during the Korean conflict. Who could have ever known that his service in Korea would allow us to adopt our sweet Jessie decades later. This is Gods faithfulness personified. Thanks to Uncle Curt, Uncle Richard, Uncle Sam (really), and Uncle Clarence D (who gave his life in WWII). Thank you for your legacy of service. You helped to form my thinking and have been and will continue to be a great influence in my life.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 14:38:25 +0000
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