I was an amateur radio operator when Uncle Sam decided to join me in July of 1967.  After basic training at Ft Campbell KY I was sent to Ft Gordon GA to be trained in the art of Army communications. While being taught MOS's 31M and 31L courses over the next 9 months, I became aware of the Post's MARS station. I remember the sergeant  had a Hallicrafter Hurricane 300 mobile ham rig in his car!!.  In May of 1968 I was sent to the RVN.  After in-country orientation I was sent to 54th Signal in Nha Trang (first helicopter ride...woo hoo!). There I met Bill who ran the MARS station. He too was a ham and we hit it right off.  The powers that were sent me to Pleiku to work my MOS, 31L.  After settling in and after my first sighting of "Puff", I went back to Nha Trang for more indoctrination.  Bill was soon to go home and asked me if I was interested in the MARS station there in Nha Trang...the rest is history.  I would be more than willing to relate my experience with MARS calls and MARSGRAMS ...4 year old girls and the concept of "over"...new mothers in the hospital...relationships both breaking up and making up... Lenore Jensen, A6NAZ...MARS meetings in Saigon (actually Long Binh)...The pool on top of the Victory Hotel in Saigon...having coffee very informally with the then II Corps commander, Gen. Peers, in my MARS station on top of the Grand Hotel in Nha Trang over looking the Bay of Nha Trang remarking on the view...using 2 Collins amplifiers in series...fixing a broken guy wire on my tower in 60 mph wind...building the LP-1007 log periodic antenna ...MP's and calls home...naming my newborn daughter in a poll of mars operators in RVN...demonstrating a homebrew radio transmitter I built from used parts for use in village attack alerting to a two star General on the beach in Nha Trang...

In many more ways than one my life changed during the course of a year in the RVN. I was older than a lot of them (21). Being a MARS operator allowed me to interact with many different people from all walks of life.

I have many many tales to tell about life as a MARS operator in Vietnam. After being transferred to Ft. Bliss in June of 1969 I again found my way into MARS . To make the segue to another story, I was assigned to AA5WAC. You guessed it, more phone patches only this time from the States. I would like to share these stories with others before I forget!!!!