In 1959 I took my Novice and Tech tests.  On 14 May 1960 I received my Amateur Radio License.  I was THRILLED!  I was up until midnight being called by hams in the area on 6 meters.

In 1961 I was signed into Air Force MARS to be the backup station for Bunker Hill, Indiana.  As they were a Strategic Air Command (SAC) station for Omaha, Nebraska (editor: Offutt AFB – SAC Headquarters) so I had no time for taking messages.  I was a bit shy on my first day to check in on frequency 7635 USB, but I did it and before I knew it I was part of a team of our Air Force guys.  Our Net Control was at Dayton, Ohio.  Our team was based at the eastern air bases. 

The bases closed at 5p.m.  About 4p.m. an air force guy stationed at a Texas air base came up on our frequency and gave me all his messages he had got so I had a load to take to the TransCon in evening each night as I was Indiana’s TransCon member.  Some messages that were for Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa I gave to my husband as he was the HF Net Manager for our area.  He had his radio for his net and I had my Collins Transceiver for all my uses.  My antenna was an inverted V.  I could hear every base loud and clear, but some of the bases could not, so I relayed for them and let them put their number on the messages.  We had a phone patch which ran phone patches for Air Force men when they called home to tell their family their ETA. 

One night while on TransCon a plane came on frequency calling net control.  He asked if there was any station with phone patch.  He wanted to let his wife know his ETA.  Net Control told him to go to LSB for Mississippi for that.  He came back up and said no one there, so Net Control told him to call AFA9YIC as I was closer to Mississippi.  I ran the phone patch without any problem.  He was pleased as it was close to midnight.  In about three weeks maybe, I heard an aircraft on TransCon and he called me instead pf Net Control.  Well I knew I could not answer or I would get called down too.  Net Control came on and told the man to get off frequency and go down to LSB as he was in the wrong area.  The man said he called AFA9YIC because I did a good phone patch before so he wanted his call to go through me again with me.  Net Control chewed that man till I was ready to tell that man to go to LSB and I will make the call, but Net Control kept telling him off, that I was ready to tell Net Control off as any aircraft has priority any time I was told.  I could not sleep well that night.  Came the next morning for TransCon Net.  Amy was monitoring, but Amy did not check-in as I decided if I cannot do my duty as it was meant to be then I will resign from Air Force MARS.

Before that problem, I was appointed as the Indiana State MARS Director.  I accepted it with honor.  However a few days later a huge Air Force semi drove up to our mobile home with lots – and I do mean lots – of radio equipment for my members. 

I notified them al to come and get what they needed due to the stuff took up our radio room.  Before they got there, a knock at the door.  I opened the door and a man showed his FBI badge.  He said he got a call that I was stealing Air Force items.  He was shown the paperwork and my FCC amateur radio license.  He was satisfied and left.  When my husband Carl Baldwin and I went to the Dayton Hamfest I told Major Waring, our MARS man, he was upset with the FBI man too.

On Saturday and Sunday we monitored our area frequency.  O’Hare Air Force Base was our Net Control those weekends in case of messages to handle.  One Sunday a Indiana member picked up a message from a military man.  It was to his mom who was elderly and lived in Lafayette, Indiana and she was without power and phone due to an ice storm.  We were living in Lake Wawassee near Cromwell, Indiana.  The man was concerned.  The MARS member tried to call the message to her but could not get through due to the power outage.  So he was trying to return the message back to the military man at the Pentagon since he could not deliver it to his mom.  I called the member to pass it to me to see what I could do with it, so he sent it to me.  I laid down for 10 minutes nap after my short prayer and told my brain to start working, so when I woke up, I got my Amateur Call Book and started checking all the W9’s and K9’s.  Soon I found a W9 ham in a city next door to Lafayette.  I got his phone number from the phone company.  The W9 guy answered.  He told me his rig was out of order but he knew a CB’er that could get it to her.  So the W9’er took the message I had and passed it to the CB’er and it was delivered and a message from the lady to her son was given back to me.  So I sent the message to the man at the Pentagon.  He was happy and thankful.  So was I even though my eyes were cross-eyed from looking at all those call signs, but I am one that never gives up no matter how long it takes to complete the job.

One day Roger was manning the radio at Otis talking on the base frequency when my unit went off the air.  I unhooked the linear then plugged the unit back in so the unit came up without the linear.  I called Roger back to let him know all was okay.  I asked him if he ever heard of the loaded clothesline, well I hung too many clothes on it.  He said “Amy you should write a book.”

During Air Force MARS volunteering time I wrote to lots of military guys.  They never knew me nor I them.  I wrote to many pen-pals who sent me addresses of their hometown service men to write to.  One sailor a sea was one I wrote to.  He told me when he was at sea they don’t have holidays.  So I got his birth date and sent him an angel food cake and candles, plus a bag of powder icing as I knew he had water on board to mix it.  Then for Christmas, I sent him a small Christmas tree with trimmings of all kinds with an angel to top it.  He put it in his room on the ship, but shared it with all his other shipmates and really enjoyed it, both Christmas and his birthday.

I also wrote to a military guy who was in Vietnam.  He flew a helicopter in Vietnam to pick up our wounded GIs and rush them to the hospital they had there.  He wrote me that he was going on his R & R.  When he got back he would finish his tour end of February then get back to ITT to learn more about tech where he left to go to Vietnam.  Be heading home in about one month to return to ITT school here in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  However he never made it when he stepped into his helicopter, he was hit by a Vietnamese bomb and killed.  My last letter was returned unopened.  I had to get the word by our local paper.  It was quite a shock.  I flew my flag a half-mast.  His folks came to tell me thanks for all the support mail I sent him and that my mail helped make his days.

I lost a cousin in the Korean War.  I had a husband, brother, brother-in-law and 2 cousins in the wars.  I often wonder if those I wrote to are still around.

When I was back-up for Bunker Hill Air Force Base on 7635 USB there was a military man monitoring on the frequency but I never heard him transmit anytime but one day I received a letter from him saying, how’s come we never got a photo from me like the base stations did?  So I sent him one.  He sent back to ma a nice photo of him and his wife.  He wrote that he enjoyed the way I presented myself, handling my messages on 7635 USB bas frequency.  We wrote back and forth but he had to retire early because his health was causing him to retire soon due to going on a kidney machine.  So he and his wife went back to his home town of Whittier, California.  He wrote a few times then his wife wrote to say he was failing and would I send him a cheer up card as he thought so much of me.  So I sent the card, but he passed away soon after.

I think I have written a book but I could tell a lot more.  I enjoyed being an Air Force MARS member despite a few sad times, but the good part outrun the sad times.  I learned a lot and met a lot of wonderful people and I do not regret those 6 years with Air Force MARS.  I felt honored serving when I could for our military heroes.   I pray every day for them.

I will write my story of my time in U.S. Navy MARS real soon.  Excuse my writing errors.  Hope you can read it all.

Some of my letters and photos I sent before can tell some of my stories of how I enjoyed my days of radio volunteering.

I promise to get the rest of my story sent this month to you.

Amy Arlene Heath (Baldwin) – K9YIC - April 2005.