SP4 1971

CB Walkie-Talkies were a popular item in the mid 1960's, and I had a set of them.  It was great to be able to communicate several blocks with them, and to use them while playing "Army" like in the TV shows of the time.  I was also given an old book that had numerous projects, most interesting of which was the construction of a "wireless telegraph" which used a spark coil for a transmitter.  I actually constructed one using a Model T spark coil for the transmitter, and a transistor radio tuned to the high end of the AM band for a receiver.  I strung up a wire antenna for the transmitter.  The system worked, though I'm sure it caused interference around the neighborhood.  Sometime thereafter, I read about a ham radio class in the paper, and I went to the class, learned the code and theory, and passed my Novice license test.  The Novice class was only good for two years at the time, and non-renewable, and I let it lapse before I studied and got my Technician license in 1968, so I ended up with my current call sign which I still use, despite having gone to the Advanced license.  I was in Air Force MARS while in high school, before I went in the service, and rejoined for a short time after I got out.  I can't remember what that call sign was. 

 Even though I was an 11B infantryman, I never had to go out into the bush.  I got assigned to a MARS station about two weeks after I got in country.  When I arrived in-country, and was processing in at some point, some guy came into the room where we all were, and wanted to know if any of us in the room had certain civilian skills.  He went down a list, and ham radio operator was on the list.  Having nothing to lose at that point, I broke the rules about volunteering, and raised my hand.  When I was done processing, I was assigned to the MARS station at Long Binh (AB8USA) for 2 weeks of training, then sent to AB8AAH at Duc Pho.  Pure luck I guess.  Heck, I might have been volunteering to carry a radio on my back in the jungle. 

 We had a 75 foot tower at our station, and I was the only one that  would climb the thing to do any repairs.  We had to remove the antenna for repairs at one time, and I was the one up on top with a hovering Huey helicopter overhead that let down a cable so I could attach it to the antenna.  He then hoisted it out, and set it on the ground.  I was back up there again when it needed to be set back into place.  The way this happened was that we had a Med-Evac unit at our base, and we made calls for these guys.  They would do anything for us.  The helicopters were equipped with winches and jungle penetrators and they let down the cable to pull out the antenna.  Those pilots were damn good.  They could literally move things inches.  It wasn't so important when they took the antenna out, but really mattered when it was to be set back into place.  This was a very large beam antenna.  I signaled the crew chief, and he would tell the pilot which direction to move.  When the antenna was being lowered to the ground, the ground guy made the mistake of reaching up and grabbing it before letting it touch the ground.  He got a static jolt that knocked him on his ass.  I had a grounding hook up on the tower to touch the antenna with before I actually touched it.

As I mentioned, MARS probably saved my butt.  It is hard to tell what would have happened otherwise.  I could have been injured or killed.  I was a grunt, and should have been out slogging through the jungles and paddies.  Instead, we lived in relative comfort, and I had a job that only required work for a few hours a couple of times per day.  I also got to make calls home very frequently, and when the band conditions were at their best.  We did have to do guard duty most nights around the perimeter of the base, and this was the only time any shooting occurred.  The MARS station operators were everybody's friend as well, and we could ask for any favor.  I acquired an M1 Carbine, and needed some ammo.  I mentioned this to a MACV guy, and I soon had a case of ammo.  More than I could shoot up.  Also the Med-Evac guys as I mentioned above.  What better job for a kid that was a ham operator.  I got to play with Collins the Cadillac of radio equipment.  I also got to go to Saigon a couple of times to take some of this Collins equipment to the Collins field office there for repair.  While waiting to pick it up, we were essentially on R&R.  Saigon, for a young buck, was like paradise.  I also made some good friends, and I'm sad to say that my best friend over there was killed shortly after his return home.  We were never able to get together back in the States. 

My MARS experience ended about 4 months short of me coming home.  I was reassigned to a security company in DaNang, and did security at China Beach, and guard duty at other places around the area.  We lived in a former military hospital that was no longer being used for that purpose, and it was the first time in 8 months that we had real showers and toilets.  It was also during the last month for me that we got hit a bunch of times with mortar and rocket fire.  More than all of the times combined during the first 8 months.  Our AO was between the bush, and the Marble Mountain Army Airfield, and the rounds meant for them that fell short, went into our compound.  I thought I would get wasted in the last month.  During that period at DaNang I was hospitalized with some kind of infection, and became friends with the medics in our Company afterward.  I hung out at the clinic, and they showed me what they did.  I became interested, and because of this, when I returned home, I went to school and entered the medical field.  That ended up being my career.  I got out of the Army, and never thought I would return to military service.  Seven years later, I was back in the Army Reserve as a crew chief on a Huey.  After four years of that, I received a commission in the Air Force Reserve, flew air evac as a flight nurse, and retired as a Major with 22 years of service.  I guess I could say that it all turned out that way because of volunteering for a long shot.

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