Seajay
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2011
- Posts
- 448
LIFE BEFORE THE MOTOR HOME
CHAPTER 1
Jim and I were stationed aboard the USS NORTH HAMPTON and we got transferred to the relay station at Cheltenham Md for our last year in the Navy. They gave us about fourty days leave and we decided to spend some of the time at my parents house in NC and some of the time in Colorado on his parents ranch. The first couple weeks at my house went by quickly and we made our plans to catch a ''milk run'' from Andrews air force base in DC to Denver, Co. We decided to hitch hike to DC which was a really bad idea at the time. We donned our dress uniforms, packed a bag and hit the road. After several frustating rides we finally arrived by bus at Andrews Airforce Base. We checked in at Air Opps with out leave papers and requested a seat on the flight going to Denver.
''Not a problem there sailors'',,,,,,''it will go again next week at eight am sharp''....''the bird you guys wanted left about an hour ago''...
SHUX.....DOUBLE SHUX AND DARN AND FUDGE.
The air opps guy said go sit and he would get us on the next bird going west, maybe.
Four hours later he called us over and said he had a ''hop to Dayton Ohio'' which was kinda west but really north but it was further west than DC and the connections West were better. We got on the bird and off at Dayton....
We registered for the first west and sat down again. Time ticked by....Tick.....Tick....Tick..................
''Hay sailors, I got one to Tinker AFB in Oklohama if you are interested''
''We'll take it''
''Hop on that lemo (school bus) and they will take you to the pad,,,,,,,Good Luck....''
Jim looked at me and said ''Why the GOOD LUCK?''
We hopped on the lemo and headed out across several taxi ways and a couple of big paved areas and finally pulled up beside a C47-DC3.
We piled out of the lemo with baggage in hand and stood on the tarmack as the lemo disappeared into the fading sunset. Severral of us stood there waiting and waiting and waiting.... Someone finally said that they were probably getting our ''bird'' prepped for the flight. While we waited I took the opportunity to do a walk around looking at the old C 47. Oil dripped from both engines with a small puddle on the ground. The windows in it were square and plexiglass just like in the movies. I peeked inside and there were benches down each side with a ''rip wire'' down the middle of the plane for paratroopers to ''hook up''. There was also a long belt down the middle of the walkway and several parachutes laying on the benches.
Finally a jeep with three guys pulled up. The pilot, co pilot and engineer/radio opporatior. They told us to climb aboard...
''Climb aboard what fella?''
''Climb aboard that plane there sailor and dont give me any lip''
''Are you out of your freekin mind? That thing has bullet holes in the side and belongs in a musieum or worse''...........''I will walk back to the Opps building and take the next flight pal''..................
I was told that I could not ''walk back too Opps'' and the bird was completely safe and that I should get aboard or get wrote up........... Me and Jim climbed aboard.
The pilot came back and told everyone to ''GRAB A PARACHUTE''.........
I was ready to walk back to the Opps building again but he talked me out of it.
He explained that ''IN AN EMERGENCY'' we may have to jump out of the bird. He explained that this almost never happened and he would let us know if we were in danger of being over water and whether to put on a life vest or not.
LOVELY.........JUST FREEKIN LOVELY...............
I now you guys have seen the movies where these guys are riding to war in one of these old birds and they are talking to each other......... NOT POSSIBLE... you can yell at each other and if you are really close you may be heard, maybe........
They kicked the tires and lit the fires and we taxied out into the sunset.
Somewhere over nothing and nothing and in the middle of the night I awoke to the engineer peeking out my window with a flash light at the engine. I looked out and oil was dripping off the back of the wing. LOVELY JUST FREEKIN LOVELY.
I mouthed to him ''Is anything wrong?'' He mouthed back not to worry, everything is just fine.................. Lovely, just freekin lovely...... I went to the other side of the airplane.
Flying in this thing was like a leaf in the wind storm. It would fall for what felt like a thousand feet and then rise up that much. I became a Christian several times.
We finally landed at Tinker AFB, OK sometime after mid night. I kissed the runway.
There is a lot more to this story and if you are interested, I will you about hitch hiking on Route 66 in 1961, in the middle of the night, in the dark, with semi's going by us at over 80 miles per hour pulling a ''back wash wind'' that will pull you over..........
More later if you guys want it.....cj....
just reply in the comments ?....
God bless our Coast Guard guys and gals. They do a job that no one really appreciated.
CHAPTER 1
Jim and I were stationed aboard the USS NORTH HAMPTON and we got transferred to the relay station at Cheltenham Md for our last year in the Navy. They gave us about fourty days leave and we decided to spend some of the time at my parents house in NC and some of the time in Colorado on his parents ranch. The first couple weeks at my house went by quickly and we made our plans to catch a ''milk run'' from Andrews air force base in DC to Denver, Co. We decided to hitch hike to DC which was a really bad idea at the time. We donned our dress uniforms, packed a bag and hit the road. After several frustating rides we finally arrived by bus at Andrews Airforce Base. We checked in at Air Opps with out leave papers and requested a seat on the flight going to Denver.
''Not a problem there sailors'',,,,,,''it will go again next week at eight am sharp''....''the bird you guys wanted left about an hour ago''...
SHUX.....DOUBLE SHUX AND DARN AND FUDGE.
The air opps guy said go sit and he would get us on the next bird going west, maybe.
Four hours later he called us over and said he had a ''hop to Dayton Ohio'' which was kinda west but really north but it was further west than DC and the connections West were better. We got on the bird and off at Dayton....
We registered for the first west and sat down again. Time ticked by....Tick.....Tick....Tick..................
''Hay sailors, I got one to Tinker AFB in Oklohama if you are interested''
''We'll take it''
''Hop on that lemo (school bus) and they will take you to the pad,,,,,,,Good Luck....''
Jim looked at me and said ''Why the GOOD LUCK?''
We hopped on the lemo and headed out across several taxi ways and a couple of big paved areas and finally pulled up beside a C47-DC3.
We piled out of the lemo with baggage in hand and stood on the tarmack as the lemo disappeared into the fading sunset. Severral of us stood there waiting and waiting and waiting.... Someone finally said that they were probably getting our ''bird'' prepped for the flight. While we waited I took the opportunity to do a walk around looking at the old C 47. Oil dripped from both engines with a small puddle on the ground. The windows in it were square and plexiglass just like in the movies. I peeked inside and there were benches down each side with a ''rip wire'' down the middle of the plane for paratroopers to ''hook up''. There was also a long belt down the middle of the walkway and several parachutes laying on the benches.
Finally a jeep with three guys pulled up. The pilot, co pilot and engineer/radio opporatior. They told us to climb aboard...
''Climb aboard what fella?''
''Climb aboard that plane there sailor and dont give me any lip''
''Are you out of your freekin mind? That thing has bullet holes in the side and belongs in a musieum or worse''...........''I will walk back to the Opps building and take the next flight pal''..................
I was told that I could not ''walk back too Opps'' and the bird was completely safe and that I should get aboard or get wrote up........... Me and Jim climbed aboard.
The pilot came back and told everyone to ''GRAB A PARACHUTE''.........
I was ready to walk back to the Opps building again but he talked me out of it.
He explained that ''IN AN EMERGENCY'' we may have to jump out of the bird. He explained that this almost never happened and he would let us know if we were in danger of being over water and whether to put on a life vest or not.
LOVELY.........JUST FREEKIN LOVELY...............
I now you guys have seen the movies where these guys are riding to war in one of these old birds and they are talking to each other......... NOT POSSIBLE... you can yell at each other and if you are really close you may be heard, maybe........
They kicked the tires and lit the fires and we taxied out into the sunset.
Somewhere over nothing and nothing and in the middle of the night I awoke to the engineer peeking out my window with a flash light at the engine. I looked out and oil was dripping off the back of the wing. LOVELY JUST FREEKIN LOVELY.
I mouthed to him ''Is anything wrong?'' He mouthed back not to worry, everything is just fine.................. Lovely, just freekin lovely...... I went to the other side of the airplane.
Flying in this thing was like a leaf in the wind storm. It would fall for what felt like a thousand feet and then rise up that much. I became a Christian several times.
We finally landed at Tinker AFB, OK sometime after mid night. I kissed the runway.
There is a lot more to this story and if you are interested, I will you about hitch hiking on Route 66 in 1961, in the middle of the night, in the dark, with semi's going by us at over 80 miles per hour pulling a ''back wash wind'' that will pull you over..........
More later if you guys want it.....cj....
just reply in the comments ?....
God bless our Coast Guard guys and gals. They do a job that no one really appreciated.
