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Dalph: *Military Service...*		Kick back and enjoy!
		"You can't keep what you have unless you give it away..."

Training The branch of service I went into was the Army. My lucky draft number was #27 so I had little choice about goin'. The Army offered to send me to ATC school so, I accepted their offer. I took basic training at Fort Polk (Puke for those of us that were `lucky' enough to be stationed there). My Advanced Individual Training was spent at Fort Rucker, Alabama for Air Traffic Control, tower school.

Stationed After being a graduate from the ATC school, the Army thought that I needed to see some of the world and sent me to Viet Nam! I spent my tour in the 344th Aviation Detachment Division stationed at Camp Holloway. I got to control air traffic that consisted of Heweys, Coberas, Loaches, one Sky Crane (all helicopters) Bird Dogs, a Mohawk or two, and two Sky Raiders (fix wing aircraft). This was in the Central Highlands about 2 miles south of Pleiku and that was about 18 miles east of Cambodia!
That year I was told that I was going and did go to see the Bob Hope Christmas show in 1971. It was okay, I guess. They were filming the acts for the Bob Hope Christmas special that they no doubt aired back in "The World" (that is America, the good ol' US of A, for you who didn't serve in 'Nam).
'Nam was the first place that I used illegal drugs. Abit, not more than twice as being in ATC we had to take urinalysis tests for drugs every so often and I was paranoid!
I also got to go out on a mission in the left door gunner position in a Hewey once! All in all, it was an experience!! ... nuff said.

Out and back in! I got a "early out" of the Army in 72. I stayed out till 1974 when I got married (the "M" word!) the first time and decided that with all the benefits that the Army offered to married personnel, I just couldn't stay away.
I was stationed at Fort Devens, Mass. and attended the ASA (Army Security Agency) school. (I can't tell you what it was I studied cause if I did, then I'd hav' ta' kill ya! ;-) lol)
Well, I was expelled from the ASA for not completing the course with the words, "So simple that a monkey could be trained to do it" ringing in my ears!!! My thought was, "So why not get `blankety-blank' monkeys to do it in the first place???" I was also told that I wouldn't make a good gas station attendent by some Lt. Col.! So, what did the Army do? They attached me the the airfield, at that station, in my capacity as a air traffic controller! I was at it again, telling officers where to go, and after that Lt. Col., I WANTED to tell officers where to go!!! ...
I was stationed at Fort Devens for a total of 18 months then, the Army decided that I needed to see some more of the world and sent me to Germany.

Germany Being that I only had 18 months left on this tour of duty, (My wife didn't want to go to Germany. She moved back to Arkansas. If she would have come with me I would have had to re-up for a 3 year tour there.) the military didn't send me to the classes it normally sends people to that would be there for 3 years, one being, German 101, I couldn't say anything to anybody not in the military!
One of the first things that the Army did to me was send me 3/4 of the way across Germany, using civilian transportation to get me to my new Divisional HQ unit! "Spack-him-zzzee-doutch?" Yah-hoo!!!! Well, I made it some how, four hours on a train going through the Black Forrest and praying that I got off at the right stop.. I guessed right! I wasn't there at Divisional HQ for a week before they were sending me to my new duty unit at Finthen Army Airfield, which was fairly close to the Rein Main. By that trip I could say "danka, bitta, and tolitten" (Thanks, please and toilet). With these words I was set to go. Yea, right! This time they flew me via Army helicopter to my new unit.
I was at Finthen for about 2 weeks before they decided what to do with me which was to ship me off to a detachment at Baumhoulder, Germany.
My luck was holding and they drove me there. I was there for 3 days and they sent me out on Reforger! This is where you go out in the field for 2 weeks and really play Army. In the 18 months that I was in Germany, I got to go out on Reforger twice. Once when I got in country and once just before I left country! I did get to see the Swiss Alps that way though!
The country is scenic, has many castles, old churches and was filled with friendly people. All ya really needed to know was, "danka, bitta, and tolitten" (Thanks, please and toilet)! That worked for me! It also helped out that 2 of the 6 guys in my unit at Baumholder were also German citizens (duel citizenship)! Thier mothers married US personal, they went back to the States and joined the US Army and were sent back to Germany.
Klause P. and Harold F.. It is to these two men that I owe a debt of thanks and why I got by with mostly only three words of German (of course I learned more), they could both speak fluent German.

OUT At the end of the 18 months that I had to go on my present enlistment, my 1st Sergeant offerd me E-6 stripes if I would sign up for another tour in Germany. I declined. My wife wouldn't have anything to do with being overseas and I had had about enough of soldering, married but single and I wanted to see if there was enough of a marriage to salvage.
So ended my stint with Military service.
Ya know? I should have accepted the first shirts offer! By that time, I had seven years in service and could have retired with a pension by this time!!! The wife, well, it didn't work out... (That is another story that I don't intend to go into at this time!) What if, if only and just one more time!!!! .......

MORE will be revealed...