Welcome to our guestbook, a space designed for connecting and sharing cherished memories. We invite you to take a moment to leave your mark on this memory journal.
I was the youngest Air Force second lieutenant in Vietnam when I landed at Cam Ranh Bay AB in early December 1968 as a non-rated officer. I was assigned to the 483rd Tactical Airlift Wing as a staff supply officer in the headquarters for the first eight months of my tour. The six squadrons of the 483rd flew the deHavilland C-7 Caribou which was dedicated exclusively to the Army Special Forces.
In August 1969, I was transferred to Vung Tau AAF for the remaining four months of my tour to be the base supply and transportation officer (we were a tenant unit at the Army airfield). While there I was promoted to first lieutenant and had a real job rather than staff work. I got to work and play with the Aussies who also had a C-7 squadron at Vung Tau. My roommate in the 535th Tactical Airlift Squadron "hotel" downtown (near the Army Officers' Club) was Jon Mickley, a pilot who retired from the Air Force and later Delta Airlines. He and I are in the process of organizing a trip to Vietnam in 2008 for C-7 Caribou Association members as well as non-members who might learn about our plans.
By the way, the word has gone out for Vietnam veterans to go to Washington, DC on 17 March 07 ((two weeks from now) to protect the Vietnam Memorial from anti-war protesters who have announced a demonstration that day (to no doubt relive their glory days of anti-Vietnam protests while we served our country honorable in the "Zone").
God bless all of you who served in Nam. And God bless our great troops now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan (and elsewhere in the war on terrorism).
Ted Frank
In August 1969, I was transferred to Vung Tau AAF for the remaining four months of my tour to be the base supply and transportation officer (we were a tenant unit at the Army airfield). While there I was promoted to first lieutenant and had a real job rather than staff work. I got to work and play with the Aussies who also had a C-7 squadron at Vung Tau. My roommate in the 535th Tactical Airlift Squadron "hotel" downtown (near the Army Officers' Club) was Jon Mickley, a pilot who retired from the Air Force and later Delta Airlines. He and I are in the process of organizing a trip to Vietnam in 2008 for C-7 Caribou Association members as well as non-members who might learn about our plans.
By the way, the word has gone out for Vietnam veterans to go to Washington, DC on 17 March 07 ((two weeks from now) to protect the Vietnam Memorial from anti-war protesters who have announced a demonstration that day (to no doubt relive their glory days of anti-Vietnam protests while we served our country honorable in the "Zone").
God bless all of you who served in Nam. And God bless our great troops now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan (and elsewhere in the war on terrorism).
Ted Frank