18 year old Maggot.

Needless to say I am proud of you both for your service. OF COURSE I WAS IN THE AIR FORCE, mid 60's, P.I. then state side mostly TDY, x Ogden Utah. Mud, that was not your last shower, was It. :poke:
Thank you for your service as well.
 
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All you guys that got drafted or enlisted on your own back in the day have stories to tell, no doubt. I did what was required by law way back then, and that as one month before my 18th birthday, go and register for the draft. My dad had to take me, and believe me, he didn't want to.

But we were not rich, so college was out, and I never gave thought to going to Canada. The troops were being pulled out of Saigon I believe, was it Nixon that ordered that..???

I was never drafted, maybe that pull out ended the immediate draft, I don't know.

I had actually wanted to go Air Force and fly, but a cousin of mine told me only college edumacted people get to do that, I'd end up in the motor pool, since I was a wrencher already.

I don't know, did any of you make long life friends..?? I think so.

Did any of you hate the service..?? I think maybe so, but you still went and did your duty to God and country. And some of you even REINLISTED too..!!

All I have is the countless stories of vets that are still alive when I meet them at the barbershop, and even one by one, they are dying off. I miss some of those guys as their stories are timeless insights and feelings from the heart. Some of which, have a purple one at that.
Didnt hate it but couldn't wait to get out. I do miss it tho.
 
All you guys that got drafted or enlisted on your own back in the day have stories to tell, no doubt. I did what was required by law way back then, and that as one month before my 18th birthday, go and register for the draft. My dad had to take me, and believe me, he didn't want to.

But we were not rich, so college was out, and I never gave thought to going to Canada. The troops were being pulled out of Saigon I believe, was it Nixon that ordered that..???

I was never drafted, maybe that pull out ended the immediate draft, I don't know.

I had actually wanted to go Air Force and fly, but a cousin of mine told me only college edumacted people get to do that, I'd end up in the motor pool, since I was a wrencher already.

I don't know, did any of you make long life friends..?? I think so.

Did any of you hate the service..?? I think maybe so, but you still went and did your duty to God and country. And some of you even REINLISTED too..!!

All I have is the countless stories of vets that are still alive when I meet them at the barbershop, and even one by one, they are dying off. I miss some of those guys as their stories are timeless insights and feelings from the heart. Some of which, have a purple one at that.
I signed up for the draft but enlisted shortly after. My brother who was two years older then me, volunteered for the draft and went to Vietnam as a shake and bake Army sergeant in 1971. He made it back intact.
One of the smarter things I did was to enlist with an aviation guarantee. I found out later on it only guaranteed me a two week school of very basic mechanical stuff but as I also found out later on, it kept me out of the infantry. About half of my platoon in bootcamp had orders to Vietnam, November 1969
 
what does shake and bake sergeant mean.>??

I get the sergeant (I guess) but not the shake and bake..???
 
Didnt hate it but couldn't wait to get out. I do miss it tho.
I didn't hate it either and couldn't wait to get out. The squadron I was in went through two cruses together. I came back to the states with about two months left in my enlistment. I didn't caught at anything, but me and a couple of my good buddies were going downhill fast.
 
what does shake and bake sergeant mean.>??

I get the sergeant (I guess) but not the shake and bake..???
During the Vietnam war years there became a shortage of E5 sergeants in the Army's infantry ranks. This basic but highly needed leadership rank use to take years to achieve. To correct the problem the Army started an E5 leadership school. If you showed leadership skills during bootcamp, you would be offered this school. Upon completion of the school you would instantly become an E5 sergeant. Hence the name shake and bake sergeant.
A good book on the subject is, About Face, by David Hackworth. One of my all time favorite books.
 
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I didn't hate it either and couldn't wait to get out. The squadron I was in went through two cruses together. I came back to the states with about two months left in my enlistment. I didn't caught at anything, but me and a couple of my good buddies were going downhill fast.
We spent alot of time at sea. Our workup schedule was intensified because the ship spent extra time in the yards due to a boiler explosion. Then during our stand down period just before our cruise, we went to sea to escape a hurricane that came to Virginia. As soon as we came home from the hurricane we loaded in 2 days to leave for the Med. Because we only had 2 days in port, a repaired prop shaft seal had not had time to set so the prop could not be used. We dragged a 22ft 60,000lbs prop all the way across the Atlantic. Shook the hell out of the whole ship. Again I slept all the way aft so it was like a constant earthquake back there.
 
We spent alot of time at sea. Our workup schedule was intensified because the ship spent extra time in the yards due to a boiler explosion. Then during our stand down period just before our cruise, we went to sea to escape a hurricane that came to Virginia. As soon as we came home from the hurricane we loaded in 2 days to leave for the Med. Because we only had 2 days in port, a repaired prop shaft seal had not had time to set so the prop could not be used. We dragged a 22ft 60,000lbs prop all the way across the Atlantic. Shook the hell out of the whole ship. Again I slept all the way aft so it was like a constant earthquake back there.
If I remember correctly, the shaking prop shaft was a problem back in 1971-1973 when I was aboard the America. That might of even been the problem that kept the USS AMERICA from going through it's big rebuild years later.
 
If I remember correctly, the shaking prop shaft was a problem back in 1971-1973 when I was aboard the America. That might of even been the problem that kept the USS AMERICA from going through it's big rebuild years later.
Yeah this was 100x worse than that. You are talking about #3 shaft being bent.
 
During the Vietnam war years there became a shortage of E5 sergeants in the Army's infantry ranks. This basic but highly needed leadership rank use to take years to achieve. To correct the problem the Army started an E5 leadership school. If you showed leadership skills during bootcamp, you would be offered this school. Upon completion of the school you would instantly become an E5 sergeant. Hence the name shake and bake sergeant.
A good book on the subject is, About Face, by David Hackworth. One of my all time favorite books.

oh, ok thanks.

sorta like Audie Murphy the soldier turned actor that was promoted so many times in the field, (AKA field promotions..??) , never really having been properly schooled and shot up the ranks during war time, as I recall the movie on his life. field promotions took place many times in wars, didn't they? Was that practice (in some way) limited when Nam was in effect? (like only "up to" sergeant..??)
 
My story goes: I joined the Air Force in 1966, because my dad wouldn't let me join the Marine's. He had lost his right arm in WWII, France. I was young and dumb and full of ? Basic at Lackland Texas. Tech school Chanute lllinois. 18 months flight line in the P.I. The rest of the time was spent in Ogden Utah on the Aerospace Equipment Repairman Spec. group, of which I was happy to spend my time touring the country moving missiles around to different bases. Safe and sound having a ball. I returned to take up my spot with the Teamsters at Duff Truck Lines. MY dad is my hero, may he rest in peace. I also missed the military for some time, but did not re-up. Go figure?
 
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We spent alot of time at sea. Our workup schedule was intensified because the ship spent extra time in the yards due to a boiler explosion. Then during our stand down period just before our cruise, we went to sea to escape a hurricane that came to Virginia. As soon as we came home from the hurricane we loaded in 2 days to leave for the Med. Because we only had 2 days in port, a repaired prop shaft seal had not had time to set so the prop could not be used. We dragged a 22ft 60,000lbs prop all the way across the Atlantic. Shook the hell out of the whole ship. Again I slept all the way aft so it was like a constant earthquake back there.
Was that the USS forest fire?
 
USS America CV-66
I was in Norfolk in 1972 and the carrier forrestal caught fire at the pier, I was in the CB's never was on a ship. I think a Radioman on the boat set the fire in the Radio Room, another time before that they came in with a plane dangling from the flight deck!! I think it caught fire two or three times in just a few years, I used to hear people calling it the USS forest fire, USS Zippo!!
 
I was in Norfolk in 1972 and the carrier forrestal caught fire at the pier, I was in the CB's never was on a ship. I think a Radioman on the boat set the fire in the Radio Room, another time before that they came in with a plane dangling from the flight deck!! I think it caught fire two or three times in just a few years, I used to hear people calling it the USS forest fire, USS Zippo!!
Senator John McCain was injured during the big fire aboard the USS Forestal in July of 1967. Three months later his plane was shot down over North Vietnam and he spent the next five and 1/2 years in a North Vietnamese prison.
220px-John_McCain_official_portrait_2009.jpg
 
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