Wartime pictures: you, dads, moms, grandpas, other mentors

[Former Member]

Well, unfortunately my family doesn't have a big tradition of serving. About the only close relative I had serve during WWII was my grandmother who served in the Navy W.A.V.E.S. and my grandfather who served in the Navy and fought in the Philippines.

Not aviation related but here are a few pics of myself during the 1st Gulf War while with the Ist Cavalry Division.

Here I am getting my Sergeant's stripes pinned on while in Iraq less than 24 hours after the ground war cease-fire. It seemed crazy to have an awards ceremony on the battlefield...all I could think about was that if a die-hard sniper was looking through us in his scope...I hoped he knew that the guy pinning the rank on was the officer (and not me!).


This picture was taken shortly after the cease-fire during our bunker clearing operations in Iraq. As you can see from the dirt and the filth it has been over 2 1/2 months since I had a shower.


This was taken back at Fort Hood, TX during an awards ceremony where I received the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during the war.


John

[jbell]

All great stories! jpeters"Sir, Thank you for serving"........John

[Former Member]

Thanks for the kind words!

John

[tom d. friedman]

great pics john, way to go!! you have alot to be proud for!!

[oscardeuce]

Col. Chuck Hines

USAF pilot and friend. He was almost shot down in my O2-A in 1970. He lived to fly with me again.

"Photo of 862 with Chuck was taken in the 21st TASS Boron FOL revetment at Phan Thiet, RVN, August 1970. The rusty barrels contained sand and were designed to absorb shrapnel from NVA mortars and rockets. My first experience with enemy
ordnance occurred while flying 862. I Took an AK round through the elevator
trim assembly. Still have part of the severed chain linkage somewhere in a
drawer upstairs. The sound was identical to a basketball hitting a
backboard and my brain wondered who the hell was out playing with a
basketball that morning. (Sounds of bullet impacts one hears during movies
are nonsense.) Next, experienced runaway full nose-up trim. Pulled the
circuit breaker. Made no difference. It required force of both knees
pushing forward on the yoke to maintain level flight. Considered flying
out over the ocean and leaving by parachute. Wore a backpack. Finally
decided to pickle off the remaining willie petes, take it back to Phan
Thiet, then land it. Phan Thiet's runway was PSP . The runway began at
the edge of a vertical cliff about 300 feet above the water. Flew the
thing home with my knees, made an uneventful landing, taxied to the
revetment and shut down both engines. The crew chief, SGT Salley, stuck
his head in through the door and asked if I had any write-ups. Told him
the bird had runaway trim. He disappeared and I continued filling out the
781 form. Less than a minute later SGT Salley reappeared with a huge smile
on his face. "You don't have a runaway trim -- you got a bullet through
the elevator and trim tab!" First clue I had as to causality."


He and every other FAC cover my six each and every flight.


How about those who stayed home?

The ladies are the daugher and widow of a FAC KIA in an O2-A. They get a hand salute from me!




Then there are the men themselves

[Broken-Wrench]

Well, unfortunately my family doesn't have a big tradition of serving. About the only close relative I had serve during WWII was my grandmother who served in the Navy W.A.V.E.S. and my grandfather who served in the Navy and fought in the Philippines.

Not aviation related but here are a few pics of myself during the 1st Gulf War while with the Ist Cavalry Division.

Here I am getting my Sergeant's stripes pinned on while in Iraq less than 24 hours after the ground war cease-fire. It seemed crazy to have an awards ceremony on the battlefield...all I could think about was that if a die-hard sniper was looking through us in his scope...I hoped he knew that the guy pinning the rank on was the officer (and not me!).


This picture was taken shortly after the cease-fire during our bunker clearing operations in Iraq. As you can see from the dirt and the filth it has been over 2 1/2 months since I had a shower.


This was taken back at Fort Hood, TX during an awards ceremony where I received the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during the war.


John

We can't always agree but I have to respect you.. Good Job

[tom d. friedman]

doc, great story, dirty ron never related the story / combat history beyond the purple hearts on the fuselage. by the way....... where is you /your dad's 2nd huey???

[Former Member]

Well, unfortunately my family doesn't have a big tradition of serving. About the only close relative I had serve during WWII was my grandmother who served in the Navy W.A.V.E.S. and my grandfather who served in the Navy and fought in the Philippines.

Not aviation related but here are a few pics of myself during the 1st Gulf War while with the Ist Cavalry Division.

Here I am getting my Sergeant's stripes pinned on while in Iraq less than 24 hours after the ground war cease-fire. It seemed crazy to have an awards ceremony on the battlefield...all I could think about was that if a die-hard sniper was looking through us in his scope...I hoped he knew that the guy pinning the rank on was the officer (and not me!).


This picture was taken shortly after the cease-fire during our bunker clearing operations in Iraq. As you can see from the dirt and the filth it has been over 2 1/2 months since I had a shower.


This was taken back at Fort Hood, TX during an awards ceremony where I received the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during the war.


John

We can't always agree but I have to respect you.. Good Job

Thanks for the kind words. I agree that I may not share the same views as some folks on this site but I still consider all of you guys as friends...no matter how different our views.

John

[Ztex]

John and O2, Thanks.

Great story 02.

My neigbor was a fac pilot, flying Birddogs...He got a .30 caliber bullet in the leg one day...the only hole in the airplane from that day. He still limps up and down the drive way. (He left the States as a KC-135 pilot arrived in VN and was taken out back somewhere and flew canvas airplanes for a year. Then went back to tankers ...at Beal with the Habu guys...he liked that! )

[Chris Brame]

My dad, Cpl. James Brame, in F-6D 44-84538:



He was a weather observer and rode backseat in A-26s, B-25s and T-6s based out of Itami AFB in '48-'49. It may have been peacetime, but he still got shot at once while walking in the hills above the harbor by some Japanese guy on a fishing boat... there was some trouble with Communist uprisings going on at the time.

[T33driver]

You've seen this in a previous thread but here's my dad 1/Lt James Keppeler USAF F-89C Radar Observer (today's WSO/RIO) assigned to the 433rd FIS Truax AFB WI, then Ladd AFB AK (today Ft Wainwright) from 1951-1955. The F-89 was an all-weather interceptor so they scrambled/launched into some of the worst weather Wisconsin and Alaska had to offer. In Alaska they were constantly scrambling after unidentified aircraft that were often times RB-29s, RB-36s, or Wien Alaska (?) Airlines aircraft, but sometimes they were Soviet aircraft probing and testing our defenses. On one winter Alaska mission (night time naturally) in bad weather, dad's aircraft lost it's canopy on takeoff and they had to shoot a PAR approach in a winter storm and subzero temps. Dad got frostbite on his hands and later at the O'Club had to drink his scotch from a wooden popcorn bowl. As Stephen Ambrose said, "Where do we find such men?"

Capt Arby Thompson (L) and 1/Lt James Keppeler (R) just prior to a training hop. Gotta love those old P-series helmets that look like Notre Dame football gear.

[img][img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l187/kep130/dadandthompson.jpg[/img]

Here's dad strapped in at Great Fall AFB MT during the squadron's permanent transfer from Truax AFB Madison WI to Ladd AFB in Fairbanks Alaska.

[img][img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l187/kep130/dadgreatfalls.jpg[/img]

Here's a pic dad shot of himself in flight.



This is me at an air show in 2002 towards the end of my USAF Reserve flying stint. I participated in Operation Desert Shield, Southern Watch (mideast), Provide Promise and Joint Endeavor (Bosnia/Kosovo), and various sporty adventures "south of the border". Would have been nice to be able to shoot back on a few occasions. Thank God for guys like Randy Haskin watching our six in pointy-nosed jets so we could deliver the goods on time, on target.

[/img][img]

Here's dad and I on a little father/son outing (photo 13 of 13). When I first got the T-33, dad joked he had more time in T-Birds than I did since he flew a lot of target towing missions in them when he was in the Air Force. I'll never forget the first time he suited up in his flight suit, donned all his flight gear and checked in on the interphone. I could hear the excitement in his voice and the sights, sounds and sensations triggered a flood of memories for him. We flew the T-33 to Eglin AFB in Feb '04 for a Classic Jets fly-in hosted by the USAF. There I was in the Eglin AFB O'Club with my 75 year old dad, in our flightsuits drinking Jeremiah Weed and singing dirty songs with our host fighter pilots. Dad said it really took him back in time and I'll never forget that night. He still flies with me occasionally.


http://www.area51hangars.com/Aircraft/Warbirds/T33/newArrival/images.html

[Former Member]

Cool pics Paul...thanks for sharing them!

John

[jbell]

Excellent posts, thank you for your input!
John "Jack" Carmody was a friend of the family and a naval aviator into the jet age. His son Tom, gave me these pictures along with a silk flying scarf that belonged to his dad.
One of the pictures I've included is of Carmody's Avenger going down in Pacific action. Which carrier is this, #16 ?.......Thanks, John

[Ztex]

Which carrier is this, #16

Lady Lexington.

http://www.usslexingtoncv16.org/

http://www.usslexington.com/

[jbell]

Thank you!