When I was recently asked to contribute an
article to the Flashlight covering my life
and travels during my 23.5 years in the Air Force, I felt deeply honored.
I was excited and enthusiastic about the
project because I have so many slides and photos to help illustrate the
story. Then, a slight touch of panic set in, not because of the lack of
material, just the opposite, I have over 8,000 slides and volumes of photo
albums to sort through and narrow down to use in this story.
My name is Bill Eggert, WELHISCO class of 1955
and this is my story.
1954 came and went just like all of the other
years with the exception of my newly acquired
brother-in-law. I had been uncertain of my future plans and then he proceeded to paint a magnificent, colorful picture of life in the United States Air Force, travel, vacations, and retirement at a young age, I bought it.
I thanked him many times over in the coming
years. He turned out to be a better career guidance consular than Mrs.
Griswold, (WELHISCO math teacher, 1952).
After Mr. Cordeal's (my home room
teacher) spring play, "Meet Arizona", the time really flew by
and on the 13th of June, a cold dreary Monday, John Nipper (1955) and I completed our physicals at the Federal Building, took the oath to protect and defend the United States Of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, then boarded a train at Union station, thus began a whole new adventure!
An overnight ride on the Missouri, Kansas and
Texas train, found us at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas for thirteen weeks
of basic training. The three months dragged by so slowly, we thought we had
hit a time warp and all time stopped. One high light for me was the day
Tracy Phillips and Tom Peterson (1955) paid me a visit. They were also in
training but in a different area of the base.
I graduated in September 1955 and was blessed
with another five months of school at Sheppard
Air Force Base at Wichita Falls, Texas. I was, therefore, able to adequately compare and contrast the temperature extremes in the lone star state first hand.
By January 1956, the Air Force gave me my first
choice of a plum assignment to sunny Florida, Patrick AFB at Cocoa Beach,
remember "I Dream of Jeannie" on TV. Only we didn't have any mountains in
the background, only the Atlantic Ocean.
Our Squadron's mission was to resupply the
Atlantic missile range Island sites that were operated
by Pan American World Airways. We also supported missile nose cone reentry tests in the special electronically equipped WW II C-54 cargo planes, in the early days of the space program.
During my Patrick years I met and married
Marjorie Rae Reed from Buckhannon, WVA in June
1958.
As I've often heard, "This Too Shall Pass",
came true in August 1959 when I was sent to the
western Pacific island of Guam in the Mariana Islands to chase typhoons in WW II Boeing built B-50 bombers. This parting only lasted seventeen long months and before I knew it, "Believe me I knew it", I was glad to bid Afaday (good bye) to Micronesia.
In January 1961, we established our home in
Fayetteville, North Carolina where I was assigned to
a troop carrier squadron to give air support to the Army's 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg and a Special Warfare Operations organization known as the Green Berets.
Exactly sixteen months later, May of 1962, I
was needed to help set up operations, the first United States Air Force
presence at Danang Air Base in the republic of South Vietnam.
One of the several highlights in 1962 was the
day the four star commander of all armed forces in Vietnam, General Paul D.
Harkins paid us a surprise visit. He was in charge before
William Westmorland (Westy) and is depicted in an excellent HBO movie,
"Bright Shining Lie". The movie really tells it like it was in 'Nam in
1962. Also, General Harkins as a Colonel wrote the
forward in General Patton's book.
The other highlight was the day I picked up the
mail at the hangar and met a young army man named Bobby Staples. It so
happened he was the younger brother of my classmate, long time
friend and neighbor, Albert Staples.
By October 1962, it was back to Ft. Bragg and
more air drops. Then in April 1964, it was another major relocation to
Sembach Air Base at Kaiserslautern, west Germany, seventy miles southwest of
Frankfurt.
We were with an Air Commando unit and provided
air transportation/support for the 10th Special Forces, (Green Berets) at
Bad Tolz, Germany, thirty miles south of Munich, in the heart of Bavaria
at the foothills of the magnificent Tyrolean Alps.
While in Germany we were visited by my dad, who
was born in Berlin, and younger sister. We celebrated dad's birthday in
Berlin and I finally got to meet all of my non-English speaking relatives.
The Special forces were tasked to train and
work with the Special Forces of Norway, Denmark, France, England, Spain,
Italy and Greece. It was rough duty but somebody had to take them to all
of those countries.
In January 1967, we returned to the United
States, first stop was Eglin Air Force Base, Ft. Walton Beach, Florida for
ten months and then on to Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino, California
to
fly the C-141 Starlifter, four engine jet cargo airplanes. I made fifty round trips to Vietnam in forty-two months.
Two highlights come to mind during the C-141
years. One was meeting and flying with
Medal of Honor
recipient,
John Livitow** who was assigned to my squadron. The second highlight was the night we were
following a F-4 Fighter for landing at Danang AB Vietnam, when he was shot
down in front of us and crashed in the bay. Danang then came under attack
and we all had the opportunity to spend quality time in the bunker until the
field was secured.
Back to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, in April
1971 but this time flying the C-130, Hercules four engine turbo
prop transport plane.
In May 1972, I was needed for High Altitude,
Low Opening (HALO) aerial resupply of Khomtum and Ahnlok South Vietnam.
They were besieged and we dropped supplies from 13,500 feet. Interesting
work!
Back to Ft. Bragg on August 1,1972 and
on August 24th, 1972, I received orders for Taiwan. The family and I
were then sent to Ching Chang Kang, (CCK) Chinese Air Base at Taichung until
November 4th, 1973, at which time we moved the entire 374th Military Airlift
Wing to Clark AB, Philippines.
The nearly five years that we were at Clark was
the longest stay of any assignments and was given
to us at just the right time in our lives.
As you know, this doesn't begin to cover the
full extent of life in the military and the wealth of memories and the
wonderful people we met and worked with, some of whom we maintain contact
with today. Like I said in the beginning "this is my story", and it was one
heck of a ride.
For the past twenty-seven years, I have been
employed at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, participating in the launching of
space shuttles. Bill Eggert
February, 2007
|
Medal of Honor
Recipient
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