AIT @ Ft. Devens

With my ham-radio background, I did progress quickly and made Pfc. because of attaining the 18wpm code-speed requirement in just a couple of weeks. Everything was cool pounding away on the "mills" and then going on to the other training with the receivers and stuff. That was until mid-late January when the 1st "big" TET offensive occurred in Vietnam! All hell broke loose at AIT as I recall. ALL (100%) of the 05H20 classes started getting "block-allocated" to Vietnam! Holy shit! That was NOT what the recruiter said could/would happen "...because of the Geneva Convention..." Needless to say, a bunch of us were PISSED - and went to check/challenge this! We were not-so politely told to "...read your fucking orders...", "...you're no longer 'in' the ASA - we're re-assigning you to the Signal Corp. - THEN we're sending you to Vietnam!..." ARRGGHHH!! The recruiter was technically correct - there was no ASA in Vietnam....

Needless to say, we all tried to do whatever was necessary to NOT get assigned to Vietnam. The powers-that-be also realized that they could not "not" replenish the other duty stations, so they said that the "...top 5% of each class would get to go to a 'long-tour' first and the balance of each class would ship to Vietnam..." That was all the incentive I needed! I graduated #1 in my class and was given orders to Okinawa AND I was promoted to Sp4. I was also told that because of my promotion, I might find some "hazing" due to the fact that I was also one of the 1st graduates of AIT to get to E4/Sp4 withOUT having been in the field. I didn't care - I took the money and promotion! (Yes - I got my fair share of "nuggie" hazing and some rather pointed/bitter comments about the fact that I had made Sp4 whereas some folks there were still Pfc. after 2 years!)

We had one "thing" to do prior to leaving Ft. Devens: Escape & Evasion ("E&E") class. NOT a fun couple of days for me! I ended up getting caught, tortured (ever had electric shocks from a hand-crank generator?), pissed, humiliated, humbled, etc. - all in the name of making us ready in case we were caught in Vietnam. Irony: the person most responsible for my "torture" now lives in Corvallis, OR where I have my computer store! (Wes Mizuno came into my store about 6 months ago, I recognized him and we had a good conversation. Neither of us realized the proximity to each other...)

Torii Station...

Randomness at Torii Station...

I drafted and had 34 of 36 guys on our trick sign a letter to President Nixon "in support of" the National Guard that had fired on the students at Kent State. Had to get the letter "cleared" first... Got a post card back from the White House about it. (Had some interesting "discussions" with my folks over that issue too.) While on Okinawa, we were rather insulated from the goings on back in the world... That was just how we felt at the time.

Since I still had over two years to go after making Sp5, I inquired what was necessary to make Staff/Sp6 (E-6), and was told that it wasn't possible... Never say never - I tried... I went to the re-enlistment person and asked what were the bennies to re-enlist. He said I could have my choice of duty station and (at that time) the maximum VRB of $10,000. I said I'd think about it. About a year from my ETS, I inquired again and was given the same answer. I asked if it was open for negotiation and he said some things were. I asked if I could take the "oath" of re-enlistment while on a TDY flight to Thailand - while flying over Vietnam? Guy looked at me strange and wanted to know why that was a benefit to me. I said that because of the tax-laws at that time, flying over a "combat zone" constituted the same thing as actually being "in" the combat zone and made THAT months pay tax-free - which in my case would also then include the VRB of $10,000... He was amazed that someone had thought of that but said that if that was possible to do, he could arrange it. I then asked to be promoted to E-6 "...just prior..." to signing the re-enlistment papers. he said that was NOT possible and that ended my attempts to re-up. I actually have many more "self-imposed" rules and regulations than I ever had in the ASA/Army - re-upping in and of itself was never a big problem for me. The problem was that if I *ever* got really pissed at the CO, and punched him out, I'd be in the brig, etc., whereas in real life in the world, if I punched out my boss, I'd be fired and could go off and do something else. Couldn't "leave" the military voluntarily - that was the crux of the decision-making process for me. ( Then I got a bad attitude... ::grin:: )

One time I was detained and given an Article-15... At that time, we had laminated security badges that had a bright orange backing. Probably due to the humidity, mine started to separate from the front plastic, such that I could easily remove my ID picture... Not having anything better to do, one day I removed my picture, cut my eyes out of it, re-inserted the picture. Now I looked rather like a zombie with orange sockets for eyes... Cool! In addition, I took two (2) dimes, drilled a hole in each one and added them to my chain holding the badge. That was all well for about a month - no problems. Then one day, a "nuggie" MP at the compound gate, detained me trying to enter for my trick-shift and said it was for "...defacing government property..." Needless to say, I was rather flabber-gasted! I told the guy that I "...was indispensable because of the job I was doing inside..." and had him call the trick sergeant to come get me off the hook so I could go in and do my job - which was the Embassy ditty-bop room... (My "code-speed" had improved to the point where I had been "promoted" to the high-speed Embassy room - only 3 of us there...) That was OK with the MP, but he was still writing me up, and confiscated the dimes. He wanted to take the ID badge too, but the sergeant "explained" to him that I HAD to have that to get in/out of the building. (I ended up getting another one...) Approximately 9 months later I went to the MP place on post and got back my dimes that had been held for "evidence"! (I still have them and the MP report of the incident.)

REALLY pissed off folks towards the end of my 30-month tour there because they instituted the MOS testing program to see if you qualified to get extra pay for proficiency in your MOS. All well and good for folks who wanted to re-enlist and/or were already on their re-enlistment. Since I had no intention of doing so, I didn't want to take the test. Was told in no uncertain terms that all of us were going to take it. OK - I took it. Literally took me about 10 minutes on a *very long* exam. I "completed" it - took it to the front of the room and said I was done. Folks heading up the exam said that wasn't possible... I told them to check every page - every question had an answer (they were all multiple-choice question). They HAD to let me leave! Later on I found this in my file:

MOS EVALUATION
DATA REPORT
20 Oct 70
Hq USASA FS SOBE
KOPCZYNSKI, RAYM

*Reference letter, EPEECO-M, dated 14 Sep 70, subject: MOS Evaluation (Aug 70). Since EM named above has refused to submit to evaluation by MOS ET 05H20, the evaluation of the EM is not valid. Failure to submit to evaluation by valid test and EER, as required by DA Circular 611-62, MOS Evaluation Test Announcement ( 3rd Quarter 1970 ), dated 30 Jan 70, and paragraph 5-1c, AR 600-200, invalidates evaluation even if a valid EER was submitted. A valid MOS evaluation score and MOS evaluation test profile cannot be awarded. Nonaward of evaluation score, due to refusal to submit to evaluation testing is tantamount to failure to verify MOS; therefore an evaluation score of 40 is awarded.

HUH?!! Since I "refused" to take the test (according to their rules), I had an invalid test result and a valid score couldn't be awarded, but that meant they had to award me a score of 40...

Remember getting awakened by LARGE explosions coming from Kadena. We all got up onto the roof and watched as TONS of bombs were exploding due to a B-52 that crashed on take-off on a bomb-run to Okinawa. Okinawa was one of THE major staging areas for B-52's to head to Vietnam. They would always take off "over-loaded" with bombs, but VERY low on fuel, so that they could re-fuel in flight and have a heavier bomb load.

Also still have some "very tiny" pictures of the then very top secret SR-71 "Blackbird" that was also stationed out of Kadena. Was amazing to me that years later, I could tour Beale AFB (I was the local JCPenney store assistant mgr.) and watch the pilots suit up, walk up to, touch & photograph the SR-71, and watch it (and U-2's) take off & land... How times have changed.

LOTS of memories of Koza, BC Street, etc. Most not printable. ::grin:: I do remember very fondly spending 6-8 hours at a time in bar(s) learning to read/write/speak Japanese though! My scrapbook has many letters written to me and some I wrote back - in Japanese. Problem is - it ALL looks like chicken-scratching to me now. Never had an opportunity to "use" it - so I lost it... Can't even write my name in Japanese anymore. Bummer! I used to "nurse" a glass of wine for 2-3 hours by adding ice cubes to it. Bar girls did not mind - as I seemed to be a rarity - someone who was actually trying to learn their language and customs.

In December of 1970, the "reversion" process of Okinawa-to-Japan was starting to get out of hand. We had a major riot in Koza and along "BC" street and even up/into the gate to Kadena where the rioting Okinawans stormed and torched some buildings, but primarily ANY automobile that had the distinctive license plates denoting American and/or military ownership. I was on duty at the time the riots broke out and we were "listening" to the helicopter pilots describing the Okinawans marching down BC Street setting cars on fire and all the GI's running out of the bars to get back to base! They actually stormed into Kadena and burned a school right inside the gate. The next day, ALL bases (including Torii) had concertina wire at all their gates and we even had a deuce-&-a-half parked there with a 50 caliber machine gun on it! Fun times! It was looking rather nasty for awhile. I was glad I left in mid-January on my way home for a couple of weeks en route to Vint Hill Farms... (Digression: Several of the "riots" were actually between two Okinawan factions - one group wanted the military/US presence and the other was opposed. ) Several of the many slides I took shows demonstrators sitting outside Torii's main gate. It also shows the concertina blocking the access to Torii by them - this was the morning after they had stormed Kadena AFB at the Koza entrance and had burned the school there. To say the least, everyone was concerned... The local Okinawans had real mixed emotions about the "reversion" to Japan. On the one hand, they did fervently want the US out/off the island. On the other hand, they really detested the fact that Japan was going to take them over. Lesser of two evils in their mind - according to the conversations I had with several of them. They felt that they were going to be treated as "second class" by the Japanese - and not have any "say" in their governing...

Does "Kobe Beef" mean anything? I'm salivating right now thinking of it! That was the best damn meat any of us ever had! Several places "featured" it and was always something we all wanted to get if we were really hungry! Kobe beef & a beer... I want some now!

Some of the "fun"(?) things we did to pass the time... (I know - these all sound VERY childish now - but at the time - they were hilarious!)

A guy would be walking up the aisle and someone would "hang" on his belt-loop, a large quantity of the perforations that we tore off the 6-ply paper we used in the "mills" hacking dits. Someone else would then set it on fire. Yowzir!

Someone would stand up to fix the jammed paper on his mill and while he was standing up, someone else behind him would set a fully-soaked sponge on his seat to "splatter" when he sat down hard...

When it got *very* hot at times, we would unscrew the ear-cap on one of the headsets, "fill" it with powdered graphite. The person using it would have black gooey shit streaming down his face - and not even realize it.

For the "nuggies" - we would send them off for "land line" and/or other nonexistent hardware. A couple of times we actually re-wired a receiver and had a guy crawl inside the back of the big container adjacent to your seat. When the guy sat down, he started sending Morse code and would "talk" to the guy - really scared some folks with that one!

Had one guy bet us that he would eat some of the large moths flying around. We all gathered up some change ($10 I think) and watched him chew them down... The next evening, the same guy offered to eat a live lizard for $50. We did, he did, & that grossed a bunch of us out!

Many a time, my friends and I would walk across the street from the main gate at Torii to the little shops & stores there. Two of our favorites were the barber shop and a tailor shop. Unique(?) about all of the barber shops we frequented (as opposed to the on-base hacks) was the massage we each received after the haircuts (No - NOT that kind!) Simply a good hand massage of the head/scalp/shoulders with a large hand vibrator. That REALLY felt good!

At the tailor shop (Hong Kong Tailors), was a man by the name of "Steve" who was Chinese I believe. In addition to a great tailor for many of us, he played a mean game of pinochle too! Lots of times we would spend hours at his store playing cards. I do remember Steve driving us around in his brand new Datsun 240-Z he had bought (Datsun had just come out with that model). That was wild and we ALL wanted one of those cars!

Speaking of the tailor shop. As anyone who has ever been to the far-east knows, getting *custom* clothing was wonderful! Simply take in a photo from any magazine, and most of the tailors could make it for you - custom fit to you! They were done very inexpensively and very well made too!

"6-2,6-2,6-3" Huh?! Any ASA vet knows what "trick-work" is. 6 "day" shifts from 6:30AM-3:30PM - then 48 hours off; 6 "swing" shifts from 3:30PM-11:30PM then 48 hours off; 6 "mid" shifts from 11:30PM-6:30AM then 72 hours off. Breakfast was always available at the mess hall for shift changes. Your biological clock was always screwed up and most folks needed those 48-72 hours off to try and get into synch for the next upcoming trick. Sounds good in theory, but we were all young, so most folks would get off work from the day & swing shifts, head back to their barracks, "shit, shower, & shave" and then head to the "ville" (which for most of us was Koza).. As long as we got back in time to catch a couple of hours sleep - that seemed "OK"...

How do you stay awake from 11:30PM 'til 6:30AM? 'Tain't easy at times! We would all do anything necessary that would keep us awake and functional (marginal at times) to allow us to perform our duties. I learned to like iced coffee... Much of the time was great periods of unmitigated boredom punctuated by times of feverish and very intense activity by everyone. It's amazing what small amounts of adrenaline can do for you!

Obviously, you couldn't spend ALL of your time in the bars. What to do... In addition to lots of WW II history on/about the island and some fabulous photo-taking opportunities, Okinawa had some rich history of its own - ala Nakagusku & Shurii "castles" from earlier dynasties.

Most GI's on the island hated the location, the people, the food, the weather, etc. That would obviously come across to most of the local Okinawans too! BUT - IF you made the remotest attempt to do ANYthing outside the military environment - such as learning Japanese and/or asking about the Okinawans culture, a whole new world could open up to you! You would be invited into their homes and get some REAL Okinawan culture, cooking, environment. That was a very enlightening experience!

Yes - the weather. It was intriguing to say the least! During my 30 months there, we averaged approximately 4 typhoons a year. What was really interesting was the fact that we had all sorts of ratings of the upcoming typhoon and different ratings that told us what/where/when we could do anything during the storm. Several times, it was so bad, that whatever trick was working at the time they shut all travel down, that trick was there for the duration of the storm until it passed. Longest I ever got stuck was about 36 hours. They brought out C-rations and cots for all of us to catch a few winks. The work had to go on though.... What was funny about all the typhoon situations was the fact that whenever the powers-that-be determined it was "safe" for us to venture out of the commo building, we would be in our steel pots, and all dressed for typhoon weather and would walk back up the hill to the barracks. Along the way, we could see an Okinawan school. Were they all concerned about the dangers of the passing typhoon? Naahh! Kids out playing on the swing sets and having fun! What do they know about typhoons! They've only lived there for centuries....

It was interesting to me - coming from a very wet state (Oregon - coastal areas), that the normal rain could be so distinctly separated from the balance of the weather. By that I mean many a time there were "squalls" coming through. Little "pockets" of rain storms that seemed to have a very noticeable "edge" to them. One minute it was hot & humid and then a squall would move in (you could readily see it coming in) and you'd be drenched as the "wall" of the squall overtook you.

Do earthquakes count as weather? Since the Ryukyu islands are part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", they are part of the ongoing land formation-deformation process. Several times during my tour, we felt or were awakened by earthquakes. Not a good feeling when you realize you're on a quite small island and if that firmament is shaky - no where to hide!

One period of time, we had about a week of blood-red sunsets and very hazy (smoggy - we thought) weather. Turns out it was due to an extreme dust storm in the Chinese Gobi desert and the wind patterns carried it over the So. China Sea to drop the remnants onto Okinawa.

If you were a golfer, Okinawa had some phenomenal courses. Since Kadena AFB was the closest course (as I remember), that was the one I played most of the time. I recollect having a caddie all of the time. You would have your choice of an "A" or "B" caddie. The "A" caddie was $1 and the "B" caddie was 50 cents. (Plus anything you wanted to tip her - yes they were always women...) What was the difference between the "A" & "B" you ask? The "A" caddie could speak a few words of English and would actually try and help you find a lost golf ball, whereas the "B" caddies (most of the time) spoke virtually no English and would simply carry your bag.

There were thousands of folks doing their jobs and rotating in/out of the island. One thing that the vast majority of folks did was to acquire cameras, stereo equipment, china, pearls, clothing, etc. at ridiculously lower prices than you could get the same thing for back in the world. I mailed lots of things home as gifts, brought lots of things back with me - and as a matter of fact - still use some of the equipment to this day! My brother still has the "half-frame" Olympus Pen-F 35mm camera and all of its attachments, my father still has the Asahi Pentax 35mm I sent. (Digression here: Because the Asahi Pentax was being marketed in the USA under a different name, the customs folks had fits when I mailed it to my father. In order to get it "in", he had to literally file the name "Asahi" off of the front lens cap that came with the camera!) I also sent Noritake china and Mikimoto pearls home. I still have my big reel-to-reel tape deck. State of the art back then - basically a paperweight now...

This incredible volume of "stuff" being shipped back to the states was not without its problems though. A friend in my barracks (Jerry T. Rouse) had to go back home on emergency leave as his father had died. He was able to get a hardship discharge in order to run the family business. While he was here, Jerry had spent almost 15 months laboriously making full reel-to-reel tapes of ALL types of music for a library of music he wanted to have. Because he had to leave on such short notice, he wasn't able to take his things with him. His tape collection was well over a hundred reels if I remember right. He asked me to have them shipped to him at home (Wilmington, NC). He specifically asked me not to use the normal shipping methods available to us due to the fact that we had been hearing stories of stuff "missing" in shipments going back to the states. I checked into shipping them via the USPS, but felt that the shipping charges were outrageous! I talked with our CO and we felt that it would be OK to use the normal military shipping. This Polack thought though that it would be advisable to fully mark on the box that they were tapes - so that the "x-ray" machines in customs wouldn't damage them. Apparently, my markings on the box were simply a red flag for someone to rip off the whole shipment! Jerry was able to trace them as far as St. Louis - and then they disappeared. Jerry never got a single tape out of an incredible number of hours work. Have always felt quite bad about that situation.

There was always lots of construction going on in most of the larger towns. Interesting to me was the "scaffolding" used to put up the buildings. Looked like a very large number of wooden poles lashed together. Strength in numbers? I guess... Wouldn't ever catch me on some of that rickety stuff! (This from a guy who has bungee-jumped... )

If you ever got tired of mess-hall food (yeah - right!), you could take a walk into one of the "open air" markets in every town. Lots of interesting sights & smells there! How about raw octopus for an appetizer? I had that a few times - not bad - once you get past the "suckers". Raw fish ("sashimi") was a very good treat in any restaurant. The fish itself had very little taste - which was why(?) they always gave you a small chunk of some "green" very-hot sauce to have with it. Most of the Okinawans I saw that had their lunch boxes, had many different combinations of rice/vegetables wrapped in seaweed and served cold. VERY good I thought.

During my tour there, "Highway 1" was the main road up the West side of the island. Very slow speed limit all the way - which we all blew away when we thought we could get away with it. One section of it was right in front of the Western end of the Kadena AFB main runway. Not bad in and of itself, but if you recall my earlier comment about the B-52's taking off with a fuller then usual bomb load to refuel in-air, I personally was never too comfortable driving down Highway 1 when a fully-laden B-52 was lumbering down the airstrip! They literally used 98-99% of this 10,000+ foot runway to get off the ground! When they came over Highway 1, you felt you could touch their undercarriage!

There was also the "Roach Coach" as it was affectionately(?) named. This small trailer "thing" was adjacent to the commo building and set up such that it was not "in" the compound, but had an opening through the fencing by which we could place/receive orders for some of the greasiest concoctions ever fried. Was run by Okinawans who obviously did not have clearance to get inside our windowless building - hence the setup adjacent to the fence. (Most of the fencing was "double" row with concertina on top if I remember correctly.) Considering what we did there, I actually thought it was probably one of the most INsecure locations on the base...

I was in the "A" barracks in the common barracks room area with other guys - until I was promoted to Sp5. At that point, it was just a matter of time until I was able to move to my own "room" - with one other guy. Only advantage was that it was somewhat quieter most of the time - as long as my off time meshed with my roommate. Didn't always work out that way as Neil was a more pronounced ville-rat than I was...

We had one black guy (African-American) in my trick. He took me down to the "bush" one afternoon and said that he would never be able to take me there at night - and was obviously very uncomfortable going in broad daylight! We did not stop the car at all. This was the area that all of the black guys hung out in. it was their turf. They all made no bones about it that "whitey" was not wanted, nor allowed there. Coincidentally, about that time, there was a Newsweek (I think) article that came out that was about "Blacks in the Military" - it talked about the "...elite Army Security Agency..." that had virtually no blacks in it. It even mentioned the "bush"! He would go to Koza/BC Street with us all the time, but we couldn't go to his "turf" without physical danger - or so he said in no uncertain terms.

One "fun" thing to come back to in the barracks was just after they had done a full fumigation of the place. Dead cockroaches all over the place! They really know how to grow 'em big there!

Neil Armstrong landed on the moon while I was at Torii. I thought that was a really big deal! We had just come off of "mids" - so I had to set my alarm clock to wake me up at about 11AM to watch it. I was the only person in my room of 8 guys who did. No big deal to the others...

In the 30 months I was at Torii, I never took a leave. I am kicking myself for not taking the opportunity to go to the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, but I really wanted to save all my leave and "cash it in" when I did my ETS. My weird thought process at the time was that I would get another "extension" and finish my Army service on Okinawa, then travel around the area for some R&R and when I got tired of traveling, turn myself into the nearest AFB which would fly me back to my "home of record". I would have a year to do that. I approached my trick sergeant and he was all for it, but the Co. CO said: "Son - we have to get you stateside - your eyes are starting to slant..." I knew I could not be sent to Vietnam as I only had 9 months left til ETS. Ended up getting orders for Vint Hill Farms in Warrenton, VA.

There was a large hollow "tube" hanging on a chain nearby our barracks. I inquired as to its purpose and was informed that it and "...emergency 'bell' to be rung in case of an attack of any kind - chemical or other..." Typical Army logic. By the time we could get to the bottom of the hill to retrieve our stored weapons, we'd all be dead, but by golly - we'd set off an alarm by banging on a metal pipe!

The mess hall had its own "caste" system - all of the "normal" enlistees - SP4/E4 on down would sit on one side - if you were E5/Sp5 or up - you were "allowed" to sit on the other side. Everyone who got promoted to Sp5 took a little time before they moved to the "other" side where all the "lifers" sat. Yeah - I know - a lot of it was childish games (and probably a little envy), nevertheless it was real. Since Torii Station utilized the Army, Air Force, Navy, & Marine contingents of folks doing what we were doing, it was always common to see the other branches servicemen at the mess hall too...

One time I was called out of the commo building and had to get into an OD green car outside to have an extensive interview with some intelligence guy. I was getting grilled about everything I could recollect about my growing up-friendship with a guy named Steve Benning. Apparently, he was getting ready to go through interrogator school for Vietnam and also needed a security clearance background check. I was just one of the many people contacted about him. (Digression: Steve did "make" it through the security check, did make it to Vietnam as Airborne & Interrogator - among other things. Steve had some really scary shit to tell when he came back. He was permanently disabled he said due to injuries he got during a "...night drop into Cambodia where I got hung up in the canopy and thought I was quite close to the ground and released myself from my chute harness to drop to the ground - I wasn't close to the ground. I shattered both ankles, broke my legs... Steve just died recently.)

Then there was the issue of "hair." Not a big deal now to most of us - but back then it was almost a religion to see how much hair you could grow and still get away with it. When I enlisted, I was the *only* guy in my platoon who did not have to get a haircut for our ID cards - as I normally wore my hair that short. Then came along all of the changes happening in 1967-1970. I remember trying to grow sideburns longer than the regulations allowed and then "coloring" the longer portion with anything to try and "hide" it from the trick sergeant and/or the MP's. We were all in somewhat awe of some of the traveling bands (not the Filipino ones) and all of the "hair" they had. The magazines started showing us the new "styles" and many of us really thought it looked weird and dumb. Have to remember that some of us enlisted/arrived prior to a lot of the 'shit' breaking loose in the United States.

A few of the enlisted guys actually had their wives & families with them on Okinawa. It was always a big treat if/when any of us were invited to one of their homes for some "...real home cookin'..." A lot of it was not being completely altruistic either. Not being "PC" - we all took great pleasure in simply being able to talk to/with any American girl(s) who had recently arrived from the USA. Yes - there were military folks of the female persuasion, but somehow - it wasn't the same. Especially if you had to salute one first! (Digression: To this day, I still regularly eat a hamburger/bread recipe I got on Okinawa from Bill Biehl & his wife Carol.)

Dunno how it started but all of the people who chose to make the Army &/or military their career, we all called "lifers" - if they even looked cross-eyed at you they became "pukes"... ("Don't call me sir! I work for a living!")

I did have one incapacitating injury while stationed on Okinawa. I had recently gone to an optometrist and been fitted for contact lenses. These were of the "hard" variety. It was a struggle for me to get used to them to say the least. I was getting accustomed to them when we had to go to our annual rifle (M-14) qualification. My trick was just finishing a "mid" when we all had to go do it. Having been already up for approximately 12 hours and then going to the firing range without "resting" my eyes from the contacts caused some problems! I distinctly remember the contacts "jiggling" in my eyes from the small concussion of the firings. I thought nothing of it. Came back to the barracks, and hit the sack. Awoke at about 3PM in *severe* pain! I was also totally blind! My eyes felt on fire! I literally stumbled down to the infirmary "crying" all the way and 95% blind. At that time, I had NO idea what had happened. Turns out that my "abuse" of the contact lenses vis-a-vis the time of them in my eyes, coupled with the "jiggling", had apparently "...literally worn off the top layer of cells from both of your eyes..." My eyes were cleansed, and filled with some antiseptic "goup", and were fully bandaged. I had to have someone walk me back to the barracks and I was "out of commission" for 3 days - unable to see or even feed myself! That was not a fun time - especially to my friends who had to feed me!

Here's some names of folks I can remember... Today, I couldn't pick many of these folks out of a lineup, but I'll add to this list as I recollect more:

Jerry Rouse, Dennis Boster, Bill Biehl, Chuck Sapp, Mile LaBelle, Neil Donahue, Dick Taylor, Larry Fisher, Pete Kerr, Jerry Sutterlein, Al Luffman, Gary Lockwood, Mike Garris, Ed Bradford, Jim Rose, Mike Oswala

Many a time we would have marathon card games; poker, pinochle, hearts, etc. Rather than head to the 'ville, we could spend hours with a few bottles of vodka, OJ, crackers, cards, and conversation. Lots of the limited dollars we had would change hands during these sessions. Funny thing though - I honestly don't recall anyone ever getting mad because of how the cards were running for/against someone.

Marlon Brando and the "Teahouse of the August Moon" - an actual location (or so we were told) on Okinawa. It's there, we saw it - not too impressed.

The Okinawans do like to celebrate! Their "Obon" festival was incredibly colorful with many different period costumes representing various peoples ("tribes"?) of old Okinawa. Lots of dancing (drinking!) and fun! These were the times when you could really see the Okinawans enjoying themselves and their culture. The street dances and partying went on long into the nights...

Bought my 1st car - ever - while on Okinawa. It was a '57 Chev four-door "post". That was a great car! Don't remember why (may have been something to do with the cost of maintenance & insurance, etc...), but ended up selling it and getting a much smaller Toyota. I do remember "loaning" the '57 to a friend and then being told that he had had an accident with it and had "...had the engine catch on fire..." That was a real mess and cost him/me about $500 to have repaired. Apparently a fuel line had come loose and started the conflagration. Was just an accident though.

What was an 05H20 "Ditty-Bopper"? Since we all had top-secret clearances and did "stuff" - can't really say specifically. You're already aware that it concerned copying Morse code. Being on a small island adjacent to China, Japan, Taiwan, etc., it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the gist of what we were doing... Especially in view of the fact that the Vietnam war was raging. Hopefully, some of the "Freedom of Information" requests will allow us to shed some light on it. Amazingly, a book came out in about 1970 that detailed it quite nicely: "And One To Count Cadence" - about an ASA radio-recon group from the Philippines that gets sent to Vietnam - and what they did. It says a lot more than supposedly I'm allowed to say. The massive tome: "The Codebreakers" is a masterful book about code breaking, ciphers, the NSA, etc. It also has some discussions of the ASA.

"Was it as good for you as it was for me?" I submit that even with all of the normal BS we had to put up with while in the military, it still is a wonderful tool for creating mental discipline in young people. True - it does "beat you down" at times - if you do not adhere to its regulations, but it can also create an atmosphere of intense thinking & reaction & teamwork - all very necessary to anyone who wishes to succeed later on in life. There were several instances of critical events that took place that required that atmosphere while at Torii Station.

While we all joked about "...don't you sleep better at night knowing that we are protecting the free world...", we were still IN the military and as such, had to maintain nominal military presence & bearing. By that I mean we did have to wear a uniform, partake in normal military courtesy's, inspections, formations (at very limited times), etc... While at Torii Station, I didn't consider myself "normal" Army - due to the fact that we were quite insulated from the normal goings-on by virtue of our security clearances and the job(s) we did. Military courtesy was an integral part of our life - for the 1st year I was there. By mid-late 1969 however, "changes" started appearing. My perception is that because of all of the turmoil happening back in the USA, problems in Vietnam, etc., military courtesy started going by the wayside. It was not unusual for people to basically ignore and or go out of their way to avoid common courtesy such as saluting. Didn't seem to bother the saluters or the salutees - so what the hey...

Aren't we all now working in jobs directly related to what we did in/for the ASA? I seem to remember that one of the big recruiting pushes was something for the effect that the Army would "train" you and/or "teach you the skills you need" for your career(s) in the future. Yes and no. I firmly believe that the early discipline and confidence building that we all learned has been invaluable to me over the years. The "ditty-bopping"?? Nope - can't say as that was ever a useful tool for me over the past 25-30 years.