Checking in
Jonathan
just wanted to pop in here and relay to you all how weird it is to up and
find out one day a former classmate (Obama '79) of yours is running for
President.
A. I don't feel at 47 I'm mature enough to qualify and:
B: I'd be terrified for the country if I thought I was ;)
C. I wish I hadn't of gotten kicked out of school after only two semesters
after I transfered in my (our) Junior year (bad grades) and I could actually
RECALL meeting Barack Obama. I'm sure I would have easily qualified to be
third Assistant Undersecretary for Protocol in the Department of the
Interior Decorator.
Actually, the one thing I do recall is the look my dad gave me when he
arranged for me to car-pool with the commanding General's daughter. No words
needed to be spoken, an implied trip to the same cell on Schofield where
Maggio was beaten with rubber truncheons was implicit should anything
"untoward" happen in that look.
--
Jonathan
Pensacola Beachcomber
If you are 47 then you were born the year I finished high school. It
took me a few years but I too made it to Schofield. I pulled KP in the same
kitchens as Maggio. I went up the pass and on one weekend a month went to
Honolulu (Chinese dinner, walk on Waikiki, maybe an afternoon at Fort
DeRussey and then a night at the YMCA - we didn't live high on the hog as
base pay was about $78 a month). Those quadrangles at Schofield were the
best barracks I ever lived in. They were perfect for soldiering.
I never met the CG or his daughter. I was lucky enough to work for an
old brown shoe Army NCO who had a gaggle of kids. They were great people
and I was able to see them later on at Fort Belvoir. I remember going to
their church and feeling right at home. They are of the Bahà'í World Faith
and their meetings made me think of Quakers and Mennonites. Most of the
church members were orientals and services were always followed by a pot
luck lunch. What a feast for a skinny PFC!! Tom
"Jonathan" <awo...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:w-CdndaqpIvjZQ3V...@comcast.com...
Gene
wrote:
> Jonathan,
> If you are 47 then you were born the year I finished high school. It
> took me a few years but I too made it to Schofield. I pulled KP in the same
> kitchens as Maggio. I went up the pass and on one weekend a month went to
> Honolulu (Chinese dinner, walk on Waikiki, maybe an afternoon at Fort
> DeRussey and then a night at the YMCA - we didn't live high on the hog as
> base pay was about $78 a month). Those quadrangles at Schofield were the
> best barracks I ever lived in. They were perfect for soldiering.
> I never met the CG or his daughter. I was lucky enough to work for an
> old brown shoe Army NCO who had a gaggle of kids. They were great people
> and I was able to see them later on at Fort Belvoir. I remember going to
> their church and feeling right at home. They are of the Bahà'í World Faith
> and their meetings made me think of Quakers and Mennonites. Most of the
> church members were orientals and services were always followed by a pot
> luck lunch. What a feast for a skinny PFC!! Tom
>
>
> news:w-CdndaqpIvjZQ3V...@comcast.com...
>
> > hey all.
>
> > just wanted to pop in here and relay to you all how weird it is to up and
> > find out one day a former classmate (Obama '79) of yours is running for
> > President.
>
> > A. I don't feel at 47 I'm mature enough to qualify and:
>
> > B: I'd be terrified for the country if I thought I was ;)
>
> > C. I wish I hadn't of gotten kicked out of school after only two semesters
> > after I transfered in my (our) Junior year (bad grades) and I could
> > actually RECALL meeting Barack Obama. I'm sure I would have easily
> > qualified to be third Assistant Undersecretary for Protocol in the
> > Department of the Interior Decorator.
>
> > Actually, the one thing I do recall is the look my dad gave me when he
> > arranged for me to car-pool with the commanding General's daughter. No
> > words needed to be spoken, an implied trip to the same cell on Schofield
> > where Maggio was beaten with rubber truncheons was implicit should
> > anything "untoward" happen in that look.
> > --
> > Jonathan
Believe it or not, there was something on NPR today on the Ba'Hai
faith. I've known a few and I'm a bit surprised that one of them
would be a career NCO. I seem to remember them as pacifists. But
then my last unit had a major who was a Mormon and worked for Philip
Morris in the civilian side.
Gene
Pensacola Beachcomber
worked with him he was a Section Sergeant (unit smaller than a platoon) in
the HHC, 65th Combat Engineers, 25th Infantry Division. We were at
Schofield and in all of the time I was there the only surveying we did was a
project to prove that there was no way some dependents could have gotten
into an impact area without seeing an off limits sign (viewing angles,
distances between fence posts, etc). Seems an officer retired early so he
could sue the Army because his son had lost a hand playing with unexploded
ordnance. I think the Army proved the kids could not have gotten past the
barbed wire without seeing a sign telling them to stay out of the impact
area. Schuster was like a leprachaun, small and wiry. Always happy, he got
more work out of the troops than the sergeants who yelled and carried on,
Tom
"Gene" <stea...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:a87b1d69-8978-45d9...@r66g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
Gene
beachcom...@NOSPAMNEVERcox.net> wrote:
> The NCO in question, Pappy Schuster, was a topographer and surveyor. When I
> worked with him he was a Section Sergeant (unit smaller than a platoon) in
> the HHC, 65th Combat Engineers, 25th Infantry Division. We were at
> Schofield and in all of the time I was there the only surveying we did was a
> project to prove that there was no way some dependents could have gotten
> into an impact area without seeing an off limits sign (viewing angles,
> distances between fence posts, etc). Seems an officer retired early so he
> could sue the Army because his son had lost a hand playing with unexploded
> ordnance. I think the Army proved the kids could not have gotten past the
> barbed wire without seeing a sign telling them to stay out of the impact
> area. Schuster was like a leprachaun, small and wiry. Always happy, he got
> more work out of the troops than the sergeants who yelled and carried on,
> Tom
>
Obviously that dad wasn't the Great Santini! When we were at Camp
McGill in Japan, the housing area had signs arll around it saying "Off
Limits" posting all the great places for a10/ 11 year old to play -
bomb shelters, bunkers, old A/A sites, etc. We routinely ignored the
signs. But one day my father took me to see a sign - no great
hardship as our quarters had one in the backyard - and reminded me of
what it meant and told me I'd best obey the sign. I think everybody
had the same lesson that day as suddenly that old A/A gun got very
lonely.
Gene
Tom Callahan
We were smart enough to stay out of impact areas at Fort Dix. It was in an
off limits area in Yokohama that I broke my arm. I went home with a story
about playing cowboys and indians but someone had already called my older
sister with the facts. That was my first summer of rehab. It wasn't the
last, Tom
debbymac
Your dad should have been stationed on Guam in the 60s -- all those
caves full of Japanese, old guns, etc., etc. They were told to stay
out of them but didn't. And he definitely didn't tell his dad except
once: THAT turned out to be a fairly current murder victim! When he
took his dad to the cave, his dad turned white as a sheet and went
thataway to the MPs. I think he kind of wound down the boonie
stomping around then. Turns out also Sgt. Yokoi was living at the
bottom of the hill (Nimitz Hill) and they lived at the top but they
never saw him. That must have been one wily guy. Nimitz Hill is also
where the Korean Airliner went down a few years ago.
I never did anything worth talking about. Sigh.
Pensacola Beachcomber
>
> We were smart enough to stay out of impact areas at Fort Dix. It was in an
> off limits area in Yokohama that I broke my arm. I went home with a story
> about playing cowboys and indians but someone had already called my older
> sister with the facts. That was my first summer of rehab. It wasn't the
> last, Tom
Your dad should have been stationed on Guam in the 60s -- all those
caves full of Japanese, old guns, etc., etc. They were told to stay
out of them but didn't. And he definitely didn't tell his dad except
once: THAT turned out to be a fairly current murder victim! When he
took his dad to the cave, his dad turned white as a sheet and went
thataway to the MPs. I think he kind of wound down the boonie
stomping around then. Turns out also Sgt. Yokoi was living at the
bottom of the hill (Nimitz Hill) and they lived at the top but they
never saw him. That must have been one wily guy. Nimitz Hill is also
where the Korean Airliner went down a few years ago.
I never did anything worth talking about. Sigh.
Nope, we were not stationed on Guam. The only times I've been there was
stopovers so the aircraft I was riding in could be refueled (1947, 1968 and
1969). The 1947 stop was on the way to Japan when I was a dependent. The
other two were enroute to and returning from Viet Nam. I've got Army and
Navy friends who were stationed on Guam. They loved the beaches and diving.
Don't say you never did anything worth talking about. Everyone has some
stories. They can be about funny episodes in gradeschool plays, brain
freeze in finals, how you proposed marriage or how marriage was proposed to
you, etc. Don't put yourself down. Every brat has stories!! Tom
Gene
wrote:
Doesn't somebody use that as a title or something? <SEG>
Gene
Tom Callahan
>
> I never did anything worth talking about. Sigh.
>
> Nope, we were not stationed on Guam. The only times I've been there was
> stopovers so the aircraft I was riding in could be refueled (1947, 1968
> and
> 1969). The 1947 stop was on the way to Japan when I was a dependent. The
> other two were enroute to and returning from Viet Nam. I've got Army and
> Navy friends who were stationed on Guam. They loved the beaches and
> diving.
>
> Don't say you never did anything worth talking about. Everyone has some
> stories. They can be about funny episodes in gradeschool plays, brain
> freeze in finals, how you proposed marriage or how marriage was proposed
> to
> you, etc. Don't put yourself down. Every brat has stories!! Tom
Doesn't somebody use that as a title or something? <SEG>
Gene
Yeah, I think it was a history book!! ?Tom
debbymac
Well, I did see Santa Claus get off a jet and get on a camel that
promptly tried to bite him. Fortunately it was muzzled. I would not
have done that bit for anything -- Morrocco is too hot for fur at any
time of year unless you are in the mountains!
Tom Callahan
> Yeah, I think it was a history book!! ?Tom
[Debbymac said]
Well, I did see Santa Claus get off a jet and get on a camel that
promptly tried to bite him. Fortunately it was muzzled. I would not
have done that bit for anything -- Morrocco is too hot for fur at any
time of year unless you are in the mountains!
Tom replied:
Morocco? What kind of assignment? NavSecGru? Attaché? I had a good
friend at DLI who had done his Masters studies on the tribes in the Atlas
mountains or Morocco. You can imagine the joy he had when he learned his
assignment as a Foreign Area Officer was Morocco!! He and his family got to
live in a house down the coast from Rabat. The house and grounds were owned
by a family going on a two year trip (archeology or something like that).
The deal was they could rent the house as long as they kept the same
servents and took good care of the pets (I think the servants actually took
care of the parrots and pets). It was a marriage made in heaven. John, my
friend, later told me about his first encounter with his boss and efficiency
report rater. The boss had Infantry in his blood. John had gone into the
Embassy wearing Earth Shoe sandals if I remember correctly. He looked like
a Peace Corps volunteer. It took them more than a day or two to see each
others' merits.
I never made it to Morocco. Did three years in Tunisia though, Tom
Gene
Debby,
I think all of us have done and seen things that are remarkable. The
problem is that it seemed normal for us! After all, ask around your
office - and I know you work in an unusual office, how many others
have actually LIVED in Morocco. Or any other foreign country. Not
visited - but lived.
Gene
debbymac
Well, Dr. Cunningham lived in Jordan and actually got married there
(to another American), but I have no idea what he was doing other than
teaching; Dr. Zhong takes students to China every mini-term (he is
from Beijing and does research after they fly home; Jennings has GONE
to Tanzania and India and sent back interesting reports. He climbed
Kilimanjaro! Dr. Whang (pronounced Wong) is from Seoul and had to go
back this summer for family reasons for a time. There are a lot of
people in the history department when I was there that would live
overseas for periods of time. Dr. Bing was on an archeological dig;
Bohstedt did research in England and I don't remember what the others
did.
I managed to live in Japan and not see Tokyo during the 1964 Olympics;
lived in Chateauroux and never saw Paris; lived in Tacoma and never
saw Seattle. Very odd.
My dad was in the Air Force and was in supply -- I do not know what he
did as I was in kindergarten at the time. We did live off-base for a
time and then got on-base somehow.
Rick Terry
I have a picture of my very tall, very slim Marine son in a santa
suit. The picture was taken last Christmas. The sunglasses, the very
beaten up Iraqi motorcycle, and the automatic weapon lend something, a
certain je ne sais quois? to the circumstance.
Deb, I've never seen Santa on a camel.
Other topics brought up here:
I wouldn't want to be President either Jonathan. I do, however, feel
that I have the road miles on me to make something of an advisor. On
what I don't know. Maybe I just want somebody to pay attention?
I did a bit of playing around those off limits signs too.