Rowland

But, where to start, that's the question.
Well here goes, I enlisted 12/13/65 in Los Angeles, went to Ft. Ord for basic(Co. B-1-1), enlisted for Aircraft Maint. After basic went to "Mother Rucker", there I was offered Air Traffic Control school at Keesler AFB. I figured being Army on an Air Force base might be cool! so why not? I graduated from Keesler 7/7/66-class 16036(there were 4 Army and 12 Air Force in the class).

We were already primed to go to 'Nam because everybody did back then, instead I got orders for Germany(man I was pissed, all my pals were goin' to 'Nam!) So I went to HHC 8th Avn.Bn., 8th Inf.Div. stationed at Finthen AAF (near Mainz, 8th Div. HQ). I really wanted to go to Viet Nam, I mean how could I be a real patriot/hero in Germany? I probably put in 15 to 20 requests for transfer, then I wrote to Sen. Alan Cranston, and had my folks back home do the same(it was probably the phone call from my Mom that did it, they would've done anything to get her off the phone!), a few weeks later I cleared a U-8 to land that had a Maj. General and 5 code-2s on board(senators). Anybody who even looked like they had failed to forward a request for transfer got the axe, and I got my wish!

I got to 'Nam in Feb. 1967, and was assigned to "A" Co. 25th Avn.Bn., 25th Inf.Div."the Little Bears" Our tower was the same as the one pictured with Mike Greenberg at Dak To, except it sat on a brand new 3/4 ton with 4 flat tires and grass growing up around it(the 25th had put it there when the airfield opened), eventually we took it off the truck and bolted it on top of a conex, and built a stair case and a cute little porch on it.

I was told since I was highest in rank(a lowly Sp/5!) I would be tower chief and had to sign for the truck and tower(about 45-50 thousand bucks if I remember right). One good thing I guess is I could work any time I wanted, most of the time nobody wanted the night shifts because the airfield took a few mortars several times a week, I figured if they were gonna get me it didn't matter where I was, and I kind of liked the night anyway so I worked a lot of nights. That left me a lot of free time in the days to volunteer to fly gunner for the "Bears" and "Observer" for some of the FAC pilots(Army and Air Force, I think they liked the company or they just wanted to see if they could make somebody puke with their aero-batics!). I loved the flight time with the "Bears" of course I couldn't get flight pay, I even paid other gunners as much as $50 to be sick so I could fly for them(what a glutton for ignorance I was!) After extending for 60 days I went back to the states, and Mother Rucker again, there I played the stage field game, Rehobeth
mostly.

Then I took the FAA civil service test and was about to go to work in Detroit tower(to be close to wife-to-be #1 in Pittsburgh). Then decided not to be a civilian just yet, took a burst of 6 years for a Germany assignment and about $9700.00 in VRB.

Then off to Germany I went(New Years Eve 68/69), this time I was assigned to the 67th Avn.Bn.(part of VII Corps), in Stuttgart, Nellingen Barracks. I married wife #1 in Pa. went back to Germany and stayed there until 1970, volunteered for Inf. OCS(another big mistake!), I went to Ft. Benning and
put up with that crap for a couple weeks, then quit amid threats of sending me back to 'Nam, so I said "send me!" And they did, right back to good old Mother Rucker. Thats where I bought a house had a baby Daughter and finished my military(oh, ha ha!) career.(known as Mr. GCA, at Hanchey AHP!)

So, MOS-93J4C(jump qual. Germany 1st tour,Pathfinder qual.)
Rank at the end-SFC E-7
Duty stations; 12/65-2/66 Ft. Ord, Ca. Basic,
2/66-7/66 Keesler AFB, Miss. ATC school,
7/66-2/67 8th Avn.Bn. Finthen AAF Germany,
2/67-4/68 A Co. & HHD 25thAvn.Bn. Cu Chi(and Katum, don't ask!) RVN,
4/68-12/68 Ft. Rucker, Ala.,
1/69-4/70 67th Avn.Bn. Nellingen Bks. Stuttgart, Germany,
4/70-5/70 Ft. Benning, Ga.
5/70-1973 Ft. Rucker, Ala. Hanchey GCA.

Since then nobody would really want to know, 2 more wives, one more daughter(17 years old, I've been a single father for 15 years, raising her by myself and I'm gettin' old!!!) Any thing else I can tell you just ask, ToolMan1003@cs.com. Take care, and welcome home.