Hi Moose,
In the late 40s, Basic ROTC was mandatory at my land-grant school. Advanced
ROTC was optional. With the advent of the Korean Police Action, and the
need for more troops, I was given the option of taking one semester of
advanced ROTC, and attending summer camp, to obtain a commission. Since
that sounded better than the draft, I accepted, and the summer camp
requirement was later cancelled. I received my degree, my commission, and
my orders all on the same day in 1951.
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Moose" <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Olympus Camera Discussion" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2010 5:44 AM
Subject: Re: [OM] IMG: From the Past
> On 7/14/2010 12:10 PM, Paul Laughlin wrote:
>> On 7/14/2010 11:01 AM, Jim Nichols wrote:
>>> This proud old DC-3 could tell a lot of stories...
>> Nice shot, Jim. A bit of nostalgia for me. I have been in and around a
>> lot of them in the past. I worked as a Radio Mechanic in the USAF for
>> several years. When the C-54s were taken to Europe for the Berlin
>> Airlift, they ran the Military Air Transport Service trans continental
>> passenger service with C-47s.
>
> My experience with the D-47 incarnation was an AF ROTC trip to San Diego.
> (Hold up our hands, all you old farts who
> remember when ROTC was mandatory at land grant colleges.)
>
> I know some of you old flyboys feel nostalgia for these old planes. I
> tough it was the worst thing I'd flown in - hmmm,
> still do. Incredibly noisy, too cold and really uncomfortable. There may
> have been different configurations; this was
> just a big cargo bay, with sling things they claimed were seats. The
> toilet was a rubber funnel attached to a hose that
> led out the bottom.
>
> And yes, Paul, the radio went out on the way back, so nobody knew if we
> were still in the air or where we were. We
> stopped at an airbase in the central valley, to let them know we were OK
> and see if the radio could be fixed. No fix,
> but at least Hamilton Field knew to expect us late and without radio.
>
>> I was assigned to the MATS detachment that ran that service in '48.
>
> I've sailed MSTS (motion sick, again.), but not flown MATS.
>
>> Rode a number of them as a passenger later during my service. A real
>> work horse.
>
> I guess. If they were all as noisy as the one I flew in, there must have
> been a lot of folks with hearing impairment.
>
> Moose
>
>> Paul in Portland OR
>
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