Our stop at Hickham (Honolulu) was a most profitable one for me. A native of Oregon and a graduate of the University of Oregon, he pines for the motherland still. The mission included 54 C-141 flights between Feb. 12 and April 4, 1973, returning 591 POWs to American soil. (U.S. Air Force photo) because they had already prepared orders for me to go to Clark, The first group of POWs leaving the prison camps in North Vietnam left Hanoi on a U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-141 Starlifter strategic airlift aircraft nicknamed the Hanoi Taxi, which flew them to Clark Air Base in the Philippines for medical examinations. Lorrie Stirm, daughter of POW Lt. Col. Robert Stirm, recounted in a 2005 Smithsonian magazine article what it was like to wait for her father at Travis after he was released from six years of imprisonment in March 1973. During that time he served as a military policeman and served in the Korean War. 75th Tuy Hoa Air Base, 1966–1970 The name of the base changed to Travis AFB after Brig. The Travis AFB tanker provided aerial refueling during the fourth track of the trip--east of Singapore, Thailand. “I wasn’t going to let a few rain puddles and airplane grease stop me.”. saying that Travis was fogged in. 16 Posts. We had to unload in Saigon because the aircraft had to be serviced and refueled. Our layover in Vietnam lasted about 2-3 hours. The United States was at war, and I was one of two-hundred teenage soldiers aboard a Pan American Boeing 707 jet airliner – we were packed inside, not an empty seat … During the fall 1969 Moratorium mobilizations, combat troops on patrol near Da Nang wore black armbands in solidarity with the protests. transport military personnel in support of the war in South East Asia. Norton AFB near San Bernardino because the weather there was “The last time I got spat on.”. I'd been trying for days to phone the PACAF officer assignments We did not know if he would ever come home. The base had to call for police assistance , U.S. Air Force photo We are at an inflection point in the 400-year history of U.S. racism and the fight to end it. So we re-filed and diverted to In 1972 my flight left Travis AFB, CA and flew to Anchorage, AK. Race riot rocked Travis base in early 1970s. The base was renamed Travis Air Force Base in 1951 for Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, who was killed when a B-29 Superfortress crashed on August 5, 1950. The 1970s brought a winding down of the Vietnam War, the cresting of racial tensions on base, the arrival of another new aircraft, Cold War struggles in Europe and South America, and, again, countless and various unique humanitarian and support missions. May 24, 2020 — 25 Comments. Military Airlift Squadron, Hickam Twenty-three years later, Army Sgt. Veteran Tributes. The Ace of Spades: How American soldiers used "the death card" as a psychological weapon during the Vietnam War. One-hundred and thirty five individuals were arrested, 80 of them detained overnight. clicked. The initial deployment when large numbers of troops were being built up was mostly by ship. Phu Cat Air Base 1. And everything just Passengers on the aircraft carrying intelligence adviser Stuart Herrington back from Vietnam in 1972 cheered when they saw the lights of Travis Air Force Base, Herrington wrote in a letter to his brother. As opposition to the Vietnam War grew, protests erupted in communities and college campuses across the United States. AFB, Honolulu, Clark That one person was his wife, who coerced a taxi driver to make the 80-mile drive from San Francisco to pick up her husband. In 1969, during the Vietnam War, a 21-year-old Seattle woman saw a job ad for a California cargo airline called the Flying Tiger Line that had a large presence in San Francisco. AB, Phillipines, Tan This was one of the first US bases built during the Vietnam War. Our first stop was Anchorage, Alaska and then Yokota Air Base in Japan. 1961-1972 1. but I was able to persuade the sergeant to change it to CCK. Trump allies to Michigan judge: Force Whitmer to overturn results, award state to president, Dixon teen killed when struck by Amtrak train Saturday, Customer Service (About Us; Vacation Stop; Submit at Item for Publication; Advertise; Help Tools). Once the military had their units in place most of the troops rotating in and out of the country flew on chartered flights out of the West Coast. “There was an air of finality about the way the Boeing 707 lifted off the runway at Travis Air Force Base that warm May night,” wrote Army Lt. Col. John Cook in his memoir, “The Advisor,” where he recounted his passage through Travis to Vietnam in 1968. Interview with Dr. Clarence T. Sasaki: Holding Death at Bay During the Vietnam War. Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ithompsondr. For one thing, chances of surviving a battlefield wound were dramatically increased. As a Flight Attendant. It was night time and very dark when we landed in Bien Hoa. could walk and cots for those who couldn't, funeral He retired from the Daily Republic in August 2019. Question of the Week: Should California’s undocumented immigrants be excluded from the census? N372 WA and N375 WA). TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE — For many men sent to Vietnam, the runway at Travis was often the first and last glimpse of the United States, like bookends to their tours of duty in that Southeast Asian war. While the US and Vietnam were negotiating in Paris to find a way to end the war, American bombing of Vietnam intensified from May to October, 1972, in Operation Linebacker leading up to the infamous Christmas bombings called Operation Linebacker II. I remember Wake for two things: first, it was flat and small. [6] In 1971 Vietnam Veterans Against the War circulated a petition to Congress among troops in Vietnam demanding an end to U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia. We often shuttled back and forth among The Phillippines, Vietnam, and Japan, so it usually took 6 to 10 days before we finally returned to Travis. He covered the military and Travis Air Force Base for the Daily Republic, as well as Suisun City and general assignment. “The midnight darkness shrouded the Travis terminal as the long line of passengers snaked from the plane to the main building. It's indeed a good thing I went Curiously, instead of following the "great circle" route from California to Vietnam -- which would have taken us over Alaska and Japan -- we flew for hours across the wide Pacific and refueled at Wake Island. Da Nang Air Base. which was the alternative. “The screaming engines severed ties with the only world most of us had ever known, leaving it back there somewhere in the darkness,” Cook wrote. In the summer of 68 I took a big jet plane from Travis AFB in Northern California to Vietnam. Jun 16, 2015 - Explore Visit Fairfield, CA's board "Travis Air Force Base", followed by 189 people on Pinterest. 68-221 landed in 1970, the base’s fleet of C-5s has been connected to a wizard’s scroll of the nation’s major events, including: The following month, American POWs were on their way home. It was the largest heavy bomber strikes launched by the US Air Force since World War II. During the Vietnam War, the United States Air Force (USAF) operated 10 major air bases in South Vietnam': 1. Forty-two years ago, I departed for a small country in Southeast Asia called, Vietnam. Lanning was lucky. It is generally well known that during the Korean War squadrons from the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) stationed at Fairfield-Suisun AFB provided airlift for UN forces. Educational / Informational. No bands played. Since tail No. to request CCK in Taiwan rather than Clark in the Phillipines, Phan Rang Air Base, 1966–1972 1. The flight attendants made three trips to Vietnam a week, departing from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield – before heading to Japan and then on to … Iwas qualified on Boeing B-707 -373C aircraft (Tail Numbers N368 WA, N369 WA, N371 WA. “The Travis AFB Exchange is privileged to partner with the commissary and the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration to offer this token of our nation’s appreciation to those who served during the Vietnam War,” said Exchange general manager Flordeliza Payton. Bien Hoa Air Base, 1961–1973 1. and onload cargo. With distances of 7,100 nautical miles from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., to Andersen AFB, Guam, and another 2,251 nautical miles to Saigon, South Vietnam, all tactical aircraft sent from the United States to Southeast Asia required air refueling. Tag: Travis AFB. Chuang Kang (CCK) Airbase, Offload “As we stepped down on the tarmac, I found a relatively dry spot between the puddles and dropped down on my hands and knees and kissed the grimy surface,” Holly wrote in his memoir, “Vietnam 1968-1969: A Battalion Surgeon’s Journal.”, “I promised myself I would kiss the good old ground if God would just let me return home,” Holly wrote. Ian Thompson began working for the Daily Republic in November 1982. Travis’ involvement in Vietnam included the transporting of a C-123 tactical aircraft unit from South Carolina to Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam in September 1961, the precursor of Travis slowly becoming the major West Coast aerial port for troops and supplies going to Southeast Asia as the American military build-up expanded. Army surgeon Byron Holly arrived home at Travis in October 1969 in the rain. 1st Class Claude Rhey experienced the difference between a soldier’s reception after Vietnam and the welcome they got after the Persian Gulf War. Son Nhut AB, Viet Nam, airline seats for guys who Cam Ranh Air Base, 1965–1972 1. Remembering Soldiers’ Sacrifices . Discover (and save!) Nha Trang Air Base, 1966–1971 1. TCA flew troop ferry flights from Travis AFB to Vietnam during the Vietnam War. I do have a good story about my connecting flight from Houston to SEA-TAC. So our cargo made it from the U.S. to Viet Nam in about two days. The decade started out with a hefty addition to the Travis AFB fleet. The Defense Department has identified a U.S. airman who died Friday in a non-combat related vehicle incident at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab … TCA was purchased by American Airlines in 1971. forecast to be clear. section there, so I decided to go in person. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Printed in the January 31, 2014 edition on page TRA44 | Published on January 31, 2014 | Last Modified on January 31, 2014 at 1:36 pm, Solano Responds to Coronavirus (click for more), Cybersecurity, $26b market by year-end [China Daily, Beijing / Asia News Network], Oakland judge blocks new H-1B pay rules [San Francisco Chronicle], Christmas arrives in New Britain— via Facebook [Hartford Courant], Fort Worth replaces fired aviation director accused of misspending taxpayer funds [Fort Worth Star-Telegram], City Hall corruption case: What’s next for S.F. Ching Only one person met the flight.”. Mass-produced, each model could only be differentiated by tail number, but tail numbers were for the "bean counters" or "ribbon clerks." During our 16-hour crew day we crossed up to 8 time zones, so after a few days of this we were pretty jet-lagged. Newly freed prisoners of war celebrate as their C-141A aircraft lifts off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, on Feb. 12, 1973, during Operation Homecoming. We got a call from the Travis command post your own Pins on Pinterest “This is unbelievable,” Rhey said in a 1992 interview at his second return before hugging his son amid a forest of flags and welcome home banners. Air refueling played an important role throughout the air war over Southeast Asia. On March 17, the plane landed at Travis Air Force … The flight was long (about twenty-two hours) with two stops before reaching our destination, which was Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam. From Alaska, we flew to Yakota, Japan then to Clark AB, Phillipines and then on to Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam. Passengers on the aircraft carrying intelligence adviser Stuart Herrington back from Vietnam in 1972 cheered when they saw the lights of Travis Air Force Base, Herrington wrote in a letter to his brother. April 13, 2020 — 9 Comments. The real difference was in the talent and imagination of the men who flew and maintained them. In my case I flew to SEA-TAC Airport and took a cab to Ft Lewis. Travis Korean War Photo Montage. During that war, thousands of B-17s, B-24s, B-25s, B-26s, B-29s, P-40s, P-38s, P-47s and P-51s rolled from the aircraft assembly lines. escort for the remains of a young C-130 pilot. TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Oct. 24, 2020, marks 50 years since the first C-5A Galaxy arrived at Travis AFB. Troops stationed in Vietnam often sympathized with the antiwar movement back home. Tan Son Nhut Air Base, 1961–1973 1. July 26, 2020 — 7 Comments. The movie is metaphorical, travis is just anembodiment of the decline of post vietnam war USA, along with society in general, its very symbolic, in a visual and narrative sense, example-he rejets society in the scene where he pushes the tv and it falls on the floor, he fought for a country in which he doesnt want to live in anymore, after months of trauma in a jungle he gets back to a corrupted capitalist wasteland, a … The then-15-year-old waited in a car while her father stood on the Travis flight line and made a brief statement to a crowd cheering for him and the other ex-POWs. Pleiku Air Base, 1965–1971 1. American servicemen and women fighting in Vietnam received the best medical care in the history of warfare. On January 27th, 1973, the United States' long nightmare in Vietnam came to an end. No one made speeches. From May 21 to 25, 1971, Travis experienced rioting resulting from tensions in the Airman dormitory area and the Vietnam War. Binh Thuy Air Base, 1965–1971 1. Jan 27, 2012 - This Pin was discovered by Lauren Hirsch. Much less known is that four combat-ready reconnaissance air crews from the 5th Recon Group at the base flew combat missions over North Korea. Army Lt. Michael Lee Lanning simply noted in his diary – “April 14, 1970, 2345 hours: Arrived Travis Air Force Base, I AM HOME!”, Lanning waited another 18 years to write a more eloquent description in his memoir, “Vietnam 1969-1970: A Company Commander’s Journal.”, “The screech of tires on the runway and the simultaneous shouts of jubilation jolted me awake,” Lanning wrote. See more ideas about travis air force base, air force, air force bases. [San Francisco Chronicle], Siskiyou food banks see increased need for services during COVID-19 pandemic [Siskiyou Daily News, Yreka, Calif.], Dear Annie: I’m finding it hard to listen to my friend’s complaints, Pacific Fleet commander may be nominated to lead Indo-Pacific Command, report says [Stars and Stripes]. Army Lt. Michael Lee Lanning simply noted in his diary – “April 14, 1970, 2345 hours: Arrived Travis Air Force Base, I AM HOME!” Specific destination in Vietnam were Bien Hoa Air Base, Long Binh Air Base, Da Nang, Saigon's Tan Son Nhut Air Base, and Cam Ranh Bay Air Base. The base’s primary mission during World War II was ferrying aircraft and supplies to the Pacific Theater. He had served in both, flying home through Travis both times. City Administrator Naomi Kelly? He is an avid military history buff, wargamer and loves the great outdoors. The appearance of active duty GI’s at the gates of the Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, reflected their awareness of the bombing campaign and the intense opposit… Educational / Informational. My C-130 assignment had no base indicated, but I wanted When the car door opened, she sprinted toward him with open arms, saying in the article, “I just wanted to get to Dad as quick as I could. That moment was all our prayers answered, all our wishes come true.”. The Museum of Military Aviation History has a representative collection of American military aircraft from various periods: fighters, bombers, trainers, cargo and liaison aircraft. Travis AFB is host to the Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center, one of the largest collections of military aircraft on the west coast.
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