[ADXA] because it's almost Veteran's Day...

[WB5JJJ]

I'll add a comment to Dennis' on military and Ham Radio.

I was in-country Vietnam for 2 years (1966-1968).  Most of those mornings
were spent in front of a new Collins S-Line and Henry 4K amplifier just
above 20m, feeding a 3 element armstrong rotating beam right on the sandy
beach at Cam Rahn Bay.   This was a Navy MARS station (N0EFN) running phone
patches back to a Ham operator and a telephone operator in Seattle, both of
whom I met on my final return to the States.  This was my first real taste
of my future hobby, but it took another 4-5 years to actually get
started.  Just recently, I was able to talk to the new "owner" of that call
on the air.  He had no clue of its history.

I could go on and on about my experiences with Navy MARS and all the
cherished calls back home I was able to facilitate.  Some were very
emotional, to say the least - both good and bad.

BTW, that was NOT my regular job, I was just a volunteer for a few hours
every morning.  I was assigned to maintain the electrical systems and
generators for the massive Navy Communications Station there.  A whole
other story as well.

-----

73's
George - WB5JJJ
HoIP - 100105
Cell - 479.857.7737


On Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 6:26 PM Dennis Schaefer <dennisw5rz at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I've had an "interesting" couple of months and I'll elaborate on that
> later.  Also, I was very sorry to miss the ADXA bash, because it sounds
> like a great meeting and you are my lifelong friends.  Since it is almost
> veteran's day, though, I was thinking about my time in the service.  A few
> interesting things happened along the way, one of which involved ham
> radio.
>
> ******************************************************************
>
> DX'ing with a MRC-108
>
>
> In 1971, I was in the U.S. Air Force.  I was stationed at Bergstrom AFB
> near Austin, TX.  Our unit was a tactical communications outfit and we
> were on mobility status for immediate deployment anywhere in the world.  I
> think I had shots for every disease known to man.
>
>
>
> Our exercises were way out in the country, and this led to an interesting
> experience.  We set up our TRC-97A troposcatter microwave rig in a cow
> pasture 30 miles from the base, in a place that required going through
> several locked farm gates to get to.  A lieutenant in a jeep arrived at
> our site and asked for me.  He had heard that I was an all-around smart
> fellow and also a ham radio operator.  Well, at least the part about me
> being a ham radio operator was true!
>
>
>
> One of the men at a site nearby started having chest pains and thought he
> was having a heart attack.  Even though we had millions worth of comm
> gear, no one at the base was monitoring any frequency we could transmit on
> and no other military units could be reached.  Because of the distance
> and the number of locked gates, the commander felt that driving him out was
> not the best option.  He wanted the rescue helicopter at the base put on
> standby.   We had a few Forward Air Controllers with us and they operated
> VHF/HF radios from jeeps.  The HF equipment covered all HF frequencies,
> so I tuned around 75 meters, and found a strong signal from North Carolina.
> I got him to call the base and relay our needs, and then he stood by for
> any futher requests.
>
>
>
> Fortunately, the airman’s condition improved before the helicopter was
> dispatched on the hazardous night mission.  If he had gone critical, ham
> radio could have potentially saved his life.  Our squadron commander was
> amazed at how this worked and sent the ham a nice letter of commendation.
>
>
>
> 73,
>
> Dennis, W5RZ
>
> *********************************
>
> I know others in the group have had more harrowing experiences, and have
> heard those "shots fired in anger".   Saying "thank you for your service"
> always sounds a little trite,  I usually say something like "thanks for
> going there so I didn't have to".
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> ADXA mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/adxa
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:ADXA at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/adxa/attachments/20251110/32302dd1/attachment.html>