[Milsurplus] re surplus stores then and now

[Dan Arney]

When I was 14 yrs old living in Paragould AR. I knew it all and decided 
I could not live at home under the control of my ever watchful school 
teacher and preacher parents. So I bailed out to Surplus radio heaven 
the Walnut Ridge Army Air Corps base with 35,863 surplus aircraft 
official count that were being cut up and melted into 1500 # ingots of 
Aluminum. Since I was 6' at that time and looked older and had been 
playing with radios since I was 9 yrs old and could talk the talk I got 
hired at a rate of .50 hr. My job was to remove any and all radio 
equipment from a plane and to toss it out of the nearest opening onto 
the ground. Others did different items and trucks picked up the stuff 
and stacked it in piles on the ramps. I met another kid that knew it all 
and we found a B-32 way back in the field that we decided to live in as 
it had 3 fold down cots in it. The log book had a total of 17:30 hours 
in it and a total of 4 flights 3 in San Diego and a flight to WRAAC 
Base. We found "C" rations and canteens of water in different planes to 
live on. At the end of the first week we got our check from Texas 
Railway Equipment and Engineering and went to the cafe on the base, 
cashed the check had a hot meal, we then had breakfast every morning for 
I think .50.
I threw out all kinds of radios and sat in the cockpit dreaming of 
flying all of these planes.
This went on for nearly 3 weeks and one morning while having breakfast 
In walks two AR State troopers with my picture on a missing persons list 
which ended my stay in Surplus heaven.
In the years since with over 20,000 hours of flight time I have flown a 
lot of those type planes and now own way too many pieces of true Surplus 
radios and parts. Along with some 300 plus boatanchors and my guess 10 
tons of parts.

Them were the days.
Hank
KN6DI