Sunday, March 29, 2015

European Religion vs Poverty

The plane landed at Frankfurt with about sixty brand new guided missile experts. I was one. We had been trained in guidance technology, MSQ Radar, basic communications electronics, launch procedures, and the means of portability. The training began at Lowry Airforce Base in Denver, continued at Lackland Airforce Base, Texas, Martin Aviation in Baltimore, and finished at Orlando, Florida. The unit ultimately became the a Tactical Guided Missile squadron, and was the first guided missile deployed and stationed in Europe. 

Long forgotten now, it was the time of "the Cold War" then. There was a serious 'don't be the first to blink' cold war between essentially Russia and America. We were there to impress everybody with the potential power of our missiles, the Martin Matador TM-61C. 

That's why we were there for nearly five years. During that time there were long stretches of dead time between training exercises and testing. A small group of friends used the time to travel throughout Europe. The ravages of World War II were everywhere; in the cities, small towns, and even in the rural countryside. The people who lived through this devastation were at once welcoming and bitter, and trying to rebuild. For a while we hitched rides on MATS (Military Air Transport System) planes from one place to another and were unable to see much of the country side. I purchased a 1948 Mercedes 170 in great condition. After that we went everywhere by car.

I went in to all this to illustrate how a few friends managed to travel extensively while still serving in the U.S. Airforce in Europe.

No comments:

Post a Comment