Com-Central.net

A-109E

I'm not a prolific poster but I felt compelled to pass on my thoughts regarding this unfortunate BRAC thing.

In March 1967 I was graduated from the United States Army Aviation School at Ft. Rucker, Alabama with the grandiose title of Combat Helicopter Pilot. While the first alphabetical half of my flight school class went directly to the (former) Republic of Vietnam, I was lucky enough to be assigned to Alpha Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment then forming up at Godman Army Airfield, Ft. Knox, Kentucky. No flight school text-book school solutions or theory at Ft. Knox, no sir. Down and dirty training, field exercises, bivouac, and realistic, pragmatic approaches to combat. My memories of that intensive 6-month training period are many, vivid, and colorful. Almost as much as the year in Vietnam. Almost……

I became very involved with armor since my BOQ was filled with armor officers who were very curious about aviators, a then-rarity at Ft. Knox. I was able to go on road marches in an M48A2C and got to drive the thing, even down a muddy creek. I've driven the M60A1, fired the co-ax on the gun range at night, and got unbelievably muddy at the wash rack after all this good "clean" fun.

Forty years later - in April 2007 - I returned to Ft. Knox for a trip down Memory Lane. Just by myself. No family or friends had the time to go, but it was important to me to make one last pilgrimage to the scene where it all started. The emotions and flood of memories which that visit triggered were worth every penny spent for the trip, ones I'll carry for the rest of my life. I can't imagine going to some downsized museum at an installation I've never seen before would have had the same effect.

I've shared most of the photographs I took on that visit with members of this forum (yes, Doug, I agree that's why we band together here) and I was pleased to have an audience who could appreciate the scenes for what they represented.

Like Don I won't air my views regarding BRAC, the museum move, or the present administration. I'll just add this one photograph which says so much to me, and which carries the title…….."Two Old Friends".

Thanks for the memories, Ft. Knox. Requiescat in pace.

Doug_Kibbey

- A-109E

I'm not a prolific poster but I felt compelled to pass on my thoughts regarding this unfortunate BRAC thing.

In March 1967 I was graduated from the United States Army Aviation School at Ft. Rucker, Alabama with the grandiose title of Combat Helicopter Pilot. While the first alphabetical half of my flight school class went directly to the (former) Republic of Vietnam, I was lucky enough to be assigned to Alpha Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment then forming up at Godman Army Airfield, Ft. Knox, Kentucky. No flight school text-book school solutions or theory at Ft. Knox, no sir. Down and dirty training, field exercises, bivouac, and realistic, pragmatic approaches to combat. My memories of that intensive 6-month training period are many, vivid, and colorful. Almost as much as the year in Vietnam. Almost……

I became very involved with armor since my BOQ was filled with armor officers who were very curious about aviators, a then-rarity at Ft. Knox. I was able to go on road marches in an M48A2C and got to drive the thing, even down a muddy creek. I've driven the M60A1, fired the co-ax on the gun range at night, and got unbelievably muddy at the wash rack after all this good "clean" fun.

Forty years later - in April 2007 - I returned to Ft. Knox for a trip down Memory Lane. Just by myself. No family or friends had the time to go, but it was important to me to make one last pilgrimage to the scene where it all started. The emotions and flood of memories which that visit triggered were worth every penny spent for the trip, ones I'll carry for the rest of my life. I can't imagine going to some downsized museum at an installation I've never seen before would have had the same effect.

I've shared most of the photographs I took on that visit with members of this forum (yes, Doug, I agree that's why we band together here) and I was pleased to have an audience who could appreciate the scenes for what they represented.

Like Don I won't air my views regarding BRAC, the museum move, or the present administration. I'll just add this one photograph which says so much to me, and which carries the title…….."Two Old Friends".

Thanks for the memories, Ft. Knox. Requiescat in pace.

Well spoken, Sir. my sentiments exactly. Since you got to see and live "how the other half live", I confer upon you the exalted title of "honorary tanker", good for a free beer wherever other tankers congregate. If we had a T-Shirt, I'd give you one. I'm an "honorary Marine aviator" based on similar experiences and support, so I actually got the Tee-shirt (HMLA 267 "Any Time, Any Where")

Doesn't matter you branch, just your connection that you share with countless other vets who beat the same path before and after you. It's that path that about to be lost, the old place and new place just won't have the same meaning anymore, and that's what we're losing.

What we keep is our memories, and contact with others who had the same shared experience regardless of branch or service who just spent that impressionable part of their lives in the same place or pursuit.

That's what we do on this site, and we do it for folks all over the world with what are now artifacts, but at one time were our livelihood and reason for being while we wore the uniform. We have collections of images and memories that no museum will ever have, and they can't be taken away, only shared. Wink