Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Amarillo Air Force Base 1968....The Summer of Basic Training.

Schools in the area from Dayton to the south, to Putnam and Paulding Counties in the north, were shut down today...last nights rain didn't move out in time before the temperatures dropped well below freezing, and ice ended up being the culprit.  I arose early, scarped off the ice from the Jeep Wrangler, and headed the 20 miles south then east down highway 127 and State Route 119 to Minster, for my semi annual check-up.

The blood tests showed no worsening of my pre-Diabetes 2, and my BP was 124/68, heart rate of 63...not bad for someone who turns 62 in less than 8 weeks.  I still need, or at least would like, to lose 10 pounds, dropping down to 178 or so was the original goal when I started in September 2009.  I made 184, and now sit this morning at 188.  The 178-180 range on the 5' 10 1/2 inch frame(as of this morning, guess I've shrunk about an inch over the past few years?) is a reasonable goal.   Doc says I need to get my eyes checked, and he also recommends a pill for a minor toe nail infection...told him, no problem on testing the eyes for any diabetes related problems, but no to the "pill" for toe nails(I'll continue to see if the salve works for now), at least not until my next check up in 6 months, and no flu shots either, have not had one since 1976, and don't plan on getting one either.  But for now it looks like I'll live....unless a heavy rock or some angry fan takes me out.

First Air Force Stop_____

 My year in Vietnam, first at Nha Trang, then at Saigon, is usually the focus of any, or at least most, of my military memories on this blog.  However, my first Air Force year, June 68 thru June 1969, saw me at 3 different Bases before heading over the pond...Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle for Basic Training, Lackland in San Antonio two separate times for Security Police training, and Dover, Delaware, where I patrolled the Nuclear Storage Mounds in the middle of the of Winter 68-69.

When I left the Columbus, Ohio, Airport in late June 1968, for Amarillo, it marked my first time flying.  Many more have come and went since, both during and long after my Air Force days. That first flight however saw stops in Dallas-Fort Worth, then in the small airport at Lubbock, preceded my landing late in the evening at Amarillo that early Summer night of 1968.  The next six weeks would mark the indoctrination into the Air Force lifestyle...a lifestyle frankly, I was never able to embrace.  I wasn't then and never have been able to follow orders or walk the line that says this is the wrong way/this is the right way type of life.  Although I look back at those days as ones that gave me confidence to face the world, I still never could have survived a career of taking orders, I never would have wanted that life...3 years 10 1/2 months was more than enough of the military for me.

I arrived at Amarillo as they were winding down operations, most of the training centers and base operation segments had been moved elsewhere...the Basic Training would cease by the end of the 1968 calender year as well.  My training instructor, or TI as the Air Force called their basic leaders, was Joe Prokop, a burly Staff Sergent from Wisconsin.  As it turned out Joe's bark was much worse than his bite.  My roommates were a couple of hillbilly types, Carter Miller from Arkansas, and Bobby Joe Glover of Alabama.  The training period which lasted through mid August, saw mostly hot dry, days, and cool, cloudless nights.  Two other troops at Amarillo during my stay were the late Ed Bonifus from Coldwater, whom I joined with on the "Buddy System", and fellow Celina resident Chuck Long, a younger brother of one of my high school classmates.

As for Miller and Glover, I never saw them again after basic...Chuck and Ed, I ran into back home(still do in Chuck's case from time to time), and Sgt Prokop?  Well it seems Joe, who passed away a few years back, was a Air Force Security Policeman.  His last words to me before leaving Amarillo for Lakeland for Sky Cop training were, "Houseworth, you'll probably be walking a dog around the perimeter of Tan Son Nhut within the year, yep, you'll end up in Nam...you don't have the attitude to make it stateside for too long".  It turns out that Joe was pretty close...within that year I was in Vietnam, volunteered because I couldn't stand my NCOIC, a Tech Sarge named Jack Adkins, we called him "Smiling" Jack, and it wasn't a compliment.  I did end up at Tan Son Nhut, as Joe Prokop had predicted, but sans the dog...and one of the first guys I met at the Saigon Airport, there to pick me up, was Joe Prokop.  Joe had reverted back to the duties of a Security Policeman after his tour of duty as a TI, we both worked Security, Joe on A(day) Flight, which I worked over night(C flight)...we tossed down a few beers together before Joe was shipped back to the states in the spring of 1970.   Sadly I found Joe after my Air Force days, but only because I was informed he had passed away back in 2005...he was indeed a good guy.  A career Air Force type, much like Phil Lange, guys who gave their lives to their military careers, but didn't give their souls to the corp.

As for Amarillo_____

When I flew out for Lackland I didn't see Amarillo for a number of years....the base had been long closed by the time I rolled my delivery RV through the Panhandle and into Amarillo in 2003, on the way to San Diego.  I passed and even stopped many times in the next five years...but the Amarillo I knew, the Air Force Base, was only a memory...one of the first of my four year AF stint.  Most of the people I met there are nameless faces locked away deep in my memory banks.

No games on schedule tonight, but some snow in the forecast for tomorrow...back later>>>>

Photos-Our Flight just before Graduation in August 1968...Joe Prokop is seen Kneeling 3rd from left in the front row...I'm near the top fifth row, first on left, with one roommate Bobby Joe Glover, over my left shoulder in the back row.  (2)  Me in front of our barracks, with the painted salute to Joe Prokop...and his Prokop's Pups as his flight students were called.  (3) Entry control point at Amarillo, maned by 2 Air Police, which switched to be Security Police a month before I joined the ranks, and now in today's Air Force are called Security Forces, a much more "war trained" group than we could ever hope to be....but we were sent off to defend our bases in Southeast Asia anyhow, with little war training(a couple of weeks at Lackland if we were lucky), and weapons that were good, but hardly heavy enough for what we sometimes faced.

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Pat, I'm one the guys in that Amarillo AFB picture. Just surfin the web today and came across it. Blew my mind! Jim Walker from Cleveland. Ended up at Nellis AFB as a crew chief on a F111A. Lotta memories. Great airplane and great friendships. Hang my hat in Cambridge Ohio now. Take Care. Jim jimandrobie@hotmail.com

Jim Walker said...

Hey Pat, I'm one of the guys in that Amarillo AFB picture. Was surfin the web today and saw the picture. Blew my mind! Jim Walker from Cleveland Ohio. Ended up at Nellis AFB, Nevada as a crew chief on a F111A. Lotta great memories and friendships. Jim jimandrobie@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

Hey Pat thanks for serving. I was a SAC Guard (CDS) at Amarillo '62-'64. I also served in Alaska. Later in Civilian life worked with some guy named Hitchcock who was at Nha Trang too. I also helped build F-111s at the Fort Worth plant...ooorrah to all you guys out there from Amarillo Air Base! lowell@xdesign.ws

PRH said...

Jim and Lowell...thanks for stopping by, and Welcome Home!

treefrogdk said...

hi pat... i was at amarillo for basic beginning june 19, '68. loved it! haha. went to lackland for security police training and shipped to naha ab okinawa in november. those were some days, eh? dave... treefrogdk@yahoo.com

PRH said...

Hey Treefrog...glad you stopped by. You must have froze in that West Texas Winter in those old barracks...? Who was your TI?

Where else were you stationed as a Sky Cop?

Anonymous said...

I went through basic at Amarillo in Dec. and Jan.of 67/68. Went to Lowry (another closed base) and on to Luke for my first 12 months in the AF. The next 19 months were in Viet Nam, Phu Cat and Phan Rang. Then it was off to Japan with TDY stints to Korea. The last three months of my enlistment were on Okinawa. The Air Force did not consider Japan an overseas assignment, go figure.

Don Moates said...

Got to Amarillo in Aug 1966. Hot-
a new experience for a small town East Tennessee boy. My friend Harold Curtis and I took a western tour to Poyladura Canyon. He went to Turkey and I ended up at Orlando, FL AFB (it was turned over to the Navy later) and I was sent to Charleston SC. Served 4 years down to the minute. Don Moates, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Good times, especially the 3 years in Orlando before Walt D. got there.

Anonymous said...

I took basis at AAFB Jul/Aug 1968. Anyone in my BMT Flt wit TI A1c/Sgt Vargas?

Anonymous said...

Hi guys, I had basic at Amarillo from 23JAN67 to 08MAR67. Flight 029 with SSG Joseph Prokop - wow, 45 years ago! Hell of a guy!

There was a RIF of E5's over 20 years service in 1971 - did he leave the USAF at that time?

Hope all is well with you all.

John Walsh
john2129@aol.com

josullivanjr said...

Just stumbled onto your blog. I did my basic training Amarillo AFG Oct/Novembe 1968. Marched in the Veterans day parade downtown. Base was all but deserted. Absolutely nothing lonelier than being away from New England home (Boston) for first time and standing all night guard duty in October in the Texas panhandle on a nearly deserted base. Favorite T.I. quote "At this point they could make me stand on my head in the corner and stack B.B's and I wouldn't care".

Unknown said...

Pat, saw your blog and it reminds me of my time in the USAF. Amarillo, jan.'68 Lackland march '68. Pease AFB '68-69 Bien Hoa, RVN '70. We probably crossed paths somewhere. Welcome home, Brother.

PRH said...

Thanks for stopping by Russ Dee....were you a SP or what career field?

Anonymous said...

I took basic at Amarillo started August 6th 1968 . Jim M from cleveland OH . Had tSgt. Walter Piganoski .I thought I had met Satan himself. Met him a year or so later in Okinawa . He was a nice guy . It is all an act I guess . He was one he'll of an actor!

Anonymous said...

I took basic at Amarillo started August 6th 1968 . Jim M from cleveland OH . Had tSgt. Walter Piganoski .I thought I had met Satan himself. Met him a year or so later in Okinawa . He was a nice guy . It is all an act I guess . He was one he'll of an actor!

PRH said...

Thanks for stopping by Jim....we are still kicking, and that says a lot. :)

Anonymous said...

Jim M.again . I just wanted to mention one guy in my flight was going to be a sky cop . His name was Michael Antanopolis . He always seemed to be the sharpest dresser in the bunch . I just thought it would be a mighty small world if you had run into him somewhere .

Anonymous said...

Jim M.again . I just wanted to mention one guy in my flight was going to be a sky cop . His name was Michael Antanopolis . He always seemed to be the sharpest dresser in the bunch . I just thought it would be a mighty small world if you had run into him somewhere .

PRH said...

Name I don't recognize Jim...but we were such a large and diverse bunch, the largest career field in today's Air Force and back then, even more so....have a great winter in the cold white north{of Ohio} :}

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat
I arrived at Amarillo on 30 Sept 1968 and vaguely remember a sign outside of an Admin bldg we did some quick processing-in at on that night.
There was a sign with the words 'Amarillo AFB- Gateway to The Stars' or something like that.
Do you remember that sign ?
The AF was the best deicision that I ever made and I am glad that I joined.
Was stationed at Sheppard, Perrin and later RAF Bentwaters, England
John Dorry

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat
I went through basic at Amarillo in late Sept 1968
Remember arriving at about midnight and doing some preliminery paperwork in a bldg with a sign outside with the term "Gateway To The Stars" or something like that
Do you happen to remember that sign ?
Many years ago and my memory is a little foggy LOL
All the best
John Dorry

marvin roy said...

hi pat .. I was at Amarillo for basic training .. graduated in april,1968 ..
I remember drill instructors Vezaldenus, Johnson, Smith, and Hope ..I was part
of flight 062 ... 3300 squadron..

Anonymous said...

I WENT THROUGH BASIC TRAINING AT AMARILLO AFB FEB , MARCH , APRIL 1968 ..
I HAD SGTS . VEZELDEANUS , HOPE , SMITH , AND JOHNSON ..3333 BMS .. MY NAME IS
MARVIN ROY..I CAN'T RECALL WHICH FLIGHT .. MAYBE FLIGHT 061 OR 062 ..

Christopher Boles said...

Bulldog wanted to know in his post about having Sgt. Vargas as a TI/DI. I arrived in April of 68. Sgt. Vargas was one short Mexican from Texas that could whip your ass if you got out of line. He turned out after training to be a really great guy to talk with. His other half was Sgt. Williams in the other half of the building (2 flights to a barracks, 4 barracks to a quad) So much of what happened there is still is locked like cement in my memories, from 1st night processing to tornado warnings where we piled into the hallway with our mattresses. I often wondered what happened to all those guys we trained with. I served as a combat photographer in VN in 1969 and spent the rest of my enlistment at Vandenberg AFB, photographing missile launches. Christopher Boles

Unknown said...

ANYONE REMEBER OLE PIGANOSKI AND SLCOM, AND FARMER , BK IN 68...MET PIJ, BRIEFLY AT KIRTLAND...THINK HE WAS HEADED FOR JAPAN...VRY NICE FELLER....BUT I SWEAR...WANTED TO WUP HIM WHEN AT AMARILLO...BUT HE IS COOL DUDE...ANYONE REMEMBER PIJ?




DOC551

Unknown said...

HAS ANYONE HEARD OF OLE PETE CIRISSI, OR PETER PTAK...WENT THRU TRAINING WITH THEM....JUST LOST TRACK...68


Unknown said...

I LATER HEARD PIJ, WUS IN LAW ENFOREMENT OVER IN NEW ORLEANS, OR SOMEWHERE....THINK HE HAS PASSED...SRI ABT TT...JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE REMEMBERS SLOCUM IN 68....HE COST ME JAIL TIME...CALLED ME SOB....GESS WAS JUST KID

Anonymous said...

I too had Joe Prokop as my Ti....March of '68. Many of the things he told me have stayed with me.
Wish I could talk o him today. Would welcome the chance to talk to others who were there in 1968.
reach me at: capecoralffee@aol.com

Scott said...

Wow... this really sends me back in time. Arrived in Amarillo, late August 27, 1968 from Miami. My TI or DI was SSGT Vasaldenus. Went on to Chanute AFB for tech school as ACFT maintence tech (crew chief on KC-135a). Based at March AFB, 22nd Air Refueling Wing...
Thanks for the blog man... been a long winding road. All the best...

Unknown said...

What's up Pat I did my basic training during the same time period Sep 68- Nov. 68 Donald Mitchell Jr Boston,Ma.
damitchellassocs@gmail.com

Unknown said...

What's up Pat I did my basic training during the same time period Sep 68- Nov. 68 Donald Mitchell Jr Boston,Ma.
damitchellassocs@gmail.com

Unknown said...

What's up Pat I did my basic training during the same time period Sep 68- Nov. 68 Donald Mitchell Jr Boston,Ma.
damitchellassocs@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hey folks, did BMT T Amarillo from 3 may to 16 Jun 68. Had a Sgt Williams as TI, he didn't last, wad an alcoholic and they finally took his m
Bear hat away. Sgt James took over with the help of Sgt Bob Mechanic from our sister flight. Was in flight 175. Met Bob Mechanic in Tuy How AB RVN in 69. Believe it or not he remembered me. I had busted eye glass frames with lots of tape on them. I see lots of stuff about Oakland hardly anything about Amarillo. Got out in early 1999. Was a good life.ya'll take care!

Bob Harrison said...

Bob Harrison--Flt 170. Graduated 6 June 1968. My TI was Sgt Lightner, Sister Flight TI was A1C Jones.Those two guys had been demoted at some point and were pure evil. They really did make us pay for their mistakes. Imagine, middle of the night. sound asleep, top bunk and your mattress is pulled off onto the hardwood floor with you on it. Getting bounced off the wall by both TI's for having your coat turned inside out in your locker. They set us up every way they could. That went on every day in some form. One Airmen was thrown down the stairs because he'd had enough. His spleen was broke. We were all warned that if we talked about the incident we'd get worse. We had a spinal meningitis outbreak and were quarenteened for several days. We were told the infected Airmen died in the hospital. The rest of us were okay.And the old barracks had holes in the sheetrock and in April was very cold. It was a dreadful 6 weeks, but we survived and graduated with a smile on our face, just glad to get out of there alive. I still relive those nightmarish memories. They said they treated us the way they did in case we were ever in a POW camp. They were crazy and we were brain washed. Their supervisor was a SSgt. He was in on the b.s. too. In 1980 I was a MSgt, SP Flight Chief at Mather AFB, SAC. I met the SSgt who was a TSgt, and gave him a piece of my mind. Funny how that happens. The highlight: When I was flying out of Amarillo, I met and talked to Jimmy Hendrix and Bob Dylan at the airport magazine rack.They were actually really cool. My first assignment was Sept 68, RAF Lakenheath. I was at a party in London, Knotting Hill, the night Hendrix died. Just 2 blocks away.My friend Lee Hamlin, his dad, knew a BOAC (British Airways Pilot) that let us use his Knotting Hill Townhouse. There was 8 GI's. We went to an American Modeling Agencies and asked a young girl, Kathy Orange if her and some of the girls would like to come to a party. Long story short, 40 models showed up. We were but 8 guys. It felt like dying and going to heaven The house was well stocked with booze. I didn't know drunk girls could be so much fun. I spent 44 months at Lakenheath, time at Eglin, RAF Chicksands, Mather AFB, RAF Bentwaters and last assignment was McConnell AFB, Wichita, KS where I retired after 24 years. Absolutely no regrets. I've got great medical and good pension.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat, I too am a graduate of Amarillo AFB's Basic Training; however, I arrived middle of September and was there through the coldest of times. It is true, there is nothing between Amarillo and the North Pole but a piece of barb wire fence. Ken Pervine

Unknown said...

Joined the air force basic training Sept. 23 1968 Amarillo,Texas the barracks shook in high winds we were the last squad to graduate from Amarillo Went to Edwards AFB then to RAF Upper Hayford England then Zwiebrucken Germany F-4 mech.

Jack Willis said...

That’s me, Jack Willis, squatting to the left of Joe, the TI. I was a squad leader. Great memory. Pretty happy that day.

PRH said...

Hey Jack and the rest...I've not blogged much and saw some of the more recent posts...did you see the weather for Amarillo this coming week??? Minus 11 by Tuesday :o We would have froze our collective asses off in those old barracks...

I will be posting more on Amarillo and my Air Force days as the winter winds down here in Ohio...

Welcome Home!

Paul Dobbins said...

I went to Amarillo for basic training in June 1968. From there to Lowry for BB stacker school, then to Guam to work in the bomb dump. Later in 1971 I cross trained into EOD and spent another 20 years in that until I retired. I was assigned to duty stations at McCoy in Orlando, Ellsworth near Rapid City, Incirik, Turkey, KI Sawyer in MI, Indian Head Naval Ordnance station as an EOD instructor, Eielson in Alaska and finally at Seymour Johnson in North Carolina where I retired.

I had a great time and would do it all over again, if I were much younger -lol.

Paul Dobbins said...

I attended USAF Basic training at Amarillo in June 1968. Went to Lowry from there to become a BB Stacker. Later I cross trained into EOD where I spent my last 20 years.
I had a great career and would do it again in a heartbeat if I were younger.

Former Cricket Orbit Intel... said...

I am pretty sure I was in that Flight. Started basic 27 Jun 1968. My memory is not as good as it could be! Any chance of getting a higher resolution copy of the Group Photo? I would be grateful....

tcbrown said...

Wow, just stumbled across this blog and talk about sparking memories! I too left Port Columbus bound for basic in Amarillo end of March 1968. Prokop scared the crap out of us, but at the end he did seem to be a pretty good dude.

One (bad now funny) memory: somehow we screwed up an inspection, beds not tight enough? They made the entire barracks drag mattresses, sheets and pillows out to the quad and dump it in a pile. We then has 20-30 minutes to grab our stuff and get back in to make an air tight bed. Damn! I also remember the nose-toes about faces we had to do against the wall.

I went to Lackland for sky cop school and ended up at CCK in Taichung, Taiwan, then Bien How in 70 and back to CCK after. I'm working on a memoir of my five years in Asia (took short re-up) and it was awesome to read these posts. They also helped me shake loose a few - OK more than a few - cobwebs up there. Thanks to all for this and your service!

PRH said...

TCBrown: I have a Vietnam/Thailand "Sky Cop" event every year in Dayton, at the Hope Hotel on Wright Patterson...had to cancel that last 2 years because of the COVID BS, but am scheduled to meet and greet again in April 2022...usually about 60-80 of us show up and party and BS for 3 days {more BS than party these days}...drop me a line at:

pat.houseworth@gmail.com if you are interested no charge, all the beers and foods are free, except for the Banquet which is optional...

April 21-24, 2002 is the scheduled date for next spring

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