Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Wistful Wednesday: Far Guy

Far Guys Air Force career began in 1972 with an envelope from The Selective Service System.  Years before he had been assigned a number during the Vietnam Lottery.  His birthdate drew a 89.  The letter came in the mail and his Mother cried.

I was stunned but indifferent…it is what it is.  He would pass the physical and be drafted into the Army which meant he would end up on the ground in Vietnam.  Unless the Air Force would take him…they did and he was to be trained as a Non Destructive Inspection Specialist after Basic Training at Lackland AFB Texas.

Well he went to Texas alright but instead of heading for Chanute AFB in Illinois he was headed for Lowry Field in Denver Colorado.  Somehow the Non Destructive Inspection class was cancelled or full.  What now?  They would put him where the Air Force needed men the most.

He would become a 462.  A 462 was the Air Force Specialty code signifying the Airman would be a weapons loader including machine gun repair and missile launcher repair.  At Lowry he was trained on all weapons and missiles…including nuclear weapons.

Lowry Field Colorado Tech school

This was his class that he graduated with in 1973…probably around June 1st 1973.

Far Guy is third from the left in the back row.

In the photo is an Air to Air Missile and the smaller rockets pictured  are 2.75 Rockets.  They have different colors depending on the warheads.  Blue is inert.  Some rockets had white phosphorus or red phosphorus, some had dart like flechettes one inch long, some were made for air bursts and some for point detonating.

We enjoyed our time in Colorado.  We lived a couple of miles from the base in a one bedroom furnished apartment with a pool.  Every chance we got we would head for the mountains…Trica was just little she celebrated her first birthday in Denver.  Our dog Snuffer was two years old, there was a field across from the apartment building where we walked her.  We were there from mid February 1973 to about June 1 1973.

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18 comments:

linda m said...

So if the tag says don't remove from the bomb, how come you have the tag? Haha Guess being in the Air Force loading weapons was better than being in the Army and getting shot at. My first husband chose the Navy when he received his draft notice. Our men did what they had to do back then. Tell Far Guy, "Thank you for your service".

Anonymous said...

I worked at Lowry Air Force Base in 1977 & 1978! They shut the entire base down and my bosses were men who flew out of the place, I got the royal queen treatment as I was pregnant with our only child..I worked AFAFC the big building they built that housed all the finance for Air Force, Army, Navy etc...They shut it down tooooooo....I loved working there, I walked and walked and it is no wonder our only loves to hike and get out in the air each and everyday! Colorado to me was heaven we live in the pacific northwest now over 36 years all it does here is grow moss and rain like the dickens but the last few years have been no rain and no snow it is global warming for sure, we enjoy the sea and the seaside, we both grew up inland but love the sea and coast of Washington state, it is wild and frothy all year long and the fruits of the ocean are tasty, we enjoy staying with childhood friends from grade school and tiny cabins their great grandparents owned, can you imagine and most are Scandinavian, finns, Norwegians and Swedish..I love your blog..my only husband of nearly 41 years was a Army man on a Air Force base in Germany and then in Hawaii, he said the Air Force treated him like a king...Have a most wonderful sweethearts day, love to read your blog! Give Chance a big smooch from us mary and elli..ciao!

Linda Kay said...

Please thank Far Guy for his service. Sounds like a dangerous job to me. My daughter and SIL are army vets, he a doctor, and she in the nurse corp. I appreciate those military folks immensely!

MTWaggin said...

Wow look at how young all those men were! I had no idea you lived in Colorado or that Far Guy was an AF man. Love learning new things about blogger friends!

Mac n' Janet said...

My husband got his draft notice in 1965 and had to report in for his physical 2 days after our wedding. He did well on all his tests and kept being sent on for more training. He ended up spending 21 years in the Army, but never served in Vietnam.

Nancy said...

Lowry is where I went in the late 1970s to be tested and interviewed for a teaching job with the Department of Defense.

Linda W. said...

Interesting to hear about your hubby's service. My dad was in the Air Force in the early 60s. He was a navigator on the B-52s. During his 5 years in the service, we lived in California and North Dakota (the dreaded Minot!). I grew up next to Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, SD.

Country Gal said...

My father was a British solider then and a sniper in Singapore . Lovely story and photo you have there . Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !

DJan said...

My dad was in the Air Force and I well remember being an Air Force brat. There are worse ways to grow up! :-)

L. D. said...

We visited the Air Force base and the first person we ran into was an Iowan man. The chapel was the only thing we really could go see. We see the buildings on the show Stargate, used in backdrops for the series.

Intense Guy said...

That's a cool photo! I love the F-4 Phantom II in the background!

Ryker said...

Fuzzy bombs? Is that like fuzzy logic?

Red said...

What is it they say? All's fair in love and war. So far guy didn't get what he expected and you were able to follow Far guy. Good times.

troutbirder said...

Wistful indeed. Far Guy must have been older than some of those teenagers... How did the draft do that?

Jacqi Stevens said...

Had no idea you were in Colorado then. Just think...you may have crossed paths with my Air Force in-laws...maybe...my brother in law was at the Academy then. My husband and his sisters were Air Force brats.

That said, I can still understand why Far Guy's mom cried. Hard times. Wouldn't want to see that happen again. But, as you said, "It is what it is..."

Primitive Stars said...

Evening, what a fantastic picture. Always enjoy your Wednesday posts.Blessings Francine.

Far Side of Fifty said...

There was that big drawing with the blue capsules known as the Vietnam Lottery in late 1969 or early 1970. Far Guy was in College so yes he was a little older than some:)

Rita said...

Love learning new things about you guys! Kids these days can't imagine the draft.