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.

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.