I enlisted in the Air Force in the middle of the Vietnam mess, 1966. Everyone was going to Southeast Asia and I was sure I would follow my brother who was already there. After basic at Lackland I went to Keesler AFB in Mississippi to go to radar operations school. Nine weeks later they sent me to Sweetwater, Texas. Where? I went home on leave where I got stuck in a tremendous snowstorm. I sent a telegram to the admin officer that I would be late. I was not charged leave time after finally getting there. While at Sweetwater I found out that it was the WASP training base during World War II. 18 months into that assignment they decided to close the radar site. I had a choice of going to Alaska or Greenland, or Florida for more training. It took me almost no time to pick Tyndall AFB, Fla. Three from Sweetwater, spent another nine weeks training for BUIC III operations. That was the latest and greatest computerized radar at the time. We were assigned to Othello, Wash. Where? We drove from Tyndall to Nashville to spend the first night at one of the guys' home. Then on the road again to Washington. We had a mishap in Buffalo, Texas. Where? We had an accident and the car was totaled. Luckily another buddy going to Othello lived nearby in Athens, Texas, and we headed out again. We drove across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, stopping in Los Angeles to spend a night at one of the guys' cousins. After a tour of "Tinsel Town" we went north to Eugene, Ore., where we were snowed in overnight. We called the site to say we would be arriving late. Following the Columbia River, we turned north at the Tri Cities for the final leg to Othello. 19 months later we were told that we were in a restricted career field and were going nowhere. We all finished our four-year tours and finally went home to become civilians again. Talk about being lucky right at the height of the Vietnam mess. I spent four years stateside staring at radar screens. I served my country, doing what they asked me to do and going where they asked me to go. I'm proud to have served.