My biological father was a Pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force; my stepfather was a pilot for the Army Air Corps.
Interestingly, my father and stepfather both flew private planes after the war.
There was a massive flood in the Tri-Cities, Washington, where my stepfather lived with his family in Richland. His plane flew out of the Richland airport. He was flying people from the flooded Tri-Cities to different airports across the Columbia River in Oregon. At the same time, my biological father was living in Walla Walla, Washington, and flying a private plane.
My mother was dating my father from Walla Walla; she lived in Richland then. They decided to get married in Walla Walla, but they had a big problem with the planned week.
The wedding was due. Columbia flooded over, so Dick, my father, flew over to Richland to pick up my mother for the wedding.
I had to laugh, for they were flying past each other, my father-to-be and my stepfather.
I joined the Air Force in 1973, married my wife, and went to San Antonio for basic training. My wife and I later moved to Witcha Falls for my training.
Later, I was stationed at McChord Air Force Base during the Vietnam War. One experience I had was to fly in a push-pull scout plane for a unique program. We would fly over the wooded area where the army had stationed tanks, personnel carriers, and troops and try to spot them in the woods. We used an experimental helmet with a sight in the helmet where we would line up with a target we spotted in the woods and push a button. The Air Force uses some of this design in the present day. (Don't quote me on that) Ric
Comments