Tom,
It didn't matter what time you were over there. We had a job to do, we did it and was cut loose.
That was a good comment and a lot of thought and soul searching transpired! I hope that took even a small load from the excess baggage that I know we all still carry.
Were all glad to see ya' home Brother and don't you forget it!! It's so hard for people that have never went through this, to see past that concrete facade we wear, that there is a person with a heart that is really much the same fun loving, caring individual, that would give anyone the shirt off his back. At the same token, while we're capable of being that person, we still have the feeling of survival which kicks in the animal instincts. That is what I think our generation thought we were. I felt so out of everything, a loner and I didn't do the norm in relationships too well.
I too got to see some of the people from home. We had a city and county high school back then and I was walking down the sidewalk at Cam Ron Bay, and saw this guy walking down the sidewalk. The closer he got, the more he looked like someone I knew. He was a Drummer in the band. I stuck my hand out and about the time I said his name, he called mine. We talked breifly and swapped stories and finally left. Another incident, same time, I ran into one of the guys I graduated with. I virtually walked over him in the terminal when he was going home. Then I bumped into the guy I went to take the WO test. He passed and I missed the score by 4 points. He went to pilots school and I went to Maintenance School. When I was derosed to the 155th in Ban Me Thout, I ran into him on a flight. The 4th Div. was down "RON" there and I bumped into him. Needless to say, we got shit faced together on a bottle of Jack Daniel.
I guess the best memories I still have is the faily of the 119th AHC and Holloway. The kinship, the great pilots and the crazy crews acting as one, and all the great support people we had to keep our asses in the air and helped us make it back home, for if it weren't for the combined effort put forth, we couldn't have flown those missions nor done the job we were given!