Post by Neal on Dec 4, 2023 7:50:29 GMT -5
Indulge me. I saw this picture online today and had a flashback.
Ironic Meeting
In January 1967 I drove my parents’ big old 1961 Pontiac Catalina Safari Wagon, similar to the one pictured, from Bath, Maine to Portland, Maine. About 45 miles in a snowstorm. I was 17 and a new driver. It was early morning when I left home, and I was on my way to the Armed Forces Examination and Entrance Station (AFEES) to finish testing and Delay Enlist in the Army’s Warrant Officer Flight Program.
While I was processing, I met a guy from Bath who was also processing. His name was Eric something. I had never seen him before that day. He was average looking except for a really big nose. When we finished processing and were told to go home, he told me he was stuck there because his recruiter had given him bus tickets to get to AFEES and back home. The snowstorm had turned into a blizzard and the bus wasn’t running. I told him I had my parents’ car, and he could ride back to Bath with me. He was hesitant because of the Bus Ticket and instructions his recruiter gave him. I suggested he just go with me and give his recruiter the unused ticket and explain why he didn’t use it next time he saw him. That’s what he did, and we hurried out in the storm to the parking lot the car was in.
In 1967 Interstate 95 in Maine was a hodge podge of 4 lane divided highway and old two-lane roads that served as North or South bound roads in places. In Yarmouth Maine there was a big swooping downhill curve where the North Bound lanes separated from the new section of highway and went downhill to old Route 1. It was that big swooper that was my undoing. I wanted to go to the right. The car kept going to the left. We ended up plowing into the median area which was a shallow depression. I managed to get the car pointed towards the right when we got into the snow. We shot back up onto the highway and spun around. Now we were sliding backwards on the black ice covering the road. It seemed like an eternity to me but was probably only a few seconds before we slid to a stop, miraculously, backed perfectly between the line’s, back tires against the curb in a parking spot a Claire’s Seafood Cove Restaurant which was at the bottom of the grade. I had a death grip on the steering wheel and Eric had a white-knuckle grip on the dashboard. While looking at Eric, I put the car in Park, turned it off and said, “You wanna get a Coke and a snack before we continue?” We did go in and get drinks and a snack and waited for our pulses and breathing to return to normal. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and I dropped him off at his house and never saw him again before I left town in August 1967 to join the Army.
Skip ahead to June 1969, Chu Chi Vietnam. I’m a 19-year-old CWO2 Huey Aircraft Commander. One day we got scrambled and launched, in a hurry, a flight of 9 to help some troops in contact with bad guys. We weren’t supposed to fly that day. I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to the others as we got airborne. That mission was intense, we were being shot at as we dropped the troops off and while leaving the landing zone. After we were safely flying back to base, we calmed down and reflected on what had just happened. My co-pilot, who I was familiar with, said something on the intercom. My Crew Chief, who I was familiar with, said something on the intercom. My Door Gunner whom I had not met said “I need a BEEYAY” in a very heavy Maine accent that I hadn’t heard in a while. I clicked the mic button and asked him where he was from. I turned my head to look back at him as he said “Maine.” He had his tinted visor down on his helmet and a really big nose sticking out of it. As I’m thinking “What are the Chances” I said, “You wanna get a Coke and a snack before we continue?” We both pulled our visors up and just stared at each other. It was Eric.
My co-pilot and Crew Chief were as stunned as Eric, and I were when we told them how we knew each other. It turned out that Eric had been In Country for a while in an MP unit. He had transferred the day before to my unit to be a Door Gunner. That was his first flight as a Door Gunner.
I'm curious if any of you have seen a car recently that brought back a memory?
