Anthony, thanks much but we all do the best we can wherever life puts us.
I wish I had the knowledge that some of you guys on this list have. One
reason I love ham radio, it gives us a chance to meet so
many different guys in so many different fields and places. Thanks again
-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Anthony Vece
Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2013 9:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Phone patches
Hi Fred;
Thank you for your service to our country.
People like you are just the greatest!
73 de Anthony
Sent from my Verizon iPhone 5!
On May 1, 2013, at 7:29 PM, Fred Adams <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Thanks for a great e-mail.I was not a ham when this was going on but I
> did serve in VietNam and was blinded there. I remember seeing the
> MARS radio tents before I was blinded and many of the guys were able
> to communicate with family and friends through you MARS guys.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Ronald E. Milliman
> Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:22 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Phone patches
>
> Remember the days of the phone patch?
>
> In the late 1960's, during the Vietnam war, a group of us hams went
> out to Barry Goldwater's ham station at his home in Paradise Valley
> Arizona in shifts to handle phone patches between our troops stationed
> in the South Pacific islands, Korea, and limited other QTH's in Asia
> and their loved ones here in the states. Senator Goldwater's ham call
> was K7UGA. If you read what I just wrote carefully, you will notice I
> referred to Senator Goldwater's ham station, not his ham shack.
> Believe me; it was far from a shack. It was a totally separate
> building from his house. In fact, I was never in his house, just his
> ham station. When you walked into the front door of his ham quarters,
> you were walking into a fairly large room, about
> 20 feet wide by about 30 or more feet long. It had a really large
> fireplace on the right end with a beautiful mantel that went above the
> fireplace the entire length. Senator Goldwater's Kachina Doll
> Collection was displayed on that mantel and was a very precious
> collection. Off on the left end of this main room was one step up to
> another little room that was a kitchenette with a very well-stocked
> refrigerator with all kinds of non-alcoholic beverages that we could
> drink when we were operating our shift. Of course, he had cups for
> cold water, and I think there were some snack items too, but I never
snooped around in his kitchenette.
>
> When you walked into the front door and straight ahead was his ham
> equipment. It was the entire Collins station, receiver, transmitter,
> and amplifier. On the wall right above his ham gear was a large Bronze
> bust of General Chiang Kai-shek of Taiwan.
>
> Senator Goldwater's antenna tower was something you simply had to
> actually see to believe. First, his house and ham station were on top
> of a high hill in Paradise Valley, just outside of Scottsdale,
> Arizona, which is just outside of Phoenix. The tower was on high
> ground to begin with, but it went up another 75 feet to the huge,
> multi-element, tri-bander perched on top of the tower. When we rotated
> the beam, the entire tower rotated, not just the beam, but the entire
> tower. The base of the tower was bolted to the motor that was geared
> to slowly rotate the mast. The bolts were the largest bolts I have ever
seen. The head of each bolt was at least 15 inches across.
>
> That was quite an experience. At times, we were all sobbing and crying.
> Why? Because we were connecting our soldiers up with their parents,
> Moms and Dads, and their girlfriends and wives. Each soldier only had
> just a few minutes to talk because we had so many to get patched into
> the states. The fellows were on places like Wake Island, Guam, Korea,
> and other Far East places. They didn't want to stop talking. The wives
> and girlfriends were crying and resisted hanging up in fear that they
> might never hear their loved one's voice ever again. The girls would
> cry out over and over: "I love you! Please, please be careful and take
> care of yourself! I love you; I love you; I love you!!" Just the memories
make me choke up writing this.
>
> I'm sharing this with you because it is one more aspect of ham radio
> that never got much attention at the time, and frankly, there aren't
> too many of us left that participated in these overseas phone patches
> that served a very special purpose and role in ham radio and is an
> important part of our ham radio history.
>
> Ron, K8HSY
>
>
> Dr. Ronald E. Milliman, retired Professor Western Kentucky University
> Ph: 270-782-9325
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
> Chair, American Council of the Blind Public Relations Committee
>
> Chair, American Council of the Blind's Monthly Monetary Support
> Program
> (MMS) Committee
>
> President: South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB)
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