Your more than welcome.


Sent from my Verizon iPhone 5!

On May 2, 2013, at 5:58 AM, Fred Adams <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> 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)