Leaving An Khe

Leaving An Khe
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek     Leaving An Khe     The 3:10am start on this chronicle was kick-started by last night’s dream that filled in a small piece of an unsolved puzzle.  But the added clarity that dreams sometime provide left open...
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The Horrors of War

The Horrors of War
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   The Horrors of War Many military men and women who return from war are reluctant to talk about it but there have been enough stories and brief flashes of graphic descriptions that have leaked out or escaped from...
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Back to Tan Son Nhut, in a Dream

Back to Tan Son Nhut, in a Dream
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek    Back to Tan Son Nhut, in a Dream   Another dream, another chronicle eeked out about those unforgettable years during the Viet Nam War.  The ten days that Footloose Forester spent sleeping under his desk at Tan Son...
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We Have Flea Markets, Viet Nam Had Black Markets

We Have Flea Markets, Viet Nam Had Black Markets
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   We Have Flea Markets, Viet Nam Had Black Markets   Sometimes when we are looking for something we might like to have in our homes or workshop, we venture out to the flea market to see what they...
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Charlie Was Hit With Machine Gun Fire

Charlie Was Hit With Machine Gun Fire
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek     Charlie Was Hit With Machine Gun Fire   Charlie was happy to show you his busted arm and the .50 caliber slug from that machine gun that left him with a permanent scar.  He was also happy...
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He Was Not Forgotten

He Was Not Forgotten
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   He Was Not Forgotten As the guest speaker at church was announcing the upcoming hunting event sponsored for wounded veterans, she described one or two of them who had lost limbs during military service, yet found a way...
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679 Views
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Holiday at Cam Ranh Bay

Holiday at Cam Ranh Bay
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek    Holiday at Cam Ranh Bay   It wasn’t often that the Footloose Forester chose to pick up his suitcase and walk from the air terminal to his destination, especially when he was in Viet Nam during the height...
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The Dirty Rifle

The Dirty Rifle
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek     The Dirty Rifle   Every company in the training battalion at Fort Ord, California had an ongoing but unspoken competition for best company in each training cycle.  Basic Training in the US Army in those days of...
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Fliegerhorst 2017

Fliegerhorst 2017
On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Fliegerhorst 2017   The old Fliegerhorst Kaserne of World War II is becoming a modern housing complex.  Based on the construction activity seen on the most recent Google Earth satellite photos, the old military barracks building...
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New Fliegerhorst

New Fliegerhorst
  On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   The New Fliegerhorst   The old Fliegerhorst Kaserne of World War II is becoming a modern housing complex.  Based on the construction activity seen on the most recent Google Earth satellite photos, the old military...
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JJ Ryder and the 106

JJ Ryder and the 106
I don’t know if JJ Ryder is still alive and I’m not sure he ever made it back from Viet Nam. I hardly knew him except for being thrown into a situation where he needed me to be the A-gunner for his 106 recoilless rifle for about 15 terrifying minutes. It...
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1628 Views
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Always Remember This

Always Remember This
I received an incredible email that was so emotionally powerful I thought I'd recreate it here in by story blog. Hopefully, others will share this because it says it all.  REMEMBER THIS! It is the   VETERAN ,    not the preacher,     who has given us freedom of religion. ...
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In Flanders Fields the Poppies Grow

In Flanders Fields the Poppies Grow
On the road…again!!! Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek    In Flanders Fields the Poppies Grow  Of the many poems that haunted his imagination from grammar school, the one about a field of poppies in Ypres, Belgium had enough staying power to remain as a...
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A Test Pilot's grandson

I've been interested in aviation all my life. My dad was a pilot, and I grew up in a house with a basement full of airplane parts, since he also restored one airplane and built another. We had books and magazines about flying and took annual trips to Oshkosh to the...
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Part Three: Swimming In The Gene Pool

Part Three:  Swimming In The Gene Pool
There have been Carrikers in America since before the American Revolution.  The roots of the Carriker family tree are rooted in soil that is solidly German and they reach all the way back to the Black Forest region of Germany, which was once called “The Palatinate.”  The original American Carriker was...
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Part 4 "Into Hostile Skies"

Part 4  "Into Hostile Skies"
April 1, 1944 14,900 feet over the English Channel and climbing                Sunlight suddenly brightened the interior of the bomber. After what seemed like hours of climbing through the wet murky clouds of springtime England they had broken out into scattered sunshine. There were still wisps, patches, and sometimes full-blown clouds...
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Part Two: The Mission

Part Two:    The Mission
409 th Bomb Squadron 93 rd Bomb Group Hardwick Army Air Base Somewhere in England   April 1, 1944             Lieutenant Ed Robbins sat with his head cocked to one side listening intently to the thunder of the two big Pratt & Whitney radial engines out on the wing to his...
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1552 Views
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Part One: Preface:

Part One:    Preface:
    SO BRIEFLY AN EAGLE     PREFACE               Since I was only ten years old when he gave his life for his country my memories of my brother Rudy during his early years are part reality, part myth, and part stories I was told about him by my...
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Hampton, Virginia 1956-1959

Hampton, Virginia 1956-1959
Six weeks after our wedding, the elementary and high schools at Waldo, Kansas were dismissed for the summer.  It had been a busy time with Solo and Ensemble Music Contest, finishing the paper drives in order to purchase new band uniforms, performing the 'Pomp and Circumstance' music for high school graduation...
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TDY

TDY
On the road…again!!! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek TDY Getting out of the house once in a while is a desire that resembles an itch. Most people get that itch to travel on occasion, and soldiers confined to a military bases are no different.  With...
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3455 Views
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