Clapsaddle, Terrance's Bio ... (20 March 2015)
I came to LA-94 from LA-55 when it went National Guard. I left in APR of 1966 with orders for Okinawa. I spent 18 months over there and came back with an assignment to Ft. Bliss, Texas, ARADCOM Support Personnel Unit. While there I applied for Nike Herc Fire Control Maintenance Course 24Q. Upon graduation, I was assigned back to ARADCOMSPU. We prepped the Integrated Fire Control Equipment for the units coming to McGregor Range for annual service practice. CW0 4 Charles Bush, told me to apply for Warrant since the field was open. He told me not to come back to the range until I completed the application. I did that and I was selected to go to SAFEGUARD Data Processing Key Personnel Course. Three weeks into the course I received a letter from 32nd AADCOM in Germany welcoming me there. A short time later, I was notified of my acceptance to be a Warrant Officer. I spent 3 years and 3 months at Alpha Battery at Wackerheim Germany. I left Germany and was assigned to A Battery 2/52 in the everglades national park, Homestead Flordia. When the site closed I was transfered to Ft. Bliss Texas and assigned to the SQT) Skill Qualification Test Division. I was given orders to go to Alaska and was assigned to A Battery 1/43rd ADA. I spent 6 months to the day at the battery. Closed the site and turned in the equipment....what a chore. From Alaska, I was assigned to The Air Defense Board at Ft. Bliss, TX. Served the rest of my time there and retired CW0 3 Dec 31, 1982.
I went to work for GTE repairing telephone equipment. I put in for a position on a maintenance team at Ft. Bliss and was accepted. Went to work there in 1984. Applied for a position as an instructor/writer for Patriot Air Defense System and went to work there 1985. Spent 24 and 1/2 years as an instructor writer for the Patriot Radar at Abernathy Park. Retired at the end of February 2010. My total time in federal service was 44.5 years............yes I was a lifer....
I was married to Gloria M. Clapsaddle on May 10th 1968 and we have four daughters, and 8 grandchildren: 4 boys and 4 girls. Going to celebrate our 47th anniversary. Don't know how she put up with me for so long, but she did.
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Guy, Ron's Bio ... (18 May 2012)
At the age of 16 I was selling the Record American newspaper downtown Boston after school as I did everyday. Once I sold all my papers I headed to the White Castle Hamburger joint. As I was walking, I past the Army Recruiting office. I notice a poster they had displayed on the their window that said, guarantee stateside duty working with Nike Hercules Missiles in California, so, I went in and ask the Sergeant what the deal was. He said, just how old are you boy? I said sixteen. He said great, get the hell out here and come back when you turn 17. I said ok, I’ll see you tomorrow. He said wait a minute what do you mean? I said what I mean is it’s my birthday tomorrow and I’ll be 17. He got this big shit-eating grin on his face and said come here boy and have seat. He said do your parents know you’re here and I said oh yes, just a small white lie. He said you know your parents will have to sign for you in order for you to join. He said do you think your parents will sign and I said it’s just my mother and I and absolutely, we’ve talked about me joining the Army lot’s of times (I’ve never had a conversation with my Mother about joining the Army). He said can you get her to come to my office tomorrow so she can sign the papers and I said we don’t have a car and she can’t get around very well because of her bad hip (she didn’t have a bad hip, I just knew if I could get the recruiter to my house we would have a better chance of convincing her to sign the paper work). We sat down and he took down all the information and said I’ll see you tomorrow and the rest is history
22 days later I was on a bus heading for Fort Dix, NJ. We arrived at the reception center at 12:am. I can honestly say I was excited. We started the induction process and around 4:45Am we were issued a mattress, sheets, pillow and a blanket. We got to the barracks made our bunks. Before I could even get into my bunk, some jerk was playing revelry. I couldn’t believe it.
Our first trip to the mess hall we formed a Colum of two’s and started marching to the mess hall. It was so friggen dark outside we put our hands on the shoulder of the guy in front of us. That was the beginning of the longest day of my life.
After two days, we were finally loaded into cow buses and heading to basic training. After a couple of weeks of basic I wasn’t so excited anymore. However, made it to graduation.
Paul Rouleau, John Reardon and Ronnie Burgeron and I were all from the Boston area and all 4 of us had orders to report to Fort McArthur for advanced training. So, we got this bright idea to drive from Boston to California in Ronnie’s 1959 Ford Custom. Bad idea. John Reardon didn’t have a driver’s license so he was supposed to sleep during the day and keep the driver awake at night. Paul, Ronnie and I drove 4 hours on and 8 hours off and John slept day and night. We left Boston at 10am Monday morning and arrived in San Pedro at 4pm Thursday afternoon. We found a gas station with a men’s room and took turns changing into our dress uniform and reported for duty at Fort McArthur.
After reporting to the Company Commander, we were sent to the First Sergeant’s office.
He looked at us and said, well, well the boys from Boston have arrived. I didn’t know what to think about his comment. All I could say was yes First Sergeant. He smiled and shook our hands and said welcome to Fort McArthur, you guys are assigned to barracks so and so, get yourself settled and I’ll see you Monday morning at 0700 hours. I said to myself Monday morning, did I hear him right? We all looked at each other grabbed our paper work headed for the barracks and that was the beginning of the best 18 months of my life
After leaving LA-94 it was the beginning of the worst 18 months of my life. I was supposed to report to a Nike site in Kaiserslautern, Germany but by the time I got to Berlin they had closed the site, so I was reassigned to Artillery Company in Schweinfurt (which translates to Pig Town in English). Two month’s in that outfit and I came down on levy and was assigned a supply unit. Great duty. Loved it. Three months with the supply unit, I was assigned to Company C 2d Battalion 30th Infantry 7th Army, light weapons platoon. Holy crap, the only weapons I ever fired was the M-14 in basic and the M-1 Carbine we had to qualify with on the hill. So now they got me humping a M-60 Machine Gun with 3 belts of ammo rapped around my neck. To be honest it was a real rush to fire that thing. However, I cannot express how miserable I was. 1 to 2 weeks a month in the field, winter and summer playing stupid war games in Han’s beet fields.
Discharge time finally came around and I was out of there. I returned home to Norwood, MA and entered into a Hotel Management program. Over the next 10 years I managed Sheraton Hotel’s, Howard Johnson Motor lodges and Ramada Inns. For the next 10 years I started several business and sold them to investors and for the last 25 years I’ve been in Commercial Real Estate Financing. I still dabble in it a little but for all intent and purpose, I’m retired.
I was married for 23 years, had 2 great boys and I’m waiting to be a Grandfather for the first time come this July and at one time had a handicap of 3.
News flash ..... My Grandson was born July 5th. His name is Graham Fredrick Guy. Mom, Dad, Graham and Grandpy are all doing fine
Ron Guy (May 18, 2012)
Revised July 24, 2012
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Harvey, Terry (December 28, 2011)
Damon Patten, Charles Vosburgh, and myself were assigned to Btry A, IFC right out of Basic Training. We arrived in Newhall in January 1967, and stayed there until November of that year. We three had all applied to go to 24Q school at Fort Bliss. When we got there, it was discovered that Damon was color blind, therefore could not attend the school, and was reassigned as an infantryman, and shipped off to Vietnam. Charlie and I graduated a year later. He went to do an assignment in Korea and I stayed on at Fort Bliss working on the missile systems that the students trained on. I made SSG in 3 years and 3months of military service and then was sent to Germany for 3 years. In 1975, I ETSed, went to college in Maine and attended ROTC. In 1979, I earned my Bachelor's Degree and was commissioned a 2nd LT, and went back to Fort Bliss, then Germany, then Fort Bliss, then Erie PA, where I taught ROTC at Gannon University. In 1992, I retired as a Major in Maine, my home state. I owned an antiques business for a few years, then, in 2008, contacted a woman I had met in El Paso in 1968, moved to El Paso four years ago, got married, and am now a Century 21 Realtor here.
Damon was never the same after he returned from Vietnam. His nerves were shot, and he became very reclusive. He died of problems with his heart about three years ago.
Charles got out of the military after his tour to Korea, and became a truck driver. He is married and lives in Massachusetts.
I remember my tour on that mountain outside of Newhall as the best of my 23 year military career. Those guys were like family to me. We worked hard, but had lots of fun, as well. I have so many fond memories, that it would take a book to tell it all. I owe my military career to SFC Greco. I had made a mistake, and went AWOL for a couple of days because of some personal problems. When I reported back, the Commander wanted to fry me, but SFC Greco protected me, and there was never any record of it. I appreciated his leadership so much that I became a model soldier, and, later, a better NCO and Officer. I saw him one day at Fort Bliss when I was a Captain and thanked him. He was a Command Sergeant Major at the time.
I was just in California for Christmas, and drove pass Newhall. I thought about showing my wife the site, but had no idea where to go after Placereda Canyon, so I did not try. Next time, I will get directions from one of you guys.
Terry Harvey (December 2011)
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Lewis, Paul ..... signed our guest book 3/31/11 sent BIO 9/20/2011
LA-94 , looking back brings some of the warmest and fondest memories of my lifetime. After 94 was deactivated in the fall of 68' I was sent to the MSP defense (Minneapolis-St Paul and from there to 32nd Adcom and gravy duty on an Air Defense Eval team. Following discharge in the fall of 1970 I returned to Portland and my job as an Electricians apprentice. To be honest after the military pulling wire and bending conduit just didn't give me the "thrill" I needed. I got married in 1974 and immediately applied to the Oregon State Police. I was accepted in the cadet program in 1974 and spent the next 30 years rolling the highways of Oregon, raising two kids and loving god's gift of my life my wife. After retiring in 2002 I got a little fat and said this isn't for me and accepted a position as Supervisor of Security for Port Of Portland.
Law enforcement past from me to my kids. (Where did I go wrong ?)
My Wife Bev of 37 years (2011) and I are happy grandparents now and live in Portland.
I have heard it said that the past brings only fond memories because that is what our minds retain.....Walking back up the hill from Newhall cause I didn't have a car ...darn what's fond about that ?..
LA-94......good and not so good ...so many memories...
Paul Lewis Portland, Oregon LEWIS1974@AOL.COM
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Huddleston, Chuck signed our Guest Book 12/01/2010
LA-94 really was a great duty station, but tough living on that mountain top if you didn't have a car. Newhall was fun, lot's of pretty girls. Had LOTS of guard duty. I was stationed there right out of BCT and trained to be a Fire Control Operator on the launcher control panel. Was there for a year (62-63...I remember a couple of names you have on your list), and then I left to go to the Hawk IFC maintenance course @ Ft. Bliss. After finishing weeks of the electronics portion, we started to go to clases on the Hawk itself and I wasn't very impressed, after serving on a N-H site. I applied for a transfer to the Herc IFC maintenance course, (226/23G/24Q MOS), and was accepted. With both courses, I spent a year going to school there. Went to Miami-Dade defense, Germany and then was transferred to the ARADCOM evaluation unit at McGregor range to maintain the radars and T-1 for the SNAP units. In 1970, I applied and was selected for the Medical Equipment Repair School @ FAMC in Aurora Colorado. Spent another year in school and then started my career in the Biomedical Equipment Repair field, made E-7 and applied for warrant. I retired in 1983 as a CWO-3.
Living in Fort W orth, Texas email Chuckfw@yahoo.com
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Johnston, Robert BIO sent to us November 28, 2010
yes im the real robert johnson oh and how do i remember being on that lonsome hill im that yound black fellow who always got in trouble one way or the other being yound and wild at 17 never being away from home and the army sending me to that hill was murder; you name it and it was my name on it anything that happen' late comming up the hill, fighting, k.p i think i was the only one that went to viet-nam stright of the hill in 1968 during the tet ofference i was there in hue/on a 155 howister mech unit out of fort/carson colo i was on the hill during the fire i remember guys like william stratton, pfc.billups in shop sgt.wright and others.well im 61 now a grandfather 6 times and still can box my ass off;play basketballfish and hunt all the time when im not on the road; im a owner opr i haul loads across the united states been doing it for 26yrs i own a 2008 frieghtliner columbia/ with a D-60 engine you can see im a trucker i know my truck better than my wife.
Living in Newark, NJ email goouch@hotmail.com
