Thomas Benedict:
CLASS OF 1964
Rockwell City Community High SchoolClass of 1964
Rockwell city, IA
University of Washington - HistoryClass of 1990
Seattle, WA
Highline Community CollegeClass of 1988
Des moines, WA
Thomas's Story
Life
Thomas Steven Benedict: co. 638 11/24/64 to 2/65 from Iowa. There was one other Tom Benedict in another company ahead of me. I think he was from Colorado. My CO was AO-1 "Sam" Bass. I ran into him a few years later in a bar in Coronado Ca. If he is still alive, he probably still lives in the San Diego area.
I was fresh off the farm in Iowa and was wondering what I got myself into when I climbed off the train in San Diego that chilly night. There was a bunch of us on that train ride. Our first night on the train was one big party out of Des Moines, especially when we got to Kansas City, bought some booze there and had the conductor ready to throw us off the train by the next AM. Then we stopped in Clovis NM and bought more booze. Helluva ride!!! Sobered up real fast when we got to Dago the next evening and some 1st class started yelling at us and giving us push-ups on the station platform.
I started the next couple of days thinking I wa...Expand for more
s going to get mad at my CO and punch him out but I finally got the gist and enjoyed the rest of the training. I was on the winning team for the relay portion of the Track & Field event. I was the final runner of four relays, we had more banners than any other company there for all of the events that we competed in. We had a great company!!!
From Boot I went to NATTC Memphis for AT"A" school to become a "tweet" (avionics tech) and from there to Heavy Attack SQD-4 det Charlie based at Whidbey Is. Wa. one of the most beautiful places in the world. I was just up there this summer for a Sqdrn reunion and it is still beautiful. I have since retired from the USAF and taught school (MS & HS) for twenty yr. and now live in Florence Oregon on the Central Coast. I am on the board of directors for the new OREGON COAST MILITARY MUSEUM which just opened July 4th. I have been working on this project for the last three years and am glad to see it come to fruition.
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