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WWII Military Men I was Stationed With During 1960-68
Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2024 2:25 pm
by dustymars
MSgt Paul J. Hodana arrived at the same airplane as my friend, Mas Yamashita and I did at Naha Air Base, Okinawa. During our time at Naha three of us younger airmen would be invited to Sgt Hodana’s base housing for holidays, where his wife would always cook a great meal and entertain us for hours. They had grown children and some were in the military, so they missed them, and she mothered over us as her own. Something to always remember them by. Sgt Hodana was a radioman on a B-24 during WWII in Europe and was shot down then crash-landed in Switzerland. The American POW’s were barracked next to the German POWs, but could not interact due to high fencing and barricades. He had many war stories to tell us on such occasions. Most of the older NCOs during my time in the US Air Force were WWII and Korean veterans.
Re: WWII Military Men I was Stationed With During 1960-68
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 5:08 pm
by dustymars
Our friend and mentor, ALPO's Mars Recorder for many years, Chick Capen, served in the Army Air Force from 1945-1953 and was a tactical squadron flight instructor with the Army Air Force during the Korean War. He flew P-51 fighters during that war. The only photos of him during that time are of his training sessions in what looks like a Cessna Airmaster and maybe a J3-Cub. He was a flying Sgt.
Capen is mentioned in a book, Men, Rockets, and Space Rats, [Lloyd Mallan, ©1955, Pub. Julian Messner, Inc., http://www.jdhartsell.com/MenRockets.html] and discussed the book with him at length. This book had a great influence on me and may have changed my life [Charles F. Capen - Men, Rockets, and Space Rats, 50, 51-54]; [Secrets of Space Flight, 45, 94]
https://unconventionalspace.blogspot.co ... light.html