Thank you Dan......
Your posts and this thread got me to thinking about my Dad's service in Vietnam. As I've mentioned before, he retired as a CMSgt which is the highest enlisted rank you can have (and which only 1% of NCO's in the Air Force are allowed to hold at one time).
I knew he was in the "Red Horse" squadron as I used to have their sticker on my bicycle but, I never really understood what the squadron did except as he said...."build bases." Being 10 years old and having a sticker with a 'red horse' operating a bulldozer and an M-16 over its shoulder.................. was pretty cool to say the least.
After searching the internet, I found a site that details the history of the Red Horse squadron and found out things that I never knew.
As it turns out, he was one of the 84 'original' squadron members (albeit they have misspelled our name slightly) and that the squadron itself was established because of what you were saying about private contractors.
"IN THE BEGINNING:
ON OR ABOUT 8-10 AUGUST 1965, BRIEFINGS WERE HELD BY THE COMMANDERS OF THE ARMY, NAVY, AND AIR FORCE, AT HEADQUARTERS PACAF, TO ASCERTAIN AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, COULD EITHER THE ARMY OR NAVY CONSTRUCT AIR BASES AND SUPPORT THE AIR FORCE IN THE VIETNAM WAR AND FUTURE WARS. THE ANSWER WAS NO, EVEN THOUGH BOTH SERVICES HAD BATTALIONS ASSIGNED TO SUPPORT THE AIR FORCE.
AT THIS BRIEFING WAS THEN COLONEL WILLIAM TOM MEREDITH, HE STATED THE AIR FORCE COULD AND WOULD DO THE JOB. THUS THE SECAF ISSUED ORDERS FOR THIS TO BE CARRIED FORWARD. ACTIVATED THAT DAY WAS THE USAF REDHORSE."
Red Horse Country
(poke here)
Although he never liked to talk about Vietnam that much, I will mention to him about finding this site and maybe he'll decide to take a look.
Keep your photo's and stories coming.
Reply With Quote