Radschool Association Newsletter

Radschool Association Newsletter - Vol 8

28 Feb 2001

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Memorial EC-47 at Security Hill, Kelly AFB, Texas

My immediate boss, Flying Officer Bob Howden, came to Kelly to check on our training for a couple of weeks. Bob got a mention in the local San Antonio newspaper (now owned by Murdoch) when he ordered "Steak & Eggs" and the waiter thought that he asked for "Stack & Eggs" so Bob received a stack of pancakes and eggs. Bob and I drove into Mexico, 150 miles away, for a weekend with the intention of buying some Mexican souvenirs and spending two nights at a motel. By midnight the first night both of us had spent most of our money and didn't have enough to stay one night. We drove back to San Antonio along a country farming road and stopped several times to drink with the locals in some raunchy bars with dirt floors (true..). Now that I have lived in the States for 29 years, I shudder at the risks we took that night. That night Bob and I also practiced drawing and firing our pistols and gun belts that we bought in Mexico. We had a car full of sombreros, ponchos, cowboy boots etc, etc. After Bob left, I continued wearing blue jeans and cowboy boots to work, which seemed to be the common dress of most civil servants who work around us at Kelly AFB. This is when I first grew a beard which seemed to go well with my cowboy uniform of the day. A few weeks later, we all received a friendly warning from Sqn Ldr Philpot that any RAAF caught by Australian customs with guns or flick knives would be in serious trouble so Bob and I quietly sold ours to our Yankee mates.

On two occasions I was apprehended by security guards for asking technical questions in high security areas. For example; I noticed a trolley loaded with about 40 of the decoders for the APX 6 SIFF system that all had unrepairable tags attached. In Australia we wouldn't throw away these small decoders (K640, I think) which cost over $7,000 each so I asked a few questions about their servicing procedures and what codes they were using. I was quickly escorted to security headquarters by three MP's and questioned about my interest for two to three hours. Another time Roy and I were detained by MP's for quite a while because we were wearing RAAF overalls with unfamiliar rank. During the first week I was in San Antonio, I accidentally met a lady who later became my wife and we were married in Ipswich a year after my return to Amberley. On the return flight to Brisbane, I flew with Roy, Kev (The Beast), his wife Bernie and Carl Sandford. Kev and I played cards for the entire trip (22 hours) and I don't remember him speaking to his wife for more than two minutes. I know that she was a little upset and I'm sure that he heard all about it more than once after he got home.

Next issue, John concludes his story of his time away with the F111, and we learn of the frustrations felt by the blokes who came back to Australia, after being away all those months, but who never worked on an F111 again.

As a postscript to John’s story, Toby Payne from NQ recently told us of the passing of Kev Bettiens. Kev died of cancer just over 2 years ago; he is survived by his wife who now lives in Bundaberg.

We received a letter from Robert Potter who lives in South Australia. He writes:-

I recently come across your web page on the air base at Laverton. I am particularly interested in the early history of Laverton Air Base and the lists of people who were passing through during the last war around 1943 as I am trying to track down my birth father and I have very little to go on, other that he was in the RAAF and he was based at Geelong/Laverton in that year. It is a bit of a needle in the hay stack, but you may be able help me in locating the records of who was passing through at the time? I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has any knowledge on this matter.

If you think you can help, drop us a line and we’ll put you in touch with Robert.

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