Training and MOS
My ARMY Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was 842.20, Audio Specialist, which I'd received as a result of training at Ft. Monmouth, NJ for several months in 1956/57. After training, my first post was Redstone Arsenal Alabama, where I was based for over a year, working in a photo lab while in the midst of the new, exciting, missile age. Redstone was the center of rocket development for the US Army, and Dr. Werner Von Braun and his colleagues were working there in the new Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). ABMA was the forerunner to NASA.When and How I Arrived on Okinawa
In early 1958 I received orders to go overseas. After spending some time on leave at home, I flew to Ft. Lewis, Washington and after about a month waiting for a ship, I boarded the USNS Barrett in Seattle bound for Okinawa. On voyage I worked in the ship's bakery--a good thing for me because there I got somewhat better food then the men in the troop mess. I was at the root of a small scandal because of this. The milk being given the troops was spoiled. I was getting good milk in the bakery. When I revealed this all hell broke loose, and a complaint was made to the Chaplain--and from then on the milk for the troops was good. After about a 17 day crossing, I arrived at Okinawa via Yokohama, Japan in early April. The Pacific crossing was not a pleasant voyage. Many, including me became seasick, and this lasted four or five days. After the brief stop at Yokohama where we were allowed to disembark and explore for a few hours, we re-boarded the Barrett and proceeded south for a day or two and finally arrived at Naha Port, Okinawa. I recall vividly how hot and humid it became the closer we got to Okinawa.Duties in The Unit
I spent about a year working on Okinawa, where I had duties such as recording North Korean propaganda broadcasts from Radio Pyongyang, making leaflet drops, holding bull horns out the open door of an L19 light utility airplane, and monitoring radio teletype receivers in the field at remote locations to monitor international news. One mission of our organization was to produce propaganda radio broadcasts to be recorded and transmitted to North Korea. These were recorded and broadcast by The Voice of United Nations Command (VUNC) from our Okinawan studios and transmitters in Japan or Korea. We had complete recording studios, as well as a cadre of Korean and Chinese actors/actresses and writers to make the recordings. Many nights I would spend manning a short wave radio receiver and tape recorder, recording broadcasts from Radio Pyongyang. Translators in our organization would then translate selected items, and a script of comment or rebuttal was prepared, then recorded by actors/actresses, and then sent for broadcast back to North Korea. We also had to maintain the ability to keep our equipment running, and one of our technicians was Tom Nagayasu, a repatriated Japanese engineer, who was one of the designers of the electrical system of the famous Japanese “Zero” fighter plane.I spent harrowing moments on missions from time to time. Once I was strapped in a jump seat in an L19 aircraft with the rear door removed. I had to lean out this door holding a bullhorn to test the ability to broadcast speech to the ground through this loudspeaker. The only thing holding me in the aircraft were the four small pins holding my seat to the floor, and the strap holding me to the seat. I was prepared for the flight and strapped in by a member of the Army air team who were supporting us. I was amazed I was given a parachute and told it wouldn't be of any use below 1500 hundred feet or so. Our flight wasn't going to fly much above 1200 feet. Holding a bullhorn out of a flying aircraft generates a great amount of wind resistance, and believe me this was a scary flight. And to top it off, on one occasion I recall the pilot misjudging an approaching hill, and had to make a quick push on the throttle to clear it. On another occasion we were dropping leaflets on Okinawa in a "conserve water" campaign. We called the big marine squad helicopters “pregnant guppies”. They were piloted by Marine Sergeants. Since we were Army, I guess on this occasion the pilot felt a need to shake up his passengers, and decided to do an auto gyro landing after the mission was completed. To do this, he took the chopper to a good altitude above the landing pad, then cut power to the rotor. In such an event one feels an immediate weightlessness, and then slowly the rotors start to counter spin and the chopper settles like a maple seed onto the landing pad. That was a pretty scary experience for a naïve soldier!
TDY To Laos
In early 1959 I was given orders to go to Laos on temporary duty (TDY) with radio studio equipment --to set it up, and to train Laotians to operate it. At this time a lot was going on in Southeast Asia. The French-Indo China War had recently ended, and the Second Taiwan Strait dispute was causing a lot of unsettling anguish with the Chinese. The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) had been formed to look after various countries there that could fall to Communism. A promise had been made to the neutral Laotians to equip them with radios and receivers for the populace--to keep the people informed. Nothing had ever been done. As it turned out our organization had access to mothballed transportable AM broadcasting equipment, a 5000 watt transmitter and studios. The equipment, built by The Gates Radio Company and designated AN/MRT-5, was surplus from the Korean war. A team was put together to get this equipment up and running on Okinawa. Our team consisted of a transmitter expert and assistant (SSGT Bill Dumont and SP5 Louis Garcia), a studio expert (me), and a generator expert, Frederick Durocher. We assembled, tested, and had the equipment painted gray with no military markings on Okinawa, and then had it shipped to Laos. Each of the two units were tractor/trailer size, and we were even required to get military licenses to drive the trucks. We would fly with the equipment, drive it to location, and then set it up.Going Civilian: Since according to SEATO rules, no country could send military to neutral countries. Laos was neutral, so we had to go through a process of getting "demilitarized". We were given civilian passports, and an allowance to purchase civilian clothes. Ironic was the fact that my brand new "civilian" passport photo was of me in uniform!
Travel Plan: The plan was to fly to the Philippines, thence to Thailand, thence to Vientiane on the transport aircraft, a C124 Globemaster. It would be the first time any aircraft this large would ever land in Vientiane. The airport there had no paved runways, only corrugated steel. As it turned out, a delay caused me to fly to Vientiane commercially and meet the team in Laos. This was quite advantageous for me since it afforded me the opportunity to spend some time in Manila, Philippines, and in Bangkok, Thailand, where I was able to do a little sight-seeing. I was disappointed however that I missed the excitement of landing in Vientiane and getting the equipment to site. I was told that large numbers of Laotians had gathered at the airport to witness the spectacle.
I was supposed to travel as a civilian, and steps had been taken to give me plausible civilian ID. But when I got to the airport at Naha, I could not board the plane without travel orders. I fortunately did have a copy of my military orders—a major concern to me since I was supposed to be a civilian. I guess whoever checked my orders at the airport may have noticed I was military, I don't know. But this never surfaced as a problem. My first stop was Manila, a rather long flight as I recall, and was 1st class aboard Northwest Orient Airlines. All Government flights in those days were first class.
Manila Philippines: After arriving in Manila, I went to the Manila Hotel, a first class accommodation. I recall the first morning there being served a ripe mango to eat. I had no idea how to accomplish this, and fortunately a waiter saw I was in need of help and quickly showed me how to do it. My first mango, and I thought it was very good. I had decided I needed to take advantage of these once in a lifetime opportunities to see something of the countries I would visit, so since I had a day to see as much as I could, I hired a horse and buggy with a driver/tour guide. This was a smart move, and I covered a lot of territory in Manila that day and saw a lot that my worldly naiveté at the time wouldn't comprehend. Upon later reflection however, these tours were invaluable experiences. And fortunately, I did take some pictures. One time during the tour, some kids chased us, and the driver quickly told me to hold onto my camera--they could snatch it and it would be gone. I held on tight. We visited the Presidential Palace, some WW2 memorials, markets and other points of interest that I no longer recall. I think on the second day there I traveled to the airport for my flight to Thailand.
Bangkok Thailand: My flight on to Bangkok was aboard Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), and they were at the time the first of the first class. And so I was wined & dined and thoroughly champagne saturated by the time I got to Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport. That night at my hotel, the Erawan (another 1st class hotel), I was contacted by an American military attaché who set up my trip to Vientiane. But I had almost two days to sightsee around Bangkok. Here I hired pedicabs, and once again saw a lot of interesting places including Buddhist temples, and a snake farm. I recall the first night in my hotel room needing a drink of water, and I did as most Americans might have done, I drank from the bathroom spigot. Only later upon reading a hotel brochure, did I read that you shouldn’t drink from this source. But, I survived!
Flight from Bangkok to Vientiane: This was an uneventful, but interesting flight. It was aboard a “CAT” (Civil Air Transport) Airline, the precursor to Air America, the airline operated by the CIA. I never knew this until years later. I had rubbed elbows with Agency activities long before I went to work there, and never even knew it. Passengers flew in this DC-3 in canvas bucket seats along the wall of the fuselage. I remember the views, my first real ones of the wilds of Southeast Asia.
Accommodations in Laos: When I first arrived in Vientiane, I had to move into Le Constellation Hotel until my room at the house that we all rented was prepared. This was an old hotel, decent enough but nothing fancy. In the morning I could look out onto the streets of Vientiane, and see the long lines of Buddhist Monks in their bright orange robes, in line with bowls to get food from the local people. This was an every morning ritual, and how the Monks were fed. Buddhism was the religion of the region, and the center of the culture there, and the beauty of the temples and the various rituals involving the Buddhists was extraordinary.
After close to a week in the Constellation, I moved into the rented home. This was a very nice home, two floors, with all the amenities that could be wished for in this primitive area. Bedrooms were on the second floor. Beds were rigged with mosquito netting. Water was from a cistern on the roof, which was delivered by tanker, probably right out of the Mekong. It was not drinkable, but could be used for washing, cooking (if boiled and filtered) etc. We never had hot water. We only had electricity for about 3 hours per day in the evening, and it was not dependable, and not strong enough to run any appliances. In fact, the only appliances using electricity were the old parlor fans installed in every room. Our refrigerator operated on kerosene--non electric. And it barely kept our beer chilled. We drank San Miguel beer from the Philippines which we got from the USOM (United States Operations Mission) PX. It cost practically nothing, and was very good beer. It was extremely hot and humid in Laos, and of course we had no air conditioning. Quite a few evenings were spent in the living room, hoping power would keep the fans running, drinking San Miguel, and counting the geckos on the walls. Geckos were everywhere. I remember once a huge one jumped on Lou Garcia, and terrified him . The only air conditioning we had access to were the units in the radio equipment we brought. We had a house staff of two, who did housekeeping, cooking, and other general chores. Ha, the man, and Tang, the woman were Vietnamese, and very good in all their roles. My only problem was that I didn’t speak French, which was the language most Westerners needed, to converse with most natives in Laos. Living In Our House were Major Harold F. Bentz and his wife Antigone, Donald Langley, Robert Burns, Fred Durocher, Bill Dumont, Louis Garcia, Myself. Bentz and his wife left during my TDY, and he was replaced by Captain Burns.
Formal Meals: We had a large dining room, and all meals taken at the house were on a very formal level at a large table with table clothes, linen napkins, and all. We were called to dinner at a particular time by the staff, and everything was served by Ha. The cooking was mostly in the French style, or native Vietnamese favorites. Most all of our food came from the local markets. As long as it was well cooked, we didn’t worry. One day while we were eating, we could look out and see pigeons on the roof of the servants quarters and kitchen. Jokingly I pointed to the pigeons, and to my mouth. That evening we were served up pigeons (squab), and most of us wouldn’t eat them. I never felt more like an ugly American then when we faced Ha with this, knowing he had tried so hard to please. And I was very glad I hadn't pointed to a gecko
Embassy Welcome, Mekong Plunge: A tradition within the small American community was a "welcome plunge" to initiate newcomers to the area. One of my very first evenings I was taken to a beach on the Mekong, together with other new arrivals for a welcome party. I didn't realize what I was in for. It was a "welcome plunge" which meant I was literally picked up and flung into the river, fully dressed. I remember when I realized what was going to happen I started pitching my glasses, wallet, watch and anything else I had of value to the beach as I was being drug to the water. Needless to say I was dunked, fully clothed, but had managed to save my items. A beach party followed.
Our team was invited to a 4th of July celebration at the home of Ambassador Smith. It was an enjoyable event, but cut a little short when a member of our party made some rather forward advances to the 1st secretary’s wife.
Cover Story in Laos: Since we could not be military according to SEATO compliance, we were assigned a light cover as employees of The United States Information Service (USIS), working for Hank Miller, the Chief of USIS, Laos. Miller was relatively well known in America at the time, ever since a Life Magazine cover and article about his mission there. This was important, largely because of the “Ugly American”, a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer, that portrayed a negative image that so many foreigners had of Americans in those days.
Signal Strength in Field: On one occasion, a couple of us went into the field to take field strength readings. We were out in the boondocks, a dried up rice paddy, when we heard a loud rustling sound but could not see what it came from. When the noise got close, we could see the tops of the dried rice plants waving, and looking down discovered a large, Anaconda sized snake. He passed us by, but there was a moment….
Dr. Thomas Dooley Also Known As "Jungle Doctor": While in Laos, Dr. Thomas Dooley spent about a week at our home. He was a friend of Captain Bob Burns. Dooley was an impressive individual who was a great humanitarian. In today’s parlance, you might politely say that Burns and Dooley were “partners”. Though we knew Burns had this “attribute”, I didn’t suspect Dooley until I returned to the States and began work with “The Agency”. This aside, we found Dooley to be a fascinating individual. One thing he was doing while in Vientiane from his hospital in Muong Sing, was picking up a tiger pelt he’d had preserved in Bangkok. The village-threatening tiger had been killed by villagers near Muong Sing. Dooley introduced me to Sharks Fin soup, and he was a hilarious comic at the dinner table. He was fluent in several tribal dialects and French. He could entertain the natives as well as us, and he was a real clown on his motor scooter.
When I returned home, I was invited to the Medical School at George Washington University in DC by a high school buddy of mine who was in med school there. I took him down to the front of the auditorium and introduced him to Dooley. Afterwards, Dooley treated us to a brunch at The Statler Hilton.
Return to Okinawa via Hong Kong: I was able to spend two days in Hong Kong on my return to Okinawa in August, 1959. I did a lot of sightseeing, and purchasing there, and had some wonderful seafood on a floating restaurant in Aberdeen. Soon after returning I was shipped home aboard the USNS Sultan. After the ship arrived in San Francisco, we immediately boarded a train to Chicago where I was separated from the Army at Ft. Sheridan, IL.
An Amusing Incident
There was an alert that an extremely high level visitor would be visiting B&VA 14th RBL, and that somehow we would have to polish up our manual of arms drill capability to be suitable for a high level review. We had M1 carbines assigned to the unit-kept on site. I don’t recall if it was a select group or if all of us who began intensive drilling with these weapons, but a considerable time after we started drilling our unit was inspected and "gigged" by higher authority for doing the M1 Rifle manual of arms with M1 Carbines. There apparently was no manual of arms for the carbine. The high level visit never materialized. We were in the Army???Remembrance Of The Unit
I was just pretty much a “go for” in the B&VA 14th RBL, since most of the important jobs had already been assigned to the troops who came from Japan and Hawaii. But even so, I had some great experiences, topped-off by the TDY to Laos. The three years I spent in the service were great character builders, and maturing influences.A lot of folks considered the Okinawa assignments as almost like being assigned to a country club environment. There were obviously the military commitments, but otherwise we had lots of freedoms and wonderful things to do. There were very few who didn’t buy cameras cheap at the PX, and do a lot of sightseeing on the island. Cabs were cheap, and jeeps available for transportation. There were neat villages and castles to explore. There were many bars to relax in. Many actually lived off-post in their “hootches." We loved the soba shops. Most weren’t approved establishments, but we learned the better stuff came from the unrated places. We bought Yaki Tori from street vendors in Naha, ate at the Rai Rai Ken in Naha for the best sweet and sour ever. I’d go back for Soba and Rai Rai Ken sweet and sour any day. Incidentally, the Rai Rai Ken, which was likely one of Naha’s finest restaurants, was Chinese operated, and not approved. The Yamagusuto Department store in downtown Naha had a roof you could go onto and get a great view of Naha. And on and
on................Lord, the memories!After returning home I attended the University of Maryland, and began my career with The Central Intelligence Agency. I retired from CIA in 1993 after a great career there. In addition to working for a living, my wife Margaret and I raised five children. We’re now loving our retirement and our eleven grandchildren.
Gary Gloyd