MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, MEMORIAL DAY 98 Index: ANNOUNCEMENTS; PRC-74 Selectable Sideband, MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGES; MEMBERS WRITE; TSEC/KY-38, Military Radio Net, ON THE COMMERCIAL FRONT; Haney Electronic Co. Museum Down Sizing List, HUMOR; *********************************************** ANNOUNCEMENTS; PRC-74 Selectable Sideband, Jim has informed me that all the available selectable sideband conversion kits have been spoken for(see MCGP, May 21). He needs to know who all is interested in getting kits so he can place an order for the needed parts. If your interested contact Jim Karlow at *********************************************** MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGES; A Memorial Day Message Condensed from a speech by Leo K. Thorness, recipient of The Congressional Medal of Honor. You've probably seen the bumper sticker somewhere along the road. It depicts an American Flag, accompanied by the words "These colors don't run." I'm always glad to see this, because it reminds me of an incident from my confinement in North Vietnam at the Hao Lo POW Camp, or the "Hanoi Hilton," as it became known. Then a Major in the U.S. Air Force, I had been captured and imprisoned from 1967-1973. Our treatment had been frequently brutal. After three years, however, the beatings and torture became less frequent. During the last year, we were allowed outside most days for a couple of minutes to bathe. We showered by drawing water from a concrete tank with a homemade bucket. One day as we all stood by the tank, stripped of our clothes, a young Naval pilot named Mike Christian found the remnants of a handkerchief in a gutter that ran under the prison wall. Mike managed to sneak the grimy rag into our cell and began fashioning it into a flag. Over time we all loaned him a little soap, and he spent days cleaning the material. We helped by scrounging and stealing bits and pieces of anything he could use. At night, under his mosquito net, Mike worked on the flag. He made red and blue from ground-up roof tiles and tiny amounts of ink and painted the colors onto the cloth with watery rice glue. Using thread from his own blanket and a homemade bamboo needle, he sewed on stars. Early in the morning a few days later, when the guards were not alert, he whispered loudly from the back of our cell, "Hey gang, look here." He proudly held up this tattered piece of cloth, waving it as if in a breeze. If you used your imagination, you could tell it was supposed to be an American flag. When he raised that smudgy fabric, we automatically stood straight and saluted, our chests puffing out, and more than a few eyes had tears. About once a week the guards would strip us, run us outside and go through our clothing. During one of those shakedowns, they found Mike's flag. We all knew what would happen. That night they came for him. Night interrogations were always the worst. They opened the cell door and pulled Mike out. We could hear the beginning of the torture before they even had him in the torture cell. They beat him most of the night. About daylight they pushed what was left of him back through the cell door. He was badly broken; even his voice was gone. Within two weeks, despite the danger, Mike scrounged another piece of cloth and began another flag. The Stars and Stripes, our national symbol, was worth the sacrifice to him. Now whenever I see the flag, I think of Mike and the morning he first waved that tattered emblem of a nation. It was then, thousands of miles from home in a lonely prison cell, that he showed us what it is to be truly free. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I make no apology as an Englishman for posting this, but explain the early posting by saying that on Memorial Day I shall be speaking at the Ceremony in El Dorado, KS. In 1940 I was a schoolboy and was narrowly missed by the bullets from a Luftwaffe He 111 bomber. At that time there were seven citizens of the USA flying fighters in the RAF's Fighter Command. They preceded the Eagle Squadrons, which were too late for the Battle of Britain, but the survivors of that battle transferred to the Eagle Squadrons when they were formed. The survivors of them transferred to the USAAF 4 FG in late 1942. Only one of the seven survived the war. They are not forgotten in my country. My thanks to: Pilot Officer William M.L Fiske, 601 (F) Sqn, Royal Air Force, Killed in Action, Battle of Britain. The first US citizen to be killed on active service in WW2. Pre-war Olympic athlete Pilot Officer Eugene Q. Tobin, 609 (F) Sqn, Royal Air Force, Killed in Action with 71 Eagle Sqn. Pilot Officer Andrew B. Mamedoff, 609 (F) Sqn, Royal Air Force, Killed on Active Service with 71 Eagle Sqn Pilot Officer Vernon G. Keough, 609 (F) Sqn, Royal Air Force, Killed in Action with 71 Eagle Sqn Pilot Officer J. K. Haviland, 151 (F) Sqn, Royal Air Force, survived the war. Pilot Officer P. H. Leckrone, 616 (F) Sqn, Royal Air Force, Killed on Active Service Pilot Officer A. G. Donahue, 64 (F) Sqn, Royal Air Force, Killed on Active Service The words of an American poet, also serving His Majesty, are apt: High Flight. Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds -- and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of -- wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air, Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out my hand, and touched the face of God. John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Pilot Officer, RAF *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; TSEC/KY-38, Does anyone in the group know anything about Secure speech equipment? I picked up a demilled KY 38 this past weekend.I would like to know more about it's innards. It was de milled by removal of several circuit boards and cutting something out. The set is missing the connecting cable, the manual, the code gun and what ever else it was supposed to have. Bill Howard THE WILLIAM L. HOWARD ORDNANCE TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE MUSEUM e-mail wlhoward@gte.net Telephone AC 813 585-7756 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Military Radio Net, Dennis - I don't know how many members of the group have their Ham licenses but it might be fun to set up a military radio net so we would have the chance to try out some of our treasures. This net might occur some evening on some frequency in the 80, 75 or 40 meter band. I know there is the "old military radio net on Saturdays starting at 5:30 AM. THis may be a little early for some of the group, so maybe we could pick another time and frequency. I would be curious to see if there is any interest in this idea . All the best, Jim ed) I have asked members for their suggestions as to bands, freqs, times, and modes several times in the past, as prompted by previous messages such as yours. I've never received any input! *********************************************** ON THE COMMERCIAL FRONT; Haney Electronic Co. J-45, leg iron CW keys, Correct for BC-1306, GRC-9, GRC-109, and PRC-47. These are new old stock units most still in original packaging, several contract dates from 1968 to 1980's. They include cord CD-201A with PJ-055B connector. The member price is $20.00ea. AS-2975, PRC-70 dipole antenna kit. Unused Similar to that use with the PRC-74 differing mainly in the balun it uses. The member price is $25.00ea. H-250 handsets, new, latest issue. $17.50 ea U-229 audio connectors, $1.00ea U-77 audio connectors, $2.00ea PRC-25 or 77 battery connectors, removed from battery, with white plastic spacer. $1.00ea PRC-70 Selector assembly, unused, forest green. NSN 5820-01-092-5904, also called the A1 module. This is part of the front panel, with 6 frequency select knobs, and readouts, controls for power, mode, volume, and squelch. Includes printed circuit board with microprocessor. $60.00 STEVE HANEY ed) Steve has a list of manuals available on request via email. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Museum Down Sizing List, The Louisiana Museum of Military History, due to financial realities will be will be moving to smaller quarters. We have been asked to help liquidate some of the Commo gear. Below is the first list of equipment that's been made available. If you have an interest in any item contact Joe below via email and he'll pass along any needed info. AM-1780, untested but good condition, $ 25 AM-2060, with cable, $ 95 AS-2851, 30-80 log periodic complete, $ 125 BB-451, NOS with electrolyte kit, $ 185 BB-451, used, $ 100 BC-639, untested but good condition, $ 35 CPRC-26, with most accessories, $ 70 CU-2267/GR, Five unit multicoupler - with two spare F-1482, $125 CY-6121/PRC-74, Wet cell battery box, $ 25 DY-105, untested but looks good, $ 45 DY-105, no dynamotor, $ 25 GRA-71, almost complete, $ 125 GRC / VRC, lots of cables, ASK GRC-109, details later GRR-5, ASK MD-522, with cables, $ 100 PPS-4, complete except for optical sight, $ 300 PRC-25, with accessories, $ 300 PRC-41, with antenna / PP-3700 AC supply - working, $ 175 PRC-68, with handset, antenna and battery - working but a little rough, $200 PRC-68, with handset, antenna and battery - working, good condition, $ 235 PRC-77, with accessories, $ 350 PRC-90, with battery - working, $ 100 PRC-90, with battery - no 282.8 transmit, $ 50 PRR-9/PRT-4A, working w/manual copy, $ 50 R-392, good condition with power cable, $ 200 R-442, working, good condition, $ 225 RT-524A, unchecked, $ 300 RT-524A, working, $ 500 RT-68, no meter, $ 40 RT-858/PPS-6, RT only, Make offer Russian 62R1, VHF cargo pocket transceiver with mike and dipole wire antenna - ASK Make offer Russian R-105M, no accessories, $ 100 Russian R-108, no accessories, $ 100 TRC-77, untested but good condition, $ 75 TS-323, good condition, $ 35 TT-722/TG, untested, $ 50 ITEMS NOT FOR EXPORT All reasonable offers will be considered All items plus shipping Payment to: Glen Thibodeaux c/o Louisiana Museum of Military History P. O. Box 92110 Lafayette, LA 70509 Glen is looking for PRC-64 accessories, G-43 or G-58 generator and M-1 Carbines / accessories. If folks would just contact me directly, I will take care of getting things to Glen. Joseph W Pinner EMail: kc5ijd@sprintmail.com *********************************************** HUMOR; Six important men in a Woman's life... 1. The doctor because he says, "take your clothes off." 2. The dentist because he says, "open wide." 3. The milkman because he says, "do you want it in the front or in the back." 4. The hairdresser because he says, "do you want it teased or blown." 5. The interior decorator because he says, "once its in, you'll love it." 6. The banker because he says, "if you take it out too soon you'll lose interest." She does not like a Software Engineer, because he always looks for a bug ! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Physicians have warned the public of an unexpected interaction between newly introduced drugs. It has been reported that people who are taking both iron supplements and Viagra, when they get excited, tend to point north. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sport Quotes Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach: "You guys line up alphabetically by height." Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach: "You guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a circle." Clemson recruit Ray Forsythe, who was ineligible as a freshman because of academic requirements: "I play football. I'm not trying to be a professor. The tests don't seem to make sense to me, measuring your brain on stuff I haven't been through in school." Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson hooking up again with promoter Don King: "Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton." Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker: "That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my clothes." Shaquille O'Neal on whether he had visited the Parthenon during his visit to Greece: "I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went to." Shaquille O'Neal, on his lack of championships: "I've won at every level, except college and pro." Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh: "I'm going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes." Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann 1996: "Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." Lou Duva, Veteran boxing trainer, on the spartan training regime of heavyweight Andrew Golota: "He's a guy who gets up at six o'clock in the morning regardless of what time it is." 1987 - Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F's and one D: "Son, looks to me like you're spending too much time on one subject." 1992- Pat Williams, Orlando Magic general manager, on his team's 7-27 record: "We can't win at home. We can't win on the road. As general manager, I just can't figure out where else to play." 1981 - Tommy Lasorda, Dodger manager, when asked what terms Mexican-born pitching sensation Fernando Valenzuela might settle for in his upcoming contract negotiations: "He wants Texas back." 1966 - Darrell Royal, Texas football coach, asked if the abnormal number of Longhorn injuries that season resulted from poor physical conditioning: "One player was lost because he broke his nose. How do you go about getting a nose in condition for football?" 1981 - Mike McCormack, coach of the hapless Baltimore Colts after the team's co-captain, offensive guard Robert Pratt, pulled a hamstring running onto the field for the coin toss against St. Louis: "I'm going to send the injured reserve players out for the toss next time." 1991 -Steve Spurrier, Florida football coach, telling Gator fans that a fire at Auburn's football dorm had destroyed 20 books: "But the real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored yet." 1986 - Jim Finks, New Orleans Saints G..M., when asked after a loss what he thought of the refs: "I'm not allowed to comment on lousy officiating." 1991 - Alan Kulwicki, stock car racer, on racing Saturday nights as opposed to Sunday afternoons: "It's basically the same, just darker." 1996 - Lincoln Kennedy, Oakland Raiders tackle, on his decision not to vote: "I was going to write myself in, but I was afraid I'd get shot." 1991 - Jim Colletto, Purdue football coach and former assistant at Arizona State and Ohio State, on his 11-year-old son's reaction after he took the job with the Boilermakers: "He said: 'Gosh, Dad, that mean's we're not going to any more bowl games." 1986 - LaVell Edwards, BYU football coach and one of 14 children: "They can't fire me because my family buys too many tickets." 1991 - Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player: "I told him, 'Son, what is it with you. Is it ignorance or apathy?' He said, 'Coach, I don't know and I don't care." 1991 - Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John Jenkins: "He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings." *********************************************** (The preceding was a product of the"Military Collector Group Post", an international email magazine dedicated to the preservation of history and the equipment that made it. Unlimited circulation of this material is authorized so long as the proper credits to the original authors, and publisher are included. For more information conserning this group contact Dennis Starks at, military-radio-guy@juno.com) ***********************************************