From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 20,, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Hi Frank,
Television service was part of the name in 1950? Are you sure?
Bob
From: Frank Rogers
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Bob,
If you are not limiting it to former AFVN personnel, a good bet would be someone who was at FEN Japan in the 50s that I listened to then and met in person in the late 60s, if they are still alive. I’ll try to email the FEN groups site but it is very inactive. Then there is AFN, and the Former Military Broadcasters website. Yes, it would be very interesting to find the surviving military person who served at the earliest date. It would be a big surprise if anyone from the Mosquito Network is still alive.
Frank
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 20,, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Hi Ken,
Thanks for the info about your Dad. My own father's one day in fame was to be in the Army at Schofield Barracks Hawaii on 7 Dec 1941. I am not sure what year he entered though. I wanted a heroic story about how he went out and shot at Japanese planes. Not. SInce no weapons were available they got under their mattresses to avoid strafing. But he tells me the CQ went out an emptied his sidearm at a passing plane.
Bob
From: Bill Altman
Date: May 31, 2020
Subject: For Bill Altman - Your New Patch
Hi Bob,
Wow! Thanks. I never win anything! My mailing address is... [Deleted for Privacy Purposes.] Anacortes, WA , 98221.
Thanks again,
Bill
From: Frank Rogers
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
I was at AFKN Homesteader (Pusan) in 1961. May or June. Left Sep 63. Still have AFKN ID signed by the late Donald Dalton, who was also at AFVN, including Da Nang, before I was there in 71.
FrankR
From: Bill Altman
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
I served with the afrts radio/tv station in Asmara, Eritrea from 1959-1961, and AFRS radio station in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1963 and 1964 before my 1965 assignment to AFRS news department.
Bill Altman
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Hi Jim Sure, lets go back in the wayback machine. AFRS anywhere, anytime but you gotta be living and a member of this list.
Bob
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 18, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Hi The person has to be a member of this list.
Bob
From: Chuck Adams
Date: May 18, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Bob Morecook, going back to your last entry here, if you're not living but still able to read your requirements, shouldn't that qualify you for something...?
Chuck Adams
Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
May 2020
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 16, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
I'd love to know [Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?]- because once I (we) know a special item is coming your way!
Bob
Cut off for reply is May 31st
From: Ken Gilder
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
I first was assigned to AFKN in November 1964. I'm sure there are others who were assigned earlier.
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 18, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Hi Chuck not living but can read? zombies? or are you saying some folks on this list are "dead"?
Bob
From: Ken Kalish
Date: May 16, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Not Me. Maybe Jean LeRoy?
Ken
From: David Pinto
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Bill, you say:
I served with the AFRTS radio/tv station in Asmara, Eritrea from 1959-1961, and AFRS radio station in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1963 and 1964 before my 1965 assignment to AFRS news department. Bill Altman
Sounds interesting, especially the assignment in Asmara.
Care to share any memories?
David
From: Jerry Nelson
Date: May 18, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Bob,
Those links to BIO's go to Joe Green's MACOI site. Joe has those in alphabetical order and the first is, of course, Barry Abrams. If you scroll down you will eventually get to Brett's BIO along with many others.
Jerry Nelson
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 31, 2020
Subject: For Bill Altman - Your New Patch
From: Steve Sevits
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Early AFRS personnel
Jerry Masini AFRS Saigon 1962 or 63. Steve Southerland 1963 Saigon, Steve Sevits 1963 Saigon (Steve Sevits 1962 AFRS Radio Okinawa, AFRTS ch 8 Okinawa)
From: Ron Hesketh
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Oh well, I guess I can chime in. My first, and last as it turned out, stint was at AFRS in 1964.
Ron
From: Steve Pennington
Date: May 31, 2020
Subject: For Bill Altman - Your New Patch
Bill, have you ever attended the big Vietnam Veterans picnic in Sedro-Wooley in August?
Steve Pennington, Edmonds, WA
From: Walt Christiansen
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Wow reading these posts makes me feel like a junior AFRTS person since I didn’t start in Berlin until 1967
AFVN Group Conversations
From: Bob Curry
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
My first assignment after signal school was as Chief Engineer of AFRTS Teheran, Iran in February of 1969, about 51 years ago.
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 19, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Bill reports he started with AFRS in 1959. Anyone earlier? Earliest person gets this beautiful patch [photo attached] winging their way! Gotta speak up by May 31st! And Ken - don't tell us you are a WW2 vet.
Best wishes,
Bob
From: Jim White
Date: May 18, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Bob,
Now that I have a better idea of what you want, have you ever seen
https://www.afvnvets.net/rosteryear_a1962.html ???
Jim
From: Jim White
Date: May 18, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Bob,
First off: The message just below is actually from Jerry. I am "Webmaster@AFVNETS.net" while Jerry is "Webmaster2@AFVNVETS.net." My Thunderbird email is goofy in that I can't put my Webmaster address in the from line, therefore on this message it is added as a "cc" line. I don't know how a message from Jerry and his computer ended up being from "Webmaster".
I am surprised that you, of all people, didn't already know that Joe's MACOI site is in alphabetical order by last name with no index or links to anywhere inside that HTMP, All of the links to BIO on our roster open http://www.macoi.net/biographies.html with "Barry Abrams" at the top. The only way to avoid that would be for someone with the last name of "Aardvark" were to be found as having been assigned to AFVN and added to our roster and Joe's site.
Jerry is right about scrolling down. Another method would be to use CTRL+F and search for the name. But sometimes that gives a lot of "hits."
Jim W
PS: Note to ALL. You should also remember this.
From: Jim White
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Bob,
Are you really trying to go back to the origins of AFRS? According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Forces_Network#Origins that would be going back to 1942.
Jim W
From: Bill Altman
Date: May 17, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Wow David, so many memories. In fact so many that I assembled a series of photo and memory albums for my children and friends. The album covering the Asmara Eritrea period includes about 70 pages of photos and text. I’m sure we have many more people on this list with more interesting stories to relate Than mine. But one remains strong...I had graduated from the army information school in Dec. 1958 with the 703 MOS. After a couple of months at Ft. Hood, TX. One day my NCOIC at the PAO told me to report to personnel. He said I had orders. At personnel they handed me a stack of orders and told me I need to apply for a passport and complete a new security clearance form. I asked Where I was going. The clerk Initially said he wasn’t sure and pointed to the orders. “I’ve never seen this on Orders before,” he said. I followed his finger, it said 4th USASA fld. Sta., Asmara, Eritrea. I went to the post library to find a world map that revealed where it was located. I had never heard of the US Amy Security Agency. ?In my imagination I wondered if the barracks there would have a thatched roof, whether I would see lions in the wild (no but I did see wild baboons) My plane landed in Asmara a week after my 19 th birthday. I spent the next two years working as a DJ and newscaster at KANU radio/TV. Incidentally it was the Army’s first TV station. Thanks for asking.
Bill Altman
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 21, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Talk about going from the frying pan -- and then into the freezer!
Bob
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 18, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
Hi Jim,
On the 1973 page the link to Brett Cornwell actually goes to Barry Abrams.
Best wishes,
Bob
From: Frank Rogers
Date: May 20,, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
I’m sure you don’t count me in 1950 listening to short wave and practicing, “This is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service”.
That’s OK, one can be made in the Philippines - if I can ever get back there ... Or have someone get it made for me if I don’t. I was surprised at the images the shop could get on the Internet.
Frank
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From: Bobby Sullivan
Date: May 21,, 2020
Subject: Who Here Served First with AFRS Anywhere?
I can't compete but I'm going to toss my two cents into the pot just for fun.
I was stationed at Evreux AB, Fance from August 1956 until August 1960. We listened to AFN broadcasting from Germany. But the French finally allowed low powered FM transmitters to be installed on the bases. No local studios. Programming came from Germany. My first involvement with AFRS as more than a listener was when I climbed the 90 foot tall pole and installed the simple turnstile antenna. I was a ground radio repairman with base communications. So, a job for AFN in probably 1958 or 1959, I don't remember exactly when, was my first but I don't qualify because I wasn't actually assigned to them.
My first AFRS assignment came when a bunch of us were rounded up and sent to Saigon to build the TV station in January 1966. I spent a good part of that year working radio while waiting for the TV equipment to arrive to build the big station.
Just when I was expecting orders for a return to VN in 1972 I was sent to Thule, Greenland and was assigned as Chief Engineer of Radio and TV. I would have rather have been back in Saigon.
Bobby Sullivan, CMSgt (Ret) US