First Email 4/21/01 4:54 pm

Ok, here is the first batch of pictures for your project.
 
Here is how I remember it.
 
I graduated from Redford High School Detroit, Michigan in June 1960.
Had a passion to join the Air Force my entire life.  So, I walked from my house 
to the Air Force Recruiting Station, some three miles.  Problem was, they were 
building the Southfield Express Way at that time and had torn down the Air Force 
Recruiting Station.  This meant that I would have to walk all the way down town
..........not.
 
So, I found an Army Recruiting station just a couple of block away and walked in 
and asked, "You couldn't tell me any programs that the Air Force has could you."  
The Army Recruiter said, "You wouldn't walk into Krogers and ask for the price of 
coffee in A&P, would you?"  
 
Then he laid it on the line.  "If you like planes and flying and all of that, then 
you need to go into the Air Force, but if you like walking and crawling around in 
the mud, you need to join the Army."  That sold me.
 
November 21, 1960 I enlisted and headed by train to Ft. Knox, Kentucky.  Then to 
Signal School at Ft. Gordon, Georgia and then as a teletypewriter operator at 
Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
 
Now if you remember your history, the Berlin Wall went up around that time and all 
overseas levies were frozen.  All except for mine that is.
 
In October 1961, I was on a troop ship headed for Hawaii, soldiers paradise......or
so I thought.  Then I was introduced to the 25th Infantry which the 999th Signal 
Company supported.  
 
47 days after arriving in Hawaii, I was off to the Philipines for an exercise with 
the 101st Airborne and a whole bunch of other units I no longer remember.  Anyway, 
we get back to Hawaii and get to spend a few months there and then it is off by troop 
ship again to Okinawa (Naha Port), 23 miserable days at sea.
 
Finally from Okinawa we went to Korat, Thailand to support the Special Forces who 
were teaching the South Vietnam Army how to fight.
 
12 hours after we got into Korat, we had a direct signal to Saigon and another one 
to Washington, D.C.  
 
I was the Crypto Custodian and had some interesting missions.  My favorite memory was 
flying into Nakon Phanom (NKP) where we had a radio rig with 3 soldiers and the village
was fairly small..........then when I got back to the states a couple of years later 
and saw Bob Hope go there, there was something like 10,000 soldiers and the village had 
grown to full blown city.  (I may be exagerating the numbers and size but it 
definitely was bigger than when I was there.)
 
The compound at Udorn was built by the CBs and I would miss my flight on purpose when 
I went there, because my good buddy Fred Minton was manning a commcenter there.
 
Most of Thailand is but a blur now but, I envy the one who is living there now.  What 
a great country and as far as I am concerned the most beautiful women in the world.  
An the poplulation as a whole is the friendliest.
 
I got out after 3 years in November 1960 and then in August of 1982, I went into the 
National Guard as a TOW Gunner, and then I transfered over to the Reserve and became 
a Personnel Administration Clerk, in addition to being a Dept of the Army Civilian and 
then August 1985, I went on Active Guard Reserve Status as an 11B, 11H, and 11M, 
(Infantry, TOW Gunner and Bradley Fighting Vehicle Crew Member.
 
Ended up as a Motor Transport Operator with an Engineering Company and retired in 
March 1998.
 
That should bring you up to speed on me and I hope this is what you are looking for.  
I will send another batch of pictures in a day or two.
 
Hooah.
 
SSG Kenneth Reynolds (Retired)
 
    

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Second Email 4/22/01 8:34 am

I finally spent some time on the Web Site http://44thengrgp.50megs.com/ and bingo.  
The 809th built our barracks.  You guys are going to force me to remember those 
things that I have forgotten about.
 
As best as I can recall, we were one of the first units to arrive in Korat circa 
October, 1962 and if the 809th did not come until March, that was 5 months under 
canvas. Other units that I can recall were a New Zealand Air Force Unit, 3rd Marines 
from Okinawa, a Navy Unit (I recall them because that was the first time I ever seen 
the Navy pull field duty) and I believe that the 27th Wolfhounds, 25 Inf Div were in 
the area if not in Korat.
 
And because we were close the air base, I would say that we are at Camp Friendship 
/ Korat RTAFB.
 
Camp USARTHAI "Cinema" Theatre (Open Aire)
We used to call this the Boon Dock Theater and we got hit with a twin tornado (Or 
strong winds) that flipped this screen into our mess hall.  (Or a screen just like 
this, I recall events but they may not be accurate after all these years).
 
Some of the names I recall that were in the 999th Signal:
 
SSG Usery
Sp4 Leonard Scinto
Sp4 Fred Minton who is now the Post master in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.
1st Sgt Monk
1Lt Hoover
Sp4 Fraley
Sp4 Nimecheck
 
And thats all I can remember at the moment, but like I said you guys are going to 
force me to remember more.  And by the way this is the first time I have seen the 
9th Log Patch since I left Thailand.  Lots of memories slowly coming back.  Ken