Retirement Celebration Trip #1

Biloxi / PNAS / Biloxi

My first post-retirement fun trip was to Pensacola Naval Air Station (PNAS) to meet up with a couple of Hanoi Hilton survivors from my U-tapao Alumni group. They were both scheduled for their annual ex-POW physicals at PNAS. I worked that visit in with a little gambling junket to Biloxi:

Trip #1 plan: 23 June through 29 June, Pensacola, Biloxi, LaPlace, Crystal River, home.

Phyllis decided to make the trip. Delayed departure until 24 Jun.

24 Jun: Picked Phil up in Crystal River. Missed contact with Bob Certain and Guns Lollar at PNAS. Will try again Tuesday, the 25th. Stopped at the Battleship Alabama display to see B-52D # 5500071. First "D" that I've seen since retirement. Very emotional! As I approached the BUFF, I felt the tears well up. Why is this???

She looks pretty good from a distance. I took several photos of the tail section, port and starboard, to send to Guns. Impressive as ever!

I still think she looks pretty good. Still have throat lumps. I worked my way around the starboard side for more pics since the sun was on that side. More good pics. This one is called "Calamity Jane" . I do not remember pet names being assigned to any of the BUFFs that I worked on.

First disappointment: I noticed that the "USAF" on the fuselage was very faded. Then the big shock: NO SAC EMBLEM!!!!! Nostalgia gave way to anger. I'll have to find out why this is. There is a placard podium there with the SAC emblem on it, but that BUFF in S.E.A. colors just doesn't look right without the SAC emblem. A few more minor disappointments: The main forward wheel well door was closed. No chance to check out my old APN-89/APN-108 stuff. Gotta wonder if it is still in there. I know damned well that there is some Jerry Burns DNA in that wheel well. Crew door is locked too. No chance to experience the special smell of my beloved BUFF. You know; JP-4, hydraulic fluid, ethylene glycol, wizz, etc. Super bummer. Also noted that there was no "Brillo" sticking out of the tires as I recall. Need to check this out also.

No external racks. I wish this display had all bomb capabilities with all 108 loaded. Not too much to ask since she is in S.E.A. colors. Good news, though. The Bomb doors are open. Good chance for some photos for the Load Toads. Even had some fake "bays" in there with a couple of "bombs" hanging. I wish that they had real bays in there with all 84 in 'em. Got some good pics. Bomb doors don't look right. Seems to me that there was a knuckle in the "D" doors near where the door attaches to the fuselage as part of the Big Belly. Don't see 'em here (?????)

Here is a nice full side shot of old "071" and one with me standing near. For a change, the wide angle was not for me.....

I see a Habu ride over there by the gift shop. Gotta check that out. Still an awesome sight! Took a few more pics. I drove my car to within a few feet of the nose of the SR. I never in a million years thought that I would ever be able to do that. Hell, I couldn't drive this close to that thing when I was cleared to work on it. Any way, that was an odd feeling.

My fu#king back is bothering me too much to risk a hangar display or a gift shop walk-through. Maybe on the way back.

Time to go. As I drove away, the tears and throat lumps came again. I had to snap a few more pics just 'cause she is simply magnificent.!.!.! All in all, a great experience. Maybe even a little cathartic. Truth is, folks, but I gotta wonder if my life would have been worth a tinker's damn if I hadn't made the USAF my career and experienced that whole Guam / U-T thing.

Checked in to the Palace in Biloxi. Lots of changes in the casino area. Enh!! Tables are not cooperative. Will try again tomorrow. The photos below will give some idea why I keep going back to the Palace:

------------End of Day 1---------

Day 2:

Got an email from the Padre saying that he has to leave PNAS tomorrow. Gotta head back there today. Played the slots a little (no luck). Read some "11 Days".

Took off for PNAS at about 2:30 PM. Intention is to be at the PNAS VOQ by 5PM. Nice drive. Went through some heavy rain. Kinda nice. I neglected to allow time for the trip from I-10 down to PNAS. Takes about an extra 45 minutes. Upon arrival at the base gate, there are lane blockages at the gate, and a sign saying "ID card check". Good thing that I brought mine! I expected this to cause problems since my car has a McDill AFB registration, and my ID card photo looks very little like me any more. Turns out that it was no problem at all. The gate guards were very professional. Very respectful. I'm on PNAS, but I forgot to ask for a base map! I found PNAS to be a very nice looking, old-appearing place. Very pleasant. A very friendly Navy O-5 volunteered to lead the way from the O club parking lot, where I had stopped to ask directions, to the VOQ, bldg 600. Bldg 600 looks rather "plain" from the outside. This is mis-leading. Inside, the place is pure swank. Beautiful lobby area. Well kept. Well appointed. I'm impressed. I had always heard that the Navy spoiled their officers.

Because I am a day late, I ended up waiting in the lobby for about 1.5 hours hoping that Jim and Bob would show up. Neither answers their room phone. Jim does not answer his cell phone. They did not know that I was coming, so they went to dinner right after the medics released them. Because of this POW annual physical thing going on, I sort of expected the place to be crawling with ex-POW looking folks. It wasn't. At about 6:30 PM, a feller looking "kinda familiar" came strolling into the lobby. Was this Jim Lollar?? I was trying to decide whether I should approach him or not when I spotted Bob Certain coming from the other wing. Can't miss him. He looks just like those pics that are posted on the U-T group. Turns out that this was Jim Lollar and Bob Certain. My patience had paid off!!! And, I get a bonus. I got to meet Mrs. Cel Nav too. Robbie had made the trip with the Padre. How nice! What a long trip for her from California to PNAS. Everyone looks wonderful!!! What a great smile Mrs. Cel Nav has. Jim is wearing a 24hr heart monitor gizmo as part of the physical exam. He is all smiles, and looks great too. What can I say about Bob? Have you ever met someone who is 100% at peace and 100% satisfied with his life??? That's our Reverand Bob Certain, and it shows.

I know that first impressions are risky, but mine are usually pretty good, so here goes:

Bob Certain just looks like a "good" man. He emits a good, peaceful, calming vibe. He puts one at ease. He definitely chose the right career path. Robbie Certain is just a dear, sweet, loving kind of person. A pleasure to be near. Jim Lollar is a little more complex. He looks like the kind of man that I would befriend and trust immediately, but he has kind of a "rascal" aire about him. What a guy! I found out that Guns had always been a "G" gunner. There goes those neat pics of 071's tail section that I took for him - - - Oh well. We all took pics there in the VOQ. Got some great ones!

We all looked at the pics that I had of 071. We agreed that there is "something amiss" with that aircraft belly area. The bomb doors just don't look like "D" doors. Guns suggested that maybe it wasn't actually a "D' . He could be right. Crap. I don't want to think of that. Would they put "C" doors on a "D" for display??? I'll have to get help from the U-T group on that one.

Our visit was too brief. My mind was spinning. Too much that I wanted to talk about with these folks. I was probably blabbering like a schoolgirl. Bob and Jim agreed to sign my copy of "11 Days". Too cool. I asked Bob to sign on one of the pages that talks about him (108). For some reason, that number was easy for me to remember. Bob and Robbie said that they thought that Jim was mentioned somewhere by name in the book, but we could not find his name. Bummer. Jim signed on page 160 where it talks about the downing of "Tan 03".

In answer to my questions, Bob said that his POW memorial project was going well. He also mentioned that he had just presented a model of the project statue to Jim. Jim went to his room and brought the statue in to show me. IT IS AWESOME!!! Stark. Realistic. Shocking. I could not bear to hold it. I had to pass it back to Jim. Too much. Too much. Again, I'm choking back tears. Bob gave me a signed copy of his "Last Flight" book. A new personal "treasure" for me. I have already read it on the Internet. This will give me reason to read it again. All good!!!

Jim tells me that "fishin' is good" there at his new digs in L.A.(Lower Alabama), and that his freezer is getting full. Since he was being so successful, Bob asked what he was using for bait. I think that we were both expecting Jim to reveal some secret bait or lure. Jim's answer: "Worms and crickets". Gotta love this man. Jim reminded me that he lives just a few minutes from I-10 (My route to Biloxi), and invited me to meet with him along there anywhere on my future trips. I'll do it!

I wanted to get going so that I could find my way off of PNAS before dark, so it was time to say good bye. Hugs all around. I found all three of these folks to be totally huggable! The trip back to Biloxi went smoothly. Thank goodness for the map provided by the VOQ, or I would probably still be trying to find my way off of the base.

----------End of Day #2------------