On May 6, 12:54�am, Bill Horne wrote:
AF6AY wrote:

As a veteran of the US Army Signal Corps 1952 to 1960 and as an
engineer who has been involved in DoD electronics during my
civilian career, I've seen NO evidence that US amateur radio
was ever in some "favorite son" status in the US military.

The ham who gave me my novice exam, WA1BGR (SK), had a 10 KW generator
in his backyard that he received from Air Force surplus via MARS. Not
your $2,000.00 toilet seat, to be sure, but certainly a step up from the
equipment available to the average ham, especially in 1964 New
Hampshire, where power failures were a regular event. Would you be more
comfortable if I said "poor relation" instead?

In 2004 electric power failures in western Washington state were a
regular event. All rural homes in Kitsap County, WA, have fireplaces
and stacks of wood outside for that...despite electric power rates
there being among the lowest in the USA.



The fact is that equipment and expertise flowed from the military to the
hams who were willing to work for it. That couldn't have happened by
accident, and I don't believe it was an accident that ham allocations in
shortwave bands survived during the era before geostationary satellites,
when there was pressure from other governments and from corporate users
here to carve out larger portions for broadcasting or commercial use.

It used to be that we hams were a corps of operators who could be
pressed into service quickly during a war or other crisis.

Perhaps this was true in 1941. �It was NOT true in 1952 when I
voluntarily entered US Army service (during the Korean War active
phase), trained at the Signal School at Fort Monmouth, NJ, and
subsequently assigned to long-distance, high-volume message
traffic handling on a 24/7 basis at a Far East Command Hq
station in Tokyo. �

Welcome Home.

There is no need for sarcasm. I returned to the States in 1956.
The active phase of the Korean War stopped in June of 1953.
['truce talks' continue to this day in Korea along the DMZ]
The Vietnam War ended for the USA 35 years ago.

I would reply to more of your message but Google doesn't like it or
something.

AF6AY