| This is my 4th article on my experience in | | | | that post.The school lasted three weeks and |
| Vietnam. I have heard from some of you and I | | | | nothing too eventful happened. I still |
| thank you for the email. I have added my home | | | | remember the color code. I did go into Saigon |
| email address on the bottom of this | | | | with the duty driver for an afternoon. I had |
| article.Mike Massey and I flew from Qui Nhon | | | | a good time just looking around. I think the |
| to Long Binh to attend splicing school and | | | | driver's name was Bennet from Detroit.The |
| earn the MOS 36E. On the flight to Tan Son | | | | Army would remain short of cable splicers for |
| Nhut AFB the C130 lost one engine so the | | | | the entire war. The Army had decided to |
| plane landed at Cam Ranh Bay. We slept | | | | install modern telephone switching offices |
| outside of the air terminal all night and | | | | but left in place an out of date outside |
| made it to Long Binh the following day. This | | | | plant doctrine. The Soldiers who would pay |
| was a bit of excitement for 2 guys that had | | | | for this failure were by and large the cable |
| been in country for about 2 or 3 days.The | | | | splicers. More on this in future |
| splicing school was good for what it was. The | | | | articles.With splicing school over Mike |
| Army was behind Ma Bell in current splicing | | | | Massey and I flew back to Company D, 40th |
| techniques but the instructors did well with | | | | Signal Battalion, in Qui Nhon.Dr. Mike Copper |
| what they had. I remember two instructors, | | | | retired from the U.S. Army in 1994. Dr. |
| Hurt and Raney. Sergeant Partain ran the | | | | Copper has a Master's Degree in Data |
| school. I knew him for Fort Gordon. In 1977 I | | | | Communications and a Ph.D. in Computer |
| ran into him at Fort Gordon. He had retired | | | | Information Systems. Dr. Copper currently |
| from the Army and was a civilian splicer on | | | | lives in Delray Beach, Florida. |