LUTHER BRACKEEN's - VR-7A MEMORIES

I was with VR-7A on flying status when the C-121s were delivered from Tinker AFB, OK sometime in August, 1962; replacing the old C-54s, one at a time, over a couple of months. I understand that they originally came from the AF out of SC, then to Tinker AFB, so the crews could be oriented to each plane. The old route the C-54s used was from Tachi, to Osan, Kusan, then Kimpo; however when the C-121s came on board we only went to Kimpo, from then on. Don't know why that was? I was a Flight Attendant, & in order to get my Gold Wings, also an emergency flight engineer. I took my flight exam over the Tokyo area at 5000 ft. doing stalls at the flight engineers stations with Chief Chavas instructing, on a C-121.

Below are some of the documents I've saved. Flight Order 1320/1 was to pick up U.S. soldiers coming from duty in Viet Nam, at Clark AB, Philippines; then to Hong Kong for R&R. On the trip back to Japan, we stopped at Clark AB, Philippines, to take U.S. wounded in Viet Nam to Yakota AB, Japan. We took the two rows of seats out & stacked them in the belly; then hung stretchers four high in there place with the wounded that could not set up; the others sat in the three rows of seats. The Flight Nurses were AF Warrant Officers. These were AF C-121 plans, with a normal capacity of 73 passengers; but in air-e-vac missions it was limited to a smaller configuration.

We had a regular 211 flight to Kimpo, Korea daily. All the Project Flights were long extended missions; usually through Kadena AB, Okinawa; Taiwan, Formosa; Clark AB, Philippines; Hong Kong, & Thailand. On occasion we would fly to Quemoy, Formosa where M-41 tanks would escort us from the runway, & back again, from the terminal. The mainland Chinese would shell Quemoy daily.

The picture is of me at the Hong Kong terminal just before we flew back to Clark AB, on this exact mission 1320/1. The other documents show some of the restrictions/pass's on base at Tachikawa.