CHAPTER FOUR - PRIME TIME

 In the late Spring of 1985 our whole Air Guard unit took part in a NATO exercise called Volant Partner. All of our C-130's were loaded down with personnel and equipment for the long flight to a search and rescue base on the coast of Belgium called Koksijde. This was a Belgian Air Force base that had been built by the German Luftwaffe in WW2. The base reminded me of a WW2 movie set with German bunkers and perimeter fencing from that era. It was also where Belgian Air Force cadets took their basic training. The base was in a very historic area. The town of Ypres was nearby, where several great WW1 battles were fought and Koksijde was only about five miles from Dunkirk. The medieval town of Bruges was nearby and Bruges was not only beautiful, it is the lace capital of the world. 

 I was excited about going to such a historic area of Europe but I was beset by a strange premonition before I left. Flying is always something that makes me nervous but in this case I was more afraid than usual. I just had a strong feeling that something bad was going to happen and it was almost overwhelming. On the morning that we left it was a stormy and rainy day. As far as the number of people we were lucky in that the only ones on the plane besides the air crew was part of our Security Police Flight. We had plenty of seating available but I don't think that I have ever been on a C-130 that was packed with as much heavy equipment as that plane was. The plane was even carrying an extra engine for one of our planes that had lost an engine coming into the Azores. That plane was carrying an advance number of our Security Police Flight that had left the day before. Their mission was to prepare the way for the rest of us when we arrived in Belgium.

 The C-130 is capable of carrying extremely heavy loads but with my premonition, the weather, and the load we were carrying, I was sweating bullets on take-off. I had great respect for our pilots and maintenance crews. Our pilot was one of the best in the 105th and he was a very tall man that was a Vietnam veteran.  Many of our pilots and maintenance crews were Vietnam era veterans with many years of experience among them. In that respect we were luckier than the regular Air Force pilots and maintenance crews who were for the most part much younger and not as experienced. Their planes and equipment, however; were much newer than ours. We were flying on the oldest C-130's in the Air Force inventory. On average these planes were built in 1953. They all had bullet holes from Vietnam in addition to load restrictions from cracks in the wings and fuselages. There were no problems on take-off, however; and after leveling off at cruising altitude we were above the rain and storms. After a five hour flight we landed in Sheerwater Nova Scotia near Halifax. After refueling we took off for the Azores. Because of losing the engine the advance crew met us on arrival in the Azores. The next morning both planes flew out together and we landed at Koksijde without any further problems.

 I loved Belgium from the start. Germany was great and there were very nice people there but the Belgian people were awesome. I was told that we were the first Americans to be stationed in that area since WW2 and the people were very friendly. This goodwill goes back to WW2 after the American army helped liberate the Belgians from the Germans. The Belgians traded patches, uniforms and everything they could with us. They just wanted anything American. I laughed one day when I saw a car full of Belgian Airmen pass me on a road with a Confederate license plate on the front of their car. This was clear evidence that the Tennessee Air National Guard was in town. I traded a patch for a worn out Belgian beret that I still have. There were things about Belgium that weren't so great. We ate in the same chow hall as the Belgians and were fed from their daily fare which wasn't much. They would serve small portions and it might be something as simple as bread, a piece of ham, and a vegetable. I was always hungry. There was a grocery store nearby and I would have to buy snacks to supplement my diet during the day.

 Another thing that bothered me was that Europeans do not use ice very much. Soft drinks are served at room temperature. I would buy drinks and keep them cold by sitting them on my window ledge overnight. Although it was late Spring the nights were cold in Belgium. Belgian culture took a little getting used to. We had young women taking care of our barracks and it didn't matter if I was buck naked in the shower they would just walk in as if I wasn't there. I noticed them but they didn't seem to notice me. Men and women would also use the restrooms together. I worked shift work while I was there and the duty was pretty routine. We guarded the flight line and did mobile patrol. On our off time we would hang out in downtown Koksijde. I loved their restaurants and candy shops where you could also buy awesome ice cream.

 Koksijde was in the Dunkirk sector on the English Channel and the beaches were very wide. There was a military cemetery next to the base and I spent a lot of time walking through it where many British soldiers were buried that had been killed in both WW1 and WW2. Flemish and French were spoken by the locals. Flemish sounds like German to me. I couldn't understand them but they had no problem understanding me. This was because they were just across the channel from England and had access to English television programs. There was a Belgian Airmen on base that drew a picture of Melanie from a snapshot. The high point of our Belgium trip was our tour of Bruges. It was a beautiful medieval city with canals and cathedrals. It reminded me somewhat of what Venice Italy might look like. I bought Deb some lace and on the way back we saw many WW2 German pill boxes that were part of Hitlers famous Atlantic Wall defenses.