11th ACR ThunderHorse sickles army airfield

[Johnny Zamora]

Where are all thr troopers from ThunderHorse 11th ACR sickles army airfield Fulda, lets hear from you

[CW4 Tommy L. Schmitt]

Spent 72-77 and 82-83 at Sickles AAF.......many stories........Ah-1 front seat.....took pics of a downed soviet heli.
tom

[Wayne L. Alford (CW4 Ret.)]

The troopers are still out here! Just a little older is all. 81 to 84 and 89 to 92 at good ole Sickles as a Scout Pilot in CW3 Tom Weaver's platoon of wayward WO1's. First tour was a mud pit. Next one was much better with acres of cement.
1st tour - CW2 Al Moros was our maintenance guy. Sgt Clausen also, 1st Lt. Ricky Rife was platoon leader. (he retired last year as a BG). Great times on Reforger and at the Grafenwohr club! The excellent schnell imbis on the airfied, it was there until the airfield closed (operated by the same couple - Gabi and her husband).
2nd tour - Was the Scout SIP and Squadron CO's pilot. A lot more work than 1st tour as line pilot. But the best of all was to see the fall of the wall! It was a purging. All those years flying up and down that dang border.
Mark Wonderly and Glenn Uchiyama there for two tours also.

[michael w swanson]

Wayne L. Alford (CW4 Ret.) said:

The troopers are still out here! Just a little older is all. 81 to 84 and 89 to 92 at good ole Sickles as a Scout Pilot in CW3 Tom Weaver's platoon of wayward WO1's. First tour was a mud pit. Next one was much better with acres of cement.
1st tour - CW2 Al Moros was our maintenance guy. Sgt Clausen also, 1st Lt. Ricky Rife was platoon leader. (he retired last year as a BG). Great times on Reforger and at the Grafenwohr club! The excellent schnell imbis on the airfied, it was there until the airfield closed (operated by the same couple - Gabi and her husband).
2nd tour - Was the Scout SIP and Squadron CO's pilot. A lot more work than 1st tour as line pilot. But the best of all was to see the fall of the wall! It was a purging. All those years flying up and down that dang border.
Mark Wonderly and Glenn Uchiyama there for two tours also.

[Thomas Inglesby]

Howdy, the Hind you are refering to I remember taking lots of Pic and watching them erect the fence, and replace the grass before they were done you never knew anything ever happened

[Wayne L. Alford (CW4 Ret.)]

The two guys that watched the Hind-E crash were Jim Blaine and Raoul Camacho in a AH-1. They had just relieved me on station up by Check point 1. On the way back for fuel I heard Carlisle Radio issue the "Brassmonkey" alert and learned the Hind had crashed. I later took Glenn Uchiyama (safety officer) up to take some pictures of the site, Just a couple hundred meters south of check point 1. Big day on the border!

Wayne A.



CW4 Tommy L. Schmitt said:

Spent 72-77 and 82-83 at Sickles AAF.......many stories........Ah-1 front seat.....took pics of a downed soviet heli.
tom

[Russ Kruse (CW4 Ret)]

Clark Housewright and I were on 2nd Border when it happened. Jim and Raoul were on their way back to Fulda for fuel and Karlisle Radio thought the Hind was also headed for Fulda. Took several radio calls to clear that up. We had gas to get there but became restricted within minutes

[Cliff Mead]

I got to Sickles AAF in Oct 90, and left in Dec 93. I was a UH-60 Pilot in Stetson Troop.

 

20 Years later, I'm a CW5 with the 1st Air Cav Bde, but remember Fulda like it was yesterday. Great Memories

[Chris Barber]

I wonder how Jim Blaine is doing. I will have to try and look him up. I stayed at his home overnight a couple of times back in 1985 or 1986 in Ontario, CA. He worked for the Post Office. 

[Dan Sikes]

While we watched that Hind burn out we where shooting pictures and so was FRG TV. They popped smoke on a windy day to block our view but it never rose more than two feet and the cameras rolled. Alford cracked some joke (as usual) and we ended being videoed laughing at dead soviet pilots on German TV.  Ah the memories!  Still have the pictures, though!

[Harold Mason]

I was a Cav scout in Fulda. They were still talking about the crashed Hind when I got there in 86. It had become somewhat of a legend.

[Eduardo Arredondo]

I was a Cobra crewchief and I understand that I had the distinct honor of crewing the cobra that was involved with the hind crash. That would be tail number 66-15252, the 7th AH-I Cobra ever made. It used to have a Hind spray painted on it and it also had "Wicked Lester" painted on the side. But by the time I got there it had been painted over but you could still tell that it was on there. It was a great flying aircraft and my pilots loved it and I was/am proud to maintain it for them.

If anyone out there knows this to be inaccurate, or accurate please, by all means let me know. I got there in Oct. '89 and saw the wall come down. Not many people were still talking about it except for a couple of the vetran pilots who were there at the time and were still at Sickles when I was there. I can probably still remember some these pilots names if anyone needs to know.

I see that this forum has mostly aviators but so I hope you guys don't mind an enlisted guys comments.

Ed

[Jim Collins]

Say Wayne,

How about the 0400 alert after we'd been flying goggles till midnight, then headed out to a pizzeria and then to a local "lounge"....do you remember how "upset" he was...but thankfully, you and Ricky were able to launch the "wide screen"...that chewing from him took quite awhile to wear off!

 

Notice Buckwheat is on as well...remember him mooning a Hind once...