15th Medical Detachment, Grafenwoehr, Germany
My Memories of 15th Med
Greetings!
I started this site as a way for those of us who were stationed there to have our memories stirred-up about it, share stories and photos, and whatever else comes up (perhaps a reunion someday before we all die?).
The 15th Med has always held a dear place in my heart for many reasons. In fact, the older I get in life, the more I realize what a special and unique experience it was for me. I know there are others with fond memories of the 15th, too. I'd like to share mine with you:
I arrived at 15th Med having just turned 20 years old. (I looked like I was 16!). Up until my last year there, I was not only the youngest pilot (by 12 years) in the unit, I was the youngest person in the unit!
I had been lucky enough to sneak into the Army's "High School-to-Flight School" program about six months after graduation. Up to that point, I had held only odd and part-time jobs in my home town. So, Basic Training at Ft. Dix, followed immediately by WOC-D and flight school at Ft. Rucker were quite a shock for this naive, upper-middle-class white youth. I don't remember much about it, really, except it seemed like a year-long, very stressful, shock-laden blur. Even though I was constantly teased about my age and young looks (I hadn't even started shaving at that point), the camaraderie in flight school was something I had never experienced before. After almost a year of personnel and cubicle inspections, bracing and saluting whenever an officer was within site, checkrides, cleaning details, drill & ceremony, ground school, PT tests, etc., it was finally over. I remember taking 30 days leave after flight school, going home to Ohio, and just vegging in a lawn chair in my front yard for a month! I didn't do anything except de-stress!
I was amazed at how fortunate I was to get the assignment I was heading for. It was virtually everything I had wanted in my first tour as an Army Aviator. My dream had been to fly H60s and to fly Medevac. I had no desire to kill people or destroy things, so the Medevac mission really appealed to me, and the Blackhawk was so awesome I just HAD to fly one! I had studied German for four years in high school and spoke it fairly well, and having always wanted to go to Europe, Germany was the natural choice for me. These ideals were in my mind during the few moments during flight school when I actually had time to think about such things, but I figured I would end up flying Cobras out of Ft. Hood or something.
Back in 1984, my class, Maroon Flight, was only the second l class to ever get to pick our final aircraft based on our class standing. Only two Blackhawks were offered to our class, and I didn't get either of them. However, I did find out that I was going to be assigned to Germany, which made up for some of that disappointment. Imagine my joy a few weeks later when I received a welcome post card from 15th Med saying that I was assigned to them, that they were a Medevac unit, and that I could expect to return to Ft. Rucker sometime in the near future for my Blackhawk transition because the unit was trading in its Hueys for H60's! I was in heaven!
When I got to Germany, I was still under the impression that I was going to be treated at my unit basically the same way I had been treated in flight school. Well, I was in for some very pleasant surprises. My first came when I arrived at Rhein Main Airport expecting to have to take a train to Grafenwoehr. Instead, a Huey from 15th Med showed up just to take me back home! I think it was piloted by Tiny Despres and Bill Sorenson. I don't remember for sure because I was so dazzled by Germany, the hustle and bustle of Frankfurt Airport, and the fact that I was being chauffeured around Germany in a helicopter. Both pilots treated me like a welcome friend, and I began to realize that perhaps I wasn't going to have to be bracing all the time after all!
The flight across Germany was very enchanting. Everything was so....different! The quaint red-roofed homes, the majestic castles, the space needles. It was awesome and exciting to be so far away from home, in Europe, and on my own. And, I couldn't have asked for a better home-away-from-home than 15th Med. I can't imagine that there was any place better to be stationed as an Army Aviator. An Army unit with a real, lifesaving mission that took us all over Germany (and beyond), plus all the fun terrain flight training. Awesome!
Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming, and quickly made me feel a part of the team. Even more surprising was the respect that my "subordinates" paid me even though I was younger than some of their children! My young age combined with the fact that I looked even younger than I was made me a bit insecure thinking about how I was going to fit in at my first unit. Discovering that the next youngest pilot was 32 years old did nothing to alleviate my initial discomfort. I can remember in-processing somewhere on main base in my CW1 BDU's. One of the sergeant-receptionists told me that I shouldn't wear my dad's uniform around base! (And he wasn't joking!) Yet, whether or not anyone had problems with my immaturity and naiveté, I never experienced anything but the respect due to my rank at 15th Med.
I quickly learned that 15th Med was more like an extended family of sorts than the cold, military unit that I expected. Within a day of my arrival, I was driven to a Hail and Farewell which was attended by everyone at the base--enlisted and officer alike. I really liked the atmosphere--the camaraderie and fellowship--the same atmosphere which characterized my entire tour at Graf.
I was quickly introduced to the challenges and rewards of flying Medevac in Germany. It was fun using my newly-learned skills to help others, and Germany turned out to be an incredibly beautiful country to fly in! Of course, that flying included all kinds of constantly-changing weather, and that could be very interesting, too! I was lucky fellow pilots were so experienced and kind enough to take me under their collective wings, so to speak. Graf was an ideal first tour for a fledgling aviator. In fact, I learned things in Graf that have dramatically influenced the way I fly still today.
And then there was living in Bavaria, near the Iron Curtain, during the cold war, with a very strong U.S. dollar. Everyone seemed to love us (at least, on our side of Deutschland), and I seemed to be able to live like a king on my WO1 pay. Getting stuck somewhere for weather or a mechanical problem usually turned into a very fun experience as the locals would invariably refuse to let us pay for drinks and sometimes even our dinner. They liked the fact that we were helping to keep the Soviets at bay, I guess.
And then there was all the neat personal things that happened to me during my tour of duty. I got married to Diana, bought my dream car, and took a two week vacation every six months to travel around Europe. I was able to see a dozen our so countries during my four-year stint and left Germany broke, but have never regretted it.
Looking back at my tour, I think the reason I'm so fond of it is that at Grafenwoehr, I transitioned from a boy into a man. When I finished flight school, I was still very naive about life, about the world, about the military, about most things. But, by the time I left Grafenwoehr, I had been given, and successfully handled, quite a bit of responsibility for someone my age. I had also traveled Europe, learned about loyalty and comradeship, was married, and had made lifelong friends. I returned to the States much older than my years, and found I no longer had anything in common with my recently college-graduated home-town buddies. They were still giggling over being able to drink beer, while I had flown Medevac missions within a few miles of the Iron Curtain at night in 500 ft ceilings and 1/2 mile visibility responsible for a $6 million machine and five lives. I had friends who were 10 years older than me and for whom I had great respect. I had seen Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Vienna, Casablanca, Copenhagen, Brussels, London. I had driven 170 mph on the autobahn. I had passed a checkride from Bill Sorenson. ;-) I had done it all and survived! I was a man!
I started this site as a way for those of us who were stationed there to have our memories stirred-up about it, share stories and photos, and whatever else comes up (perhaps a reunion someday before we all die?).
The 15th Med has always held a dear place in my heart for many reasons. In fact, the older I get in life, the more I realize what a special and unique experience it was for me. I know there are others with fond memories of the 15th, too. I'd like to share mine with you:
I arrived at 15th Med having just turned 20 years old. (I looked like I was 16!). Up until my last year there, I was not only the youngest pilot (by 12 years) in the unit, I was the youngest person in the unit!
I had been lucky enough to sneak into the Army's "High School-to-Flight School" program about six months after graduation. Up to that point, I had held only odd and part-time jobs in my home town. So, Basic Training at Ft. Dix, followed immediately by WOC-D and flight school at Ft. Rucker were quite a shock for this naive, upper-middle-class white youth. I don't remember much about it, really, except it seemed like a year-long, very stressful, shock-laden blur. Even though I was constantly teased about my age and young looks (I hadn't even started shaving at that point), the camaraderie in flight school was something I had never experienced before. After almost a year of personnel and cubicle inspections, bracing and saluting whenever an officer was within site, checkrides, cleaning details, drill & ceremony, ground school, PT tests, etc., it was finally over. I remember taking 30 days leave after flight school, going home to Ohio, and just vegging in a lawn chair in my front yard for a month! I didn't do anything except de-stress!
I was amazed at how fortunate I was to get the assignment I was heading for. It was virtually everything I had wanted in my first tour as an Army Aviator. My dream had been to fly H60s and to fly Medevac. I had no desire to kill people or destroy things, so the Medevac mission really appealed to me, and the Blackhawk was so awesome I just HAD to fly one! I had studied German for four years in high school and spoke it fairly well, and having always wanted to go to Europe, Germany was the natural choice for me. These ideals were in my mind during the few moments during flight school when I actually had time to think about such things, but I figured I would end up flying Cobras out of Ft. Hood or something.
Back in 1984, my class, Maroon Flight, was only the second l class to ever get to pick our final aircraft based on our class standing. Only two Blackhawks were offered to our class, and I didn't get either of them. However, I did find out that I was going to be assigned to Germany, which made up for some of that disappointment. Imagine my joy a few weeks later when I received a welcome post card from 15th Med saying that I was assigned to them, that they were a Medevac unit, and that I could expect to return to Ft. Rucker sometime in the near future for my Blackhawk transition because the unit was trading in its Hueys for H60's! I was in heaven!
When I got to Germany, I was still under the impression that I was going to be treated at my unit basically the same way I had been treated in flight school. Well, I was in for some very pleasant surprises. My first came when I arrived at Rhein Main Airport expecting to have to take a train to Grafenwoehr. Instead, a Huey from 15th Med showed up just to take me back home! I think it was piloted by Tiny Despres and Bill Sorenson. I don't remember for sure because I was so dazzled by Germany, the hustle and bustle of Frankfurt Airport, and the fact that I was being chauffeured around Germany in a helicopter. Both pilots treated me like a welcome friend, and I began to realize that perhaps I wasn't going to have to be bracing all the time after all!
The flight across Germany was very enchanting. Everything was so....different! The quaint red-roofed homes, the majestic castles, the space needles. It was awesome and exciting to be so far away from home, in Europe, and on my own. And, I couldn't have asked for a better home-away-from-home than 15th Med. I can't imagine that there was any place better to be stationed as an Army Aviator. An Army unit with a real, lifesaving mission that took us all over Germany (and beyond), plus all the fun terrain flight training. Awesome!
Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming, and quickly made me feel a part of the team. Even more surprising was the respect that my "subordinates" paid me even though I was younger than some of their children! My young age combined with the fact that I looked even younger than I was made me a bit insecure thinking about how I was going to fit in at my first unit. Discovering that the next youngest pilot was 32 years old did nothing to alleviate my initial discomfort. I can remember in-processing somewhere on main base in my CW1 BDU's. One of the sergeant-receptionists told me that I shouldn't wear my dad's uniform around base! (And he wasn't joking!) Yet, whether or not anyone had problems with my immaturity and naiveté, I never experienced anything but the respect due to my rank at 15th Med.
I quickly learned that 15th Med was more like an extended family of sorts than the cold, military unit that I expected. Within a day of my arrival, I was driven to a Hail and Farewell which was attended by everyone at the base--enlisted and officer alike. I really liked the atmosphere--the camaraderie and fellowship--the same atmosphere which characterized my entire tour at Graf.
I was quickly introduced to the challenges and rewards of flying Medevac in Germany. It was fun using my newly-learned skills to help others, and Germany turned out to be an incredibly beautiful country to fly in! Of course, that flying included all kinds of constantly-changing weather, and that could be very interesting, too! I was lucky fellow pilots were so experienced and kind enough to take me under their collective wings, so to speak. Graf was an ideal first tour for a fledgling aviator. In fact, I learned things in Graf that have dramatically influenced the way I fly still today.
And then there was living in Bavaria, near the Iron Curtain, during the cold war, with a very strong U.S. dollar. Everyone seemed to love us (at least, on our side of Deutschland), and I seemed to be able to live like a king on my WO1 pay. Getting stuck somewhere for weather or a mechanical problem usually turned into a very fun experience as the locals would invariably refuse to let us pay for drinks and sometimes even our dinner. They liked the fact that we were helping to keep the Soviets at bay, I guess.
And then there was all the neat personal things that happened to me during my tour of duty. I got married to Diana, bought my dream car, and took a two week vacation every six months to travel around Europe. I was able to see a dozen our so countries during my four-year stint and left Germany broke, but have never regretted it.
Looking back at my tour, I think the reason I'm so fond of it is that at Grafenwoehr, I transitioned from a boy into a man. When I finished flight school, I was still very naive about life, about the world, about the military, about most things. But, by the time I left Grafenwoehr, I had been given, and successfully handled, quite a bit of responsibility for someone my age. I had also traveled Europe, learned about loyalty and comradeship, was married, and had made lifelong friends. I returned to the States much older than my years, and found I no longer had anything in common with my recently college-graduated home-town buddies. They were still giggling over being able to drink beer, while I had flown Medevac missions within a few miles of the Iron Curtain at night in 500 ft ceilings and 1/2 mile visibility responsible for a $6 million machine and five lives. I had friends who were 10 years older than me and for whom I had great respect. I had seen Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Vienna, Casablanca, Copenhagen, Brussels, London. I had driven 170 mph on the autobahn. I had passed a checkride from Bill Sorenson. ;-) I had done it all and survived! I was a man!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David L Terry on
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Great essay Sir. I know the feeling. I entered into the Army when I was 22 after being in an Army Reserve unit for 3 years. I was a Paramedic in civilian life and ended up in a Medical Battalion at Ft Stewart, Ga. After about 6 months I found out about the Medevac unit at Ft Stewart and went to talk with them about doing a transfer. I was accepted and went to the 3rd Platoon 498th Med Co (AA) in late July 1980. There I did Medical supply when not on first up duty. I ended up meeting what I have to say were 2 of the best pilots around at the time. They were Cal Irvin and Art Doyle. We spent a many of night on first up duty. It came a time when they realized that I had a somewhat of a gift. If I asked the crew chief to get me a Chocolate shack from DQ when he went to pick up dinner, we would end up flying our tails off. I did a lot of flying due the time I was at Ft Stewart. Everything from Range Missions to wrecks on I-95 and even a house call at Midnight in Richmond Hill, Ga. In Nov 1982 I left Ft Stewart heading for Germany.
I had found out about the 421st Med Battalion and the 4th Platoon in Domstat(? Misspelled). However when I reported to 1st Perscom I was sent to an Armor unit in Friedberg, Germany. In March or April of 1983 we went to Grafe for training. There I ended up getting injured in an accident and was taken to the Dispensary. Lo and behold who should be there but my old pilots from Ft Stewart, Mr. Irvin and Mr. Doyle. After talking with them I found out that they had a medic who did not want to fly and was an Armor medic. I was able to talk with the C O of the 15th Med and with Cal's and Art's help was able to do a swap with this medic. I was able to spend almost 4 years with the 15th Medical Detachment and had a great time while I was there. I met some great people and remember them all. Maybe not by name but their friendship and comradery. I can not say enough about the Pilots, Crew chiefs and of course the medics that where in the unit or come though the unit, while I was there. Of course the ones that seems like everyone forgets about was the support personnel that we had. This was to include our operations personnel, Motor pool as well as admin. Like Mr. Calhoun I came back to the states and had no desirer to return to my home town. It just was not home anymore. I have tried to stay in touch with some one the people that I had created a bound with but with time and distance, have lost touch with most. Cal and Susan Irvin are the only ones that I am now in touch with. It was them that told me about this site.
As for me, I am now working with one of the larger Construction companies in the US. TIC The Industrial Company who build Power Plants and does construction for Mining companies. At the present time I am in a little town called Winchester, Tx about 60 miles East of Austin and about 120 North East of San Antonio and 115 Mile North West of Houston. I am suppose to be here until July or Aug of 2009
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Permalink Reply by Barry Calhoun on
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David,
It's great to hear from you and welcome! I'm glad that you got the word from the Irvins!
Thanks for the interesting story about your circuitous (and fortunate) route to the 15th Med and for filling in some of the photo puzzles. I'm hoping others will soon post some of their photos, too.
Take care,
Barry
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Permalink Reply by Eric Kuhn on
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Its great to have found this sight. I have thought of the 15th med det. often over the years, and have attempted to find people I served with to no avail. Ive been a member of dustoff.org for several years but havent found anyone there either. I think all of you here were stationed in Graf after I left. I entered the army when I was 17, and Graf was my first assignment after Sam Houston. Back then our hanger was still the tent, and we had 6 uh1s H models, the V upgrade didnt come for awhile. Out of the 6 birds we normally had 3 or 4 flying at any given point although 22298 was pretty much always the first up AC simply because it flew the best and didnt have the habit of breaking too often. we always had plenty to do as Graf was the largest NATO tank gunnery range on the planet, and we had the border missions as well though we usually had cobras in the area to make sure nobody threw rocks at us. Major Dunlap was the CO then and we had some truly remarkable pilots Bill Heaton (red hot and still heaton) left shortly after I got there and went to Rucker, Bob Boyd, and Mr Moore were both experienced Nam combat pilots and the only time you were really nervous in the service was when young Lt. Young had the controls, although to his credit, be became a great pilot and made Captain before I left. After Major Dunlap came Walter W. Wakefield III. and he was the CO until I left. Alot of changes took place when I was there, We got the V upgrades, we got the High performance hoists. I took a correspondance course in medical supply and that became my secondary MOS and I began to attempt to outfit the unit with much needed equipment. ( we didnt have much when I first arrived) Paul Zima who was the senior medic at the time decited we would all become certified EMTs and we took the classes and became nationally registered EMTs. David Strosnider became the senior medic after Paul left, and became one of my closest friends there.I wouldnt trade my time at the 15th med det. for anything although I had some very sad times, and some of the most harrowing experiences in my life there, but Im sure you all have. I often wondered what became of my beloved army evac 22298, sitting in her jump seat is where I grew up and became a man.
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Eric,
Welcome! It's great to have you. Thanks for the insight into what 15th was like before I got there. It was people like you, early on, who made it what it was for me. I remember 22298 well. I especially remember a flight where I had been flying a lot the night before and was a bit "punchy". The ATC controller in Nurnberg had a funny accent and just the way he said Two-Two-Two-Nine-Eight struck me as funny, so every time I replied with our call sign, I added another 2. By the time we got to the hospital, we were Two-Two-Two-Two-Two-Two-Two-Nine-Eight. I was giggling like a little kid. I couldn't believe the controller was using whatever we gave him, but maybe he was wanting to have fun, too. Probably doesn't sound very funny now, but at the time, it was HILARIOUS! ;-)
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That is too funny, I wonder if the ATC kept re-entering the ac number everytime you answered. lol There was one nite in the middle of winter, uber-cold, around 2am, someone decited to roll over a jeep in the GTA so we brought him to the dispensary. After about an hour of sitting there waiting they sent us to Nurmburg with him We had just gotten the one piece nomex and retired the two piece which were a little warmer, and hadnt gotten the nice winter coats yet. It was miserable cold even with the bleed air heat going. We got to Nurmburg, got the patient into the hospital and headed home. Our Pilots (you know who you are) decited to transfer fuel. the heat was cranking and finally the AC was nice and toasty. things got real quiet as we worked our way home. The next thing I remember was the master caution going off and the aircraft jerking around a bit, I realized that I along with everyone else was taking a lttle snooze (you know how that sound and vibration can put you right to sleep.) Had it not been for the aux tank being emptied, and the master caution going off, we may have rode her right on in, who knows....no one spoke, but the heat was shut down and the windows up front were opened a bit for the rest of the ride home.
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Yikes! You know, I remember a very important lesson that I learned regarding this very thing from Alonzo Atkinson himself, our CO at the time. He was PIC and I was CP on some mission to the west side of Germany and back (can't remember what for). We were returning very late and were both tired. Very tired. He was flying and I was starting to nod. It was around 23:00 and we were passing Nurnberg on the way back to Graf. Suddenly he says, "We're stopping here for the night" and he landed at the hospital and requested rooms for the crew to catch some sleep before morning. What made such an impression on me was that we had already flown like 6 or 7 hours and had only 20 minutes to go, the weather was pretty good, it was late and we all just wanted to get home. But, it was the right call, and somehow the CO "admitting defeat" as it were, really fused in my brain the importance of safety first. He wasn't just talking the talk. (I learned a lot from you, Maj. Atkinson.) It was lessons like this that I was fortunate enough to receive continually from the experienced aviators at 15th Med that have kept me alive in aviation over the last 26 years.
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Hi Guys, You know when I was at Ft Stewart we had the same type of deal. We had been flying most of the day and had flown up to Augusta, Ga late into the night. The pilots decided to fly back on a flight plan and around 5000 ft agl. As you stated Erik we would be flying along and all at once you would hear you of the pilots say I have the controls right after you flet the bottom drop out of the ac. This went on all the way back to Stewart. I think that was the one and only time that I actually went to sleep on the ac. The pilots we had in Grafe always seemed to use their heads and do the right things when needed. Even though we had one the decided to fly over the park in Nurenburg on the way out of the Hospital looking at the girls in the park that were sun bathing in the nude. OPPS WRONG THING TO DO SIR (again you know who you are). I had a great time over there and hope to one day maybe be able to go back for a visit.I glad there are more people joining and starting to check the site out more often. Gives us more insite and the oppertunity to chat.
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Permalink Reply by Bill Sorenson on
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Greetings to All!!
It's great to see some of the older guys in the 15th Med on this site. It must have been challenging getting things started in Germany.
I had spent about 19 years in Cobras in Aerial Rocket Artillery and the Cav before I went to the Senior Course at Rucker. WO Branch wanted to give me a break from Cobras so they asked me if I'd like to fly Medevac before going back to Apache's. I accepted and I received orders for Graf. Some of my friends asked me who I "Ticked Off" to get Graf. (I had been to Graf in the 70's just on the ranges for a few days fielding the AH-1S TOW Cobra.) I didn't realize what they meant until I got there. If you're training, it sucks. If you're Permanent Party, it was great.
In my 27 years of active duty, Graf was the best duty assignment I've ever had. I worked with some of the most dedicated and professional people I have ever worked with in the Army. I liked the Unit, People and Area so well I put in for one year extentions twice, then a 3 year COT. The only thing I disliked was when they re-organized Dustoff Europe and stood down the 15th Med.
Don't let Barry kid you about my checkrides. People usually busted themselves. Barry was a damn good pilot. Actually, the pilots in the unit were the best I'd flown with in my career. This includes the Commanders and Maintenance Officers who usually only get to do test flights in most units. Art Doyle did a perfect auto after an engine failure on a test flight, single pilot. Everyone in the unit was a professional!!
I still miss the parties with the Dispesary and all the good times. Maybe sometime Barry can tell us about the Porsche and the tractor.
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Permalink Reply by Roderick Clayton Ray on
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Greetings to all !
Of all the assignments in the military, Graf was by far my best ever. Graf was my second perm assignment I came there from the 101st Ft Campbell, I do remember that I reenlisted from Campbell after going to Germany on reforger, I know that I had to go back. I was young, single and from OKC, my father a 30yr vet had told me of his many adventures while on active duty, and it was time for me to have my own. I can remember being in Hanau and being picked up by an SSG (name forgotten). However, when I got there I was a introduced to all, funny enough I remember SSG Kearns when I went into the Flight Opns office. Here I was the new 71P for the 15th Medical Det. All these NCO's and I was just a lowly SP4, but to my dismay the NCO's did not seem like the ones at the 101st, they merely just welcomed me to the family. I could not have asked for a better assignment in Germany. We went to volks marches, company trips and we to the Rod and Gun club for happy hour together. My favorite officer was of course Cpt Sly, I remember the time he let me use his car while he went on leave. Man what officer does that!!! Course there was my boss Cpt Koehler who kept me on the straight and narrow encouraging me to continue my college education.. If your out there Cpt, I completed my degree in Electronic Eng and Business Mgmt, who would have thought, course this did not happan until I finally left the military in 1990. You see I got out after I left Germany for about a year in 1980 and then made the decision to go back in and make it a career. I really believe that my time stationed with the 15th Medical Det helped me decide my career path. Where else would I have gotten to take a trip across Germany and Asia. I loved every minute of that assignment.
By the way I ran into David Aguon, while stationed at Ft Ord. in Marina Ca. I was at the store when I recognized him. I introduced him to my wife and we spoke for quite a while. He had told me that we would be working at Luckys and I gave him my phone number and address. When I retired, I tried to look him up because I wanted to let him know I was staying in California, but to no avail. Have not heard from him since. I hope that all is well for him..
Regards to All
Rod Ray
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