Azores/London 1965 Viet Nam Map
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[The Trip to Germany ]  [Germany N65-Oct65]  [Finthen Airfield]  {Azores/London 1965]  [Truck Accident]
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In early 1965, I had an occasion to fly home from Germany.  The trip home was via a C130 from Reinmain AFB to Chateauroux AFB in France to Dover Delaware.  I forget how long it took but it was a lot longer than the 707 trip I took later in the year.

I returned to Dover AFB Delaware to get MATS flight back to Germany.  Most of the flights out of Dover were C141 Starlifters carrying loads that were not qualified to have passengers.  I finally chose a C124 Globemaster, a four rotary engine prop transport.  The C124 was a lot slower than the C130 and the trip had a few legs.

The first leg was from Dover AFB to Goose Bay AFB in Labrador.  From Goose Bay, the next stop was to Lajes Field in the Azores.

Azores Azores    
 
On the run-up for the departure from the Azores, the C124 blew an engine.  Since flights coming into the Azores were full, I was stuck there until the engine was replaced.  Stuck is a relative work.  Life in the Azores was just short of heaven.  The Air Force controlled the whole island.  Unlike in the US and in Germany, where the PX prices were kept up to not impact the local economy, the Azores PX was cheap beyond belief.  Cokes were just a nickel, hamburgers a dime. 

Being relatively tropical, the stop-over in the Azores was a vacation

With the engine replaced, the next leg of the trip was to Mildenhall AFB England.  After two days of trying to catch a MATS flight to Germany, I opted to take the train to London and catch a commercial flight.

Azores Azores    
I saw these scenes on the way to the airport.

Azores Heathrow hardly looks like this today.
 
I flew from London to Frankfurt Germany.  One of the things that surprised me that I traveled through England and into Germany just using my Army ID card as a passport.

When I went to buy a train ticket to get from Frankfurt to Mainz, I had a problem trying to use Greenbacks.  The ticket seller suggested that I go next door to the tavern and exchange my money there.  I did with no problem.  Little did I know that this act would mean a lot more in Vung Tau a two years latter. Vung Tau Mar67