12/02/68
Finally at Sinop and checking in.
12/03/68
Bryson, Hoke and Froh already playing basketball to kill time.
12/06/68 Hoke on swing shift reports 8 hours of listening to music and watching the UPI news service ticker…already
into the normal routine.
12/11/68 Trick chief lets Jones and Hoke off mid shift for ATO and they take in another midflick….the Navdet guys
are in the back row per usual.
12/13/68 Cowan and Dryke on 1st trick. Froh is on trick 2, Bryson on trick 3 and Jones and Hoke on trick 4.
12/20/68 Activity report on the crew of 6---Hoke and Jones on break, Cowan and Dryke at ops working, Froh getting ready
to go on mid shift and Bryson at the club probably playing the slot machines.
01/04/69 rumored buzzing of hill by MIG. Arrival of new washer and dryer in working order for laundry.
01/12/69 Hill battered by 60 mph wind gusts from Crimean storm.
01/14/69 12 & 12 shifts begin. Hoke in 4th room in 6 weeks.
01/17/69 12 & 12 shifts end.
01/18/69 Hoke’s section gets a gamogobulin (sp) shot to combat infectious hepatitis threat.
Letter ID’s boss of section as “The Great Panda” SP6 Vivian DeVita
01/26/69 6 inch snowfall covers the hill.
02/02/69 Jack Kasper and Hoke go photo shooting on peninsula to the lighthouse.
02/21/69 The crew of the C Kamel survived the E5 board and now await promotion orders.
02/26/69 Bridge rats in Bryson’s room ID list: Dale Slette, Woody Romine, Hoke and Bryson.
03/01/69 Rumors
of strike by Turks working on base.
03/01/69 -4/69 Hill hit by two power blackouts….PX sold out candles and flashlights..Bridge
game continues by flashlight. The title of the flick at the Diogenes Playhouse was “Where were you when the lights went
out”.
4/17/69 Hoke on 14 day TDY trip to Athens for bowling tournament.
5/26/69 Strike by Turk logistics workers in sixth week and starting to affect food supplies.
5/28/69 Strike ends.
5/29/69 work schedule revised to eliminate mid shift. Days and swings only with 4 on and 2 off.
6/23/69 None of the 6 have reupped and Bryson is home on a month’s leave.
6/29/69 Section bracing for arrival of 19 new men in July….working only 2 of 6 days very likely. SKATE!!!
6/30/69 British pop band performs at club.
7/13/69 5:30 am RED ALERT drill. We’re supposed to march 150 miles to Samsun???
RIGHT!!
7/20/69 Americans on the moon. Bryson back from leave refreshed and with the longest non-military haircut on the hill.
7/26/69 16 new guys spread among shifts…..only working 1 of 4 days. Downtown off limits for 3 days due to arrival
of 3 Turkish destroyers in port.
8/4/69 USO show at club. Girls from the U. of Texas. Downtown off limits again this weekend due to arrival of U.S. Ambassador
and expected anti war demonstration. Don’t want any GI’s holding Yankee go Home signs.
8/6/69 Hill basketball team (Hoke and Lakso) win second Turko-Anglo basketball game in Sinop by 4 points.
8/13/69 Rumor control….all operations in Turkey to be combined at Sinop under air force control.
8/24/69 Member of naval detachment and one of our r/t section guys in boat capsixzed in bay and navy guy dies from exposure
after being in water for 10 hours. Army guy had core temp of 87 when rescued but survived.
9/2/69 Great weather without rain causes water shortage…many little shacks erected and 3-5 day wait between showers.
9/9/69 Rain ends water shortage.
09/11/69 Kasper and Lakso leaving for U.S. Slette and Ferency in 15 days. The 6
still have no orders for next post.
09/24/69 Jones gets orders for Ft. Meade by using a DF procedure (Smart Man!!).
Everyone else still waiting.
10/03/69 DEROS port call set for Nov. 19th on PAA #118 from Ankara to Istanbul. PAA #1 from Istanbul to Rome
to Paris to New York.
10/8/69 Post CO sends official complaint to Arlington Hall about lack of orders.
10/13/69 Section placed on frozen tricks. Work reported to be “interesting”…(Soviet space shot maybe?)
10/19/69 Frozen shifts end.
10/21/69 Orders in. Boom lowered. Bryson to Ft. Meade. Everybody else to Berlin.
Berlin crew to get another course at Goodfellow AFB.
11/4/69 Possible flight to Samsun will connect with THY on Nov. 17 to Ankara.
(Our “6” did fly on the Otter to Samsun and took THY to Ankara and eventually via PAA was able to return to
the states.)
