Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN (Post 1872115)

Hey Clem.....Interesting story there, for sure! You know, I'm familiar with almost every aircraft you've listed above but somehow, I know nothing of, nor can I picture an "RB-30" or a "C-198". Can you help a dumb guy here with a little more info on exactly what each of these two aircraft are or were? Thanks....DD

Originally Posted by Clem Clement (Post 1872090)

My 1939 pickup named “Uncle Raeman”

Uncle Raeman took over as my Dad after Daddy died. Uncle Raeman drove a beat up 5 window Chebby pickup with Borden’s Garage on the white sides and a gas welding rig in the back. He passed on 2 years after Daddy. I wanted that truck! My 1940 Merc was sold and I was driving Mothers ‘41 Ford coupe. I was on the soccer team at my college, Stevens in Hoboken, where the coach said you can’t have Saturday game day off to go to the action. Uncle Joe and Uncle Tom were there. I don’t know who got the truck but I never saw it any more.
Many years later as I was about to graduate from USAF flying school the fateful morning came for us all to pick our choice of aircraft. We had 7 fighters on the list and they went early. Passenger planes, tankers next on and on. When my turn came, they offered B-52, B-47, C-198 C-124, C-130 WB-50, RB-50, KB-50 KC-135, KC 97 +more.
I had grown up on the Brigantine Island and maintained a weather station in our place. I had been thru several hurricanes and thought I knew something so I chose the WB-50 weather recon airplane. 3 years later and 2100 pilot hours, I took a WB to the bone yard as the Squadron closed and I went on to fly KB-50s tactical tankers. About a year and a half later, after we crashed 2 of them killing ½ of a crew, I took a KB-50 to the junk yards. Charlie Brown was the next pilot behind me in flying school rankings and he took the only RB-30 offered. He went to a Photo Recce Squadron who were photographing territories in South America. He lived there with his wife for a couple of years until that RB was junked. The late Gil Williams was an engineer assigned to the ground portion of their mission. Had I selected the RB, I might have met Gill I years earlier. Gill and I played together with Model A Fords here is VA. He had an old green 1939 tired pickup which eventually came my way. The Late Mr. Ed and the Late Gill built the truck from pieces of 3 trucks, as I understand it. They added some good stuff and 94327502973 steel coat-hangers source of welding metal to hold things together. In sum: I own a fun pickup with lots of history. I did not even know what a “horse collar” truck was.
I love bending wrenches. I thought after Daddy died, I would go work for Uncle Raeman and get my own shop someday. Not to be. I have gathered books on the ‘39 and fixed a ton of things. Oh, the patina. I love the well-worked look. A truuuck should show what he’d done. Back in the farms of South Jersey, if a farmer could scrape enough chicken egg coins to buy a new truck, he did not waste the trip to the dealer. He did the weeks shopping, grabbed a pig or two and some chickens and concrete then drove to his bud’s farm to show off the new truck. it was a tired truck from day one because it was a working tool
My truck named Uncle Raeman, is fun to work on. I relieve my stresses under him. He ain’t worth much, but we are a team learning about trucking in the slow lane.
Clem

Originally Posted by Clem Clement (Post 1873274)

OSD: Office of the Secretary of Defense, I serves in 2 sections: as an exec in C3I and as a staff Officer in Air Warfare. Difficult work: military duty, not appointed I worked in the principal deputy's office for part of my tour. Then I moved down the hall to Air Warfare as staff officer for nonnuclear cruise missile R&D. I went thru 2 budget cycles.4 years in OSD and 23 1/2 years of service total Then it was time to go home to South Jersey. Mother was in her late years and we moved her in with us where she got to see what I grew up to be and to get to know the kids and our dog. I went to work in RCA in Advanced Development. Great job.