EMAILS I HAVE RECEIVED FROM GRADUATES OF THE 93E2 SCHOOL

PART 4: AFTER IT LEFT FT. MONMOUTH IN 1969

Compiled by Paul A. Roales

Note: The email below are arranged in order of graduation date from the school.

Updated February 20, 2007 (see January, 1972 below), March 11, 2008 (See Summer 1970 OJT below), and April 15, 2008 (See October, 1972 below).

Summer 1970. (Ft. Sill) In March, 2004 I heard from Vern Weitzel. Here is what he had to say: "I graduated from the school after it moved to Fort Sill.I started school at Fort Sill in February of 1970. After graduation I believe that most people in our class were given assignments in the US for the next year or so, then many of those of us who were regular army were shipped to Viet Nam. I rejoined several of my classmates at Artillery Hill in Pleiku with the 7/15 Artillery in September 1971. When that unit stood down at the end of the year, we were redeployed over the next months to different units and assignments outside our MOS. Several of us went to Tuy Hoa where we unsuccessfully attempted to do meteorological work at that Air Base, and then to Bien Hoa with the 1st Cavalry. Some of us eventually returned to ballistic meteorology but it was a very unusual period, in which people may have made several permanent changes of station in a single year, as troops were moving rapidly home. In the end I did ten months of my tour before returning to the US in mid-1972. I could not get work in meteorology after the Army so I went back to school I now live - of all places - in Ha Noi where I do Interenet stuff for the UN."

Summer 1970 (OJT). In November, 2007 I got the following email from Danny King who was an OJT graduate in 1970. Here is what he said: "I served as a 93E at Dugway Proving Grounds from April 1970 thru October 1971. I was sent there straight out of basic training from Ft Knox. I attended classes in Ditto area taught by military and civilian instructors. I think they considered me an OJT. I ended working out onthe grids,in the radiosonde tower and the perimeter trapline. I was also sent to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal at Denver Colorado on TDY for 6 months during their mustard gas burning operation. I am trying to gather any information I can about what I tried to described above."

September 1970 (Ft. Sill). In March, 2006 I heard from Waddy Coppinger He says: "I was US Army, basic training at Ft Lewis, WA., 93E20 trained at Ft. Sill, stationed in Canal Zone (Ft.Davis, Ft. Sherman, Coco Solo) 10/70 to 2/73, a rawinsonde, rocketsonde observer at site San Lorenzo, Caribbean side, under a Warrant Officer Ballinger. I have utterly failed to find anyone or any remembrance of this great experience; I guess it began to shut down not long after my departure, and for sure it all ended with the Panamanians taking over the "Zone" under President Carter. If there really is nothing out there, just a sort of black hole, perhaps I could share my experiences and get someone's attention. I also worked for the weather service for a year in Lake Charles, LA, before going back to Albuquerque and the rest of my life. Wadsworth (Waddy) Coppinger, US Army Spec.V, 2/70 to 2/73."

When I asked him if he remembered any of the soldiers I knew were in the Canal Zone he replied: "Yes, Steve Repasch was from Philly as I recall, tall basketball player on a team at Davis, and Beatles fan - his last name finally hit me, if I'm not mistaken. He was there in 1970 when I arrived at Ft. Davis barracks - one of my early photos, before I got my Minolta, was of his posters of the Beatles on a cubicle wall. He was there when we all felt an earthquake at 9 PM and another time 4 of us got lost in the jungle and he was there. He left before too long, only 2 year hitch I believe. My stay in Panama was long as I was allowed to extend after 18 months, until getting out of service in 2/73. Other names I do better recall are (10/70 - 2/73): Danny Hines (from Houston, in bunk across from mine at Davis), Jim Markus (GMD, radar tech., liked classical music), Mike Wepsala (sometimes poet who went to Yuma, AZ after Canal Zone), Max Hartman (master bowler), Matthew Miller, Glynn Harvey, Bruce Mitchell, Tom Lawrence (Princeton wrestler - we took a trip to Costa Rica together), Bernard Medola, Don Hansbrough, Don Taylor, Lance Isaacson (a Lutheran minister in Minnesota who did write me many years back), David Boster (Rice grad I think) who drove back to Texas in a Land Cruiser when he got out. And there was Tom Slagle, great receiver (played college ball), who was going to work on elevators when he got out, was from Maryland. These were all friends, fellow met teamers. Only NCO I remember by name was Sgt. Brown, a Baptist minister as well, also a mechanic who hooked up a relay on my 6 volt '66 VW, so it would start every time."

December 1970 (Ft. Sill). In November, 2006 I heard from John Ludman of Toledo Ohio. He said: "I was a 93 Echo, trained at Ft. Sill, OK. Graduated Ft. Sill Met school in late Dec 1970 or early Jan 1971. Had to report to Ft. Greely by Feb 1, 1971 and I had a short leave in between. Stationed at Ft. Greely, AK 1971-1972. Also had a TDY at Vandenberg AFB in Feb 1971 to train as a launch control operator to fire weather rockets, which is what I did at Ft. Greely. Almost my entire class from Ft. Sill went to Ft. Greely. Names I remember: John Hutto from Texas; John (Jack) Grande, Minnesota; Ted Warner, Chicago; Ted Czerkies, Chicago; Joe Farinella, Chicago; George Houdeshel, Virginia Beach; and Msgt. Ralph Yarbrough, NC. Interested in the possibility of reconnecting with some old buddies."

January 1972 (Ft. Sill). In November, 2001 I heard from J. R. Hoff who spent almost 22 years in the Army, much of it as a meteorologist. He begin active duty: 26 May 1971 at Fort Jackson, SC in Basic, got his 93E training at Ft. Sill, OK and retired 01 Mar 1993 at Fort Bliss, Texas with the rank of Master Sergeant E-8. His MOS's held included 93E Meteorological Observer, 93F Field Artillery Meteorologist, 00E Army Field Recruiter, 16T PATRIOT Missile Crewmember and 24T PATRIOT Operator & Systems Mechanic. His meteorology duty stations included White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; Tooele Army Depot, Utah; Fort Greely, Alaska; and Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Here is what he had to say: "I will give you all the information that I can remember. It has been 30 years. You are correct, the school was moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma and later to Chanute AFB in Illinois. Class started mid-August because my birthday was the first week in September and I remember going downtown Lawton to celebrate as I had just turned 18. My orders for graduation are dated 17 January 1972, so that would put the school at 5 months. I remember the school commandant at the time. That was Sergeants Major Thompson. I went to high school with his son down in Panama which is why I remember. I remember the instructors faces but I just can't remember their names. Maybe they will come to me at a later time. The school was in a building called I-See-O Hall. Named after an Indian? There were 12 in our class and all of us graduated. We started out as E-1 or E-2 but all graduated as E-3/PFC. The course was tough and I remember doing a lot of studying. Memorizing the names of 30 different clouds was not easy. I do remember failing the first test with a 67. This really woke me up and I started to take things much more seriously. We had two soldiers in the class that had degree's in meteorology and I remember outscoring them on several tests after that first failure. I have some pictures of the met team in WSMR and in Redstone if you are interested in them. I will send you two jpegs in another email. I also have a list of all the personnel that were in the 93E field which I will send in this email. It is a word document. I got the list from a buddy out in New Mexico. We graduated high school, went through basic on the buddy system, then Ft. Sill for Met School and both got stationed at WSMR. Best regards, J.R."

January, 1972 (Ft. Sill). In February, 2007 I heard from Dave McGinnis. He syas: "I attended the 93E school at Ft Sill. In Jan 72 they sent me to the Canal Zone where I remained until May 1973 when I was discharged. I must have been in the same class as Mr Hoff, who may remember Steven Hunter from Norfolk Va who also was our classmate and was in Alaska. MOC 2-72 was my class designation, Met Observer Course the 2nd to graduate for 72, in Jan.
I still retain my class notes from those days, and a class photo. Today I put a search on for the class photo but no luck. I'll try again; it's out there, we're sitting beneath a GMD on the prairie. I finished my physics degree when I got out, and got a graduate degree in meteorology. I met Gordon MaCrae (MOC 3-72, CZ) while at grad school in Utah, we were both in the master's program, small world. People might remember his car, a blue Toyota Celica he had shipped down. That was unique. Waddy, I remember you. You had a nice stereo, Pioneer maybe; you slept a lot. I almost shipped to Albuquerque last year but it fell through. I've enjoyed a 30-year career in the field which has taken me all around the world, all thanks to getting drafted and sent to Ft Sill. Anyone who knew me would agree I made a terrible soldier. I was drafted out of college and I felt I had a right or even a duty to keep the faith. But it turned out I liked meteorology which I might never have known otherwise. In the National Weather Service I am a line forecaster at the Key West FL office. I get good support and practice my trade which is saving lives and protecting property. In a few years I will retire, and a visit to the CZ might be fun.
I am interested in hearing from Steve Hunter, Rudy Valrey, Ken Webb or Matt Miller. Hey Rudy, I got an Expert chess rating! It was the Bobby Fischer era; He's probably a master."

1972 (Ft. Sill). In late September, 2006 I heard from Jack Magee. He says: "I had a brief brush with the 93E school at Ft Sill in '72 - '74. I was an artillery met type in Nam in '70 and '71 and knew a couple of 93E types doing time there. The only one I can remember for sure was Ron Nesler, but there were a couple of other disgruntled 93E's around. I just can't remember their names. In '72 I was assigned to the school at Ft Sill and since I had been through the forecasters school at Chanute I was assigned to the 93E course even though I had an Arty MOS. I bounced around there as an instructor for awhile, but never could really find a niche I felt comfortable in (translation: "clashed" with Kurtz"). I moved over to the maintenance course for the last couple of months I was there. I was reassigned to Germany and when I came back I was assigned to the Met section at Ft Huachuca for a few months until I retired. I can remember some faces from Huachuca, but can't connect a name with any of them. These are the people I remember from Ft Sill. Kurtz, CW-4 Southwood, Jake Reigert, Mr. Schwartz, retired CW - 4 Givens, SFC Yarborough, SFC Martin, SP Smythe, SP6 Millman, SP6 Hugo Saenz. After retiring from the Army I went back to school and obtained my teaching credential. I taught Middle School for 18 years here in CA and am now retired from that too. I visited some old Arty Met Types at Ft Sill in the Spring of '06 - that's thirty two years after I left - and nothing is as I left it. The old GMD was phased out and they replaced it with some kind of small portable device that is crewed by three men with a Humvee and the Chief of Section is an E-6. The 175mm gun and 8" howitzers are also gone - no more heavies.. Now they have the MLRS and 155mm Paladin system and that's it."

October 1972 (Fort Sill). In March, 2008 I heard from a 93E graduate from Ft. Sill who is now a civilian Instructor at the Artillery Met School at Ft. Sill. Bruce McDanel says: "I am a graduate of the army’s Meteorological Observer Course. The course was in the west wing of building 3040, I-See-O Hall, at Fort Sill. I graduated in October 1972. Presently, I work as a 13W, formally the 93F MOS, instructor for a local defense contractor at I-See-O Hall on Fort Sill. It was fun as a soldier, and absolutely great as a civilian. I teach in the classroom where I started my meteorological career in 1972. There are currently about 300 13Ws in the Army. With the ongoing reorganization of the army, there is a continuing shortage of this specialty. Our classes, maximum size 18, are often taught in shifts. The class size is limited by available equipment.
As a 93E, I was stationed at Tooele, Utah, from 1972 to 1976 collecting climate data for the Chemical Ammunition Demilitarization System (CAMDS). This project was still running when I made a visit after I retired from the Army 20 years later. My next station was the Panama Canal Zone, where I participated in various micrometeorological and upper air studies for 18 months. When I returned to the U.S., it was to Holloman Air Force Base, where White Sands Missile Range’s upper range section is. I was made NCOIC for surface data collection on the upper range late in my tour there. Taking a break in 1980, I returned back to 93E in 1981, assigned as an instructor of the 93F MOS at Fort Sill in I-See-O Hall, where the school remains. The 93E school had been closed by this time. I was reclassified into 93F when the 93E MOS was eliminated in 1983. In 1985 I transferred to the 72nd FA Brigade in Germany as the met section NCOIC, doing my all in the Cold War. Returning to the States in 1987, I was assigned as the Testing and Evaluation NCO for Meteorology at the Testing and Experimentation Command, Field Artillery Board at Fort Sill. I retired from [the Army in] this position in 1992."

Spring 1977 (Chanute AFB). During the Survey in March, 2004 I heard from Jeffery Herke. Here is what he had to say: "Yes, I was a 93E20 meteorological observer. I was a native of South Dakota. I joined the Army in December of 1976. I attended Basic Training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri in the late winter of 1977. I had my meteorological observer training at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, IL in the spring of 1977. I was assigned to the Met. team at Toole Army Depot in Utah in the summer of 1977 and worked for Joe Lee. I left the Army in December of 1979. I stayed in Utah for a year and worked for Anaconda Copper. In 1980, I got a job with Envirosphere in Atlanta, GA doing a one year field monitoring project for Peabody Coal in New Athens, IL. I married my wife Beth in August, 1981. After the project, I moved to Atlanta and was involved in various projects with Envirosphere and was laid off in June of 1983. I started working for Nordson Corporation in Atlanta in August of 1983. I am presently doing technical customer service for my division of Nordson. I celebrated my 20th company anniversary last August and am still living and working in the Atlanta area."

To view the email messages from people who graduated from the first class through 1958 go HERE.
To view email messages from people who graduated from 1959 up to my class in 1964 go HERE.
To view the email messages from people who graduated after my class in January, 1964 but from Ft. Monmouth go HERE
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