While Serving, What’s a Time You Remember Someone Who Went Above and Beyond to Help You Out? Login & Share to Win!

As a Sp4, I was in a non-combat unit and taking the Series 10 pre-commission (OCS academics) correspondence course. An NCO (Korean War Infantry vet) from another platoon saw I was having trouble with map reading. On his own time, he taught me how to read several different types of maps. This came in very handy later, when I was an NCO in a NG Combat Engineer Bn HQ as well as in the GAANG NCO academy.

I cannot recall any time when that happened.

Honestly, nothing sticks out off the top of my head.

Never

Thanks for sharing

Less than a week after my wife gave birth to our first child in Germany, her placenta broke loose in the healing process. I had to rush her to the 5th Army General Hospital, baby and all. They admitted her, and she was listed as serious condition. Luckily, my immediate first line supervisor, Sgt. Joe Cline, and his wife, offered to watch my newborn daughter at their on base housing apartment. He took it one step further. I thought I was going to have to work, but he went up the chain of command, explained my situation to everyone, and I was granted 5 days of admin leave, and more if I needed it, so I could visit my wife in the hospital, and also take care of our daughter. Every day for almost a week, I brought my daughter to their apartment, visited my wife, and took our daughter home nightly. After my wife was released from the hospital, I was lucky enough to get a few more days of admin leave to make sure my wife was strong enough to take care of our daughter.

After three years working in a military pay office I cross trained to be a computer programmer. While waiting several months to go to the initial training school I got a great opportunity to get a head start. One of the NCOs in my finance office had a part time job cleaning up at another unit on our base (Griffiss AFB, NY). He arranged for me to meet a manager at the Rome Air Development Center where a lot of computer evaluations were being done. After meeting that manager (a USAF Captain) I was given access to play with all the computers they had with no restrictions and no assigned tasks. I wound up programming a small CDC computer in machine language using paper tape to store my small programs. It was great experience and I wound up having a wonderful experience as a programmer after that. I am sure the experience I had at RADC helped me be successful at both the SAC HQ and HAF levels.

There were some individuals who outright lied to me when I could have just rolled out in four years instead of setting me up with reenlists when I didnt want to

There were some individuals who outrigh

SFC Preston, Aero Scout Plt Sgt C Trp 7/17th Air Cav 1970/71. Me and no telling how many others literally owe out lives to this man.
One night in An Son I severely overdid stupid. The next morning SFC Preston saw I was not fit to fly. He pulled me out of formation and flew my mission, LOCH (OH6A) back seat. I vaguely remember his anger and threats if anything happened to my replacement. For a long long time I flew everyday. It was later I discovered he took my seat. He never turned me in for an Article 15 or court marshal and never said another word about it.
If he could get there whenever one of use were shot-down he would fly cover and direct recovery and cobra air support.
BTW it don't mean a hill of beans but SFC Preston is a black man. A great black man. I often pray he has a good life.