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STORIES/TEXT/NARRATIVES Only
Contributed
By - Tom Bock
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Tom's Photos
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Received 4/5/06 -
Posted 4/5/06
Bill... The site is
looking great - lots of interesting things.
Gene Y. brings up an
interesting memory. There was a 'Tex' there in
'65 - '66 - although not the same one to which
Gene alludes, I'm quite sure.
The 'Tex' who was there
while I was in Trab was a "good ole' boy" from
the Austin, Texas area. The thing was, he
didn't want to be called 'Tex,' as his real name
was GAIL!!!! I heard him say, on more than one
occasion, "Don't call me 'Tex,' damnit! Call me
Gail - it's my name!
I always thought that
was funny, kind of a variation on the 'Boy Named
Sue’ story.
He was a nice guy, but
took no sh** from anyone - not a bully in any
way - just a straight shooter. He would tell
you to get (the hell) out of the way if you
weren't supposed to be in his 'section,
especially during the few 'alerts' we
experienced, but was also friendly and always
ready to be kind.
These are the types I
remember most.
Tom B.
December 9, 2005:
OK To Post:
Tom Bock:
Smokey:
Well, I'm not sure how much I can add to
your story about Turkey.. and about Trabzon
specifically, but here goes:
My name is Tom
Bock. I grew up in New Jersey and, like
many guys my age in the early/mid-60's,
could not 'afford' - to put it mildly! - to
go to college right after high school.
Facing
military 'conscription', I joined the Air
Force in 1964, knowing,
frankly, nothing
about the language programs the U.S.
military ran at the time. After passing the
language proficiency exam, which I'm pretty
sure was in Kurdish, I 'volunteered' to go
to language school. At the time, the (U.S.
Air Force) 'Russian troops' went to Syracuse
University, Indiana University, or the
'Defense Language Institute' at Monterey,
California.
I was selected
to go to the last of these, and studied
Russian for nine months. After 'Intercept
Processing' school, I was assigned to 'good
old' Tuslog Det 3-1. Trabzon (1966-67) was
certainly an adventure for me, a kid who
grew up in a poor, Irish-Catholic family in
Newark, New Jersey. I was determined,
however, to make the most of my experience.
I learned a lot of Turkish (more on that
later), and ventured out into Turkish
society. I visited various areas in Turkey
during - or at the end of my tour - and in
subsequent trips back to Turkey.
After I was
discharged - at Kelly AF Base in San
Antonio in 1968, I attended Indiana
University, where I studied Russian,
Turkish, and Arabic. I returned to the New
York area - where I have lived for the past
35 years - and have continued my interest in
Turkey and Russia. I have visited Turkey
and Russia about a dozen times over the past
30+ years. I, literally, speak Russian and
Turkish almost every day. I live right in
the middle of New York City, which has
thousands of Turks and millions of Russians
(and other ethnic groups from the various
'former' Soviet Republics.) I have been in
touch with a number of former colleagues
from that era, and, not that long ago, I
reconnected with my first Turkish teacher
(from Turkey) through the Internet.
In summary, my
experience in Turkey was certainly 'life
changing', and continues to be so..
Tom Bock in
NYC
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