When I was in the U.S. Air Force from 1967-71 as a photographer there were many different photo assignments that we in the Photo Office all went on. I was in the 836th Combat Support Unit stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. On a daily basis I did portraits of officers, car accidents on the base, award ceremonies, stories for the MacDill Herald, meetings with the base commander and generals on the base, plane crashes and autopsies. One of the functions of MacDill AFB was a last stop training facility for F4 fighter pilots who were on their way to Vietnam. The training was tough and there were many plane crashes at Avon Park in Central Florida. I had to go out there with the medical team to photograph the crash scenes and then autopsies. I never really got over those experiences.
On a lighter side we were all young and had fun. I was on an assignment to photograph an officer in his office. I wanted to move the American flag in the background. He told me not to touch anything and that he would move the flag. Well, as he was moving the flag he tugged on the flag pole and it went crashing into the ceiling. Ceiling tiles fell to the ground, he swung around and wiped everything off his desk. I was standing there not touching a thing, just protecting my Graflex Crown Graphic 4x5 camera from the falling ceiling. Well I was immediately dismissed, no photos taken and never saw that officer again.
On another occasion I was the assigned photographer to photograph the annual sports award ceremony held in Tampa at Busch Gardens. It was a banquet type event and Busch provided free beer to everyone. I did not have a drop of beer but as the Base Commander announced it was time for the awards to be presented, when I stood up, the table I was at flipped over, a pitcher of beer fell on me, my camera was soaked and I fell on the floor. The Base Commander saw all of this and announced to the entire audience that there would be no photos tonight because the photographer was drunk. Funny because I was the only person in the hall who had not touched a drop.
Oh well, another learning experience.
While I was in the Air Force, I did spend a lot of time after work going to The University of Tampa finishing up my first 2 years of college. That really helped me in 1971 when I got out of the service, moved to Maryland where my parents were living, and attended the University of Maryland. At Maryland I received a BA in Journalism with a Minor in Radio and TV Production.
Next blog will be about my beginnings as a photographer in the Federal Government.
On a lighter side we were all young and had fun. I was on an assignment to photograph an officer in his office. I wanted to move the American flag in the background. He told me not to touch anything and that he would move the flag. Well, as he was moving the flag he tugged on the flag pole and it went crashing into the ceiling. Ceiling tiles fell to the ground, he swung around and wiped everything off his desk. I was standing there not touching a thing, just protecting my Graflex Crown Graphic 4x5 camera from the falling ceiling. Well I was immediately dismissed, no photos taken and never saw that officer again.
On another occasion I was the assigned photographer to photograph the annual sports award ceremony held in Tampa at Busch Gardens. It was a banquet type event and Busch provided free beer to everyone. I did not have a drop of beer but as the Base Commander announced it was time for the awards to be presented, when I stood up, the table I was at flipped over, a pitcher of beer fell on me, my camera was soaked and I fell on the floor. The Base Commander saw all of this and announced to the entire audience that there would be no photos tonight because the photographer was drunk. Funny because I was the only person in the hall who had not touched a drop.
Oh well, another learning experience.
While I was in the Air Force, I did spend a lot of time after work going to The University of Tampa finishing up my first 2 years of college. That really helped me in 1971 when I got out of the service, moved to Maryland where my parents were living, and attended the University of Maryland. At Maryland I received a BA in Journalism with a Minor in Radio and TV Production.
Next blog will be about my beginnings as a photographer in the Federal Government.
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