Well, it's a new dawn, it's a new day and it's a new life.

After being in-country for about one year of a two year tour, rumors were flying left and right like no body's  business. The Rumor that later proved to be true was that those of us in an overage MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) 05K (Non-Morse Intercept Operator) were getting our overseas assignment  to Clark Air Base cut from twenty four months down to eighteen.  We were to cross train our jobs over to guys of the Air force Security Squadron.  They said we had six weeks to cross train out replacements but the guy who was replacing me was a quick study and he was handling an eight hour shift on his own with only a question now and then after two weeks. Maybe the Army would come to its self and end up sending me to Vietnam after all.

This proved to be a very busy time for me.  One of my friends at that time was a guy named Ron.  He was from Texas, was talk and lanky, and spoke with a funny accent.  I later found out this was called an East Texas Twang.  Ron was taking college courses the University of Maryland at that time.  The University of Maryland had contracted through the University of the Philippines in Quezon City to send one of their professors up to teach the class on Clark.  Ron invited me to go to class on Thursday evening and then he was going to treat me to a stake dinner afterward.  After class, Ron and I was talking with the professor and was invited down to tour the campus on Saturday morning.  Ron and I agreed to meet her Saturday morning at the Campus. We got on a bus and went to Manila Friday evening.

When I stay in Manila then I stayed in the Manila Hilton.  If this hotel was good enough to be General Douglas MacArthur's Headquarters during the war, it was good enough for me.

We met the professor Saturday morning.  After we visited a few of the building, we were at the Gym/Swimming Pool when a runner came up and informed the professor she was needed at a meeting with the Dean of the School.  She introduced us to one of her students standing near by and told her of the problem.  Her student promised to show us around.  Ron was doing most of the talking and I noticed she was carrying  a large amount of books.  So, being the gentleman my father and mother brought me up to be, I volunteered to carry her books for her. After she had taken us around the campus, she invited us over to her parents house to meet her family.  Right off the bat, I could tell her mother thought we were nothing but GIs looking for a good time.  Her father, on the other hand, really like us.  He was a real estate broker for a retired judge.  Her name was Milagros Rubio Legarda.  Later on in time, she would change her name to Milagros Legarda West.  I visited with this fine family a few more times during what little time I had left before being re-assigned.

I was told that the Army Security Agency (ASA) had a shortage of my MOS on Okinawa, and that was where I was going when my orders came through.  My replacement was already working my position, personnel did not know when the orders would come through, so I was waiting.  I could not always get a pass to visit with the Legarda family as much as I would have liked to as I was growing attached to them.  So, my time was spent on base at a small cafe which had very good coffee.  On the third or fourth day at the cafe I was approached by two men.

These men were in three piece suits, expensive, had buzz hair cuts. They came over and sat down at me table without saying a word.  They then told me that they had been checking me out for the last month and a half and asked me if I would work with them.  I told them I was awaiting orders for Okinawa, and then was told they would take care of that.  They would let me sign in to my reporting unit on Okinawa, give me suits like they had on, and that I would be taken off all duty rosters.  I became very suspicious and asked them what I was going to be doing for them.  They then explained that they wanted me to become a courier for the Department of Defense.  I would be given a free, get out of jail ID card, and I would be doing some traveling.

I then proceeded to sign in on Okinawa.  They contacted me through the orderly room.  I then  to the flight line at Kadena Air Force Base where they handcuffed a briefcase to my wrist and put me on a small jet. Then I began to travel.  Some of the places they sent me was:  Tokyo, Bangkok,  Sydney, Manila, Paris and a few other places that I still can not talk about.