Have you every met someone that you feel as though you have know for an eternity? Or each time that you see them again, it is as though they have only been away for only a few moments instead of years. My buddy Bill is one such person. We met at Romeo 404, a tactical landing site, near the DMZ in Korea way back in 1977. Our Army units were supporting maneuvers for combat readiness. He was an Air Traffic Controller stationed at the garden assignment of P'yong Yong Taek. I was from H-220 tower at Camp Casey, 40 miles north of Seoul. After Korea, we both were assigned to Cairns Army Airfield, Fort Rucker, Alabama. I had left the Army by the time that Bill returned from Korea and signed in to Cairns. Later, we both attended Enterprise Community College in Enterprise Alabama on the GI bill. He filled my vacancy in the control tower at Martin State Airport, in East Baltimore in the Summer of 1979. He completed the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City in 1980 and went on to work in the tower in Moline Illinois. On August 3rd 1981 we both stayed home from work, me in Baltimore and he in Moline, and the rest is history. PATCO was a positive event for us both. Today he is retired and travels around the world with his wonderful wife of 26 years, Gail. They are two perfectly matched soul mates. On Wednesday (11/19/08) Bill called me to say that he and Gail were passing through and wanted to get together, tomorrow. It was great.
Bill and Gail, thanks for being great.
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