Tag: Boy Scouts

General Omar Bradley was my mentor.

Posted in Blog, Jimmie Aaron Kepler, Jimmie Kepler, Military Brat1 Comment
General of the Army Omar Bradley
General of the Army Omar Bradley

For an eighteen month period in 1964 – 1966 being a Boy Scout was one of the most significant happenings in my life. The Boy Scout troop on Biggs Air Force Base at El Paso, Texas consumed most of my time. I loved the uniform, the discipline, the hiking, and camping. Well, you get the picture. I liked being a Boy Scout. I advanced from being a Tenderfoot to Second Class to First Class in record time. My goal was to be one of the youngest Eagle Scouts ever.

To achieve my goal I had to earn merit badges. Merit badges are awarded based on activities within an area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program allows Boy Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to pursue them further as a career or vocation.

Back in my day the program also introduced Boy Scouts to the life skills of contacting an adult they hadn’t met. It required arranging a meeting, having the adult as your mentor and then demonstrating my skills, similar to a job or college interview. In more recent years, more merit badges are earned in a class setting at troop meetings and summer camps than through the guidance of a mentor.

I decided to seek the God and Country Merit Badge. I received a mimeographed list of available mentors. I called the man I selected and made an appointment.

I told my father I needed him to take me over to Fort Bliss to meet my mentor. Dad said okay. Kind of in passing, he asked who my mentor was.

I picked up my paper. I said the mentor told me he was retired from the US Army. Dad nodded. I told dad the mentor’s name was Omar Bradley. It has GA after his name, whatever that is. I knew rank abbreviations but had never seen GA before.

“General of the Army Omar Bradley?” asked dad with a gasp.

“I guess,” I recall replying.

Dad told me who he was. I gasped.

General Bradley was kind. He had been an Eagle Scout. I remember asking General Bradley what he did to relax during World War II. He said he and General Eisenhower used to work calculus problems. They would challenge each other with advanced mathematics. He said you can’t think of anything else or worry when working a real math problem. That’s when I learned calculus was math.

I was too young to appreciate the access I had to my mentor but am in awe that such men would help boys grow into our country’s future leaders. He kindly led me through the process of earning the God and Country Merit Badge. Thank you, General Bradley.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Armed Forces Day 1965

Posted in Blog, Military BratLeave a comment

Armed Forces Day 1965 holds special memories for me. It was a big deal for a military brat. I was living on Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas.

Living on a USAF base was wonderful as an eleven and twelve years old boy. I had so many other boys my age to play with. Boy Scouts was a big deal to me in 1965. I loved wearing the uniform, going hiking, camping, and our community action projects.

Armed Forces Day 1965 was a community action project for the Boy Scout Troop I belonged to that year. We went on the flight line (the tarmac and runway). We touched the airplanes. We went inside some of the airplanes.  It was the adventure of a lifetime for a boy.

In May 1965, the television show Twelve O’clock High was big on TV. It had B-17s airplanes on it. We had a B-17 present that Saturday for Armed Forces Day. Allowed to sit in the gunner turrets, sit at the radio, and sit in both the pilot and co-pilots seats I felt like I was a star on Twelve O’clock High. At the end of the day, they took some of us Boy Scouts up in the B-17. I felt like I was in heaven.

B-17 at Biggs Air Force Base, El Paso, TX
B-17 at Biggs Air Force Base, El Paso, TX

Other airplanes I was able to go into included the B-52B Bomber and the only C-123 at the base. I did not get to go for a flight in them.

B-52B at Biggs Air Force Base on Armed Forced Day Open House

Most of the day the Boy Scouts either worked serving refreshments to the dignitaries or being the guides to move the big shots from the holding rooms to their appointed assignments.

It was one of the most fun days I ever had growing up. I was sure that day I would go to the US Air Force Academy and become a US Air Force officer. That didn’t happen. Instead, nine years later I became a US Army Officer. That is another story for another day.

Yes, it was great growing up as a military brat.

Jimmie Aaron Kepler is a novelist, poet, book reviewer, and award-winning short story writer. His work has appeared in over twenty venues, including Bewildering Stories and Beyond Imagination. When not writing each morning at his favorite coffee house, he supports his writing, reading, and book reviewing habit working as an IT application support analyst. He is a former Captain in the US Army. His blog Kepler’s Book Reviews was named a 100 best blogs for history buffs. You can visit him at http://www.jimmiekepler.com.

Camp Wehinahpay

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Camp Wehinahpay, New Mexico
Camp Wehinahpay,
New Mexico

In the 1960’s, military brats made good Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. I was a Cub Scout in Arizona, a Webelo in Sequin, Texas and a Boy Scout in El Paso, Texas.

A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.

Every Friday night from November 1964 to January 1966 found me attending Boy Scouts. I learned many life skills. I learned many skills I used in the US Army. It was fun spending time with the other boys. It was exciting hiking and camping every month. I still remember the Boy Scout Oath or Promise:

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

In the fall of 1965 my troop went camping in the mountains of southern New Mexico at Camp Wehinahpay Boy Scouts Camp, 319 Potato Canyon Road, Sacramento, NM 88347. We road in US Air Force provided transport vehicles from Biggs Air Force Base to the camp.

I earned my totem chip there. It gave me the right to carry a knife and hatchet. We learned compass skills, how to pitch a tent and prepare it for rain. We needed that rain preparation as it rained on us the first couple of nights. We had bears come snooping around the tents and camp another night. I remember smelling them as the walked and brushed up against my tent. I hid in my sleeping bag.

In the evening, we sat around the campfire singing Kumbaya and other folk songs. I had played the guitar since I was nine years old. I brought my six string acoustical on the camping trips. The scout leaders transported it for me where I didn’t have to carry it. Playing the guitar made me “cool”. I enjoyed the attention and adoration.

One of the best parts of camping was my dad being one of the sponsors. He was the smartest and coolest dad ever. I’ll tell about camping as a Boy Scout in the deep snow during the winter another in another post.

The Boy Scout Motto is Be Prepared! Boy Scout Slogan is do a good turn daily.

Jimmie Aaron Kepler is a novelist, poet, book reviewer, and award-winning short story writer. His work has appeared in over twenty venues, including Bewildering Stories and Beyond Imagination. When not writing each morning at his favorite coffee house, he supports his writing, reading, and book reviewing habit working as an IT application support analyst. He is a former Captain in the US Army. His blog Kepler’s Book Reviews was named a 100 best blogs for history buffs. You can visit him at http://www.jimmiekepler.com.

Camp Wehinahpay

Posted in BlogLeave a comment
Camp Wehinahpay, New Mexico
Camp Wehinahpay,
New Mexico

In the 1960’s, military brats made good Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. I was a Cub Scout in Arizona, a Webelo in Sequin, Texas and a Boy Scout in El Paso, Texas.

A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.

Every Friday night from November 1964 to January 1966 found me attending Boy Scouts. I learned many life skills. I learned many skills I used in the US Army. It was fun spending time with the other boys. It was exciting hiking and camping every month. I still remember the Boy Scout Oath or Promise:

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

In the fall of 1965 my troop went camping in the mountains of southern New Mexico at Camp Wehinahpay Boy Scouts Camp, 319 Potato Canyon Road, Sacramento, NM 88347. We road in US Air Force provided transport vehicles from Biggs Air Force Base to the camp.

I earned my totem chip there. It gave me the right to carry a knife and hatchet. We learned compass skills, how to pitch a tent and prepare it for rain. We needed that rain preparation as it rained on us the first couple of nights. We had bears come snooping around the tents and camp another night. I remember smelling them as the walked and brushed up against my tent. I hid in my sleeping bag.

In the evening, we sat around the campfire singing Kumbaya and other folk songs. I had played the guitar since I was nine years old. I brought my six string acoustical on the camping trips. The scout leaders transported it for me where I didn’t have to carry it. Playing the guitar made me “cool”. I enjoyed the attention and adoration.

One of the best parts of camping was my dad being one of the sponsors. He was the smartest and coolest dad ever. I’ll tell about camping as a Boy Scout in the deep snow during the winter another in another post.

The Boy Scout Motto is Be Prepared! Boy Scout Slogan is do a good turn daily.

Jimmie Aaron Kepler is a novelist, poet, book reviewer, and award-winning short story writer. His work has appeared in over twenty venues, including Bewildering Stories and Beyond Imagination. When not writing each morning at his favorite coffee house, he supports his writing, reading, and book reviewing habit working as an IT application support analyst. He is a former Captain in the US Army. His blog Kepler’s Book Reviews was named a 100 best blogs for history buffs. You can visit him at http://www.jimmiekepler.com.

Armed Forces Day 1965

Posted in BlogLeave a comment

Armed Forces Day 1965 holds special memories for me. It was a big deal for a military brat. I was living on Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas.

Living on a USAF base was wonderful as an eleven and twelve years old boy. I had so many other boys my age to play with. Boy Scouts was a big deal to me in 1965. I loved wearing the uniform, going hiking, camping, and our community action projects.

Armed Forces Day 1965 was a community action project for the Boy Scout Troop I belonged to that year. We went on the flight line (the tarmac and runway). We touched the airplanes. We went inside some of the airplanes.  It was the adventure of a lifetime for a boy.

In May 1965, the television show Twelve O’clock High was big on TV. It had B-17s airplanes on it. We had a B-17 present that Saturday for Armed Forces Day. Allowed to sit in the gunner turrets, sit at the radio, and sit in both the pilot and co-pilots seats I felt like I was a star on Twelve O’clock High. At the end of the day, they took some of us Boy Scouts up in the B-17. I felt like I was in heaven.

B-17 at Biggs Air Force Base, El Paso, TX
B-17 at Biggs Air Force Base, El Paso, TX

Other airplanes I was able to go into included the B-52B Bomber and the only C-123 at the base. I did not get to go for a flight in them.

B-52B at Biggs Air Force Base on Armed Forced Day Open House

Most of the day the Boy Scouts either worked serving refreshments to the dignitaries or being the guides to move the big shots from the holding rooms to their appointed assignments.

It was one of the most fun days I ever had growing up. I was sure that day I would go to the US Air Force Academy and become a US Air Force officer. That didn’t happen. Instead, nine years later I became a US Army Officer. That is another story for another day.

Yes, it was great growing up as a military brat.

clean shavenJimmie Aaron Kepler is a novelist, poet, book reviewer, and award-winning short story writer. His work has appeared in over twenty venues, including Bewildering Stories and Beyond Imagination. When not writing each morning at his favorite coffee house, he supports his writing, reading, and book reviewing habit working as an IT application support analyst. He is a former Captain in the US Army. His blog Kepler’s Book Reviews was named a 100 best blogs for history buffs. You can visit him at http://www.jimmiekepler.com.

General Omar Bradley Was My Mentor

Posted in BlogLeave a comment
General of the Army Omar Bradley
General of the Army Omar Bradley

For an eighteen month period in 1964 – 1966 being a Boy Scout was one of the most significant happenings in my life. The Boy Scout troop on Biggs Air Force Base at El Paso, Texas consumed most of my time. I loved the uniform, discipline, hiking, and camping. Well, you get the picture. I liked being a Boy Scout. I advanced from being a Tenderfoot to Second Class to First Class in record time. My goal was to be one of the youngest Eagle Scouts ever.

To achieve my goal I had to earn merit badges. Merit badges are awarded based on activities within an area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program allows Boy Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to pursue them further as a career or vocation.

Back in my day the program also introduced Boy Scouts to the life skills of contacting an adult they hadn’t met. It required arranging a meeting, having the adult as your mentor and then demonstrating my skills, similar to a job or college interview. In more recent years, more merit badges are earned in a class setting at troop meetings and summer camps.

I decided to seek the God and Country Merit Badge. I received a mimeographed list of available mentors. I called the man I selected. The made the appointment.

I told my father I needed him to take me over to Fort Bliss to meet my mentor. Dad said okay. Kind of in passing, he asked who my mentor was.

I picked up my paper. I said he told me he was retired from the US Army. Dad nodded. I told dad the mentor’s name was Omar Bradley. It has GA after his name, whatever that is. I knew rank abbreviations but had never seen GA before.

“General of the Army Omar Bradley?” asked dad with a gasp.

 “I guess,” I recall replying.

Dad told me who he was. I gasped.

General Bradley was kind. He had been an Eagle Scout. I remember asking him what he did to relax during World War II. He said he and General Eisenhower used to work calculus problems. He said you can’t think of anything else or worry when working a real math problem. That’s when I learned calculus was math.

I was too young to appreciate the access I had to my mentor but am in awe that such men would help boys grow into our country’s future leaders. Thanks, General Bradley.