Sage, I don't want to officially join Mudcat. Spam is the reason. And I'd be completely nuts to give out my home address and phone number! Gevalt! Max Reiner is a web alias btw. My real name may or may not be familiar. It only takes a worm in one bad apple, so to speak. And I ain't talking about the computer. :) But I do want to post my memories here to share with others.

Cool Beans, glad to hear that! If you go onto what was the airfield and parade grounds, and it may still be there, on the opposite side of the long EM barracks, there are artifacts of a town. It was demolished and covered with sand. But the sand doth rise! When I was there, folks found old cars and a gas station sign. :)

When I was stationed there, there was an alert for a window peeker spying in the women's barracks. And a prisoner escaped once from the Castle William round prison that was the prison for overseas military lawbreakers. Otherwise, it was a rather peaceful tour of duty. One fun fact or legend. Rocky Graziano was imprisoned there. He escaped by swimming Buttermilk Channel to the mainland. Not during my tour, of course.

I do have one prank. It was a very dreary and hot 4th of July 1962 when several of us were tasked with barracks watch since many EMs took off. We were quite alone. No admin people downstairs at the front desk. So we could have pulled an easy AWOL.

An ambulance driver came up to 4th floor and saw our little contingent and said, "Hey, you want a fun ride. You all put on your white top over your khaki trousers and you'll look like doctors. We're going for an adventure." And so we did. It was easy to get off the island in an ambulance. Looked like some routine task since ambulances regularly traveled to the big island for supplies or with patients.

Once we got onto Broadway or some major thoroughfare and well away from the MPs at South Ferry, the driver turned on the siren. He drove like a race car driver with cars pulling off the side. Then we stopped at a bar way uptown. The driver said, just follow what I do. We walked in and order a beer. I'll do the talking. The astonished bartender was further astonished at we ersatz doctors drinking on duty.

"Ok doctors, drink up, we've got to get back to the patient on the operating table." And so we chugged up and left. We got in and the driver U-turned right there on the big street with the ambulance siren going again.

And so then we were back to the rest of ho-hum 4th. Actually, we were relieved later on in the day. So then we all changed to civvies and did Manhattan.

This is a true story! More later.