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Fanning Island
~ 1966 -
67
Pictures by and comments by Don Hassenbein
My tour on Fanning Island. I traveled with
the equipment from Seattle to Fanning Island. This was my first time on a
ship and it was quite an experience. Food was outstanding with Steak and
Lobster just about every night. Seamen aboard had a sport called "Shark
Mounting" in which they caught larger and larger sharks, until they caught a
really big one. They winched the sharp up, shot him in the head with a
shotgun and then cut his head off and brought it onboard. When shark body
fell into the water, a "shark frenzy" occurred which is the scariest thing I
ever saw. Debarking the ship was no fun, since the smaller boat rose and
fell about 30 feet. Once on shore, we found great quarters built years
earlier by Japanese but wonder why all the beds had netting. The first
morning we found out when we awoke to find the netting filled with hundreds
of salamanders, who scattered as soon as you yelled. Mail was air dropped
and yes, once they dropped our equipment and paychecks in the ocean.
Click on picture to enlarge, Click on Browser's Back Arrow to return |
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Departing from Seattle |
At sea |
Shark souvenir jaw, could swallow a man |
Quarters built by Japanese during war |
Weather work site |
Crab which challenged the photographer |
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There were millions of crabs on the
island and at night they would lay on the dirt road, even while you were
driving over them. The next morning they were all gone, eaten by their crab
buddies. There were natives, and missionaries, on the Island and we
participated in some of their celebrations. The natives were friendly but
swimming was out of the question since the island was surrounded by sharks.
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Island missionary chapel |
Island children |
Island celebration dancers |
6th WS's Don & Ken Hermach with children |
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Ghinnir,
Ethiopia ~ 1966
Pictures by and comments by Don Hassenbein
Photos from my Ghinnir, Ethiopia tour. It was the most
challenging tour I had at 6th Weather. I was responsible for maintaining all
equipment on the site, including the power generator and hydrogen
generator, etc. I flew from Addis Abbaba (yes, I visited the Blue Nile bar)
and landed on a dirt road (Ghinnir). Our mail, food and water were all air
dropped and we communicated with our PR6 radios. Rather than living in a
tent, we lived in a mud house with the Ethiopian Air Lines Manager, who we
allowed to use our radio. We slept on army cots which you can see in the
photo. The other 2 guys there were really good cooks and I also became one
during my 6 months. The 25-Alpha site mascot was a Baboon named "Fred" after
the fellow who convinced the others to keep him. I was scared to death of
him, and his long teeth, but grew to become friends. |
Landing field |
Welcoming committee |
Don's room |
Our kitchen |
6WS site & Fred grabbing snack off donkey |
Dick Kamp & Harry Coffin with new shower |
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As you can see from these photos, things
got better. We placed a 55 gallon drum on the roof, filled it with water and
within 2 days, the other 2 guys had their first shower since they arrived. I
also repaired the power generator and hooked up wiring to our mud house and
we were the only house in Ghinnir with electric lights. Maintaining the site
was a challenge but we really did not work that often since releasing a
Rawindsonde depended on the weather and a go-ahead from HQ. We averaged
about 4 days of work per month, the rest was spent waiting to be told to
launch a balloon. Fred and I became best of friends until I teased him once
too often (with a large turtle) and he bit me in 3 places. We made up that
day. Going to the bathroom at night was scary since they were hyenas, lions
and tigers all over the place. We had no weapons but great flashlights! |
Don washing Fred |
Fred, our site 25-A mascot |
Baboon porno - X rated |
Site view - all mine to maintain - gulp! |
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Photo of our "bathroom" shows how modern
it was. It was about 50 feet from the mud house so you had to run when you
went there at night (or be eaten by the animals). On market day, I "drove"
my donkey to market and returned with local goods (chickens, eggs, etc). One
day we found a baby cheetah but the other 2 guys would not agree to keeping
her. |
Our modern bathroom |
On the way to market (fuel efficient) |
The Ghinnir marketplace |
Returning from market |
Baby cheetah found in the jungle |
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We found a baby baboon in the jungle and
the other guys said I could keep her but she was my responsibility. They
named her "Donna" after me and she was a cute little thing. I was concerned
about how Fred would react to her but when they met, she immediately jumped
on his back which confused Fred, who was a confirmed bachelor. Since he was
tied to a chain, their rides were very short. I warned Fred not to take
advantage of Donna, like he had done to our legs and shoes and he seemed to
understand that, especially since I had punished him before for throwing up
on my bunk during one of his many "escapes". I considered bringing Donna
back but it would have been impossible to do. Perhaps she and Fred got
married later in life.... |
Baby Donna, named after Don |
Uncle Fred grooming Donna |
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Vandenberg AFB ~ 1965
Pictures by and comments by Don Hassenbein
Photos from my tour at Vandenberg. Good news is that my
family was allowed to come with me, bad news was that they put me up in a
trailer park. Our oldest son John wandered away from the trailer and we
almost lost him. It was great to be able to watch the rocket launches from
our site. |
Quonset hut with Don's son James at door |
Temporary housing |
Don's wife Elke & sons John and James |
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Fort Greely, Alaska ~ 1965
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Pictures by and comments by Don Hassenbein
Project Elkhorn consisted of artillery being fired into the
center of three 100 foot towers and then determining which way the wind
would blow under certain conditions. This was hazardous duty but everyone
survived. Our command post was about 1 mile from the Towers. We used
high-tech wind speed and direction scientific equipment. |
Plug in oil heaters for cars |
View from one of three towers |
A long way down |
Looking up tower from ground |
SSgt Hassenbein, NCOIC Project Elkhorn |
Don in middle, Athens on way to Ethiopia |
On staging island for returning equipment |
SSgt Fuller - Please help ID others |
? Island - Returning from Fanning Island |
