The Mercedes Enterprise (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 30, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 25, 2007 Page: 3 of 12
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Mercedes, Texas 78570 Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Mercedes Enterprise — Page 3
GOD’S FIVE MINUTES
THERE IS A TIME FOR EVER YTHING Ecclestastes 3:1, The Living Bible, Tyndale House
GOD'S FLASHING LIGHT
MMMh!i
This Series Made Possible by
These Business Firms and Individuals
Who Support Our Right to Worship Freely.
1015 WRECKER SERVICE
ok 2010 S. International Weslaco
“30 We remove junked vehicles
at NO CHARGE!
Javier Tijerina
Owner
Ph.: (956) 973-0391
CeU: (956) 463-1856
AMY’S HAIR STUDIO
302 W. 2nd St. • Mercedes, TX 78570
— Pn (956) 514-0020
Dee Owner: Letty Alonzo
J • T Hair Salon
Gloria Gannon, Owner
Men
Women
Children
Appointments taken, Walk-ins Welcome
210 S. Virginia Mercedes
514-0571
Open 8 to 6 Tues. - Fri.; 8 to 5 Sat.
PEREZ
REMODELING
Total Home Remodeling & Repair
bonded Free Estimates licensed
684-7809 or 975-9803
Dear Mercedes,
Letters from F.S. Lentz, Jr.
Dear Mercedes,
- For Milli, Continued -
The afternoon came. I was as-
signed to fly with our Skipper, whom
you know something of already. He
was a darned good pilot. It fell on me
to be a darned good RIO.
We went over to Basketball’s
hooches to brief the hop. The tanker
call-sign all over that part of South-
east Asia was “Basketball”; our
squadron’s was “Blade”.
We went over take-off times, ren-
dezvous, which would be done by
radar, though they had given us a
rough idea where they would be. We
especially briefed the altitude at which
we would fly this exercise.
We went over how many blinks
on the Aldis lamp meant what. They
had a crewman who stood in the cargo
door watching us. The Aldis lamps,
flashlights, were dim but visible. They
would off-load token gas rather than
topping us off. The Rose Garden was
not that far away.
We all agreed that as it was prac-
tice, if it got too hairy, they would turn
their running/navigation lights on.
Nobody wanted a mid-air (collision,
that is).
Otherwise we would play it by the
book. There is an actual in-flight re-
fueling manual, by the way. Because
there was a sister F-4 squadron next
door to us in the Rose Garden, we of
aimed for the point where B-Ball said Nothing...darkness.
they would be orbiting. My radar was Finally, one of us spotted them
working well, and shortly I had radar way away from us. I cannot remem-
contact. We began the rendezvous. ber who saw them. We cursed; we
I switched radar scales downward swore, mostly at ourselves. Then we
as we approached, from fifty miles, to rendezvoused, went ahead as briefed,
twenty five, to ten, then had the Skip- sticking with the brief as much as we
per verify that he knew where they could.
would be. Eleven o’clock, slightly Lined up on the basket, I asked
low, ten miles, closing. He had a re- the Skipper if he wanted any help; he
peater scope in the front seat and was did. As we approached the basket, I
good on the radar himself. saw something new.
Piece of cake, he said... Because of the danger that elec-
We had slowed down to their trical lighting would create with flow-
speed, maybe five knots faster, in or- ing jet fuel, the basket was rimmed in
der to close with them. dim, glowing blue lights. It looked very
As briefed, I shut my radar down like a gas stove burner in the house I
as did the wingman. We wanted no grew up in, tilted vertically of course,
fireballs. He made it in first pass and we
We crept, no joy, (no sighting, that took fuel.
is); we crept some more, no joy. Noth- Later back on the ground in Nam
ing from our wingman, who was us- Phong we had a drink, cursed our ef-
inghis Grimes light (another flashlight fort, but shook it off quickly. He was
on a cord) to communicate with me. OK, I was OK. We shared the pain.
We crept along for ever and saw From that hop came the term I
zero. have kept since then: “As black as
Skipper pulled the power back the inside of a cow’s third stomach.”
slightly. Enough to where we opened That’s how it came to me...
on what we thought his position was.
We agreed to give the radar one
sweep, to re-establish positions. It
wasn’t cheating
There Basketball was, right where
we had thought he was. We went nose
cold again and started creeping.
Creep, nothing, creep nothing, from
course, had to excel, and make them anybody...
look bad. We flew the old, skinny, tired By now we had burned more gas
model F4-B, and they flew the fat,, than we thought we would. Rather
tired, latest and greatest F4-J. They than taking token fuel, we would now
loved to look down their noses at us.
We liked to reciprocate...by being
better.
It was friendly but it was fierce.
We then briefed among ourselves,
suited up and walked to the line. Skip-
per asked me if I could do a good ra-
dar rendezvous and get us in. I said I
could. Neither of us was looking for-
ward to it; both of us knew we had to
get good at it.
It was not difficult to imagine re-
turning late at night.from way up
north, out of gas, and needing to
top off to make it home. By then we
had all seen Triple A and some of
us had seen SAMs. Both got your
attention.
The take-off and join-up were un-
eventful. The sun was down; the
ground was as dark as dark gets. We
need more give away.
We had a pre set “Bingo” a num-
ber, in pounds, of fuel, that when you
reached it, you left, returned to base.
That was shame... that was 'we
couldn’t do it,’ but it was better than
flaming out and making a parachute
descent in the dark into the jungle.
Postscript: In my tour of about
thirteen months with 131 combat mis-
sions, we lost one airplane to enemy
fire, but no men. “Nacho” Dave
Echternach flew that badly hit and
holed airplane back and landed it. It
was struck from the records as a us-
able airplane.
The ‘girls next door’ F4s, lost three
planes and four men.
The lone A-6 squadron lost four
planes, I believe, and got back from
them only one man who was impris-
oned and later re-patriated. Part of his
story is in “My Losing Season,” writ-
ten by Patrick Conroy, with whom he
played basketball (the game), at The
Citadel.
His name is Alan Kroboth. Al and
I went thru OCS at the same time and
Bingo was approaching. Skipper for a while were in the same platoon,
decided to split the difference. He was very badly injured and then
By this time I had heard some of of course, beaten and worse,
the most wonderful profanity I had Col. Ivy truly gets a large part of
ever heard. Had used some myself, the credit for keeping us alive.
We were working our asses off, and We respected his judgment, ben-
zero. Zilch. efited from his leadership, and treated
Skipper said, “I’ll make the call,” him as one of us while still knowing
and he got the radios on line. who the boss was. His nickname to
“Basketball,” he said, “turn your this good day is “2/Lt. Ivy”... the ut-
lights on...” most in a compliment.
The cold reply was instantaneous. Que te vaya bien, eh?
“They are on.” Fleet
You
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REOSYON Q r EAnos
PROPIETARIO
15173 Apache Dr.
Mercedes, Tx. 78570
Cell: (956) 246-1429
Tel.: (956) 514-1962
Rea
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Iglesia Bautista Filadelfia
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Schedule of Services:
Sunday School - 9:20 a.m.
Sunday Worship - 10:30 a.m.
Sunday Evening Service - 5 p.m.
Wednesday Prayer Service - 7 p.m.
72 TONY’S CAFE
2 THE BEST COFFEE IN TOWN
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Mercedes 78570
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Mercedes, TX 792-2420
JUST CALL 565-2425 TO FIND OUT MORE!
MEMBER
2007
A. RUDY GARZA
J FUNERAL HOMES
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted” - St. Matthews 5:4
El Principe de Paz
Presbyterian Church - A Bilingual Church
1340 S. Georgia • Mercedes
565-1668
1702 E. Harrison
Harlingen 78550
425-8200
217 S. Maia St
La Feria 78559
797-3122
236 S. Ohio Ave.
Mercedes 78570
565-1175
Pastor: Hector Reynoso
Services: San. School - 9:45 a.m. - San. Worship - 11 a.m.
Sanday and Wednesday Eveaing Services - 6:30 p.m.
Men's Meetings- 2nd & 4th Sat of the month at 8:30 a.m.
Women's Meetings - 2nd & 4th Than, of the month at 6 p.m.
Youth Meeting - Every Sunday at 5 p.m.
HI-GEAR
TRANSMISSION
Master Specializing in all
Technician automotive repairs
MATTC Appliance
MAI I o Repair
CERTIFIED
AUTO REPAIR
Ruben Villalobos
(956) 825-9515
321 South Illinois
Mercedes TX 78570
(Behind Police Station)
• Ranges • Washer and Dryers
• Window Units • Refrigerators
1306 South Missouri 565-4555
TEXAS PRESS
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The Mercedes Enterprise
(USPS 177-100)
Second class postage paid at
Mercedes, Texas 78570. Pub-
lished each Wednesday at
Mercedes, Hidalgo County,
Texas. Office of publication,
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The Mercedes Enterprise (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 30, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 25, 2007, newspaper, July 25, 2007; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1655675/m1/3/: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.