Old NAS Millington crossover bridge

[gray eagle]

Some of you that were stationed here in Millington for your "A" school assignments (Northside) will remember the old crossover walkway that crossed over Navy Road from the North Side to Southside.
I remember using it to cross from Southside to Northside to take my CPO exam (Annual 1st class meeting ). The "A" school students would march in formation from
school north side to the chow hall southside or from school to barracks south side.

It will be coming down sometime next month (Sept). I took pics this AM - (29 Aug 17).

The city now owns the airport and it sounds like the name (Millington Muni) was quietly changed to Memphis-Millington Airport;
But the Memphis International Airport is suing them for the name change since they claim it is too similar to theirs.
The signs in the pictures still show NAS Muni on them.

FAA isn't accepting the name change until the legal side is smoothed out.

Old NAS was to the right. The "Viggie on a stick" is up a little on left.

Looking west on Navy road -

Viggie on a stick.

 

[PhantomTweak]

I did all my schooling on Southside. Northside was for horseback riding, swimming in Navy Lake, movies, and so on.
My first time there, I spent a lot of time over on Northside with my two Wave girlfriends. A memory that really stuck, at least I can print here, was riding horses with my two Waves along the side of the runway, when a Thunderstorm hit. There was lightning striking the lengths of huge anchor chains they had for arresting gear. Incredible light show, although just a bit loud. It was so warm, the rain was like a warm shower. Didn't bother me, but the horses, not to mention Leslie and Beth, the two Waves, wanted to get indoors asap. Rain did amazing things to Leslie and Beth's t-shirts, though.
Eventually, Leslie, Beth, and I moved out to the Mud Flats. Nice to have a private little love nest just for us...
Great memories!

I had the only pink motorcycle on base. Started out red, but the sun faded it a bit. Used to ride that thing all over the entire area of Millington. Tons of little back roads to enjoy. Except one ride I took at sunset. Was really zooming along some little back road when I caught a june-bug just under my eye. I had one heck of a shiner for a while. No one believe it was a bug did it to me. Almost knocked me off the bike, too. Scary what one little june-bug can do at 60 mph! I had to leave the bike, and a lot of my other stuff, when I got my orders after AFTA. They gave me about 5 hours, after the graduation ceremony, to get checked off base, pack my trash, and gt to the airport. NOT easy!

Second time I was there, for AVI-C7, the cost of living was so low, that my BAQ and VHA covered my rent, utilities, and food. I wanted to stay there as an instructor after school, but the Monitor was a guy from my shop in Yuma. Thought I would be glad to get back to Yuma. He couldn't have been more wrong. I called him up and gave him a earful when I got my orders, I can tell you...

Sorry. The memories came flooding back.
Pat☺

 

[SSI01]

In the second photo - just barely discernible on the right, quite a ways back in the photo - am I detecting a Grumman F11F-1F in a Blue Angels paint job? Also looks like it may be mounted on some sort of plinth.

 

[Willy]

I stop by the base there every time I make a trip to Memphis which is at least every other month.

 

[PRB]

I was there when they brought that A-5 in. Watched them hoist it atop the three sticks. Hate it when they put planes on sticks. Undignified end to a great plane.

 

[Willy]

The good point of putting them on sticks, is that it makes it harder for vandals to reach them.

There's an A-4 on a stick up US 51 from Millington in downtown Covington.

 

[gray eagle]

I was there when they brought that A-5 in. Watched them hoist it atop the three sticks. Hate it when they put planes on sticks. Undignified end to a great plane.

RA-5C Vigilante, BuNo 156608, from Reconnaissance Attack Squadron 7 (RVAH-7) during what may have been its final flight in 1979.
Now on a stick pictured above ^ at Millington Navy Base.

 

[gray eagle]

In the second photo - just barely discernible on the right, quite a ways back in the photo - am I detecting a Grumman F11F-1F in a Blue Angels paint job? Also looks like it may be mounted on some sort of plinth.

Yup, and it is painted in the official blue angles blue paint. It is across the street from the main gate.

 

[gray eagle]

The good point of putting them on sticks, is that it makes it harder for vandals to reach them.

There's an A-4 on a stick up US 51 from Millington in downtown Covington.

Yup, seen it, just up the road (HWY 51 N) from me.

 

[gray eagle]

In the second photo - just barely discernible on the right, quite a ways back in the photo - am I detecting a Grumman F11F-1F in a Blue Angels paint job? Also looks like it may be mounted on some sort of plinth.

Well... now I know what a plinth is and how to pronounce it.

 

[Willy]

Yup, seen it, just up the road (HWY 51 N) from me.

I'm about a 30 minute drive east of Dyersburg. I tend to go down 51 when making trips to Memphis as it's not as boring as taking I-40 out of Jackson.

 

[gray eagle]

I'm about a 30 minute drive east of Dyersburg. I tend to go down 51 when making trips to Memphis as it's not as boring as taking I-40 out of Jackson.

Yup, the truckers refer to driving down Hwy51 as driving thru the woods.

 

[PRB]

The good point of putting them on sticks, is that it makes it harder for vandals to reach them...

I suppose. Arrest the little hoodlums! NAS Jacksonville has a whole bunch of old planes sitting on the ground. P-3, P-2, TBM, other jets. Very cool.

 

[gray eagle]

I suppose. Arrest the little hoodlums! NAS Jacksonville has a whole bunch of old planes sitting on the ground. P-3, P-2, TBM, other jets. Very cool.

I was stationed at Jax too and have seen them there gate guards. Very Impressive. They switch out some of the aircraft out once in awhile and feature a squadron aircraft of the month.

https://ultimatecampgrounds.com/~ul...-park-2009&catid=65:here-and-there&Itemid=595




http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-mar-suburban-parks-nas-jacksonville-heritage-park

 

[Navy Chief]

Thanks for the pictures! I definitely remember crossing that bridge to go to AME (A) School on the other side. I don't think the bridge had a cage over it at the time I went through training, which would have been the winter of 1972.

The barracks I stayed in had lockers that separated us into "cubicles". No walls. Community showers of course. Seems like I remember tiled walls? Older barracks. Not wood framing, I don't think. Brick, perhaps.

The AT/AQ guys stayed in brand new barracks of course. Their training was much longer. NC

 

[gray eagle]

Thanks for the pictures! I definitely remember crossing that bridge to go to AME (A) School on the other side. I don't think the bridge had a cage over it at the time I went through training, which would have been the winter of 1972.

The barracks I stayed in had lockers that separated us into "cubicles". No walls. Community showers of course. Seems like I remember tiled walls? Older barracks. Not wood framing, I don't think. Brick, perhaps.

The AT/AQ guys stayed in brand new barracks of course. Their training was much longer. NC

Hey Pete,

Didn't you go to this school? Maybe in this time frame?

http://www.peetz.us/nattcamea.htm

 

[PhantomTweak]

The AT/AQ guys stayed in brand new barracks of course. Their training was much longer. NC

When I first arrived, in the fall of '78, I lived in those same wooden barracks as you did, NC. Cubicles and all. I thought they were wood, anyway. At least mostly.
I found out later that when I was in them they had already been condemned, and were just waiting for destruction. So naturally, that's where they put the Marines not assigned to a school already.

I heard, although I didn't know about it first-hand, that some low level enlisted man "got" the Admiral's (Base CO) daughter in one of those old wooden barracks. Apparently that "hastened" the scheduled destruction of them.

During my initial testing, on arrival, they decided I was too smart to go to school for helicopter mechanic, which is what I enlisted for. Instead, they assigned me to AE A school. After going through Aviation Fundamentals (AFUNP) and Basic Electricity and Electronics (BE&E or Bubble E) in less than 1/2 day each, vice the 3 days for AFUNP and a week for BE&E, they sent me to AV-A school instead. I just kept quiet and shook my head up and down alot when they talked about cancelling one school and sending me to another. I had no clue what was going on, but it sounded to me like a good deal, so I agreed all the time. If they had told me I was going to fire fighter school, I would have agreed.
Anyway, once I started AV-A, they moved me to the relatively new barracks, BKS 411, which was right next to the chow hall. Fine with me! Long walk to school, but very short walk to chow. Wonderful set-up, IMO.
Good times for an 18 year old Marine fresh out of boot camp
Pat☺

 

[Victory103]

Agree, thanks for the memories. I do remember the Vigi while in A School, but not much else besides the Scooters of -124. I don't remember the Tomcat being at the NAS Jax area, probably well after I moved to Pcola for shore duty and after the 06' Sunset.

 

[gray eagle]

Agree, thanks for the memories. I do remember the Vigi while in A School, but not much else besides the Scooters of -124. I don't remember the Tomcat being at the NAS Jax area, probably well after I moved to Pcola for shore duty and after the 06' Sunset.

You are welcome. The younger generation of Navy folks will not remember the old schools that were here - most likely before they were born

And any of the last of the Mohicans that went to A schools here are most likely retired now. If any left, they are senior enlisted or CWO/LDO's

 

[llanning08]

I arrived at Memphis NAS by C-118 in early September 1965. Did my Basic Training in 2-story standard WWII wooden barracks (with coal heat and a real Fire Watch). There were eight of those standard barracks located just south of the Base Ops complex. Mess hall was east across the parade field (where we did PT and drilled often with our M-1s rifles). As I recall at the time, most buildings Northside were WWII wood buildings, including the Recreation Center (all movies were a dime!). Our HQ was located north of the barracks row near the flight line. Most training was conducted Northside, with a few classes Southside (I don't recall the crossover bridge, we marched right across Highway 51 through the main gates.

After completing Basic 29 OCT 65, we went to cement block barracks Southside, nearer the A school classrooms. These barracks were 2-story open bay with racks and lockers dividing up the area into eight man areas. Dayroom on one end, MAA quarters at the other end. They were only a short march to the mess hall. The march to school was a fair bit longer to the south to a rather large newer building classroom complex where the electronics and AP/AM training was conducted. For some odd reason, our radar classes were in a separate one floor WWII wood building. From November to June I went to AXA school (Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Tech, AX later to become AW).

Graduated in June 1965 and returned to my squadron, VP-934 at Willow Grove NAS. After more training at RESASWTAC-EAST, I became a qualified P2V Neptune aircrewman as a Jezebel/Julie & MAD operator.

Attached is a picture of my flight station and one of the Neptunes in which I flew.