Biographical Notes reCharles A. (Chuck) StonePage 4 of 6 Pages, of Chapter 9,MOVING ON |
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| During this period, General LeMay had continued to promote the adoption of the new AR-15 Rifle, developed by the Armalite Company. He had seen it demonstrated, he had used the weapon in its various configurations on the test range, and he decided that this was the weapon for the new USAF. It had a smaller bullet, traveling at a much higher speed, that in demonstrations would explode a watermelon as though it had been filled with dynamite. He instructed his Material people to get with the program an acquire this rifle. This set off a flap with the Army, because they were working toward a heavier rifle in keeping with their traditions. General LeMay held his ground and the Army relented and began to acquire some for their own use. My boss and I had the chance to participate in a number of these tests and demonstrations and were easily convinced that this was the way to go. One of the attributes of this weapon was that it could be fired, repeatedly, without becoming dirty and prone to malfunction. This had been proven in test after test. As the procurement process moved forward, (And this is the way I heard it. I couldn’t prove it.) the Army took over a lot of the finer details for procurement for both the weapon and ammunition. One of their first moves was to change the powder specs to permit them to use some preexisting giant storehouse of gunpowder they still had in stock. This was a different kind of powder than what was used in the ammunition that early on found its way to Viet Nam with the now designated, Army adopted, M-16 Rifles. Air Force troops, and I presume Army troops, found the guns getting clogged and becoming useless in a firefight. People in the field were blaming it on the rifle and it was getting a bad rap. As this condition was finally recognized and contended with, the rifle came into its own and now you see the M-16 Rifle in use worldwide. It was General LeMay that pulled the trigger to force this weapon into U.S. military inventories. He was right on in doing so. In the fall of 1963, I was one of two Headquarters C-54 pilots that took our Director of Training on an overseas tour to check out military education programs in England and Germany. It was a wonderful trip, and a great reminder how much I loved to be in an airplane so much more than flying my desk at the Pentagon. While in Germany, I purchased a Volkswagen Bug and had it shipped to Baltimore for pick up. It became my transportation on the Shirley Highway, leaving our Rambler for Nell to get around Springfield, Virginia. It became known that there was a growing shortage of pilots, and when a quota was circulated for a C-54 pilot for assignment in Germany, I checked with my supervisors for permission to submit my name. As you might guess, pursuing the marksmanship and physical fitness issues, up and down the halls of that building, was taking its toll. In the end, they did not choose to turn me loose, and life moved on. As I approached midpoint on my four year tour, June, 1964, things relating to my work and home life were moving forward as good as I could hope. During that winter I had managed to deal with a particularly challenging flight carrying elements of the Air Force Band to Chanute AFB for a special event. Our take off from Andrews was in a pea soup fog that held us on the ground, engines ticking over, until we could begin to see the second runway light. The band had a pressing engagement and the tower finally gave us clearance to take off. Thank God all four kept running, because there was no turning back. Our destination was totally ice-covered on the ground and we had no view of the ground since departure. We landed that C-54, in pitch dark, on a true skating rink, steering the aircraft more by use of engine power than braking power. We were in time and everyone was happy. When we arrived back at Andrews, in a much improved weather condition, I felt exhilarated and fulfilled as an Air Force officer and pilot. My periodic C-54 flights were a great joy and release from the tensions of work at the office. Checking into the Pentagon, daily, picking up my three gallons of sand, each day, and spending that day trying to pour all of it in a gallon bucket, with nothing on the floor, was trying. I was accused of taking my work too seriously on a number of occasions, but I just could not do otherwise. I believed in what I was doing and strived to jump through the hoops and follow through. Flying the C-54 was pure joy. I had many adventurous, educational and experiences that were unique in themselves. There was the day, when on an extended cross country run, I went back to visit with our remarkably aged, only, passenger. In conversation I realized we were transporting one of the first pilots of the Air Corps. He was General Benjamin D. Foulois, one of two pilots that tested and flew the first Dirigible to enter the Air Corps inventory beginning August 28, 1908. It was such a joy and a privilege to hear his stories. He was so common and unassuming. What a gift, to share time with this man. Back to the month of June, 1964. On a beautiful day in the month of June, another pilot and I were assigned a round robin trip to a variety of enroute stops. The last one, before returning to Andrews, was to drop a Congressman off in St. Louis. The day went like a Swiss watch and when we pulled in and parked at Andrews I hesitated to unbuckle my belt and get out. I just wanted to come back tomorrow and do it again, rather than going in to the office. Little did I realize, this would be my last flight as an Air Force pilot. The following Sunday I had enjoyed the company of my family and a neighbor friend and his wife. Bill was in Officer Personnel Management at the Pentagon and soon to move their offices to Randolph. He and I had enjoyed taking some University of Maryland night courses together and had become close friends. Over the period of an hour in the late afternoon, I became disoriented and had a very ill feeling. I was able to eat little supper and soon fell into bed for the night, believing things would be better in the morning. When I heard the alarm go off in the morning, I got up to turn it off and discovered I had what proved to be a temporary vision impairment and a (what ended up to be permanent) serious loss of balance control. This persisted as my family tried to figure what was going on. I called a friend living nearby, who was also working in the Pentagon, and he picked me up and delivered me to work. As soon as I had, with difficulty, made it to my office and checked in, I headed on down to the Pentagon USAF medical facility. They checked me over and assumed I had labyrinthitis, an inner ear problem that would probably go away. I took a few days off to rest at home, with no improvement. I began to be in and out of this medical facility for follow up. Weeks dragged into months. I continued to have a very complicated life, continuing my office work, admitting to the flight scheduling office at Andrews that I could not accept their invitations to take trips, due to illness, and just trying to get back and forth from home to work without running over someone. |
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End of Page 4 of 6 Pages, Chapter 9 — Go to Page 5 Click below to select a destination Go to Page 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6, this Chapter Chapters 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 — 8 — 9 — 10 |
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