When I joined the U.S. Air Force in 1962 I stood a towering 5'3" and weighed a whopping 135 pounds. Needless to say, I was the shortest airman in our flight. When it came time for chow, quite often I would be the last man in line. Several times our TI would bellar, "Flight 172, up and outta here" before I even had a chance to sit down to eat. I always told my daughters that this was the beginning of "Fast food" as I would eat what I could on my way to the kitchen to drop off my tray. After five weeks of Basic Training, I was assigned to Amarillo AFB for school on the B47 bombers. Our second day there our drill sergeant asked for a volunteer to be the Guide-on. I never gave it a second thought as my hand was in the air before he could finish the sentence. From that day on, I was always the first one in line at the chow hall and for the next twelve weeks I got to finish every meal without being rushed.

Dean Larsen, Omro, Wis.