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USO Canteen FReeper Style....FReeper FRiday.... July 12,2002
Larry Johnson , AntiJen , Cotelanche and Snow Bunny

Posted on 07/12/2002 12:48:22 AM PDT by Snow Bunny

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The USO Canteen Honors FReepers
who have served, or are now serving their country.

Today's Honoree

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You may have a loved one who has served in the past.
We at the FReeper USO Canteen would like to honor each and every one.

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Welcome to the USO Canteen FReeper Style

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Message from Snow Bunny to all those who visit the Canteen.

This is how I think of the USO Canteen Freeper Style.
It is like a cottage down a road,
a place where a weary veteran can spend the night.

Since it opened, it is magical how so many
Freepers who post here, feel it too.
It has been so dear how the Freepers
kept making it a cottage - a home-type of place
that had a huge living room
for them to visit in and a dance floor, a library, etc.

Many Veterans have written to me,
saying that the Canteen is like home
to them for the first time since they served.

This is your Canteen -
a respite from our busy
and sometimes troubling world.
Make yourself at home.
..............................................................................................................................................................................

In 1998 Larry Johnson became a FReeper.

He retired to Maine in 1996 to be near his grandkids. Jay is on his back in the first picture.

It was Maine where he first heard Rush and Mary Matalin and got on WebTV to view Drudge, whom he thinks led him to Free Republic.

The road to Maine is etched on his t-shirt, LAAFB. For Larry is a retired USAF Officer, who served 22 years, 13 active in Los Angeles and another 14 under contract to the AF space agencies based there.

"I spent WWII in Baltimore, in uniform whenever I could get one. The sailor suit picture is my favorite.

But as you can see from the picture me with my older brother Carl and our Dad, we were given Army things.

At the rail yard, we raided freight cars for helmets and belts and shell casings."

The picture of Larry and Carl in AF blue was when Larry was at Gettysburg College. In the next picture he and fellow senior ROTC cadets are appointed Distinguished Graduates.



After a year's AF assignment at NYU graduate school, Larry and his college sweetheart, Darby, were married.

The couple posed with his mom and dad who performed the ceremony.

The next 10 years Larry was a weather officer, forecasting for global SAC and recon missions using the new satellites that tracked his career.

He returned to graduate school at the University of Michigan.

"I went to LA to be the staff weather officer to the classified space programs, now credited to the National Recon Organization (NRO).

They needed support for launch of course, but on orbit weather and recovery weather scouted by weather satellites was my specialty. The launch experience was very valuable to my later career. The Manned Orbiting Laboratory was a fun program since we had our own military astronauts. When that program fell to the VietNam budget, those guys, test pilots all who flew into LAAFB, did very well, many flying the Shuttle."

Larry volunteered to go to Vietnam to run a classified weather satellite site at Tan Son Nhut.
The picture is of Site VI and the group picture shows those site troops who are not on shift. These are mostly electronic techs trained for this job at Keesler AFB.

Larry says he grew a mustache to look older as a supervisor. And he is the one wearing California sandals.

In Vietnam the weather satellite data was real time sent down to 7th AF HQ where it was briefed for the day's sorties.

"Two other favorite pastimes were frequent trips to the post office where I am standing in this picture and on my day off to find quiet places in Saigon like the Continental Palace beer garden where I sit in this picture".

This was Larry's last job as a weather officer.

He then returned to LAAFB.

"My first job as an engineer was in the Titan Launch vehicle program in the same building where MOL had been.
NASA was buying Titans for their interplanetary missions. I was to make NASA happy (see picture of me and the Viking and launch vehicle directors) and to manage the launch facilities changes and Titan engineering to integrate NASA's Centaur upper stage.
At the same time I was helping the Air Force Public Affairs remind the public that the Titan and the Launch pad were Air Force contributions.
The success of the Viking missions stands out as one of them landed on Mars on THE FOURTH OF JULY 1976 !"

Larry says his family saw him a little more when he was in the space launch business than when he was in Vietnam.

There were social things that wives just love as in this picture of Larry and Darby in formal gear (always white in LA).

But Larry traveled to Cape Canaveral AFS which NASA kept calling Kennedy, hundreds of times. Larry stayed in LA so long that both of his kids went K-12 in Manhattan Beach schools.

After Titan he had a Vandenberg AFB Shuttle launch pad planning job and was a safety standard officer for satellite tracking stations.

"My last assignments in the USAF were as both engineering and operations directors of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).
This was the program that first launched when I started supporting global weather forecasts."

The last official picture of Larry is the only one he didn't shave for because he was retiring. Then he tells me he shaved off the mustache, this time to look younger to get a civilian job.

I worked as a contractor for 14 years consulting to the Air Force on integration of military payloads on launch vehicles.

The best part of the job was reporting to younger Air Force men and women who were dedicated to making every launch a success because the Warriors are now getting many more of the space payload products directly"


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: usocanteen
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To: For_God_and_Country
Welcome FRiend! So glad you are here with us. I hope you stay awhile and enjoy yourself here.


481 posted on 07/12/2002 11:53:54 AM PDT by Jen
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To: SassyMom; tomkow6; lodwick
Yeah! He's trying to figure TomKow out.

The Burka is confusing hiom.LOL!

Save yourself the headache, George!

None of us can figure him out either!

482 posted on 07/12/2002 11:53:58 AM PDT by Pippin
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To: Snow Bunny
You're getting closer...perfect !! :o)
483 posted on 07/12/2002 11:54:26 AM PDT by blackie
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To: AntiJen

484 posted on 07/12/2002 11:54:48 AM PDT by SassyMom
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To: AntiJen
Good afternoon, Jen!
485 posted on 07/12/2002 11:55:12 AM PDT by Pippin
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To: AntiJen
Hi Jen, did you have a good time at the lake???? I'm really glad you are back, I've missed you!((((HUG)))
486 posted on 07/12/2002 11:56:02 AM PDT by SassyMom
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To: larryjohnson
~~~~~~SALUTE to you LJ for your service to our country! You are welcome for the scanning. It was my pleasure to assist. Enjoy your day in the spotlight, my FRiend! Jen
487 posted on 07/12/2002 11:57:22 AM PDT by Jen
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To: SassyMom
Dang, did I send Sandy to the PRESIDENT? Yikes. ;-)
488 posted on 07/12/2002 11:59:02 AM PDT by lodwick
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To: BringingUpPatriots
Hi Buppie, you Commie slayer!!! Good to see you. I haven't been around much - have some stuff going on in the 'real world' that's been keeping me out of the Canteen. But I'm glad you are here when I popped in for a short visit! Jen
489 posted on 07/12/2002 11:59:09 AM PDT by Jen
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To: sleavelessinseattle
Happy Friday to one of my favorite Canteen wild men! How are you 'Bare Arms'???

Jen

490 posted on 07/12/2002 12:07:54 PM PDT by Jen
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To: bluesagewoman
Nice to meet you! What a great thing you and the other MO freepers are doing to counter the looney liberal peacenik protesters. Applause for you and your group! Jen
491 posted on 07/12/2002 12:27:04 PM PDT by Jen
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To: AntiJen; All
We've got a big storm rolling in, so I'm gonna shut this puter off for now. Be back later!
492 posted on 07/12/2002 12:29:09 PM PDT by SassyMom
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To: SAMWolf; ClaraSuzanne; Snow Bunny; SpookBrat; SassyMom; MistyCA; CaTexan; ...
hehehehe. Glad ya'll liked it. Check this out............

Find The Missing People!
Find The Missing People!
There are a total of nine.

493 posted on 07/12/2002 12:30:50 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP
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To: GatorGirl
I love your new profile page, GG! What a great job you did. Your dollz are so cute too, especially the one with the two babies! Jen
494 posted on 07/12/2002 12:35:41 PM PDT by Jen
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To: AntiJen; bluesagewoman
Sneaking in here to make a quick post. Hope no one catches me. LOL I've got groceries to put up.

JEN!!! Nice to see you hun. Are you doing ok?

Blues, I shoulda posted this pic with your info today. This is my fav-o-rite picture. Scrub those commies outta Misery, I mean...Missouri.


495 posted on 07/12/2002 12:40:53 PM PDT by SpookBrat
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To: SassyMom
Sassy!!! Pleeeeeeeeease let me ride with you tomorrow to the beach party in your pink Cadillac.

Did I ever tell you I used to be one of those clappy happy Mary Kay ladies? hahahahaha It's true! I'm wearing a T-shirt I bought in Dallas several years ago at the annual MK Seminar with a pink Cadillac on it. hahahahaha! I'm not kidding! I'll teach y'all the line dance that goes with this song if you'll let me ride in the back!!!
496 posted on 07/12/2002 12:44:08 PM PDT by Jen
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To: SassyMom
SEEYA LATER,Sassy,Take care of yourself!
497 posted on 07/12/2002 12:45:29 PM PDT by Pippin
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To: SassyMom; kneezles; AntiJen; MistyCA; Aquamarine; Victoria Delsoul; homeschool mama; ...
Did someone mention Wrangler Butt?

<------click on Kneezles hiney *snicker*

498 posted on 07/12/2002 12:48:09 PM PDT by SpookBrat
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To: MistyCA; SassyMom
Did I hear you say you have some wine that you aren't going to drink????????

I heard that too, Misty!!!!

I could use a refill... and an escort to the party... any Boyz listening???

499 posted on 07/12/2002 12:48:57 PM PDT by Jen
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To: AntiJen
Sassy is off line right now, we have nasty thunderboomers moving through right now. It'll make a real exciting ride home in a few minutes for me!
500 posted on 07/12/2002 12:53:22 PM PDT by kneezles
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