T Wingate Andrews High School Alumni
High Point, North Carolina (NC)
Alumni Stories
Michael Hoffman
Class of 1970
Michael Hoffman, Sgt
F4 Crew Chief
35th TFS / 421st TFS
My first day at Da Nang:
The 35 TFS had been at Ubon for 2 weeks when they told us to pack up. We were going to Udorn, because they could support our F4D models better. We broke ground late at night in the ever popular C-130, caught some zzzz’s and woke up as we were landing. We came to a stop and one of those side doors opened...a GI, wearing a helmet and flack vest, stuck his head in the door, and to our surprise, announces "Welcome to Da Nang", and disappears. It was 0200 hrs, which doesn’t mean a thing to us...yet, but everyone seemed to be keeping a "low profile". They got us a bus and hauled us over to Gunfighter Village and put us in a barracks that had been used for storage…no bunks but plenty of mattresses. The next morning they gave us the "good news" we were to be divided up and detached to the Da Nang squadrons...I was assigned to the 421st TFS and I was told to report at Midnight to C flight. I found my way to the flightline for roll call, and at 12:30 I was on my way to the trim pad down at the south end of the runways, for an engine run. The engine shop and instruments guys were waiting. We ran the engines, and were standing around waiting for our ride when.......the shit hit the fan.
A flair storage area, straight west of us, took a direct hit…a fountain of light erupted and arose into the night sky. All three of us had just arrived, from Ubon, and we were not sure what was going on. The second wave of rockets arrived and, an AC-47, which was being fueled on the Westside took a hit….a ball of flame engulfed the plane and truck…now that, we understood. We were now hauling ass to the sandbag bunker which was looking pretty damn good about now. Two, maybe three waves of rockets later we came out of the bunker....
The AC-47 and fuel truck were burning very nicely... the flair storage area was still sparkling...and best of all a rocket had hit the fuel pipeline that ran along the drainage ditch just east of the flight shacks. The ditch was now full of burning fuel which made quiet an impressive display behind the revetments... it looked like Atlanta burning in "Gone With the Wind".
I looked at my watch....one forty five.....my first day at Da Nang was just about over.
F4 Crew Chief
35th TFS / 421st TFS
My first day at Da Nang:
The 35 TFS had been at Ubon for 2 weeks when they told us to pack up. We were going to Udorn, because they could support our F4D models better. We broke ground late at night in the ever popular C-130, caught some zzzz’s and woke up as we were landing. We came to a stop and one of those side doors opened...a GI, wearing a helmet and flack vest, stuck his head in the door, and to our surprise, announces "Welcome to Da Nang", and disappears. It was 0200 hrs, which doesn’t mean a thing to us...yet, but everyone seemed to be keeping a "low profile". They got us a bus and hauled us over to Gunfighter Village and put us in a barracks that had been used for storage…no bunks but plenty of mattresses. The next morning they gave us the "good news" we were to be divided up and detached to the Da Nang squadrons...I was assigned to the 421st TFS and I was told to report at Midnight to C flight. I found my way to the flightline for roll call, and at 12:30 I was on my way to the trim pad down at the south end of the runways, for an engine run. The engine shop and instruments guys were waiting. We ran the engines, and were standing around waiting for our ride when.......the shit hit the fan.
A flair storage area, straight west of us, took a direct hit…a fountain of light erupted and arose into the night sky. All three of us had just arrived, from Ubon, and we were not sure what was going on. The second wave of rockets arrived and, an AC-47, which was being fueled on the Westside took a hit….a ball of flame engulfed the plane and truck…now that, we understood. We were now hauling ass to the sandbag bunker which was looking pretty damn good about now. Two, maybe three waves of rockets later we came out of the bunker....
The AC-47 and fuel truck were burning very nicely... the flair storage area was still sparkling...and best of all a rocket had hit the fuel pipeline that ran along the drainage ditch just east of the flight shacks. The ditch was now full of burning fuel which made quiet an impressive display behind the revetments... it looked like Atlanta burning in "Gone With the Wind".
I looked at my watch....one forty five.....my first day at Da Nang was just about over.
Recent Members
| Beja Loftin | 2016 |
| Dawne Rudd | 1986 |
| Devon Walker | 2016 |
| Kanisha Davis | 2016 |
| Keana Johnson | 2016 |
| Muhammad Khan | 2022 |
| Nijah Smith | 2016 |
| Princeton Lucas | 2016 |
Military Alumni
Honoring Our Heroes
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Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays!