Detail : I lived at Shaw, MS, about 20 miles NE of GAFB. I was in high school when two T-33´s collided just west of Shaw.
I remember another one hit the Greenville bridge over the Mississippi River. I went to air shows there and remember C-119´s, T-33´s, T-28´s, etc., being at the air show.

Detail : I was in Medic School at Greeville AFB in the Fall of 1963

Detail : Hello,
I have a BT-13A that served at Greenville during WWII. I would love to communicate with anyone who may have flown or worked on my plane 41-11459 (vultee serial 41-2469) during those years. I would also be interested in pictures that anyone may have of the BTs on the field--rides to anyone that knew her in those days.

Detail : My friend told me to visit your site because she said its beautiful. She really was telling that truth. Indeed, your site is amazing. Ill surely go visit here again. Keep up the good work! :D

Detail : If anyone that was stationed at GAFB from 1950-53, I would like to hear from you...Mac, as he was better known was in Personnel until being transferred to Waco, TX in 1952..I have fond memories of
GAFB and am a Greenville "girl".

Detail : Sorry I missed the reunion, couldn´t find anyone to fill in for me at work. Looks like I missed some great fun.

Detail : My Mother & Dad & me attended my brother Fred´s graduation from pilot training - his class number was 54G

Detail : I saw your website in today´s DDT..thanks for a great job...my now decease husband of 54 years came to GAFB in 1950in Personel. Retired from Pentagon in August, 1966

Detail : Was in the Medic School at Greenville during the summer of 1963. What a wonderful place !

Detail : Class 54E. Great memories. Met and married my wife at Greenville. Married 53 years

Detail : Arrived Greenville in Feb 51 as a member of Class 52B. Flew T-6D for 6 months and then on to Craig AFB for F-52 training. Met and married a Greenville girls when I graduated and we spent 22 years together all over the US and Canada. She died in 1973 and I brought her home for burial. Stayed in the AF for a full 32 years and retired at Sheppard AFB in 1982. Greenville, obviously, has many memories for me and my children. Last visited there in 1998.

Detail : Aug 1955 Til Nov 1958 Those were the days. I will always
remember my time at greenville.I was 17 years old when I got there and 20 years old when I left.

Detail : This is such a miraculous gathering of men who made the selfless decision to serve this great country of ours. What pride and dedication I have for each person who has attended any/all reunions. Each gathering, no matter where the location, has been carefully planned and organized with the purest of heart and clearest of intentions to simply reunite those brave souls who served together in a world much different from the world we live in today. As an educator, I see students who take their freedom for granted and do not want to stand at attention to the flag. The men and women who sign this guestbook have an obligation to set the example for future generations. I attended the first reunions that began in Wilkesboro organized by my mother and father, Roy and Ann Call. I have had the honor / pleasure of meeting many of the men and their families and was always impressed with their manners and gratitude. My parents hosted the annual event with eager anticipation and I always looked forward to seeing Burbage and Shelby. I remember the laughter of stories shared and the tears shed by my father as he prayed before the meal, just thankful that these men cared enough to come and celebrate their life’s accomplishments with one another. Through these reunions, my parents were modeling the positive character traits of respect and selflessness, which I have tried to carry throughout my adult life.
I write today concerning the difference of opinion among the servicemen. The dissention is a sad ending to such a wonderful beginning. The emails sent to my parents were vicious, slanderous, and quite shocking coming from military men and women. Whenever you have a large group of people come together, difference of opinions will take place. The great advantage of living in America, which many of you fought to maintain, is that we can agree to disagree. As Roy’s grandson, Joseph Hartley leaves for basic training with the Air Force on September 11th, I want this site to take a proactive stance. Let this site be used to uphold those rights, which are good and honorable. May this glorious group of servicemen set the example for future servicemen/women in allowing the website and reunions to reflect a positive difference in the lives of those persons attending and reading the postings.
I personally thank each and every one of you who served in the Air Force and pray for peace and good health in each of your lives. I would like to ask that you keep my son in your prayers as he is just beginning his journey in serving this great country.
Wishing you a most rewarding reunion in September,


Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~Abraham Lincoln

Detail : I was stationed in Greenville, MS for the second part of Basic Training and for Medic training, in 1963. While there I had a couple of interesting off base times. I was invited to visit the estate of a former Army General after church in town. I rode his horses and used the chin strap on my dress uniform hat. His son called the base and got permission for myself and one other Airman to stay past our pass. The General had been in charge of an Illinois National Guard group in WWII. I only saw him for a minute after we had lunch. Most of the time his wife took care of us. We even rode in a boat from his dock on the MS. Another time we were invited home after church on Easter Sunday and ate with a family that had shot wild turkeys for dinner. I think there were four or five of us. Very friendly town to us. Though we were there during segregation and we had to follow the rules of the town. When we arrived from Lackland, AFB the rules were spelled out for us by the Base Commander in the base theater. We were integrated on base with no discrimination but we had to follow the local rules off base. I was 18 and it was a great time for learning about the Air Force, learning about being a Medic and living among civilians that were doing things different than where I had been raised in Oak Lawn, Illinois. I went to X-ray Specialist School after that and stayed in four 4 years. Today I own a small X-Ray Company. Thank goodness that I joined the Air Force.

Detail : I haven´t been there since 1963. Wrote a poem about it last night.
Some of you might find it interesting.

The Delta

It is the irony of modern times
that i may now look upon terrain i once roamed four decades ago,
from a view i would never have seen at the time,
For this satellite image of ancient Mississippi,
along the soggy delta, discloses artifacts of my past
that still remain among the clutter of cotton fields,
despite the multitude of changes having occurred over the decades,
It reveals to me that which is not there as well,
for lost in the deep memory of my aged brain
are images that no longer exist in the real world,
Gone is the air force base from world war two,
surviving as a training facility in my time,
& the archaic railroad cars, that were, at that time,
the only exit from this southern way station,
Gone in town is the ancient hotel in which i spent the night---
surely turned to dust by now,
& the movie theatre with its “Negroes only” entrance,
& that old decrepit sign next to the hoary, chipped
porcelain drinking fountain of the twenties that said “Whites only,”
Gone are the grey, unpainted shacks
lining the golf course (an implausible survivor),
that housed the pickers of cotton, the descendants of slavery,
the refugees left behind by the union victory,
to survive all these decades---
not in the warm glow of freedom,
but in the cold indifference & repudiation of a defeated society
that for over a hundred years never let them forget
they were the source of this deep southern pain,
& one can only hope,
that history has destroyed that ancient belief in racism---
so prevalent at that time proceeding the march for voter rights,
that, from all outwardly appearances have disappeared,
but may linger in the hearts of many---
a place not even a satellite can disclose.

Michael Goodson May 2007

Detail : Up Date on Jim Pickelmann, I spoke with him on the phone yesterday and he is in good spirts. Today is the big day for him. He is scheduled for the operation at 1130 hrs today at the Baptist Hospital Memphis Tn. We are all hoping all goes well for him. Gil/Sue

Detail : Just a few words to say Jim Pickelmann is in the Baptist Hospital. His heart operation wil begin tomorrow morning to replace a valve. We all pray all will go well for Jim and a speedy recovery. Gil/Sue

Detail : If there is anyone out there who was stationed at Greenville AFB, Miss. October 1962 to March 1963, I would love to hear from you.

Detail : I JUST CAME ACROSS YOUR SITE AND ITS GOOD

Detail : I have frequently looked at a black and white photo of my grandfather sitting in the cockpit of a T-6 Texan with an inscription at the bottom, "Greenville AFB 1952". His name was Bill McCowin and I know that he was a flight instructor there during that time. On a whim, I decided to look on line and see if there was any further information on the AFB and came across this wonderful website! I would love to hear from anyone that may remember him!