Your class has a great life expectancy compared to others–

Had it not been for combat in Vietnam your class would have been outstanding.

How is all in SA?

It was nice tro see you in San Antonio– you guys have not aged– U must being doing something RIGHT!

My hand joints and back are starting to bug me a lot.
Did you apply for any VA disabilities that are service connected?

Jim

—- Don Phillips <cd69c@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Jim: interesting actuary figures.  Seems  44  in or  associated 63-22.  33  hang in and  11 gone  but  3 of  those were  aircraft  related , 2 on the  Wall I finally got to visit  last  Sept  B-57  meeting  at  DC. Also got to  view Arlington  my  B-66 pilot  crashed  while I was  taking the  Bitgburg  Goon from Germany  Sept  ’69. I’d  trained  him at  Combat Tng   Shaw AFB and  we  were  going  to live  fat  dumb and happy  with his  year combat  done. Things  change  fast!  Now been  combat  retired   since  ’77 and damn good to still be among the  ‘Quick’ . We appreciate  your  efforts. But  pleased  I chose  gold mine investment to keep records   on.  Last opened  this week, Ures ,Sonora   Mexico.  Await  news   next  week. Oddest  is  VietNam is mining in  all the  bombs  we  dropped on  the Karst  until ’72. Don
>

Hard to figure the promotion thing– you certainly had the awards– much more than I did.
BOTTOM Line you have a great family and did well on investments– had you got promoted never know– some times SET BACKS make us a better person.

You and your wife have done MUCH better than Sharon and I have.

Caring for your son probably was a BIG help and at least you did not have problems like some people do– My wife played that role with our kids and both are doing fine!

Will call you next time in SATX and we can get a group to meet for lunch– Jim

—- Don Phillips <cd69c@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Became  an unpromotable 16  year  Capt  Sr  Nav/Bomb with  5  DFCs  14  AM,  Purple  Heart. As  Reg  Officer  got  2 temp  passovers and then 2 more Reg O. Day after 4th no go  Xmas  1976 I told them I’d had enough  BS cure me or  kill me. 9  mo in Wilford  Hall my  Chief Neurosurgery decided  I’d been shafted bad  since  ’67 injury  and set up a  Temp Disability  bd. Retired on  50% and  then 100% Social Security Disabled  thanks to  magnificant  DAV  officer . Then met  Perm Bd   in  ’78 and that’s been it  last  41 years. Home  daddy  for son  while wife  sold  real estate and  I invested her  income in  IRAs  gold miners  in  gold. BY 2012 had made  $15 million with  gold  from  $200 to high $1900.   She taught  son all he  needed so we retired and  we  assisted him into now: Call it lemons  to lemonade.
>

Have a AF member had similar issue and eventually they gave him a medical retirement– that would give him an opportunity to go into civil service BUT he decised that was not the way to go so works for a contractor– knowing the AF they probably would have shaffed him on the medical if he went civil service–.

I am surprised they would put you in an ejection aircraft after the BACK and neck fractures– Hope they gave you 100%.

My friend Noel Sweeten got a medical retirement BUT they drug it out for almost 3 years and he was in the keesler Hospital for about a year.

Jim

—- Don Phillips <cd69c@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> April 1 ’67   Para drop  Opn Junction  City into Zone  C I had  a B-57  ejection seat   malfunction  pulling off a   6 G dive  recovery, cracked  spine in  neck, mid ,  low back. Never full recovered and  hung  in on hosp stays and  waivers  next  10 years. Got to the  war’s over,  dump the  excess and I was among the last  but  found  that medical out from great   surgeon read my  file  as  pure  history.  “Geeze , Don,  they’ve been screwing  you like  was  healthy. ”  I’d been  crawling  up into B-66 and  unstrapping ,leg  stretched out in aisle,   after  TO and  strapping back in  for landing  and sometimes leg collapsing stepping  down off the door.  Worked to   1st be a   new 52nd Wing  Public  Info   and finally  Air Field  Mgr at  Spangdahlem. To Dyess  ’75 in C-130s but  never  flew  again. Worked in  crew tng till Wilford  Hall  Jan 77 and  Oct   retired.    Never know but have  a plan! My year at  Wing  HQ did a BUNCH of   reg  research so  knew  what I’d need  to do when. Had a wise Msgt  in  B-66 maint  tell me “Keep   GREAT  records, Capt.

Understand that getting worse– you are lucky you can still walk with the back issues– sure it causes you a lot of pain at times– Jim

—- Don Phillips <cd69c@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Just normal 50%  at maxed  O3 base pay 4 years  early. DAV assisted  also  with  100% SS disability ever  since made life  affordable.  She   got  spouse  with child  as  well until Tom  was  16. Actually Reagan cut me off and had to prove it all over  again in ’82 for  a  year  appealing. Did not cause us to really  love RR tho we  understood the purpose. I’d be in   a  room full of blind  folks pushed  in wheel chairs. I seemed in pink of health but my job was  dropping bombs and using  stars   crossing oceans and that  was   out for good.  Funny stuff  disabled  can’t  work anymore means and   can’t measure  pain.  Just  medicate  level  down. 41 yrs later only  gets  worse by the  decade.
>

Many times when we were youung and got hurt figured it would get better the next day BUT in your case did not know the extend of the REAL back injury and then it is usually worse because additional damage was done.

Jim

—- Don Phillips <cd69c@hotmail.com> wrote:
> WAS a comedy of  errors. EWed were flying  support for  JUnction  City, 82n and  101st biggest  drop since  D Day  over head  all daylight hours for  in contact.  Bit  past midnight I  stepped on a  punjii stick  on path to the  6  holer and  went to  our  Drs  hootch  washed   the  cut clean and  gave  some  bactracin and a  bandaid.  SPs searched  and  found another on the  grass pathway. Next  day I was put on  alert in  case  we did not need to launch but  late in  PM we did.  We had the long legs so hit  2  other  tgts with  strafe and  napes. Last  one in  the zone c  for the  day we  made a  dive pass and my  seat bottomed BANG with the  left  cut foot  trapped  beneath. Expected  to have the canopy  blow and  float down into the  10K machine guns with a missing leg. It  was a malfunction up down pawl and  we figured it  out  up level  10K. Kept  dropping till Winchester  and  went home late. Really sore back  so DNIF 2 days. Eventually- was the  cracked spine retired me but not the PH. Think should  thus have  2,  discovered  much later as engaged in  combat with enemy.  Real  Catch 22 shit!
>
> Hell– 6 months in a cast at our age — would be hard and have to learn how to move stuff– I get tight just sitting for 20 minutes!  Sounds like you are making the good decision PLUS never know if surgery will help or hurt– a guy I worked with had back surgery– they put the nerves to sleep that allow you top pee and Poop and it has been over a month and they are still sleeping– he asked how long and said 1 week and now they are saying 3 months maybe and could be a year– He asked about the year and they said we will deal with it a day at a time– NOTE the back is no better either and drove to OKC for surgery– Normally they fix stuff BUT now and then people are worse off!

Jim

—- Don Phillips <cd69c@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Current  status  is “the worst  spine I see  walking”  by my  spine clinic.  Option  is  continued  series   of   subdural  injections  to keep arms and legs  working   well enough or   6 mo in body  cast   with a  halo to hold all in place while  the  pins and  screws set. I see the ortho   chap every  6 mo and say “I’m  fine enough thanks, not  now, Doc. ” Every  year  without is pure gold.
>

One they missed  nearly killed me. Work up for  disability bd at  W Hall kept  testing  my  rt  ear. My reaction to sound was  just too  fast. Finally  just  accepted  the  reading. I’d constant   ear infections on DNIF since  began flying. and  diving was  up and down murder on the  ears. In ’80 VA here was looking in my  ears and Dr  ran out and  brought  the  ENT resident tlol.d me I had an obvious   long  term attic  cholesteotoma.  Immediate  surgery and included the mastoid cell bones    of the  skull  full of  infection. Ear drum bursts and the lining of the  ear canal is the  fastest  growing  skin in the body. Enters  the  E tube and  fills with  nasty goop  eating  away the  bone.   Woke up after  surgery with head in a  big bandage. Dr   said we  saved  your life  but lost the  ear.   Opened  up a big flap and there  was my   carotid  artery   pulsing    with nearly  no  covering. Did a bone  graft to  protect it and packed me full of antibiotic   gel gauze and made a  new  ear canal and  ear  drum. All the  3 little  bones  transmit  sound   were  eroded  away.   I could  stick in my  finger was so large.    What it  did was  send  sound  via liquid  like rocks clicked in a  swim pool faster  than  air.  Took 6  mo for all the skull  bone to regrow and  down to a  .38 cal not  .50.   Now we   work to keep the   left ear  working  with   titanium  window open   so  get  vacuumed out  every  3 months.  NOBODY had  ears checked more that me  for  all my  time  active and ALL flt surgeons missed the  sign of a  miscolored   upper  ear drum  that  trainee  caught  At Audi Murphy  VA in ’80. Now  38  years and still kickin.