Fairfield Harley Veterans on the Run

We have several veterans in our Harley chapter out of Fairfield. I thought since this is a relaxing day, I would give you a little back ground of the veterans I have the privilege to be with. Three rode to CA with us, the other (Ken Ward) rode separately with his wife.

Aaron Hornsby
Aaron was in the KoreanWar.  At the age of 16, his father signed and gave his permission for him to be in the Air Force.  After taking a test, he was placed as a jet mechanic.  He was in the Strategic Air Command, 39th Squadron.  He served 1954-1956.  He worked on the F85 and F86 engines.

Tim Werling
Tim was in the Vietnam War.  He was 20 and also in the Air Force. He served from 1967-1968.  He was in the 615th Tactical Fighter  Squadron, "Black Panther".  He was also a jet fighter mechanic.  He worked on F100, F4 and the Assie Bomber.  They were GE engines.  He said he was allowed to get in and rev the engines but only 70%.  The first 4 months he was in Vietnam, he and many others slept on the flight line. Reason: they were so busy they would get some sleep and back to work.  He also commented "It was a pleasure and honor to server".

Bill Burnett
Bill was in the Navy from 1965-1969.  He was 20.  He served on the 6th fleet out of Norfolk, VA.  He was on the USS Rankin and USS Thuban.  He served on 2 deployments in the Mediterranean Sea for a total of 18 months.  Longest duration without seeing land was 28 day. He was on AKA - attack cargo ships.  These are the ships that opened on the end , and the landing crafts, "mike" boats and troops go on shore. He was a diesel mechanic. He worked on these as well as many others on the ship: standby generators, fire pumps, auxiliary equipment and others. He also went to Panama Canal to train troops on the "mike" boats in preparation for Vietnam.

Ken Ward
Ken was in the Navy from 1977-1981.  He was in no war. He too was in Norfolk VA. He was electronic warfare technician.  He was always looking for enemy radar.
He is a platoon leader this year for RFTW (platoon 3)  and was the central route coordinator last year. This is his 9th year and is currently the Treasurer for RFTW. This is a very big task. His wife Jenny is also very involved in the Run.  The 2 of them have been great with helping us be able to make this trip possible. Thanks.

THANKS TO ALL THE MEN WHO HAVE SERVED ESPECIALLY THOSE ABOVE!!!!