How I got started

[frogman12]

I was working on Ascension island in the south atlantic as a diver it was 1982, the island had been builtup during WWII and then in the Late 50s PanAM and RCA had been contracted to support space launches. I loved exploring the dumps and would find incredable junk, the island is very dry and had little rain.

There where several WM300's parked out near the runway that where intriguing and destined to be torched so the fire dept could practise fire fighting. There was another dump near Georgetown that had lots of m37's one was yellow and I decided to get it running it took a coupple of days of tinkering and swapping tires adding external fuel tank and scrounging a battery.

I drove it out of the dump and continued to tinker with it for months I didnt know or have access to lots of info then and of course the brakes where no good, to stop I would downshift and drive it off road. till it stoped. I got busted by the local cops and the took it away from me. Latter I found a buried quonset hut that had all kinds of parts still packed in cosmoline, I got the truck back and got brakes working by cludging all kinds of parts.
I worked there on and off for years and then in 92 they had a basewide clean up and buried all the dumps I am still depressed about it.

I am now working in Iraq and happened to see a W300 that was in surprising good shape, but its too crazy to walk around looking at hardware here.

[Bruce]

Good One

Hey Frogman,
Did you happen to snap any pictures, sounds like a good find, although a short lived one?
Thanks 4 Sharing,

[frogman12]

Bruce:
I have some pictures somewhere but I would have to dig them up. I can tell you I would spend hours there just touching these beasts. I loved that place.
frogman
sends

[Bruce]

PW/Dodge's In-Country

Find Dodges anything in Iraq? I spent almost three years in the Pacific, 69-71, and never found a dump, I guess I wasn't looking in the right places!

[frogman12]

trks in Iraq and Pacific

Bruce:
What Isands? I have worked at Wake, Attu and Midway. Wake had a great dump but the air is so salty there nothing lasted long, At Wake on the lee side (west side) there was a big dump that had two old Dodge line trucks (W-300) with a utility bed painted AF blue and some really neat A/C tugs used on the ramp the tugs had 230 flat head and one with Ford 4 cylinders looked like pinto engines but I dont know much about Fords. Attu had quite a few older dodges and GMC from WWII.
I found a cave on Attu that had been used by the Japs prior to the US invasion It was flooded with snowmelt but I swam into it with my drysuit and mask and fins, I couldnt dive as I had no weights and it was too far from the CG station to hump all that gear by hand it took me over several days to find it and then over 6 hours to hike back to it, I ended up spending the nite on the site sleeping in my drysuit. In addition to that there was a huge US presence just after the invasion and near the end of the war, looks like people justwalked away and left everything. Not many folks get there mostly bird watchers and CG who do a hard year there. I enjoyed my time there but was stuck during 9/11 for over 3 weeks so got to do a lot of poking around.
I have seen a couple of W-300 dodges here in Iraq, but you cannot get out and look at them we are a target and valuable to the Insurgents. There are some neat soviet duce and halfs as well as all the very stout looking modern stuf the US has rolling around.
Frogman
AK-47
MP-5
Sig 226
Beau Coup rounds

[JimmieD]

Great suff there, Frogman! Sounds kind of like the old prospectors who put an X on the map in their head, "If I ever get back here again...." Praying for your safety over there and thanks for what you're doing for us WE APPRECIATE IT!!!! Tell your buddies too!
JimmieD

[frogman12]

thanks for that

You know I feel for the soldiers who dont have much of a choice
I am over here by choice and all though not the best place to work I can at least leave if I want, the Military are doing an outstanding job and most have good attitudes here.
thanks for your support ill pass it on....

[Bruce]

Formosa

Hey Frogman,
I was on the island of Tiawan, aka; Formosa, what a beautiful place, someday I'd like to go back? I was a cook in the Air Force, worked at the 6217th USAF Hospital at CCK, or Ching Chong Kong, AFB.
Give our regards & thanks to any and all service men & women that you meet!
Keep You Head Down,