Nick Riviezzo
07-08-2010, 01:26
Yesterday,7July was the 47th anniv. of my entry into the Army. I had an eye appointment yesterday and let the day get by without fanfare. Anyway, 7 July 1963,I went to Whitehall Street Induction Station in New York City and spent the day with a physical,testing and swearing[both in and at!] Buses to FT. Dix N.J.that evening and,upon arrival at the "Welcome Station" the fun began.The rest,as they say,is history. I spent 23 years on active duty as an Enlisted Man, a Warrant Officer,a 2Lt.,1st Lt., Captain, and Major. I retired in 1986.I went immediately to work as a contract flight instructor teaching Primary[day one flight school] and Advanced courses of instruction in the Army Rotary Wing Flight[helicopter] Progam I retired in Jan. 2010 after 47 years of association with the Army, 44 years as a Helicopter Pilot and Instructor Pilot and nearly 16,000 hours of Rotary Wing flight time.[actually,the record keepers said I was 34 hours short of 16,000 and we know how accurate the GUBMINT can be,don't we?] I always remembered as a Warrant Officer Candidate in Flight School our Cadre were constantly screaming at us that the tax payers were giving us this grand opportunity and we were not trying hard enough to earn our way! We the un-worthy! HA! I hope one of them is alive to day and reads this 'cause,Brothers and Sisters,I assure you the tax payers got their monies worth out of my un-worthy hide! I'm proud to have served and gotten the opportunities I was blessed with in my years of service. As most of us said when we graduated from flight school,"I wouldn't take a million bucks for the experience,but you couldn't pay me a million bucks to do it again!" If the truth were known, I wish I could go back and do SOME of it again. Time to put my light back under the bushel basket now and let someone else shine. Stay tuned there are a few "funnies"that I want to relate to ya'll[dats all you all] Nick