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| Russian Kundzha Char | Lodge Manager |
It is posts such as this one that keep me hanging around this group some 57 years after I separated from it by leaving the Air Force. I love the stories about people that I once knew and worked with.
I also still owe a great debt of gratitude to the people (all men in my day) who made me into what I am today. Mostly it was the NCO's that I looked to for guidance, but many others contributed, too. Some instructed me by being a positive influence, but a few instructed me by influencing me negatively.
I have a story about being wrongly thought of as a foreign agent. About 5 years ago, I decided to go on a fishing trip to Russia. My trip was to the depths of Siberia. I spent about 9 months re-studying my Russian before I left. I just about got back to the point where I left off in March, 1966 - Hearing and understanding Russian much better than I could speak it. The Russians were not at all used to Americans speaking their language. We flew into Petropavlovsk. The itinerary called for an almost immediate transfer to a nearby airfield and a 90 minute helicopter ride to an outpost on Zhupanova River. In fact we were delayed in Petropavlovsk by a heavy fog. They took us to a local sports bar. Word spread fast that I could translate and order for our group of fishermen and one fisherwoman. The Russians took notice of this American who understood and spoke (sort of) their language.
After a couple of hours at the bar, my Russian had improved like it always did (or so it seemed to me). We quickly boarded the heliocopter, an MI-8 (Hip), in order to make our destinations before dark. Apparently, our Russian handlers transmitted to the lodge personnel who greeted us that there was one among us who spoke Russian. On my second day in camp the Camp Manager (a young Russian man) pulled me aside to ask, "Are you a spy?" I answered, "No!" I left unsaid that I used to be one. The subject never came up again. It was the best fishing trip that I ever made.