The last time I sailed into the port of GTMO was 1976 on board the USS Francis Marion LPA-249. I was on a two week Reserve Duty cruise and we had picked up the ship in her homeport of Norfolk. Time passed quickly and at the end of the two weeks we were flown out on an old DC-6 back to CONUS. Note, you can see our sea bags stacked to the left. 1976 is also the same year the McCalla Airfield closed, the second airfield is still active... but, this airstrip is now more famous than it ever was when it was used for aircraft. Its now called: CAMP JUSTICE !!
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All I know is what I was told, ONCE UPON A TIME:
Back in 1976, a dozen of us caught an LPA, USS Francis Marion, out of Norfolk for our annual two week Naval Reserve duty.
I didn't know, until we were underway, that we were headed for GTMO, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Everything went as planned except our time was running out and we asked "How are we going to get home?"... No problem, we flew out, on this aircraft.
I snapped this photo and you can see our sea bags stacked for the cargo hold. Once we were airborne a crew member told us that this aircraft was from the Kennedy administration. Obvously, it's not an Air Force One, but I've always been curious as to it's role.
I was a black shoe and know little about old military aircraft. Does this story sound likely? All I can make out are the numbers 228. I am guessing this is a Lockheed Constellation (Connie) or a DC-6.
-- Update: The aircraft is a C-118, the Navy version of a DC-6.
Trivia... I have the song "Guantanamera" by the Sandpipers. The title, by the way... for all you GTMO sailors... the song translates to: "girl from Guantanamo".
Also, I see Guantanamo abbreviated as GTMO and as GITMO, but, there is no letter i in Guantanamo. So, sometimes I use my own abbreviation: GiTMO as a happy medium.
