More detail on this person: My father CWO Billy E. Ball, was active duty for almost twenty years.
He served as an infantryman in Korea, went through flight school and flew H-21s in Vietnam early in
that war (1963 I think it was), and retired in 1967. After leaving Germany upon his retirement, we
moved to Ft. Worth where he took a position with Southern Airways as an I.P. at Ft. Wolters. He flew
there until that training was moved to Ft. Rucker in the early 70s. At that point gave up his love
of aviation, returned to the private sector as a businessman in Ft. Worth, and I lost him to a heart
condition in 1993. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
08/31/2024
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He inspired me for my entire life, so much so that I too become an aviator. My eyesight kept me out
of the military (20/12 far vision, 20/30 near vision...that killed my chances), so I went the
civilian route and was hired by Northwest Orient Airlines as a flight crewmember in 1983 (my vision
had "matured" to a perfect 20/20 by then). I've been with them now for 25 years, fly currently as a
Boeing 757 Captain, and continue my love of aviation (especially as it applies to military flying).
A side note, my son will commission as a 2nd Lt. from his Montana State ROTC program this
spring.
I'm currently writing an article about something that my father did for me that (to this day) is one
of the most incredible memories of our time together. When I was roughly 12 yrs old, he several
times took me out to Ft. Wolters with him to "ride shotgun" during his days training cycle. I would
sit in on his student briefings, ride out to the "Stage Field" in a pickup truck with whomever drew
that duty for the day, and spend the next several hours just "playing mascot" to all the I.P.s and
students that came and went through the building at that site. You were all so much "bigger than
life" to me back then (and still are by the way), and the hours that I spent in that world of noise,
action and (perceived) danger was like nothing I had ever experienced. Those were amazing hours to
say the least.
From: William Ball