Mechra Bel Ksiri
Welcome! This will be home to some memories of Site # 5 of the 735th AC/W Sqdn. at Mechra Bel Ksiri, Fr. Morocco
This site showcases my time spent at Site # 5 @ Mechra Bel Ksiri, Fr. Morocco with the 735th AC/W Sgdn of the USAF, and includes everything from pictures, to comments about what I can remember.. (After all this was in 1953) Enjoy the site, and if you have any suggestions, go to my Contact page and share your thoughts.
I arrived at Site # 5 in early January of 1953 and remained there untill I rotated back stateside. I think that was in September. As a little background, Jim Turner and I were at Sewart AFB @ Smyrna, Tennessee with the 154th AC/W Group, we arrived in Casablanca, Fr. Morocco aboard the USS Langfitt and went to Nouasseur AFB. We were both at Site # 5 and returned to the states ( September 1953) aboard the USS Upsher. After our 30 day leave we both reported to Pinecastle AFB, Orlando, Florida. This later became McCoy AFB. It is now Orlando International Airport. Col. Michael N. W. McCoy was my Group Commander at Pinecastle. He was later killed in a B-47 crash and they named the base for him. I was discharged at Pinecastle AFB in April of 1955. I only served 4 years, but Jim was a career guy. The above picture was made at the reunion at Charlotte, North Carolina (1994).
Special Note: My friend Jim Turner now has a new Permanent Duty Station assignment. His obit is posted below. He will be remembered as a true friend! Turner, James L. Retired Senior Master Sgt. James L. Turner, a resident of Dothan, went home to be with the Lord Friday, Oct. 20, 2006, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was 72. Funeral services for Mr. Turner will be at 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 23, in Clearman Chapel at Southern Heritage with the Rev. Gerald Casson officiating. Burial will follow in Gardens of Memory cemetery with full military honors. The family will receive friends today from 3 to 5 p.m. at the funeral home. Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to Highland Park UMC Building Fund, 1619 S. Park Ave., Dothan, AL 36301. Mr. Turner was born April 19, 1934, in Blairsville, Ga., to Carlos and Flo Turner. He was a 1952 graduate of Rockmart High School in Rockmart, Ga. Mr. Turner retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1973 and then began his career with the Postal Service, retiring in 1994. He was a graduate of Troy University and a member of Highland Park United Methodist Church. His father and a brother, Billy Turner, preceded Mr. Turner in death. Survivors include his mother, Flo Turner, Rockmart; wife Jacqualine Turner, Dothan; two daughters and sons in law, LaJuana and Steve Brown, Dothan, Pamela and Mike Marshall, Carrabelle, Fla.; one son, Scott Turner, Dothan; nine grandchildren, Kristie Marshall, Michael Marshall, Curt Chisholm, Drue Chisholm, Billy (Brooke) McCarthy, Greg (Gina) McCarthy, Jacqualine Brown, Calen Turner, Claire Turner; great-granddaughter, Libby-Lu McCarthy; three sisters, Lorayne Morris, Dallas, Ga., Joann and Edgar Wigley and Wanda Kelley all of Rockmart; brother, Gerald Turner, Tallapoosa, Ga.; several nieces and nephews also survive. Serving as active pallbearers will be Mr. Turner's grandsons, Steve Malone and Richard Alexander. Southern Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory, (334) 702-1712, is in charge of arrangements. Sign the guestbook at www.dothaneagle.com. Published in the Dothan Eagle from 10/22/2006 - 10/23/2006.
This is how Site # 5 of the 735th AC/W Sqdn area looks in 2008.
Changed a little hasn't it? Click on picture for a larger view--then click the larger picture for a really large copy.
This is one of my favorite links that I have found on this great Internet that is available to us . My many thanks to the author of this link! This is a large file so give it time to load. It is worth the wait!