FORT BRAGG 6

De Havilland Otter

I understand that they took all the fixed wing aircraft away from the army and left them only with helicopters.  The Army had quite a few different fixed wing aircraft in the 50's.  I was fortunate that I wanted to catch hops to Atlanta and back since the Third Army HQ was at Fort Mac in Atlanta and there was quite a bit of traffic between Rucker, Bragg, and the Third Army Flight detachment at the Fulton County airport in Atlanta.  

While working at Bragg I was able to catch a flight home every few weeks.  I went to Simmons Field Operations one Friday to check on a possible hop home that evening.  They said that they had an Otter that was scheduled to leave that evening that had space available for me.  I logged in for the flight.

De Havilland  Beaver

The Otter and Beaver were Canadian bush planes that could take off from a short field.  Both had a big radial engine and a decent speed.  I dressed in class "A" uniform and went to operations to wait on the flight.  I noticed that there were quite a few officers that came in to Operations.  They seemed to know each other and were all talking and I was just a lowly E-5 Specialist Enlisted man off to myself.  They called the flight and I followed them out and sat in the back of the plane.  As I remember, the Otter would carry 11 including a cockpit crew of two. 

I don't remember how many officers were on board but there were a few empty seats.  I noticed them talking and looking back at me but I didn't know what they were talking about.  We arrived at Fulton County and I was walking to operations to call my father to come get me.  I noticed that there were two army staff cars sitting outside the front door with two drivers standing by.  I assumed that they both were for the officers but as I walked up to the operations door one driver asked if I was Buffington.  I said, yes and he said for me to get in the car.  I looked at the other car in front and all the officers were crowding into that car and sitting in each others lap.

I asked the driver if the car was for me and he said, "Yes", and opened the back door for me.  The officers were all piled into only one car and I had the other car all to myself.  All the way into post they were in front of us and we could see the brass all crowded up and I could spread out all over the back seat.  "No Fraternization" was sort of stupid and the driver and I did enjoy the sight.

We were talking as we rode into town and I told him that our apartment was only a block south of post and he said that he would just drop me by home.  We decided that the brass didn't know what I was doing on their plane and they didn't ask me.  They probably radioed for enough cars but only two were available then and they must have thought that I had an "official" need to be there.

The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.
Ayn Rand 
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