This happened in the time period of 68-77, but I remember making a SSB
contact with one of our destroyers in the Arabian Sea. Toward the end,
the operator casually asked if I had phone patch capability. When I
answered yes, he asked if I would run a few. Well, I did, and the
number just kept getting larger to the point I asked for a special
long distance operator to stay with me.
To make a long story shorter, those calls went on for almost 9 hours.
Everyone on the ship placed one, and AT&T stood by me like a champ.
Finally, it was over, but I had not heard the operator of the station
ask, so I asked him if he wanted to make one. His reply was that he
was an orphan, with no family. I asked him to stand by, disconnected
the patch, and explained the situation to the operator. She gladly
accepted, and my next transmission was to the ship operator telling
him I had a phone patch for him.
I put the AT&T operator on the patch, and they chatted for about 20
minutes. I do remember they exchanged addresses, but not much else.
When they finished, I asked her to bill me for the call, and she said,
"No, this one is on us."
I was delightedly surprised a couple of months later to receive a very
nice certificate from the Captain of the DD expressing his
appreciation. That piece of wallpaper has hung for a long time.
Some MARS work also, but that day was special.
73
Ed
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