Saturday, August 29, 2009

O.K., RON, YOU ASKED FOR IT...

Dear Ron (and everyone else, too),

You asked me to take a photo of your "old" room in Dorm #307, so...on August 18, 2009, while I was on a mission to photograph the old Armed Force Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) building (#155) on Iraklion Air Station, I made my way over to Dorm #307. There were workers nearby working on adjacent buildings, and I knew they would run me off if they found me there...breaching the fenced-in area of the old dorms. But with the stealth of an SR-71, I slipped passed their watchful eyes...and found myself on the backside of Dorm #307. I entered the building from the middle doors about midway at the back of the building. Once inside, I made my way past debris on the floor, and various obstacles hanging from the ceiling like insulation, wires, metal framework and assorted wires. I turned left and started up the stairway...I gently placed my foot on each step, not knowing if it would bear my weight or if would collapse, burying me beneath piles of concrete and steel. Upon reaching the second floor, I peered down the west end of the hallway and then the east end of the hallway, looking to see if there were any other unauthorized intruders in the building. I turned left again and started up the stairway to the third floor, again carefully placing my foot on each step to see if it would support my weight. At the top of the stairs, I peered down the east end of the hallway; it was littered with debris but not as much as what was on the first and second floors. I walked down the hallway...slowly, deliberately...glancing into each room as I passed by. I didn't want to be surprised by some vagrant or squatter. At the end of the east hallway, I looked into the room that faced the highway. It was in poor condition. The lockers had been broken into, and the windows had been broken, but it was actually in better condition than most rooms on the first and second floors. I pulled my Nikon D200 from its case and began to shoot...














UPPER LEFT PHOTO: Ron Samson's room in Dorm #307. This view was looking south out his window.
UPPER RIGHT PHOTO: Ron Samson's room in Dorm #307. This was the west side of his room looking at the wall lockers.
















UPPER LEFT PHOTO: Ron Samson's room in Dorm #307, looking slightly southwest out his window.
UPPER RIGHT PHOTO: Ron Samson's room in Dorm #307, looking in a slightly northwest direction.















UPPER LEFT PHOTO: Ron Samson's room in Dorm #307, facing in a northeasterly direction.

O.K., Ron, the good news is that I got the photos of your old dorm room as you requested. The bad news is that you have been called back to active duty and are to report immediately to Iraklion Air Station so that you can...CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM!!!


Your Friend and Fellow "Silent Warrior",


Bob Armistead

6 comments:

mac said...

Hey Bob,Don't know about you but the rooms shown are sure nicer then what I had .We had two to three wall lockers in each room.Push out windows.Wonder what they will make out of this barracks.

Bob (Bobby) said...

Dear Mac,
Yes, these rooms are a lot nicer. Mine just had hard tile floors, no wall paper and no carpeting. I had wall lockers as well. I think they had also installed central heating and air-conditioning in the dorms as well.

Your Friend and Fellow "Silent Warrior",

Bob

mac said...

Check out the DOUBLE pane windows also.
Wonder what they plan on doing with the old CE area.The beach area seems to have cleaned up alot.Bet by the time we get back there next year many changes will have been made.Thanks again for all your efforts.

Bob (Bobby) said...

Dear Mac,

Yes, I am certain that many changes will have occurred when we return next year for our little mini-reunion. But, for those who have not been back since the base closed, I am sure that the appearance of the base will still come as quite a shock. But, regardless of how the base looked back years ago, or how it looks today, or how it will look next year, all of us will always have our own wonderful, personal memories of Iraklion Air Station!

Your Friend and Fellow "Silent Warrior",

Bob

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for making this extra effort. Unfortunately, this is not my room. The layout is 180 deg out. My room must have been the next one down (don't go back!!). When I walked into my room, the lockers were on the left, my bed was on the right. There was a standard metal desk in front of the window. This is totally my mistake and I feel terrible about it. On the plus side, the ammenities are exactly as I remember them, with the three section locker (yes, the doors are gone). We did not have A/C (trust me, I would remember that) The ducting down the center of the hallway was for heat. We had an earthquake once and it sounded as if someone was beating on the ducting with a sledgehammer.
Are we still friends?

Bob (Bobby) said...

Dear Ron,

That is O.K. But are you sure this was not your room? There was not another room further down. This was the very last room on the third floor, on the east end of the hallway, facing the highway. Is it possible that the lockers were re-positioned as part of a re-conditioning of the dorm? I know that when I visited my old room on the first floor of Dorm #307, the wall lockers had been re-conditioned.

Your Friend and Fellow "Silent Warrior",

Bob