"Radio First Termer" verification

[Bluehawk]

Here's what may or may not be a poser for USMF Vietnam historians:

 

I've recently been involved in a dispute having to do with the identity of one SSgt "Dave Rabbit" who, it is said, operated a pirate radio program broadcast sometime in the early 1970s, out of Phan Rang and/or Saigon, using equipment "requisitioned from midnite supply".

 

Here is a website purporting to record this:

http://www.ibiblio.org/jwsnyder/rft/rft.html

 

And, here is the wikipedia entry for it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_First_Termer

 

The difficulty is that I'm told there have been several people claiming to be "Dave Rabbit", and (what is even more vexing) the current "Dave Rabbit" ferociously refuses to provide his true name (i.e. the one used on his DD214).

 

Therefore, his military service record cannot be traced, if so desired... possibly important because he is a very active online promoter of "Radio First Termer", himself as "Dave Rabbit", of numerous war events or personalities, shows a Purple Heart among his awards, and claims 3 tours in-country... all of which may be factual, or not. There have been a couple of problems with fact-checking certain other statements he has made as well.

 

Rather than impugn a man's integrity on a SVA basis, several people are attempting to come at the problem of identifying "Dave Rabbit" some other way.

 

Does anyone here have any knowledge of "Radio First Term" or who the real "Dave Rabbit" was, or is?

[Bob Hudson]

I spent 30 years in broadcasting as a DJ/announcer and I have to say that after reading some of the alleged details, I have to wonder....

 

The first thing is the "godfather of pirate radio" label this one alleged Dave throws around: pirate radio was alive and well and big stuff in the UK in the 60's and anyone who calls themself the "godfather of pirate radio" after allegedly doing 21 shows in obscurity in 1971 is kind of full of it. In 1967 the Who did their pirate radio concept album "The Who Sell Out" and if this guy was as music-savvy as he purports to be, he should have been aware of that and the UK pirate radio hoopla. So, I score points off his story for shameless use of a totally undeserved title.

 

I also wonder about the broadcasting on "69 mhz"? If this was the case then his listeners would have needed a PRC-25 to listen to him and he would have needed a compatible military-frequency transmitter to broadcast. It would have to be a heavy duty transmitter as most military transmitters are not designed to continuous service broadcasting for several hours at once: they were made for short two-way communications and if you've worked on transmitters (as I have) you know that heat can become a real issue. But this guy gives no indication that they used a military frequency and very much implies that they could be received on regular FM radios writes "Since we were going to be broadcasting in FM, we had a full dial to choose from to use as our broadcast frequency so I picked my favorite number 69, and the rest as they say, is history." He also wrote, "Vietnam, in just 30 seconds your radio experience will change forever. Turn your radios to 69 Megahertz on your FM dial."

 

Also troubling thing is his statement "During our run, we did do a few crazy things that drove the base commander crazy." He was supposedly broadcasting from a brothel in Saigon - who was Saigon's "base commander?" I assume the reference is to the CO of Ton Son Nhut Air Base and that officer apparently had time to pay attention to a late night radio show that ran for just three weeks.

 

You do have to wonder why this guy has not come forward with a name: it's not like that "base commander" is still waiting in the wings to bust him, and why have none of the other people involved come forward: it takes a fair amount of work and technical savvy to procure and rig up a bootleg radio transmitter with and antenssa and an interface for audio equipment. "Dave" writes, "Not counting the hotel full of whores, we now had a group of about 10 trusted people that knew what we were going to do."

 

The only other name that does come out is "Jim Brookshire." In several places someone alleging to be Dave writes that "It is no secret that I originally created Radio First Termer in Saigon in 1971 because of the death of my roommate and good friend Jim Brookshire back in Phan Rang." Yet in the about.com accounts, he writes, "I did it for the guys, like a good friend of mine who was in the Army from High School, who was killed in Nam." So was it his Phan Rang roommate or high school buddy?

 

I looked at some of the names that have been suggested as the possible real ID and was surprised to see Art Bell on the list. It happens to be that Art and I worked together in late 1971 at KUDE Radio, Oceanside CA: I know he was not on duty earlier that year in Vietnam and if Art has done Radio First Termer he would not be shy about claiming it.

[Bluehawk]

Thank you, for that^

 

Whew, well, that pretty well cements (for me) the probability that those of us who have had a tough time accepting all those claims were not being quite as "picky" as we were accused of being...

 

Re: "Jim Brookshire" (the proverbial icing on the cake): He stated, repeatedly, that Jim was his best friend, that Jim was KIA at Phan Rang "sometime in late May 1970" during a stand off attack, "just a couple of hours before my Freedom Flight home out of Cam Ranh Bay."

 

a. There were exactly 2 US deaths at Phan Rang in 1970, one in early March, and one in late July.

 

b. Both of those personnel were USAF.

 

c. Neither of them answered to the name "Jim" or "Brookshire" by any spelling.

 

d. There is no "Jim Brookshire" listed on the Virtual Wall.

 

e. When confronted with those four facts, he claimed a "confidentiality agreement with Jim's parents" not to reveal that name, and that he wasn't sure of either the correct spelling of his best friend's name, nor the exact date of his loss.

 

f. He said his failing memory and PTSD were interfering with his recollections.

 

I have asked the new AMVETS StolenValor.org to look into it. They may or may not.

[Bluehawk]

Does this uniform and insignia conform with what an airman would have been wearing in 1970-71 Vietnam (note photoshopped name strip)?

[Bluehawk]

one bump

[Bob Hudson]

f. He said his failing memory and PTSD were interfering with his recollections.

 

 

The whole Jim Brookshire thing is the most damning. Again we only need to read two of his quotes:

 

"It is no secret that I originally created Radio First Termer in Saigon in 1971 because of the death of my roommate and good friend Jim Brookshire back in Phan Rang."

 

OR

 

"I did it for the guys, like a good friend of mine who was in the Army from High School, who was killed in Nam."

 

And he does the same sort of thing when he says he had a "confidentiality agreement with Jim's parents" OR has "failing memory."

 

Yet he still wrote a very long 3,500-word article that has incredible detail about everything except things and people that would allow verification of anything: http://radio.about.com/od/pirateradio/a/aa021506a.htm - that story is dated 2008.

[Bluehawk]

FS

 

What do you think in terms of the uniform and insignia conforming to the era.

 

It appears to be in the ballpark, to me - but does anyone notice anything at all about it or the patches etc. that would be an alert of some sort? I wish I knew uniforms better to not have to ask this.

 

About six months ago this matter surfaced, and at first I just took it to be one of those hyper Vietnam buddy websites - but soon I began getting whiffs of extreme exaggeration driven by survivor's guilt or something. It went beyond simple bad memory or ignorance.

 

What galled some people involved is that in the 13,000+ search hits for Radio First Termer, not a single one has to do with questioning the veracity!

 

I'm thinking it's settled now, thanks to your insights.

[Bob Hudson]

FS

 

What do you think in terms of the uniform and insignia conforming to the era.

 

It appears to be in the ballpark, to me - but does anyone notice anything at all about it or the patches etc. that would be an alert of some sort? I wish I knew uniforms better to not have to ask this.

 

That photo of him with the beret is one of those studio photos where they give you prop uniforms to wear. Downtown San Antonio was full of them to serve the recent boot camp graduates from Lackland AFB. In the 60's the popular thing was to get your portrait taken while wearing a leather flight jacket, white scarf and crusher, even though you were a fresh recruited enlisted man.

 

Someone who served in Saigon might know if there were studios doing the same thing there, but with the beret and scarf that for sure was not his own stuff: the shirt, it's hard to say, but it looks a bit too pressed and tidy. But really, the dubiousness of the clothing pales compared to what he has written.

 

It would be nice if someone comes forward with something to prove what he has written, although, to tell the truth, operating a bootleg radio station for a mere three weeks until you got nervous does not make you a cult hero, but when you read the tons of stuff this guy has said about himself, that does seem to be his intent and you'd think that he really was the Godfather of pirate radio and one brave rebel.

 

Now if he'd operated the station until the "base commander" had the MP's storm the brothel, shoot the transmitter and haul Dave off to the brig then he'd have a story...

[DiGilio]

I wonder if someone can do a sound/speech comparison of the original recordings of Dave Rabbit and the guy who claims to be him and see if they match. There already is recordings of both available.

[Bluehawk]

Thanks folks...

 

My mind has been made up - primarily because it has been SO difficult to get him to come across with key pieces of information, and now what you have pointed out just clinches the hunches.

 

Again, thanks for making time to deal with it.

[gwb123]

Does this uniform and insignia conform with what an airman would have been wearing in 1970-71 Vietnam (note photoshopped name strip)?

 

He is wearing what appears to be a very clean ripstop ERDL jungle fatigue jacket. It would be right for the period. It's interesting that he does not wear camo in any of his other photos.

 

The shield on his left shoulder is the ARVN insignia for Military Police. This was commonly worn by USAF Security Police personnel guarding bases in Vietnam. The purpose was so that locals would recognize the airman wearing it as a Military Policeman with the same level of authority as their own.

 

I am puzzled by what the badge on the beret might be. It looks like an EOD badge, but it is hard to make out.

 

Some of his other photos support that he might have serve a tour with the Security Police. Note those of him standing next to the armored car. On the one where he is standing on top of it, it looks like he might be wearing the Military Police patch on his left shoulder, above his rank.

 

Note also the "kill" marks on the front of the vehicle.

 

For whatever "anti-military" stance this guy took, he seemed to have no problem being photographed geared up and holding a weapon.

 

He also appears to have had more than one tour in Vietnam, as you will note by the progression of rank on his uniform.

 

I have not listened to this gentleman's broadcasts, but there seems to be quite a library here.

[gwb123]

a couple more

[gwb123]

So did this guy have an earlier tour with a desk job?

[Bob Hudson]

He is wearing what appears to be a very clean ripstop ERDL jungle fatigue jacket. It would be right for the period. It's interesting that he does not wear camo in any of his other photos.

 

The shield on his left shoulder is the ARVN insignia for Military Police. This was commonly worn by USAF Security Police personnel guarding bases in Vietnam. The purpose was so that locals would recognize the airman wearing it as a Military Policeman with the same level of authority as their own.

 

I am puzzled by what the badge on the beret might be. It looks like an EOD badge, but it is hard to make out.

 

Some of his other photos support that he might have serve a tour with the Security Police. Note those of him standing next to the armored car. On the one where he is standing on top of it, it looks like he might be wearing the Military Police patch on his left shoulder, above his rank.

 

Note also the "kill" marks on the front of the vehicle.

 

For whatever "anti-military" stance this guy took, he seemed to have no problem being photographed geared up and holding a weapon.

 

He also appears to have had more than one tour in Vietnam, as you will note by the progression of rank on his uniform.

 

I have not listened to this gentleman's broadcasts, but there seems to be quite a library here.

 

 

Here is what he says about his USAF MOS:

 

"Upon graduation in May 1967, I made the intelligent decision that I was bored with school and did not want to go to college. So to avoid being drafted and going to Vietnam, I enlisted in the U. S. Air Force for four years. "I'll show them", I said. Therefore, on my 19th birthday, August 15, 1967, I left for basic training in Amarillo, Texas. From basic, I went to tech school for Ground Radio at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi.

 

After 6 weeks, I found out that I was colorblind and the Air Force gave me a choice of reassignment. I had the choice of Security Police or Supply. I chose SUPPLY and went to Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado. This Air Force career choice, unknown to me at the time, would be instrumental in my story. "

[Bluehawk]

Hmmmmm...

 

Maybe he was in a HQ SQ SEC of an Air Police unit? But, he says he went to supply.

 

So hard to be certain, without knowing his last name. Somewhere along the way he says he earned a PH... difficult to imagine for someone in Supply unless under attack on base or something?

 

It could all be settled so easily if he would provide his real name.

 

I keep thinking his story is some percentage authentic, and some percentage inflated. He just spends so much time talking about and documenting Vietnam, working with veterans (he says) and so on... but then the gaps appear, the questions go unanswered owing to "privacy" and "confidentiality" commitments.

 

Thank you guys for taking a look.

[gwb123]

He has other photos of him manning a desk later in his career.

 

Supply section for a Security Police unit? Entirely possible. Maybe he was just hanging out with the armored car guys to have his picture taken.

 

But then, what is with this Radio Phang Rang photo with the lower enlisted rank?

 

I am confused.

 

As for a veteran inflating their story..... um.... well, I think that has happened before. There I was, at 10,000 feet going into a 3G turn.....

[doyler]

Find this very intresting.The picture of the erdl uniform is consistant with the Air police as Gil stated.I have a similiar shirt in my collection.The beret is Vietnamese made common black variety. and avaiable at any VN tailor/vendor.

 

Dumb question....Why would he be disqual'd from radio tech school for color blindness and not from the Air Police??? :think:

 

RON

[gwb123]

Green and red lights on the the radio equipment? I was wondering the same thing. This is a very odd story indeed.

[Bluehawk]

Yup... there are Supply specialists who do nothing else, and then there are Clerks working in the offices of every unit under the sun, some doubling up on handling "the cage", I suppose.

 

I just wonder, now that you mention it, whether Radio Phan Rang may well have been something official and real, that maybe he was detailed to coordinate or be part of as to scheduling or something. That then got morphed into Dave Rabbit and Radio First Termer made possible by midnite supply and located in a Saigon whorehouse and the godfather of pirate radio.

 

Before I remembered exactly how to phrase things I'm sure I myself left the wrong impressions at times too... but this deal doesn't seem to be about unintentional mistakes.

 

Maybe he just got it rolling and before too long it got to where there was no going back.

 

The "Jim Brookshire" episode is troubling... anyhow. No biggie, just a puzzler.

[Bob Hudson]

There is zero indication he was with Air Police, not even in a supply capacity. Here's more from his own writing, showing

 

 

Towards the end of my tour at Cam Ranh, I went to personnel and selected my top three choices for stateside. I chose great bases with little chicken shinola factors. When my orders arrived I was excited, I was getting the hell out of Vietnam. I opened my orders to see what great assignment I had, and there it was, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Great! F**KED by the Air Force again.

 

Tinker was a depot base that was 90% civilian run with the 10% military being the step and fetch it boys. Now I find myself doing some really important work for the war effort by doing inventory control and counting nuts and bolts. Well, to quote an old country and western star I told them "take this job and shove it". I marched down to personnel and, you guessed it, volunteered for another Vietnam tour. In almost the time it took me to pack my bags, I was off to Phan Rang Air Base, Vietnam.

 

August 1969. Believe it or not, I was home. Unlike Cam Ranh, Phan Rang was considered an R & R site for the ground troops. We had an air-conditioned theater, swimming pool, movie stars (just kidding). I was assigned to Headquarters Squadron this time, not supply, and as I told you at the very beginning, FATE was going to lend a hand. I was roomed (cubicalled) with a fairly decent guy, but he was short and only was there a few days.

 

In one of his photo captions, it says, "While visiting the office of a friend who was in the security police..."

 

But he did get to play soldier:

 

[gwb123]

It's not beyond imagination that he has altered the name of his friend over time, as well as details of when and where he might of met his untimely end. It may well have been a coping mechanism for dealing with the loss of a friend, or his version of protecting the privacy of the fallen's family. Not to be critical of anyone, it wouldn't be the most bizarre thing that I've seen a legitimate vet do.

 

The problem with handling things that way is that with it slapped all over the internet in at least two different versions he now has people questioning the story.

[Bluehawk]

It's not beyond imagination that he has altered the name of his friend over time, as well as details of when and where he might of met his untimely end. It may well have been a coping mechanism for dealing with the loss of a friend, or his version of protecting the privacy of the fallen's family. Not to be critical of anyone, it wouldn't be the most bizarre thing that I've seen a legitimate vet do.

Quite so...

[Bob Hudson]

It's not beyond imagination that he has altered the name of his friend over time, as well as details of when and where he might of met his untimely end. It may well have been a coping mechanism for dealing with the loss of a friend. Not to be critical of anyone, it wouldn't be the most bizarre thing that I've seen a legitimate vet do.

 

The problem with handling things that way is that with it slapped all over the internet in at least two different versions he now has people questioning the story.

 

 

If you read his 3,500 word account, there is no hesitation and in fact most of us would me amazed at his apparent detailed memory of events of almost 40 years ago.

[Bluehawk]

FS

 

I generally tended to steer clear of Air Police , but does anyone know the plausibility of a clerical/supply type being detailed to man guard towers and sentry with firearms and minimal (if any) training etc.?

 

In reading some history of the USAF in Vietnam, I do recall that early in the war our APs were assigned only for security inside the wire, and it stayed that way until the heavy regular attacks got going in various places. But, in this instance we're talking about 1970-71 and I believe there were plenty of Security Police around by that time.

 

The apes I know are a very proud bunch, very specialized and serious-minded about their AFSC. It just doesn't seem likely, albeit anything is possible, to be pulling supply clerks out of HQ SECs (who would be doing their jobs?) for 30 days to reinforce sentry in Phan Rang or Saigon either one. But then, I have zero experience with such matters.

[ItemCo16527]

So far as I know, Dave Rabbit is legit. Some backstory:

 

A couple of years back, Greg "Opie" Hughes of the radio duo Opie and Anthony was going through boxes of old tapes he had had packed away. A lot of it was of his own radio stuff from over the years, but he wound up coming across several tapes of "Radio First Termer". They had been given to him sometime in the early 90s by his mentor, another DJ who goes by the name Scorch (he's still working up in the Rochester, NY area). I don't remember how Scorch came upon the tapes. However, being a Vietnam veteran himself, Scorch had confirmed that Rabbit was indeed a vet and apparently broadcast out of a whorehouse of all places. He even sold sweatshirts for a couple bucks each which featured an aroused rabbit holding a sign saying "F**k it before it f**ks you". I've heard several installments of Radio First Termer, and I found it pretty hilarious. O & A wound up doing an interview with him, but unfortunately I missed that show, and haven't been able to find it online to give it a listen.

 

If you've heard his show, I think you could agree his memory problems may have more to do with the drugs he claimed he was taking at the time, rather than anything PTSD-related. In most, it sounds like he's got enough opiates in him to knock down an elephant.

 

Edit:

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