“7 High”

Recollections of a Combat Defense Squadron “Ramp Rat”

“AWOL Bag”

AWOL, ”Absent Without Official Leave” is a funny name for a piece of luggage.  I can only guess at the origins.  It might have been all you took with you when you went over the wall.  A few guys did that at Lackland, but we weren’t allowed to have the bag until we had orders.

 

This is my AWOL bag, purchased at the Lackland AFB base exchange in October 1960.  September 2009, the zipper still works.

 

The primary purpose of the display on the bag was for use in hitch hiking.  We would set the bag were it could be seen by oncoming motorists.  Hitch hiking was a common method of transportation for members of our armed forces during the forties fifties and early sixties.  It was possible to travel faster in this mode than by bus or train.  Veterans always picked up the military in uniform and frequently drove out of their way to get us to our destinations.

 

Attached to the handle on my bag is an array of carry on baggage tags.

These tags provide a bit of history, in themselves.  They are, left to right:

MATS McGuire AFB

Northwest Orient Airlines Imperial Service

Delta Airlines (Stamped Nov 27, 1962)

AF Form 94 for AF Flight from Bunker Hill AFB to Forbes AFB

Medical Evacuation Zaragoza AB to Torrejon AB (for Wife of A2C)

Moron AB to Torrejon AB (as we departed España)

 

Some closer views: