8-21-2012
Today's "Blast From The Past" comes from Phil Lenz who started his radio career while serving in the Army in 1967. He was stationed at the Bien Hoa Air Base, which is where he decided to build a radio station that would appeal to a 19- or 20-year-old GI.
While AFVN, the Armed Forces Station in Saigon was playing Percy Faith, Mitch Miller, and Engelbert Humperdinck, he would play top 40 hits like Sam & Dave, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Canned Heat, and Country Joe & the Fish. Lenz says he built a makeshift studio in a "Conex Box" (a corrugated shipping container). When he wasn?t live, he would play hundreds of airchecks of popular stations from back in the States. The station became recognized by the Base and became a critical force of information during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Do you have a "Blast From The Past" with a great story like Phil's? Send it to edryantheeditor@gmail.com
