Click to jump to contributors' stories by base, or scroll through them below.

Ankara High School 1950 - Present
The only comprehensive online resource for students and faculty of the DOD high school, George C. Marshall Regional High School, affectionately referred to as Ankara High School. Reunion info too.

Andrew Hall's Multiple Tours in Turkey
Ankara and Incirlik plus other Turkey duty for Andrew Hall is detailed in his brief page. (See Incirlik, too)

A Brief History of Ankara
An interesting new book about the city and environs!

Jimmy Carter, A/2C, 1957-59
interesting comments and pictures of Ankara.

TSGT Frank Cook (USAF Ret.)
Frank Remembers Ankara, 1995, covered in Hurriyet  newspaper!

Ron Harmon
TUSLOG Det 3 at Ankara, 1955, site surveys etc.

George C. Marshall High School
Reunion information of the former Ankara American High School (Embassy High School)

David Mitchell
was stationed in Ankara in 1968 and 1969. His tale - soon to be expanded - will give you a hint as to where his story goes.

Fred Moore
details two tours in Ankara 1982-1986 and 1991-1993 and since 2003 he's been in Incirlik!

Edward O'Brien married wife Jan while he was in the Air Force and when offered an early reenlistment - and a trip to Turkey - he accepted. Both had a wonderful time and Edward details some of the exploits of 1968 and 1970 in Ankara.

Michael (John) Nagle
TUSLOG Det 3 at Ankara, 1956

Don Rostad
writes his story of 1965 Ankara and his service with JUSMMAT and some exciting occurrences while there. Click his name and read on!

LtCol Eldon Sanders (USAF Ret.) 1948
Ankara and our first military efforts in Turkey

Darwin Sator was the first to be stationed at TUSLOG Det. 30, Ankara. Enjoy his page featuring a brisk portrayal of his wonderful times in Turkey, and also his book, "The Turcophile File" by clicking the ad on his page.

Tommy Schmitt
Advisor to the Turkish military, Tommy Schmitt, today an FAA inspector, relates "A Lesson Learned" from his earlier years in Ankara

Delbert Thomas
Hurriyet newspaper coverage of the return to Ankara in 2000

Chris White
L20s, people and the rodeo in 1957-59

John Hurst
brings some details about life in Balikesir in 1979-1980. Enjoy the stories!

Mary Humphrey
Click name to send for reunion info.

David Blose
My Çakmakli photos from 1976

Lyndon Rose
A series of stories about 1972-73 life just west of Istanbul with Detachment 67, the Army's artillery headquarters. Lots of great pictures!

Lindsey Werden
brings the art of coping to a new level in an outpost west of Istanbul called "The Chock"!

Richard J. Campbell, Msgt USAF(Ret)
Jupiter missiles In Turkey, 1962-63

Ken Swedroe
gives insight into a 1968-1970 stint at Cigli/Izmir and then updates us on a recent trip back in 2004!

Dale Endreson
1978 beginnings of a coming series of stories about several duty stations in Turkey at which he was stationed.

Doug Wright
What Corlu was all about - 1957-1961

Bruce P. Barrett joins our contributors roster. He began his service in Diyarbakir in 1958 and has quite a few good memories of his time in Turkey. Read on...

Jack Selig
reflects on his time spent reflecting signals up to the Troposphere from a mountainous region west of Diyarbakir, Turkey near Malatya. It begs the question: "what's a guy from Wichita Falls, Texas doing..."

Steve Slezak
A bit of humor from a valued Armed Forces Radio and TV guy, 1970-71 at Diyarbakir and Trabzon.

Dave Sorenson
Karamursel, 1958 and Diyarbakir, 1965. Two tours in Turkey! (Also listed under Karamursel)

Ray Thomas
Turkish military saved his life in 1962!

Bud Trill
Diyarbakir, 1955 - great photos!

 John S. Wilkinson's well researched information on the closure of Diyarbakır air base in 1997, and the story of this important military center is presented in answer to the many questions we've received regarding Diyarbakır's status.

John Nett
Unusual duty, in an unusual duty station near Ankara, now a major ski area.

 Rick Moore
A "military brat" used to traveling the world, lands duty in the high eastern plateau area of Turkey: Erzurum! (first part now online)

 Jim Partica
shares positive lessons learned from his time stationed on "the Rock." He actually volunteered for duty at what once was a historic center of the Roman and Byzantine empires of eastern Anatolia.

 Barney Shows
stationed at Tuslog Detachment 98, Erzurum, Turkey

John Shumway
Life for a teen, 1974-76

Gerald Steck
Eskesehir, 1968-69

Phil Toth
Aboard USS Kalamazoo which visited Gölcük in 1985.

Lt. Col Michael Bartley, USAF, JAG (Ret.)
The extensive memoirs of an officer who served four - count 'em 4 - tours in Turkey. He's writing it as a serial, so check back! More than 60 photos thumbnailed on the page!

Alfred Cammarata joins our group of correspondents with his duty at Incirlik and Iskenderun, among other places. A description of duty in Turkey's southeast corner is like being there! Also, we thank Al for his support of MerhabaTurkey.com!

Joe Coughlin
Read Joe's memories of Karatas, Incirlik and Bob Hope. Photo of his buddies too.

Perry "Ike" Eisenhower
tells the story of TUSLOG Det 76, 1957 - 1966, a fascinating look behind the scenes.

Steven Dutch
touches down in Incirlik during his 1991 tour of duty in the Gulf War, his diary, photos.

Stan Fader's Incirlik 1963-1964
A trip back to the post Kennedy era and insights into his daily life. Great photos!

Andrew Hall's Multiple Tours in Turkey
Ankara and Incirlik plus other Turkey duty for Andrew Hall is detailed in his brief page. (See Ankara listing, too)

Gary Hamm
is another Two Tour Wonder - serving twice at Incirlik/Adana.

Peggy Hyatt-Buchanan
brings the views of a "dependent" to our site with her 70's memories of Inçirlik.

Glenn Knight
A letter about 1980 Incirlik tragedy.

Fred Moore
Is in Incirlik now - 2006 and writes about one of favorite restaurants. Makes your mouth water!

Ron Radliff
A stunning, picture-filled journey around Incirlik and Adana from a prolific and talented photographer (and former serviceman).

Charlie Sibert
gives us a sweeping view of his entire career with the U.S. Air Force, the core of which are his experiences in Incirlik in 1958 and 1959, thence to Dreux Air Base in central France. The experiences are told directly and fully, giving the reader the feeling of having been there. Enjoy!

Mark Wilkerson
Provides Incirlik Images.

Available as PDF and Microsoft Word files are some documents which have turned up recently related to the Military Traffic Management Command's seaport operations in Turkey, originally TUSLOG Det. 33-3. There are three files. Click to download these newsletters.

Alfred Cammarata joins our group of correspondents with his duty at Incirlik and Iskenderun, among other places. A description of duty in Turkey's southeast corner is like being there!

Ed Roberts, An Air Force Sergeant, assigned to an Army facility in Iskenderun, a small seaport (then) in extreme southeastern Turkey.

SPC Jim Baldwin
Gets something off his chest in a brief, but telling, story of his time in Istanbul (actually nearby Ortaköy). He winds up by saying his entire tour of duty was an adventure!

Oscar Mark Mankopf, CW2 USAR Ret.
Transferred from TUSLOG Detachment 27 to Det 4-3 (a new one to us), running a boat between Istanbul and Sinop carrying troops for that destination. Back and forth, many trips, but also much time "gettin' rowdy" in Istanbul! Read on...

Col. John E. Perez USAF (Ret) Istanbul
Memories and images, 1967-69

Richard D. Wilson CTO1, USNR-R
Istanbul in 1959 with many historic photos and a very rare copy of Det 12's Information Pamphlet - the only one we know exists.

Izmir High Sultans' Alumni Yahoo group/club

is for the proud alumni of Izmir High School.

George W. "Bill" Adams, Det 34
Izmir in 1956-1958 for this Airman Second Class (US Navy).

Roger Henry
served in Izmir and Samsun in 1969 and 1970 where he was a "tropo man" and his photos of the Tropospheric Scatter installations are awesome, as are the pictures of Ephesus, which he looked down on from his mountaintop near Izmir.

Dalene Horton
writes her memoir of being a military wife and working for the Tumpane Company in Izmir. She includes lighthearted pictures of her boss - the man behind the company, David Tumpane - as well.

Kathy Miller Guerard
Izmir in the late 50s and early 60s.

Les Legear was stationed at Detachment 5 in Izmir 1970 and 1971. He tells the story of a recent cruise to Turkey where he opted for a side trip back to the "hole in the mountain" called Disco Hit - and more. Click his name and read on!

Greg Natsch
A past - and future - denizen of Izmir details his short, but wide ranging, tour in Izmir in Emergency Medical Services. A wonderful story, but with a personal, poignant twist at the very end.

Lt. Neil S. Reyer
was transferred to Izmir from Laon,Air Base in France. His mission was oversee construction of the Kordon Hotel, and to hire and train the staff. You'll enjoy the many photos of this endeavor, and the Kordon's 1967 Grand Opening. The hotel is still there, and has become an upscale tourist destination.

Larry and Sonja Sanderson
Early 1960s Izmir.

Harlow J. Morgan, Jr.
Memories & images of Det 97, 1971-72

Kevin O'Neill's story of duty near Izmit (now Kocaeli) at the east end of the Marmara Sea.

Click here to visit their website. For visitors to merhabaturkey.com we have - with KAS60-61's permission - listed their members in our far left column so other people stationed at Karamursel might find names familiar to them and want to contact them by visiting the KAS60-61 website.

Here's a New 7-15-2008 photo of the Karamursel base. We also have a 4/9/2008 (older) aerial version here, and the original look of the site five years ago seen here. (the photos are not identical due to the fact they're taking from flyovers and therefore the trajectories are not exact.) Open both in separate web browsers and see all the new construction that has gone on. See any sights you remember "from the old days?" Caution: large photos. GoogleEarth Coordinates at American flag pole at the base Admin building: 40.696090, 29.534037)

KTUS Radio Station
Website started in 2003 for station personnel. Great site originated by Don Brown and now operated by Larry Webb!

Catholic calendar
Christmas, 1963 - image sent by Steve Phipps

Karamursel Air Station Brochure
Early 1960s - maps, pics, etc.

Karamursel Common Defense Installation Brochure
Early 1970s - maps, aerials, etc.

KTUS "Soundwave"
27 March 1958, first issue!, contributed by Ed Watts Special orders Issued at Karamursel or to send people to Turkey

Deacon Ray Allor
Flying to Ankara to join Det 3, only to find out Det 3 had been moved to Karamursel would be a head-scratcher for many, but Deacon Ray knew how to roll with the punches...and a mail truck on a dusty road to Karamursel.

Don Becker
Gets orders to Karamursel Turkey 1957-59

CT3 Neil Berg
The "other" radio station at Karamursel, 1957-58 - page completely revised with original photos of construction and opening ceremony March, 1958

Dave Bergstrom
May 1959 - October 1960

Ron Bluemer
Early 1960s at Karamursel

Paul A. Brady
Remembers Karamursel, 1967-68

John Brasko, Jr.
Views of Karamursel, 1973-73 as well as an edition of "The Quill" base newsletter.

Mark Carlson
Karamursel & area. 1970-74. / professional quality photos

Jan Claire
Mainsite and WUSN photos

Lowell Cook
Karamursel, 1974

Dave Councill
Karamursel High, 1973-76 as covered in Hurriyet newspaper and his own website

David Devlin, Joined the Air Force, served his country well, and - as he says - "kept their secrets." An interesting and 4-year-spanning story of his military life - Keesler, March, Karamursel, including free-time work at KTUS. Lots of pics!

Tony DiCrescenzo
See the Det 28 motorpool plus Det 28 parades.

Cliff Ferguson
TUSLOG Det 28, 59-61

John Fitz
TUSLOG Det 28 in the late 50s

Joe Gignac
TUSLOG Det 3 in the late 50s

Karamursel Forum
All services 1960-61 check it out

Larry Holeman
Alice Holeman offers the "spouse's point of view" of living in Turkey in the '60s and again in the '70s.

Robin Hood
On being a kid at Karamursel, 1967-71.

Pete Johnson
Ships out to Karamursel, 1960.

Keith Kitchens
Russian Language School and Karamursel

John LeMoine
Getting to Karamursel and being there in 1963.

Duane Lueders
US Navy, TUSLOG Det 28, 1960-'61. Glad to have you on board, Duane!

Joe Lutz
TUSLOG Det 28, late 1950s

Mary Maguire Davis
writes about the establishment of a Women in the Air Force squadron at Karamursel in 1969. Perhaps you are one of the people in the group photo? If so, let Mary know!

Chuck Maki
Turkey in August 1957 (Originator of this website.)

Gerald McChesney
Great story and photos of Gerald's tour at Karamursel.

Dick Middleton
Life in Karamursel with kids, 1959-62

Allen Moon
joins Karamursel "Common Defense Installation" in 1976 - just about the time the base was set to be closed down. He probably was the guy you bought your postage stamps from!

George Morton
Sometimes it takes a while to get what you really want.

Roger Mullings
The Pictures of Karamursel Det 28 1965-1967 from Roger CTR1 USN (Ret) on his own website.

Karamursel High
Paul Normal's KHS 1973-74 website!

Dawn Pate
With the dispensary, 1957-59

Ken Patterson
Transmitter technician, stationed in Karamursel June 1961 - December, 1962.

Bob Peterson
Karamursel area, 1970-71

Danny Ricketts
thoughts and pics of his Mainsite years 1961-63

Rudy Ruediger
Pictures of Karamursel and area, 1959-61

Ed Sachs
Karamursel, 1960-1962 and living in Yalova, Ed is on board with some of his memories - more to come!

Dave Sorenson
Karamursel, 1958 and Diyarbakir, 1965. Two tours in Turkey! (Also listed under Diyarbakir)

Carlton Thigpen, Jr.
My Time At Mainsite - a fine memoir.

Thomas Tipton
was nine years old when he and his family went to Karamursel where his father managed the "chow hall" on the base. Thomas gives us the view of a youngster confronted by the busy Karamursel Air Station. A refreshing change from the strictly military stories.

John Tudbury
Two lives: Military brat in Ankara, early '60s and serving in the Air Force 1974-'76! Read both stories.

Bill Waters
Karamursel base and area, 1966-67

Ed Watts
Karamursel and area, 1958!

Ron Wood
The legal scene, 1961-63

Jack Selig is new on board MerhabaTurkey.com with reflections on his time at a Tropospheric Scatter site in a mountainous region west of Diyarbakir, Turkey. His story is pithy and fun, meaning we can't wait for further updates!

Jack Bailey
Manzarali Station Sept. 1961 - June 1963

Roy Des Ruisseaux
TUSLOG Det 27 Manzarali Station, 1961-62

Doug Haynes
The 1960s

Phil Kelly

Manzarali Station, early 1960s

Rob Nearpass
Mauler newspaper and flag football memories, 1965

Ted Dubrawsky
Writes his memories of TUSLOG Det 16-3 at Murted.

Jim Baldwin
Another 10th USAFAD service man joins our ranks of American Military serving in Turkey, in this section of Istanbul noted for the Bogaziçi Bridge and the waterfront Mosque, the Grand Imperial Mosque of Sultan Abdülmecid. 528th USAAG.

Paul Leiner
Paul informs us about his duty station with 10th USAFAD 528th USAAG.

Dennis Luessenheide brings us a fascinating story. "I was part of the original group to activate Sahin Tepsi/Sahintepe Air Station & open “Turkey Tropo of Med-Com Tropo” in 1963..." opens his account of his time at Sahintepe and it provides fascinating reading about one of the foremost communication methods of its time.

Pat Shediack
TUSLOG Detachment 150

Aerial Shot #1 of Samsun today...and another view. Here's what the base at Samsun looks like as of July, 2008.

George Campbell
TUSLOG Det 3-2 website, late 1960s

Tony Cote
savors his time in northern Turkey and offers succinct impressions of his time there in the U.S. Air Force.

Terry Frock
TUSLOG Det 3-2 great collection of his photos including Dog Trick photo from 1962.

Stan Hood arrives with great memories of the "real Samsun" during his tour there 1960-1961. Great photos of the old base, as well.

Dave Matteson
Pictures of Samsun, Trabzon, and Karamursel - early 60s

Michael (John) Nagle
Ankara, Trabzon, and Karamursel, 1956

Mike Pollastro
B-Man Comes to Samsun, 1966-67

Thom Thompson
details his journey and time spent with American Forces Radio & Television Service, Samsun.

Wayne Tiller
brings us a detailed description, mostly from a great memory and letters written home, of his time in Turkey - including more about the Bear the "Samsuners" had as a mascot.

Scott Desrochers
1989 Sinop photos offsite web page with a complete welcome packet to the base in Sinop plus other photos.

Frank Fitzhenry
Aerial Views of Sinop, early 1960s

Elder Green
Elder R. C. Green's ASA in Turkey Newsletter

Joe Howard
Wonderful stories, links to his photos, too!

Phillip Hotton
A series of letters from Phil about times in Sinop.

Bob Heitzinger
Sinop and Karamursel were among his duty stations. Photos and interesting tidbits.

Rick Hudson
1965-66 covered in Hurriyet newspaper!

Ken Kushi
This is Ken's "Sinop By The Sea" page!

Harry Lance
1959-60 story and pictures.

Jay Musikar
1962-63 Sinop photos page

Lee Neeley
1957-58.

Larry Ridgway
Web page recounting 1973-74 and 1982-83 at Det 4. Great photos!

Bill Simons
1959-60 information. Also visit his SINOP PAGE

Danny Shepherd USN
Sinop/1965 - army certificate for navy comrades!

Otis Slusher
Sinop, 1965-66.

Ken Workman
Pictures of Sinop, 1965-67

Jack Eckert
Stories about U.S. Coastguard life on the north coast of the Marmara Sea west of Istanbul at this Loran station. There's controversy over the T or the K spelling. In Turkish, Kargaburun means "pliers". Jack says it's "T". Coast Guard spells it with a "K". Go figure.

Trabzon (left)as it looks today.
Google Earth coordinates are:
40°59'39.69"N 39°43'54.40"E
(Click photo to enlarge.)

Tom Bock
Recalls Trabzon, 1966-67

We welcome a new contributor, Wayne Bohannon, has supplied a pictorially interesting take of "the old days" in Trabzon and a story to match. A little spare right now, but he plans to add more as time goes by - and memories occur.

Mike Chapman
Trabzon, 1963

Lew Culkin fires off a multi-faceted report on his 1958-1959 tour at "Trab." It is a nicely illustrated tale of his life in a small military unit coupled with the complications of having to travel back to the U.S. for emergency leave, and the build-up of the Trabzon base overlooking the Black Sea.

John Duhaime
1958-59 Trabzon and the things a maintenance guy goes through.

Jack Gallimore
Trabzon homepage

Ron Harmon
A Trabby from 17 March 1958 - 2 March 1959

Larry Jaffe
Trabzon 1966-67 - 104 new photos added 2/3/2008!

Tom Karjala
Images of Trabzon,1959

Ed Kohler
Trabzon, 1959

Michael (John) Nagle
At Ankara, Samsun, and Karamursel, 1956

Jim Palmer
is aboard with photos of leisure time in Trabzon/Boztepe where he was stationed July 1956-July 1957.

William "Smokey" Stover
1962-63 Trabzon