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Mukluk Malfunction |
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On a trip to Sondy, we stopped in Yellowknife to refuel both airplane and crew. While the rest of the crew were inside getting whatever we needed, the engineer and I were out at the aircraft doing whatever we normally did and he was looking a little blue around the gills. The engineer was A.T. Hithe, a really huge man of around six feet five inches and weighing a good 285 pounds. |
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As I said, we were doing our thing when he came over and told me he needed to go inside, but he didn't think that he could make it because his feet were freezing. I looked down, and he had on his MUKLUKS, so I couldn't figure just why his feet were getting so cold. The boots should have been more than enough to keep his feet warm. So, we went into the C-130 and started the GTC to warm his feet. When he took off his boots, he did not have any of the thick, felt insulating inserts in place. He thought that they were just packing material, so he had thrown them away when he first got the boots. He was just wearing socks with the MUKLUKS. Needless to say, we all got a very long and deep laugh out of that one. (Story which occurred circa 1971 courtesy of Ernie Barnett, Firebird Loadmaster) |
Photo courtesy of Omaha's GI Surplus USAF Mukluks See insert: The dark colored insoles are made of felt and go on the bottom inside surface of the mukluks. Then, wool socks are worn inside a heavy wool booty which goes between the foot and mukluk. The "set" includes felt sole pads, a heavy wool bootie, and a tall zip up canvas outer shell. |
