Barry Goldwater
 

I came across this when looking for some vintage Swan ham radio information. For those too young, Barry ran for president on the Republican ticket against JFK.

http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/hamradio/gallery006.html

AuH2O !

Wonder where the car is now.

Is that an Air car?? Note decal.

LBJ not JFK. '64 Election. JFK was killed in November '63. Goldwater, when a member of the Senate, was the last elected official who was born in a Territory. He was unjustly villified in the '64 race for suggesting we use nuclear weapons to bring an end to the Vietnam conflict.

Absolutly right, thanks for the correction. I have no valid excuse for that that mistake.

A search of "Barry goldwater corvette" produces lots of results and this thread appeared in a Google search 10 miniutes after posting.

Looks like it is. Zoom in on the pic that shows the dash.

Only 278 A/C cars built in 1963.

-- Steve

A lifelong car guy and avid pilot, Goldwater had a Jaguar customized by George Barris with aircraft instrumentation in the cockpit. At the end of his life he had a couple of AMX's at his home.

There's an AMC collector in NC, with an old closed down AMC dealership, full af Ramblers & AMC's. He has Goldwater's AMX, it has aircraft instruments too.

If I remember correctly, Barry sponsored ham radio operators for calling home for a few minutes back in 69/70 when I was there. They were called MARS stations.

I was the OIC on a isolated signal site in Vietnam. We had a active ham radio site there. Troops would call home using the the radio, and we made it available to any units in the area.

One day a Artillery officer arrived with a young trooper who was trying to get home. It seems he had gotten his girl friend pregnant. If you remember we could not initiate an emergency leave. The other party had to contact the Red Cross.

Ham radio at that time and still might be, was station to station, it could not be patched through to the next radio.

One operator would repeat what he had heard to the next ham operator.

I remember the conversation as if it was yesterday, "yes mother it is my baby", You have to contact the Red Cross for me. This was repeated several times. I know Barry Goldwater was one of the ham operators, as he Id. himself.

I never heard if he went home but chances are he did.

Believe I worked him back in the 80's. Have his QSL somewhere.......

Tom, W3TA

1960 283/230, 4sp, triple black
1971 454/365, 4sp coupe, Bridgehampton Blue
2005 Z51, MN6 coupe, Lemans Blue