This week, we make more tenuous connections between the occupants of the White House and Amateur Radio.

Last week's "Hamming at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," resulted in so much e-mail that I have extended the hamming Presidents discussion through this President's Day weekend.

Maurice Farissier, KA1S, and Skip Sharpe, W9REL, reminded me that United States Air Force General Curtis LeMay, K0GRL/K4FRA/W6EZV, was an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President in the 1968 election. He was George Wallace's running mate on the American Independent Party ticket.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force Web site offers a biography of General Curtis LeMay, K0GRL/K4FRA/W6EZV, who was a candidate for Vice President in 1968.

LeMay held K0GRL when he was the Strategic Air Command Commander assigned to Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha. LeMay later obtained K4FRA when he served as the United States Air Force Vice Chief of Staff (later Chief of Staff). When he retired in California, he became W6EZV. The National Museum of the United States Air Force Web site has an interesting biography about the General and his K0GRL call sign designates the Strategic Air Command Memorial Amateur Radio Club station.

Bob Rankin, W0NXN, recalled that when he was first licensed in the mid-1950s, there was a station licensed to the White House Army Signal Agency (WHASA) with the call sign W3WTE. He also remembers reading an article about how the WHASA operated from a railway coach with HF antennas mounted on top of the train. Bob added that WHASA must have been the forerunner of today's White House Communications Agency.

Indeed, Bob is correct and you can read all about the agency at the White House Communications Agency Web site. You can also read the biography of a former ham, Hank Roth, who operated W3WTE and worked for the WHASA.

Cal Cotner, K4JSI, mentioned that prior to World War II, there was an annual Governors-to-President message relayed via Amateur Radio. He recalled reading about it in QST. I could not find anything on the Internet about this, but I did search the QST /QEX Index Search near the top of this page and found a "Stray" on page 52 of July 1922 QST titled "1AMD delivered Governor-President message."

Cal also recalled a humorous story published in QST about a ham who became President. It was illustrated by "Gil" and described, among other things, how the President snuck out at night to string up an antenna and was nabbed by the Secret Service. I performed another QST /QEX Index Search and found "The Ham Who Was President" by Rod Newkirk, W1VMW, in November 1952 QST, page 50.

Jack Schuster, W1WEF, recalled going to the ARRL National Convention in Washington, DC, as a teenager in the mid 1950s. Vice President Richard Nixon was the banquet speaker. During his speech, Nixon spoke of a friend in Congress who he visited at one time. It seems that the future President was kept awake by the congressman's son who was a ham and was up all night operating in a shack underneath the guest room that Nixon was in!

Darrell Jordan, KG4AOF, wrote that his ham radio club, Eastern Amateur Radio Society, sponsors the Presidential Counties Award for Amateur Radio operators who work other stations within the US that are located in counties that have the same name as a President's last name. This award has a basic level equal to the current number of Presidents of the US (43) with endorsements available at 100, 200, and the maximum, 261 counties worked. Special endorsements for particular modes and/or power levels are also available.

By the way, I mentioned last week that one of our Presidents was a "ham actor." This was not just my opinion; President Reagan himself admitted that he was a "ham" according to his biography at the American President Web site.

Until next week, keep on surfin'.

Editor's note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, does not own a surfboard, but that does not stop him from surfing the Internet or listening to "Surfin' U.S.A." To discuss Jan, Dean, the Beach Boys and other neat stuff on the radio, e-mail Stan.

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