In charge of processing in and assigning us to temporary quarters that night were a number of so called 'Ropes', Airmen only slightly more experienced than we who had been detailed for the task.  For some reason, perhaps resenting the detail at such a late hour, mistakes were made and 40 of us were assigned quarters and then our records apparently misplaced because when morning came there was no rousting, no commands, no yelling at us to get a move on as we had become accustomed to.  Not but silence.  We Airmen, young and inexperienced in such matters and not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth, relished our newfound luxury for some three days.  On the third day one of the 'ropes' spotted one of our number he thought he recognized (a guy from Maine who still remembers the day well) approached the unsuspecting lad and upon discovering who he was became wildly agitated.  The rest was mayhem.  We soon  became known as 'The lost forty-and the other nineteen'.  Nineteen members, it turned out had been assigned a different area and thus were never lost and also, of course never achieved the same measure of distinction.  In a bizarre application of military justice, we were made to suffer the sins of our leaders.  Thus for the remainder of out tours, we were given every s--t detail on the base. I think I personally pulled Wolf Hall four times. We went on to undistinguished  tours of duty, many serving in Japan at various bases and sites and were to carry the distinction as members of the Lost forty with honor. 

  Some served at mountain top sites. I once visited one such sight across the bay from Tokyo where I met none other than Barry Sadler who was to go on to a kind of fame in the Green Berets.  But that's another story.  For information on Barry please visit

 http://greenberetcd.com/friends.html