Finally made it back to the Old North State, 27 days on the road and many, many miles. I started the trek with a Air Defense Radar reunion at Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. I spent two and half years based on a Radar Site in French Morocco in my early days in the Air Force. Had a real nice get together and like any get together the tales got real big. Left there and crossed into Canada and took a grand tour through Canada, mainly to take in the trip from Lane Louise to Jasper drive through the Canadian Rocky Mountain Park. Exited Canada into north western Washington State. Visited with a Beer Legger, Myhill there. Got a lot of cherries to eat and went to Prineville, Oregon and saw Shelby Griggs for a bit, then east through eastern Oregon, Idaho, Utah to Evanston, Wyoming. Got to see Loyal there. Drove east cross Wyoming into Nebraska. Met with Jerry Penry and a Squadron Commander of the Air Guard unit that I spent 7 years at Lincoln, Nebraska. The Squadron Commander is now 90 years old and retired in 1979. I was in the unit from 1967 to 1974. From Lincoln on to Kansas City, Missouri where I spent 13 years flying for TWA. Met up with a bunch of old gray pilots there, the tales got even bigger. Went to Whiteman AFB near Knob Noster, Missouri, home of the B-2 bomber. Signed in there and spent four days trying to catch up with myself. Was there when the President came in with his Boeing 747. I hid in my room with the curtains pulled. Got rested up there and headed to Wisconsin for the big Air Show at Oshkash. I met with a close friend there from my days in the U-2 program from 1965 to 1967. We attended the Oshkash show together and met two other U-2 drivers there. Attended the Air Show for five days, left on Saturday morning real early and drove to Charleston, West Virginia, drove on home to Rocky Mount, NC on Sunday. Had quite a time, listened to a lot of tales and spun quite a few myself.
I have one trip left for this year. Next month will be going back to Kansas City for a reunion of the 310th Bomb Wing from my B-47 days at Salina, Kansas, 1960 to 1965. Leave there and head to Biloxi, Mississippi for a reunion of the SAC Bomb Scoring radar units. I flew many missions in the B-47 that were scored by those folks. I asked if I could attend their reunion and told them I flew B-47 bombers and had been scored by them many times and wanted to find some of them that gave me bad scores and stomp on their feet.
Now if I can just remember next week where I went and what I did on the trip.
Jerry M. Davis
"Was there when the President came in with his Boeing 747. I hid in my room with the curtains pulled."
Care to share what was going through your mind at that time? 😉
Thanks for the return visit. Glad you made it back home safely.
Salina, Kansas 1960 ?
In the summer of 1960 I was a Boy Scout on a bus heading to the National Jamboree at Colorado Springs. We stayed at several air bases along the way, but I have long since lost our itinerary. We stayed in barracks the first two nights. It is possible we had mess in Salina before spending our third night sleeping on the gym floor at Hays College. I can still see the B-47s flapping their wings as they lumbered down the runway blowing huge clouds of smoke.
We had 5 days to get from Easton, PA to Colorado Springs and we wandered around Kansas with little to do. I recall going down into the world's largest hand dug well in Greensburg, well off of Route 40. Every once in a while a stretch of I-70 was complete or at least 2 lanes paralleling US 40. After we left Hays, Kansas we made a right turn at Denver and went North to Loveland. We slept on the concrete in fairgrounds exhibit sheds and the air was ripe with rotting pea vine piles. The next day it was a short trip back through Denver to our scheduled check in time.
If you where there, thanks for the grub.
Paul in PA
Salina, Kansas 1960 ?
During the summer of 1960, my unit at Salina had B-47 aircraft on Nuke alert at the home base, some at Anchorage, Alaska and some at Fairbanks, Alaska. I was probably in Anchorage. Late that summer we closed out our operations in Alaska and took on Nuke alert in Guam.
If you went to the hand dug well, you were well south of Route 40. That is west of Wichita, probably about 80 miles south of Route 40. In 1960 there were B-47 operations at Topeka. Wichita had B-47 operational check out for new crews.
Our runway at Salina was 13,330 feet in length. The B-47 on a hot summer day did it's best to use all the runway. We were allowed to compute 96% of the runway for takeoff. If it was over that we had to reduce weight. I have seen plenty of dust blown all over the place at the departure end of the runway when one of those heavy gals made a takeoff.
I-70 I can't remember any portions of it completed in 1960. From Kansas City to Topeka I-70 uses the Kansas Turnpike. From Topeka about 50 miles or so west Route 40 had a few sections that had three lanes for the uphill direction could have a slow truck lane.
It was not a good assignment, the only up side was the flight crews were gone about 40% of the time or so. I had Nuke Alert at Salina, Alaska, Guam, Morocco, Spain and England during my assignment from January 1960 to February 1965. The B-47 operation was closed out in February 1965. I escaped the B-47 and Nuke Alert at that time.
Jerry M. Davis
I didn't know about the presidential visit till I was going back to my quarters from a visit to the Commissary. I noticed quite a few folks around the visiting quarters. I sat down and talked to one of the fellows. I asked what was going on, he said that all the operations on the flight line had been shut down and all the troops had been sent away from the flight line. Where we were was about a half mile from the flight line. I had been through presidential visits before, so I just decided to go to my quarters pull the shades and look at Fox News. He was speaking at a small college about 15 miles or so to the west of the base. I think he had foot on the ground about three to five minutes on the base. Just long enough to get off the aircraft stairs and walk to his Limo. The same on return was get out of the Limo and walk to the steps and get on the 747 and leave.
Jerry M. Davis
That's some trip jerry! Hope you're going to post some pictures.
I took three cameras and oodles of memory for them but didn't take any of them out of the box. Since going digital I have taken a bunch of photographs and can look at them and not know when, where and what. Didn't even take any photos at the big Air Show at Oshkosh.
Jerry M. Davis
Salina, Kansas 1960 ?
Could been Topeka, if it was, we barracksed there, which means we spent two night in Kansas. As we waited outside in line for the chow hall I believe we were in sight of the runway.
My oldest brother and a cousin graduated in 1959. They enlisted together in the Air Force and went to basic training together. In 1960 he would have begun his long stint at McGuire AFB as a MATS electronic tech.
It may have just been US 40, what I do recall are 2 asphalt lanes in one direction and 2 concrete lanes in the other.
I know somewhere in Kansas we saw a "Hill Ahead" sign. We went down a slight depression and every member of the Troop was laughing for the next ten miles.
What a great time to be young.
Paul in PA
"I had been through presidential visits before, so I just decided to go to my quarters pull the shades and look at Fox News. "
Always a safe bet when reality's not an option.
🙂
Don
You will have a lot of fun in Biloxi!! Lots of good places to eat. Be sure to take some extra scratch with you, the casinos are really awesome!! 😉
For anyone who has not had the treat of meeting and speaking with Jerry, if you ever get the chance, do it. No, strike that, MAKE the chance and do it.
Always a pleasure sharing in your travels Jerry. When the fall rolls around and you want to see the leaves, give a shout and I'll treat you to some BBQ.
Larry P
Salina, Kansas 1960 ?
That most likely was Forbes Air Force Base on the south edge of Topeka. It was a very active hub at the time. My sister married an airman stationed there in 1966. They divorced sometime in 1967, many months after he had been shipped to Taiwan.
At the front gate to Forbes was a shelter and a big sign encouraging drivers to give an airman a lift. Those guys traveled all over the place in their spare time. As the former brother-in-law grew up just outside Boston, he was amazed at the open space, livestock and wildlife everywhere.
I was based at Keesler AFB at Biloxi two times during my Air Force days. First time was in August 1954 for Radar Operator course, then back after 2.5 years in French Morocco on a radar site. My second time there was real short, June JUly 1957, I was sent there to be an instructor in the Radar Operator course. There was a backlog for instructor school, so I was assigned as and assistant instructor till I could get a class assignment to the instructor school. While in the back log I got notice that my Pilot Training Class assignment had been made, so I left there and went back to Lackland AFB for pilot training through the Aviation Cadet course.
I have been back to Keesler several times over the years. I have been to two reunions for Radar Operators there. I'll be going to a reunion of the Bomb Scoring portion of the radar field, this reunion will be in September this year.
The Hurricane that did a job on New Orleans just about completely destroyed Kessler. The only things I can remember there are the hangars and the Water Towers. Everything else is new. The home of Jefferson Davis was destroyed by the hurricane, it has been rebuilt, part of the reunion will be a tour of the reconstructed Jefferson Davis home.
Jerry M. Davis
Salina, Kansas 1960 ?
Yep, the Air Force Base at Topeka was Forbes. It has been closed a long time. I think the Kansas Air National Guard may still be there but not sure. When I was based in Kansas City for TWA (1967-1980) The air Guard was operational there and flew the RB57 recon bird. I don't remember when they lost the RB57 operation and might not have an operation there now.
During it's B-47 operational days it was for the flying part of the B-47 check out. McConnel AFB at Wichita had the ground school and the flying part too. Forbes AFB at Topeka and Little Rock AFB in Arkansas had flying parts for the check out also.
When I arrived at Schilling AFB at Salina in 1960 it had two B-47 Wings based there and both of these Wings also had KC97 tankers. My wing was the 310th the other wing was 40th. Not long after I got there the 40th transferred to Forbes AFB at Topeka. It also had the 55th wing that had the RB47 aircraft and were what we called spooks. They did sneaky stuff all over the globe one was shot down by the Soviets in the early sixties. The two pilots were returned to us but the Ravens and navigator were never returned. The navigator operated in the main cockpit area. The Ravens operated in a pressurized pod in the bomb bay. Those were the spooks. When they lost the RB-47 operation, the 55th went to Omaha and got KC135 aircraft. I don't know if they still are in operation or not. The last of the B-47 in the bomber role were closed out by the end of 1966 or early 1967.
Jerry M. Davis
Larry, don't know if I'll be taking a leaf looking visit your way this year. I have another couple of Air Force Reunions to attend in September, the first in Kansas City then three days later another one at Biloxi, Mississippi. That will most likely close out my travels for the year. Would like to go your way during leaf season, you live in the better part of the state. I live in Rocky Mount not by choice, it's the hometown of my wife and it is to live here or not. The best alternative is to continue to live here. She doesn't want to go anywhere else, so I'm doomed. If she wasn't do good to me, I would move on.
Jerry M. Davis
Salina, Kansas 1960 ?
Well, not that it's that pertinent to this conversation, but I, too, was in Salina Kansas in 1960. My dad worked at an engineering firm there from around 1955, to sometime in the early 1960's. I was only 6 in 1960, so I'm sure I never met Jerry nor Paul in PA. (Dad went through a few different jobs until he settled down to the one he retired at. Older brother born in the Great Smokey Mountains in NC, me, in Manhattan KS 13 mos. later, and younger brother in Salina two years after me).
I wish I had even half the exciting life experiences of most the guys that post here have.
Regardless, thanks for sharing the stories and some of your rich history, Mr. Davis.
Hey, Jerry, are you still driving that diesel VW Rabbit? It's hard to beat the mileage that thing gets!
If you come through here again, give me some lead time, and I'll at least buy you lunch or dinner.
Terry
I will second that Larry!
Of course I did get to see Jerry on this trip!
SHG
Glad to see you made it home safe and sound Jerry!
Enjoyed seeing you on this trip even if only for a much too brief visit!
SHG
Jerry,
Apparently this is what other retired military pilots are up to these days.
You might be able save a few miles on the vehicle. 🙂
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTX12B5X#a=28
