Military Memories
by Lyle StoufferHOW IT ALL STARTED
I had registered for the draft at age 18, about a month after high school graduation. In January of 1951, I had to report for a physical in Chicago, to determine my qualification for the draft.
I passed!
The Korean conflict had really gotten into full swing by this time. There was suddenly a big demand for Army and Marine draftees to fill the battle lines in trenches and foxholes in Korea. (The Marines may brag that they have always been a volunteer force but there was a period in the early 50s where they got some volunteers after they had been drafted.)
I had been watching the draft call-ups for Carroll County (where the Milledgeville farm was located) during the spring. It would vary from 12 to 16 per month. When I checked in early June, there had been 14 called up and that left me 9th in line on the list for July of 1951.
When I related this to Dad, he asked me if I was going to be drafted and take whatever they handed out. He had heard that even though I was eligible for the draft, I could still volunteer for service in the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard etc. and possibly get something that I wanted and some good training in a trade or skill.
I didn’t have to think long about it. The following day I stopped by Polo on the way to the Air Force recruiting office in Sterling. At the Texaco gas station, while gassing up the 1942 Chevrolet I had then, I ran into Bill Galor, a high school classmate of Vern and Eilene (class of 1949) He asked me where I was headed. I told him I was on the way to Sterling to enlist in the Air Force. He asked if he could go too. He did.
BASIC TRAINING SAMPSON AFB, NEW YORK
The basic training for enlistees in the Air Force had been located at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas, for many years prior to the Korean conflict and many years after that period also, In the early 1950s, as the Air Force enlistments suddenly increased many times over. Lackland AFB was filled to capacity. Additional facilities had to be considered to help with the overflow of enlistee recruits. Sheppard AFB at Wichita Falls Texas was the sight of a technical training base and took on a great many of the over flow. It was soon apparent that an additional basic training site was needed. In late May of 1951, the Air Force activated a World War II Navy training base on Lake Seneca, New York, and named it Sampson AFB.
On the 25th of June, 1951, Bill Galor and I and several other young gents from Northern Illinois left from Chicago on a train that was to take us to Geneva, New York, near the north end of Lake Seneca. As we went through Cleveland, Ohio, our group was joined by several guys from the Detroit, Michigan, area who were headed for the same destination.
The train pulled into the Geneva NY station on June 26, 1951. We were unloaded from the train, claimed our luggage and carried it to waiting Air Force 6-by trucks. Then we were “herded” into Air Force blue buses for the 20.plus miles journey down the east side of Lake
Seneca to Sampson AFB. (At the time of this writing, the area that was Sampson AFB is now Sampson State Park)
We spent the first couple of days at Sampson getting issued our military clothing and getting assigned to a basic training flight. The flight that Bill Galor and I were assigned to consisted of more than 40 (I think 42) guys: the ones that we came in with from Chicago plus the bunch that joined us in Cleveland who were from the Detroit area. Ironically, the class “A” uniforms we were issued were olive drab army uniforms even though the Air Force class “A” had been the Air Force blue uniform from the time the Army Air Corps became the US Air Force in 1947. Again the overwhelming enlistments had brought about all sorts of shortages.
The two months at Sampson AFB were spent attending classes, doing clean up and rock moving details. I didn’t understand the reason for a lot of the things we did then, but now I can see that we were being regimented. We marched in a group of 40 everywhere. To Classes, to meals, to work details (the moving of large rocks from one pile to another one day and coming back the next day to move back to the original location was typical of the type of work detail. From the time we fell out to form up at the sound of the bugle blowing reveille, until we were dismissed after returning from the march and from the mess hall in the evening. We seldom had a moment to ourselves. Once in a while during formation marching practice or useless work details, our TAC officer (a smart alec 3 striper buck sergeant) would give us “at ease” and say “If you got”em, you’re clear to light them up." Almost to a man, the smoke would start billowing up. I had never smoked before but decided that rather than sit on my thumbs at smoke breaks, I would give it a try. I think I bought my first pack of Old Gold filter tips on my 21st birthday which came about 7 days after I started my Air Force career.
One of the more significant things that we accomplished while at Sampson was to complete a couple of days of testing. (I think I recall they were called Stanine tests) to determine what Air Force career fields we were each best qualified to enter. Usually, the tests would indicate a list of the top 5 or 6 best qualified in a descending order. When the scores were posted, each individual met a career counselor who asked for personal preferences and his recommendation for technical training bore lots of weight. I scored pretty well on electronic equipment repair, aircraft maintenance, radio operator and a couple of others. I chose radar mechanic and sure enough, that is what I got.
I don’t recall what Bill Galor’s best qualifications were but he did get orders for auto mechanics training and we parted company at Sampson AFB and I never ran into him again.
Becoming an A/3 (Airman 3rd class) from basic airman was automatic upon completion of basic training.
AIR FORCE TECHNICAL TRAINING
Two of us from my flight at Sampson got orders for Radar Mechanic training at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi. I had a new friend for the next 10 months at Keesler. Bob Sirls was from the Hamtramok area of downtown Detroit. I remember him telling me that the General Motors assembly plant was not far from his home. He was about 6’2 with very wavy red hair. He didn’t have a car at Biloxi and I did, so we did a lot of off duty activities together.
Although we were going to be some sort of a radar mechanic, we wouldn’t find out whether it was going to be airborne radar, early warning radar or what specific type until they knew for sure that we would graduate from the six months of Airman Electronics Fundamentals.
Electronics Fundamentals was a very intensive six month long course of study of AC and DC electrical, RF energy transmissions and reception and just about anything related to electronics. Each individual enrolled had to build an operating superheterodyne radio receiver, a useable oscilloscope and several other lab projects. We had periodic tests and if the results on any two successive tests were not a passing grade, the individual had to meet an academics board and many were eliminated from the program as a result. I personally did quite well and what I learned about everything electrical in this course has served me well for the rest of my service and post military life.
Both Bob Sirls and I were selected for GCA (Ground Controlled Approach) radar mechanics course upon graduation from Airman’s Electronic Fundamentals.
There was a two week period between the Fundamentals course and the start of the GCA mechanics course. We were put on squadron detail during that period. That consisted of falling out for roll call, after the troops who were marching to class had departed the squadron. At roll call the first sergeant would assign us to different tasks. These were pretty menial tasks and not very well received by any of us. For instance: cleaning curbs and gutters on the streets adjacent to the squadron; cleaning up wood shavings in the Base Wood Hobby Shop; and other tasks that were distasteful like KP (Kitchen Police) Duty.
One of the co-workers who was waiting for his radio mechanics course to begin as a fellow named Leroy Vestal from Sioux City, Iowa. He learned one day, after we were totally fed up with working details duty, that the Officers’ Qualification tests fo aviation cadet applications were being administered on base and we could get out of dirty details to go take the tests. We did a we passed. Bob Sirls didn’t do it because he had decided he didn’t want to be a fly boy.
About three days after the Officer’s Qualification tests, Leroy and I and several others from Keesler AFB were on an Air Force bus headed for Moody AFB, Georgia, to take the Motor Fitness Tests which had to be passed in order to be considered for pilot or observer training.
About a week later I received an official notice that I had qualified for flight training as a pilot, a basic observer (navigator/bombardier) or a radar observer (back seat of F-94, F-82 or F-89 interceptors.) Pilot training was more than a year long, basic observer was about one year and radar observer was six months long and all would result in my becoming an officer and wearing a set of wings. Granted I did not think things through very well and look very far into the future, so I selected the shorter course and a future in fighters-a choice I would later regret but would take advantage of the opportunity to rectify that decision later on. More about that later. Leroy Vestal didn’t pass the tests for depth perception and was color blind and was turned down.
CHRISTMAS LEAVE DECEMBER 1951
The “sets” portion of my training at Keesler was about five months long and I had just gotten a start on it before going home on leave for Christmas 1951. I was driving my 1942 Chevrolet 4-door sedan. (I didn’t have a car with me at Sampson and I flew on an Air Force C-46 from Syracuse NY to Biloxi as an old high school classmate (Lyle Sommers) was being assigned to Keesler and got some leave in Sterling so he drove my Chevy to Biloxi in September 1951. I had advertised for four seats available to share expenses for the trip. They were eagerly filled: a sergeant and his wife going to Mt Vernon IL and two young guys going to Marion II and Springfield IL. We had no trouble on the way north except that the heater in the car didn’t work and we found that out about Nashville, TN. We bundled up and pressed on. We were miserably cold. Between Springfield and Peoria I ran into snow on the ground and occasionally snow squalls the rest of the way to “the farm.”
Going north out of Sterling on the Freeport road there were large snow drifts everywhere and often times the snow plows had piled the snow higher than the car top with just two icy lanes between. I slid off the road into a snowbank and was stuck for about 15 minutes. A truck with a snowplow came along and pulled me back onto the road. I had to go all the way to Polo and west to get home since the gravel roads hadn’t been plowed and were impassable. I had enough of the "42 Chevy so I traded it for a 1947 turtle back 2 door black Oldsmobile for the return trip to Biloxi. Nothing unusual on the return trip.
MPN-1 AND CPN-4 GCA RADAR MECHANICS COURSE
I won’t go into great detail on the things we had to learn to maintain either or both sets we studied. I will give a little description of what they were used for an how they operated.
The MPN-1 nomenclature meant that it was mobile (had four wheels and could be towed) and the PN stood for its precision navigation function. It served as final approach for aircraft to touch down on a runway through weather or reduced visibility conditions. It was the unit used in Berlin during the Berlin Airlift after Russia tried to isolate the West Berliners at the start of the “Cold War.” It was the first operational Air Force Ground Controlled Approach System. It was effective but it took four skilled operators in position at all times of use. There was a search radar monitor who had 2 way radio with the aircrew to vector the aircraft two final approach heading. Two cursor operators: one had to maintain a cursor on the aircraft in azimuth: another maintain a cursor on aircraft elevation and the final approach operator had 2 way with the aircraft and directed corrections on final approach to keep the aircraft on the glide slope.
The CPN-4 nomenclature for the second set showed that it had to be cargo airlifted or moved flat bed truck on the ground (no wheels) It was developed about five years after the MPN-1 and was technically far superior. It required only two operators: #1 to operate the search radar and direct the aircrew, by radio, to the final approach at the proper initial altitude. #2 was the final approach operator. He would lock on to the approaching aircraft in azimuth and elevation and then give the aircrew directions by radio to keep the aircraft on the glide slope.
I never saw a CPN-4 after I left Keesler AB. I did however see the MPN-1. Our class size at Keesler for “sets” was 10. We started with 10 and two washed out. Just didn’t “get it.”
Two of us in the class had superior grades so we got promotions to A/2C (Airman Second Class) upon graduation. Henry Yee (a Chinese/Hawaiian) and I got to wear two stripes. I got orders to go to Greater Pittsburgh Municipal Airport at Coraopolis PA.
GREATER PITTSBURGH MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
After Keesler AFB, I had a few days delay en route to the airport at Coreopolis PA. I drove home in my 1947 Olds and on to Pittsburgh, arriving in early June Of 1952. There was a very new Air Force cantonment area, built on the edge of the civilian airport, that was contained inside a chain link fence with barbed wire at the top. It was like a prison fence except it was designed to keep people out instead of in. All the buildings were new and probably the nicest facility I had lived in during my Air Force career.
The mission of this installation was in support of the people who were required to support a squadron of F-86 fighter aircraft at the airport that were providing air defense of the Pittsburgh area.
I was assigned to an AACS detachment with headquarters at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. The 1906 AACS (Airways and Aircraft Control Systems) detachment was assigned at Greater Pitt airport to operate and maintain an MPN-1 GCA radar unit that would provide precision approaches for the F-86s in marginal weather conditions. The approach control systems operated by the FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) at the airport were not rated at low enough minimums to accommodate the F-86s: thus the MPN-1 and it’s support at Great Pitt.
My stay at Greater Pitt Air Force Station was short and mostly sweet. Most of the personnel in the detachment were senior enlisted personnel. Even the detachment commander was a master sergeant who had received a spot promotion to officer status during World War II. After the war, a widespread RIF (reduction in force) included him and he wanted to stay in so he reverted back to his enlisted status. I never had very good relations with this man.
The reason that the detachment was so top-heavy with rank was attributed to the fact that nearly all the operations and maintenance personnel had served in Berlin during what is referred to as the “Berlin Airlift.” The MPN-1 was the GCA unit that brought the C-54s into Berlin even during inclement weather conditions. Being an A/2C among nearly all staff, technical and master sergeants was not an enviable status.
The “sweet” part of the assignment was that Pittsburgh and the surrounding area was extremely hospitable to servicemen. The only other servicemen in the area beside our Air Force Station were those manning the AAA battery and NIKE missile sites of the Army and National Guard defending the area.
Many events were free if you were in uniform. Forbes Field (Pittsburgh Pirates), McNear Beach (beer and polka parties sponsored by the AMVETS), Big Band concerts (I became a big Billy Mays fan after his concert); Friday and Saturday dances at McKees Rocks and a number of other events.
The “short” part of the Pitt assignment came about after I had been there only a short time. I got official correspondence from FLYTAF (Flying Training Air Force) that although I had asked for Radar Observer Training, there was an approximate 10 to 12 months waiting list to start. However the Air Force was opening up Harlingen AFB in Texas because of a back log in Basic Observer Training at Ellington AFB near Corpus Christi Texas and I could be assured of a class assignment very soon if I accepted Basic Observer Training.
I sort of cursed myself for not going to pilot training the first place but decided that promotion was not on the horizon soon in my current assignment since all the advanced specialties were already over filled. I felt I really needed a bigger paycheck since I had already sold blood at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital and hocked my electric iron and trombone to keep my car going even though gas price was only a little more than 20 cents per gallon. (My pay as A/2C was less than $85 per month. It was a fact that the pay of an aviation cadet was equal to staff sergeants pay and once a cadet started flying during training he would get flying pay in addition. Needless to say, I accepted Basic Observer Training.
In mid Judy I received a notice from the detachments headquarters at Wright Pat that I had a class assignment at Harlingen with a reporting date of 9 August. “Orders for reassignment would follow.”
Now the not so sweet part of the Pitt assignment. I got an audience with the detachment commander and asked for a weekend pass or three day leave so I could drive my Olds to my folks place in Illinois since it looked like I would be unable to drive it to Harlingen unless the orders came through soon. He turned me down and said he would call Wright Patterson and see if he could get them to hurry up the orders. He asked me to check with the 1st Sergeant daily to see if they came in. Saturday morning of the weekend before I was to report at Harlingen I headed for Illinois in my Olds. It was about 570 miles and I was on a bus headed back to Pittsburgh Saturday night. I was back in my bunk at Greater Pitt on Sunday night.
The orders had come in over the weekend while I was gone. I had to have them to clear the base. While clearing the base, the Air Police wanted to scrape the base decal off of the windshield of my car. It was in Illinois! The Air Police reported this to the detachment commander. I had called my folks and asked them to scape it off and send it in an envelope post haste. The commander called me in and gave me an article 15 under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Company/Organization Punishment) for driving to Illinois without proper authorization. I had about 10 hours of scraping black marks left by brogans and boots off of the new hardwood floors in the barracks-with only a toothbrush. I’m afraid I carried a grudge for that guy with the rest of my military career.
During my breaks, I was able to get an MPO (Military Purchase Order) processed to get a ticket from Greater Pittsburgh Airport to Harlingen Texas.
[ Family Pages ] [ Contents ] Previous Page [ Next Page ] [ Top ]