Cold War history and Westover
When the Cold War ended in 1991, scores
of military bases shut down. One of those
bases was Wurtsmith Air Force Base,
(www.wafb.net), a SAC base located in
northeastern Michigan.
I was assigned at the base from 1987 to
1991 and am privileged to have served in SAC
in the closing years of the Cold War. I was a
public affairs specialist with the 379th
Bombardment Wing, which flew B-52Gs and
KC-135As.
Wurtsmith shut down in June 1993. I had
gotten out of the Air Force two years before
that. But I remembered the massive personnel
cuts planned as a result of the Cold War's end,
and even though I wasn't on active duty
anymore, I kept tabs on what was going on.
The early '90s were a difficult time for
thousands of people in the armed forces and
for thousands more who were civilians at
these bases no longer needed by the
government. I felt responsible to at least write
about my Air Force experience, and in doing
so, discovered that I was part of Cold War
history.
What is the connection between Wurtsmith
and Westover? I had known about Westover
since I was a child, having traded letters with
the late base public affairs officer and a dear
friend of mine, Betty O'Connell. I followed in
her footsteps and joined the Air Force public
affairs field, and in the back of my mind
always wanted Westover as a future
assignment.
The Air Force assigned me to Wurtsmith in
April 1987.
While at Wurtsmith, I became immersed in
SAC. I had read about it as a child growing
up, but here it was now part of my daily life.
In May 1987 I experienced my first ORI, as a
brand new troop no less. And who should step
off the IG aircraft but retired Gen. Curtis E.
LeMay himself.
And guess who the lucky new puke was to
interview this Air Force icon?
My first story to go nationwide with SAC
News Service was the one I spent in a room
for 30 starstruck minutes, interviewing
General LeMay. Dressed in a coat and tie, I
still imagined him sitting there in his dress
blues, his four stars glistening off each
shoulder.
He discussed the SAC IG program and his
view of SAC readiness. Needless to say, it
was an unforgettable interview.
General LeMay and SAC are all part of
history now, but it's important to tell people of
the tremendous sacrifices made by so many
under his command and those who followed
him.
I worry that the Cold War's quick end has
left people with little to remember. There is a
story behind each of these SAC bases, so
many of which now sit empty and desolate,
the thunder of those B-52s and KC-135s long
gone in the sky. I intend to keep this history
alive through this web site. I hope others will
do the same with web sites and books, like the
one I am writing on Westover. While I focus
my efforts on a comprehensive look back at
the SAC years at Westover, those other bases
deserve their places in the books too. We owe
this to our past generations, who put their lives
on the line to help secure the lives of our
present and future generations.
This extremely rare, late-'60s shot shows all nine of the F-100s belonging to the Thunderbirds. Look
closely at the airplane in very back; its slightly longer nose scallops show it is a two-seater F-100F (the rest
are D models). I got this from the Internet, and don't know who the photographer is, but this sure isn't a
typical public relations photo for the team. The paint design looked especially sharp on these jets; the team
flew this model of the "Hun" from 1964 to 1968. I saw the team in June 1967, led by Maj Neil Eddins. Solo
pilot Capt Tony McPeak, later became Air Force Chief of Staff in the early 1990s, and the other solo pilot,
Capt Bob Beckel, rose to become commander of SAC's 15th Air Force at March AFB, Calif., in the late
1980s. Left wing pilot Capt Chris Patterakis, returned as commander/leader for the Thunderbirds in the
1975-76 season.