Dad’s Career in the Air Force

For 20 years, Dad served in the US Air Force from 1960–1980 and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. During this time he traveled to many places and made many friends.

Dad started his career in 1960 as a cadet at Harlingen Air Force Base located in Harlingen, TX where he went through the Cadet Corps. There were over 100 cadets in his class and Dad was only 1 of 19 that graduated. After graduating, he was deployed to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. It was here where Mom flew down to meet Dad and get married in Gulfport, MS, which was only about 30 mins from Keesler.

After Keesler, Dad went to Sacramento, CA for B-52 training at Mather Air Force Base at which point Mom went back to PA to stay with the Povelones’. The B-52 Stratofortress was a long-range, subsonic bomber aircraft that was first introduced in the 1940s and is still in use by the military today!

After Sacramento, Dad transferred to Walker Air Force Base in New Mexico. While he was there, the Cuban Missile Crisis happened and he was called in and briefed to go fly in the war the same day. As part of his assignment, he was transferred to Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, GA at which point Mom moved down and they purchased their first house. Here Mom was pregnant with Vicki.

Loring Maine??

After the war, Dad returned to Walker for training. Then from there, he was transferred to Grissom Air Reserve Base (originally named Bunker Hill Air Force Base) in Indiana. This is where he met his lifelong friend, and family friend, Jim Kunkle. At Grissom, he also went through B-58 training. The B-58 Hustler was another type of bomber, but the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight (i.e. 2 time the speed of sound).

While at Grissom, Dad volunteered for F-4 training which then landed him in Idaho at Mountain Home Air Force Base. The F-4 Phantom was the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history, primarily used in the Vietnam War, that was crucial in ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance. It was in Mountain Home Dad met another good friend, Bill Frieble.

Then around 1955 Dad was deployed to fly reconnaissance in the Vietnam War. Dad’s role was the navigator flying in the F-4 Phantoms which collected vital intelligence and photos over Vietnam’s battlefields before ground missions could be carried out. Before satellites and remotely piloted aircraft, these pilots had to put their lives in danger to collect this important information.

While Dad was in Vietnam, Mom moved to Riverside, CA with Johnny and Vicki while pregnant with Linda. During this time they lived with family friend Jim Kunkle. When Dad returned, he was stationed back in Mather Air Force Base which was about 6 hours from Riverside.