1970 My Last Year in the USAF
1970 was the end of my military commitment,the end of my first year in the church,
and my first year of regular employment.
The U.S. Air Force declared that supersonic nuclear bombers were no longer needed. They ended the B-58 Hustler program and transferred everyone to other installations. Many of the guys in my shop, including me, were transferred to Castle AFB near Atwater, California to support B-52 bomber training during the escalation of the Vietnam War. Leaving Kokomo, Indiana turned into a nightmare for us.  Photo of Kokomo building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - 2021 Photo courtesy of Ed & Leah Wallace |
| 1970-Feb As we were getting ready to leave Kokomo, it seemed everything that could go wrong went wrong. I was not accustomed to seeking help from others outside our parents and they lived nearly 600 miles away at the time. I turned to people from the base and people I had worked with at the J.C. Penny Auto Center. No one was available or willing. That's when I turned to the church. This is a story in itself. Feel free to read all 5 pages - CLICK HERE. The Kokomo Branch president's wife, Audrey Marler responded to my plea immediately. We will always love and appreciate the Marlers for their generosity.  Lyman and Audrey Marler Family - photo from early 1970s We also owe a debt of gratitude to Jim Holmes for letting us use their garage to store our belongings. Jim had to park his car out in the weather when the temperature was dropping into double-digits below zero -- one of the coldest nights on record for Indiana. We went home on leave for 2 weeks. After that, we decided that Susie should remain at her father’s house in Hueytown with our newborn son, John, while I flew out to California and looked for suitable housing. Unfortunately, there was no affordable housing in California. It was at a time when people were moving west and housing prices were soaring. Susie decided that she and John would remain in Alabama with her parents until I was discharged a few months later since moving to California and living with me would create unnecessary financial and emotional hardships on the family. I let her keep the car so she’d have a way to church. Meanwhile, I stayed in the barracks and either walked or I hitched a ride with others everywhere I went.  (Click for a larger photo) March 1970 of me at the Birmingham, AL Airport leaving for California |
1970 Mar I began attending the Atwater Ward, Fresno California Stake.  (Click the photo for a larger, color corrected picture) Atwater Ward, Fresno Stake - 1970 Susie and John attended church at the Bessemer Branch, Birmingham, Alabama District of the Church. I was in a stake, she was in the Southern States Mission.  Bessemer Ward - 2003 photo taken after it became a stake center. Notice the similarty. That's because many church buildings were built based on the same plans called the "Kent" building. Like many units in the south, the Bessemer Branch had been founded by families whose ancestors had been members since the late 1800s. The two most prominent families were the Ackers and the Brackners. Each were large families with many descendants. One of those descendants was Mary “Puggy” Acker who had marred Leroy Bush. When their 12-year-old daughter, Louvette, met Susie the first time she attended church there, she asked Susie, “Who are you kin to?” Susie replied, “No one.” Louvette said, “You haven’t been here long enough.”  Mary Linda "Puggy" Acker Bush - photo from FamilySearch Memories |
Another member of the church at Castle AFB in California was Jim Brey. Jim and I became lifelong friends. He persuaded me to join the LDS institute group for college-age young adults in the church.  (Click for a larger photo) Jim Brey - Apr. 1970 |
It so happened that the institute teacher was Maxine Anderson, the wife of our squadron command, Lt. Col. Harold Anderson. We were in his home every Sunday night. Here's a photo of Col. Anderson with his USAF hat on backwards fruitlessly trying to avoid Ralph Brand putting ice down his back.  (Click for a larger photo) Lt. Col. Harold Anderson clowning with us young adults - 26 Jul. 1970 Also a photo of his family taken at the same time in the Anderson's kitchen.  L to R: Maxine, Vic, Tom, Mark, and Lt. Col. Harold Anderson |
1970 Apr Col. Anderson gave us 3-day passes so we could attend April General Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of our LDS airmen, John Rinacker, had a beautiful 1959 Chevy. He and 5 of us went in John's car to Salt Lake City, UT in 1970 where we attended the April General Conference in our dress blues uniform. At that time, men in uniform were allowed into the Salt Lake tabernacle without a ticket to attend conference. We were there when we all saw President Joseph Fielding Smith as our new church president for the first time. Just prior to the conference session, he appeared behind the Salt Lake Tabernacle's west entrance. Conference attendees spontaneously broke out in song, singing "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet." President Smith waved at the crowd.  John Rinacker - Jun. 1970 |
1970 May Susie flew out to visit me in May 1970.  (Click for a larger photo) Susie and John - May 1970 at Castle AFB |
Susie took this photo of me in the VIP housing on base where we stayed for a week while she was there.  (Click for a larger photo) Photo of me in May 1970 |
Susie came out so we could visit the Oakland Temple and be sealed for time and eternity as a family.  Ma7 1970 photo of the Oakland, California LDS Temple |
While they were there, we got to see Yosemite National Park which was only 124 miles away. Here's a photo of me holding my son in front of an old steam engine on display.  (Click for a larger photo) Ron and John near Yosemite - May 1970 |
We saw the upper and lower falls. This photo was very faded so I enhanced it to show what it looked like in 1970.  (Click for a larger photo) Upper and Lower Falls - photo taken 20 Jun. 1970 |
It was very sad having to say goodbye to my family after a week of being together. We would not see each other again until late August but those are some of the sacrifices one makes for his country.  (Click for a larger photo) Ron Saying goodbye to his son at the airport in 1970 |
I was assigned to a team who helped realign the electronic compass on a KC-135 tanker while I was stationed at Castle AFB but that was the only real job for which I was trained.  (Click for a color enhanced, larger photo) A KC-135 on the wash rack at Castle AFB - Jun 1970 |
By the time Susie and John left to go home, I only had 3 months left of active duty. Our main aircraft at Castle was the B-52 bomber but I wasn't trained on it. It would have been senseless to retrain me since I had so little time left so my shop reassigned me to what most people call "KP" (Kitchen Police). In the USAF we called any mundane job KP duty no matter what it was. My reassignment was on the wash rack. We dressed up in heavy rain suits with hoods and pants. We wore heavy rubber boots and gloves then wrapped tape around the joints. We put on a clear face shield to protect our eyes and faces. The purpose was to protect our skin from coming in contact with the caustic foam (soap) used to scrub the aircraft. We sprayed it down with soap then scrubbed it with street brooms to remove the grime. Afterward, we sprayed it with water from a high pressure firehose to remove the soap. Once it dried, we'd go over the undercarriage with spray cans of paint to cover any areas of corrosion. It was actually a fun job. The work had to be limited because we worked in temperatures of 108 degrees or more in the hot California Sun dressed head-to-toe in heavy rubber suits. We could only work a half hour at a time like this. Any longer and our careers would have been short lived. I lost a lot of weight.  A civilian contractor using our gear to spray a B-52. NOTE: They weren't required to wear the protective gear that we wore because their solvents weren't as dangerous. However, notice the rubber gloves. |
At last, the joyful day came when I was granted an honorable discharge from service and I was allowed to return home. I was discharged from USAF after serving 4 years, 2 months, and 20 days on active duty. Thanks to my experience and opportunities for education while in service to my country, I got a good job with the telephone company that lasted from 1970 until 2007. In the service I worked with some of the first digital computers ever placed in military service. As a systems specialist for the phone company, my team monitored 2,000 UNIX minicomputers, and 20,000 to 30,000 servers in 9 southern states. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I had the privilege of using this experience to help roll out some of the software used by 16 million church members and millions of others who use FamilySearch.org daily. Because of the temple experiences I gained from 1970 onward and because of the interest Jim Brey and I had in learned how to do family research, I've had the opportunity to donate thousands of hours of my time helping others with their genealogy. For more information on how I got interested in family research and the connection with Jim Brey, please visit my other website at: MyKinFolks.org. CLICK HERE to go to my pedigree page. |
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