The link is the album. The Base was closed shortly after I left for Vietnam and it is the only base left in tact other than the museum base in San Francisco. All of the images are of the base and my Pit C where I worked daily. It shows how Mother Nature does reclaim everything eventually if it's not maintained by a human. The pits were once well kept and clean and no rust on the walls because we never allowed any rain water to enter. The Elevator door seal rotted over time and now allow all the rain water to fall into the elevator shaft where it is pumped out with small water pump setup to run automatically. There is so much to say about the base but I'll just let you look at the photos. https://ibb.co/album/wJ5wpV
A lot here I don't have a clue about, our countries defense systems back then. Be interesting to see what we have now @Thomas Stillhere. I wonder if there's something online, historical videos, plus something "they'd allow us to see" that we have today? I mean, I hear about all this technology today, but never get to see it. I'm probably not looking in the right places, but I know much of it is only for military, and others in "high" places to see
The Nike Hercules is still in use in Germany and Greece and probably a few nations I am not aware of. They were the recipients of all the removed hardware late 69 and early 70s. It is still a good missile defense system. Designed by Bell Telephone using non discreet electronics and also using mechanical electro computers to control each missile in the battery for guidance by the radar system in each battery. It was a 3 battery overlapping system with a range of 90 miles for each battery, with one battery off line at any time the target was still protected. The missiles were extremely fast for the time period. You had a choice of HE tipped or low yield nuclear air burst. I added that large white dome radar cover in one photo because all the radars and hardware were removed when the bases were closed. Every structure and piece of equipment for every base was exactly alike with the exception of the hilly missile sites, radars were mounted on special higher platforms to enable it to see over the highest rise., in the south west where I was at it was all flat. The white dome was the HiPower Radar, a Top secret radar at the time and that was the reason for the covering, also it was sensitive, a simple Micro Wave system except very large, it looks like a regular tiny cable TV antenna, which the small cable TV system is infinitely better in distance etc. I have one photo of our base that has the dome air brushed out of the photo. This film will answer everything you missed
Thanks Thomas! So much I don't know, and I think I'm so smart sometimes, very humbling, lol! I went into Youtube and saved the video. I will watch it a bit later. Both my brothers, and my Grand-dad were in the service. Oldest brother Navy, younger brother Army, and Grand-pa, Army. I know most about my oldest Brother, and he was based on a ship called the USS Pick-Away (spelling??) as a Radio Operator (I believe that was his title but not sure). I was so young when Grandpa died, and don't remember hearing anything about his service in the war. I was too busy partying in other States so, sadly, I neglected to stay in touch with my younger brother when he served in the 70s.
When I was in the Air Force during the cold war, we visited a missile base in New England somewhere, and that’s basically all I remember about it except security was incredible with passes and escorts etc. We also visited Greenland and the DEW line which went across the ice cap to the east coast. Our job was to do field level maintenance of all weather equipment. The wind transmitter at the east coast site got blown off the pole and into the ocean. The last recorded reading was 200 MPH we were told. The site on the ice cap had a guy who died over the winter so they put him outside to freeze to be picked up by the next flight when winter was over. He might have been put on our plane but not sure.
I'm not positive, but I'll try and look it up. I think I saw a documentary on that 200 mph wind, well, it was a doc. on Winds, and that one was the top of the list!! I'll see if I can remember, and find that documentary to see if it was the same one/place back East
Navy Radio Operators were called sparkies. My Father was a radio operator on the USS Cobia, after WWII ended he was part of the relocation crews taking submarines to new locations or fleet reserves later to be reclaimed scrapped or saved for updates for the new Navy. All the submarine crews were released from service and the people that were career Navy were reassigned. My Father for what ever reason found himself on the new USS Los Angleles Heavy Cruiser which came into service too late to participate in WWII. Now it gets interesting because he was on the first Korean War cruise and possibly others in the war but he died young in an accident in Long Beach so the history ends there. I know it was the first cruise because Naval Historians in DC told me the USS Los Angeles had an extra deck gun mounted aft and after the first cruise it was removed due to the danger of having a single helicopter in the same space trying to take off and land so near the gun crew. I have a photo of the rear deck and gun emplacement taken from atop the rear Main Gun turret which of course was how the historians knew the ship was on the first Korean War cruise. In submarine service they usually had one radio operator, but on the Los Angeles they had a huge electronics and radio section with many operators and technicians. I have historical photos of the ship in service. One of the unique things about the Los Angeles she ported in Vietnam long before I ever even knew the word, and the President of Vietnam came aboard the ship, as did the President of South Korea during that war. Now of course my Father was not on the Vietnam porting because he had already died. Here are a few photos and I have more but have to find them.
I'm glad you got to have time (hopefully) or atleast know so much about him. I didn't know my dad well. He came and took my little brother and I with him to visit other relatives on his side of the family, and, from his previous marriage. You have a lot of knowledge, and experience @Thomas Stillhere and the photos are neat to see. I think you should be a writer/author because you are so good at telling the story I was preschool when my older brother went into the Navy. I thought I would die without him and when he'd come home on leave and wouldn't hardly let go of him. I have a pic somewhere, but can't find it, yet Maybe I'll be back with it. I'm sorry my military knowledge is so limited, just my family in uniforms is all I really know.