USAFSS 136th CSS COMSEC
Veterans Biographical Website
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USAFSS 136th CSS COMSEC
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List of Biographies:
Don Maddux
Virgil Ashford
Kendall Ropp
Dick Bergman
Bob Spiwak
Joseph C. Burns
Anthony Lemons
Bruce Case
Fredrick R. Wagner
Jacob Roskam
Dean B. Vallery
James F. Swain
From Don Maddux, 08/015/05
I enjoyed your post on Nagoya and Korea. Can't seem to place you,
but remember a lot about the old country in the east. I got to Moriyama in July
1950 and was in Korea off and on for years. The last time I was there was in
l978. I went to K55 and one of our trucks we had, 059, was still there on the
hill---they called it skivy nine. The van was being used as a munitions
storeroom of some sort. K-55 was a hot COMINT site in those days and a lot of
good people went thru that site, as all the others. I left Japan in Oct 57 and
Fuchu and COMSEC. I went to March AFB in the COMINT business and went to printer
school and became an instructor before sgoing to Darmstadt Germany. Had a good
tour in Germany, took my young wife from Hawk Point, MO. and arrived on or
wedding anniversary---our first one. I was on shift work almost the whole 4
years and then we went to Misawa Japan for 5 years. I did a student tour in
Pensacola Florida and went to TUSLOG 94 in Karamusel, Turkey for 3 years and
then to Tiawan for 2 and a half years, then to Shemya Alaska---then back to
Misawa for 4 years and then to Good buddy to help run the school and
retirement. We came back to Missouri in April 79 and bought a car wash, small
engine shop and drove a school bus for 25 years. I sold the car wash and small
engine business in 90 and worked for the new owners and others and still do
---a half day a week. I missed the reunion in Colorado, but have made the
others. We have a Darmstadt group---a Misawa group and many others, but stick
to the Command reunion, COMSEC and Misawa mostly. We live in the Hills of the
Missouri river---near Herman. I-70 is five miles north and I-44 is 44 miles
south. I visit Scott field often just to keep in touch.
We have two kids close by. I fly model airplanes and work with the
handicap and the nursing and care center---life has been good and busy----Don
Maddux
don
maddux
redhead6_682@hotmail.com
From Virgil Ashford 9/18/2005
I was a professional student waiting to get old enough to join the
AF to fly, I finally got my draft notice in 51 so joined in March 51 went to
Lackland then to Keesler for Radar school, they riffed that project, stuck me
with Radio Op , ended up in Security Service in Brooks AFB, was frozen for
cadets at Det. 12, played all sorts of Sports there. I got My class date and
they washed me out on an eye which proved a snafu, so ended up going to Nagoya
in 1953. I drew high card three times in a row to stay out of K55, then married
men volunteered so they could shorten duty tour and I never went to Korea, Not
even when Cpt Bob Reckner wanted me to fly over with him.(I did make that
mistake once, with Sky King). Had a good tour, ended up an analyst with Boyle,
Fuchs, Anderson etc. Played a lot of sports with Cassutt, Dean et al, traveled
with sports to all the COMSEC tournaments. Graduated to civi, went to school
for awhile, ended up on the Phoenix Fire Dept. Retired from there, Went to
Nuclear Plant as Firefighter 10 more years, 31 in all, Had plumbing business on
side (lost to first wife) farmed for a few on the side (lost to the second).
Team Roped for years (lost my horse to the Third). Was good enough to win
buckles and saddles, three years to team roping finals. Had Cancer in 97, beat
that, had quad bypass in 01, beat that, still going strong, sold out in Phenox
with this building boom, moved to Blythe Ca, Am single now, take care of older
Uncle here, set around writing and reminiscing now. Still walk 3 miles a day
and weight train (Maintenance) 30 mins a day.Right now I am writing a book just
to do it.
Virgil
Ashford
vrgate@ispwest.com
From Kendall Ropp 9/19/05
I was born in Dowagiac, Michigan on January 15th, 1928, then moved
to Pokagon, Michigan where I attended a one room school house. The school had 6
rows of students, one row for each grade. My Father was a tool and die
designer. Due to the economic disaster of the depression, we moved to
Edwardsburg, Michigan and assumed the responsibility of farming a 240 acre farm
with 8 cows, 2 mules and 2 horses. My chores included milking 4 cows every
morning at 6:00 AM and again at 6:00PM. I attended school in Edwardsburg by
riding my bike to and from school. My Mother passed away at the age of 54 years
while we lived on the farm in Edwardsburg. I only finished the 8th grade when
WW2 came along and my Father had an opportunity to continue his trade with
Bendix Aviation in South Bend, Indiana. I lived in South Bend, Indiana until I
was 16years old and decided that I wanted to be in South Florida as opposed to
the winters in Indiana. I hitchhiked to Miami, Fl and resided there until the
Korean war came along in 1950 and on November 21st, I joined the USAF and took
my basic training at Lakland AFB in Texas. In 1951 I was transferred to Nagoya
AFB in Japan for a short period of time and then on to Korea where I was a
radio operator. I fulfilled my one year tenure in Korea and then back to Japan
for transfer to McDill AFB in Tampa, Fl where I became an analyst for the
balance of my tour of duty. During my tenure at McDill AFB, I obtained my
highschool GED and then attended Southern University to obtain my BA degree in
accounting.
I am still a practicing accountant working full time from my home
in Oakland Park, Florida. I am married to a wonderful lady named Darlene who
has stuck by me through 16 years of cancer. We own a 35 food travel trailer
fifth wheel and like to travel whenever the opportunity presents itself. We
also own a Historic home in Sebring, Fl and have been in the process of
restoring it to its original condition in 1925.
IN GOD WE TRUST
WELCOME TO AMERICA...
Kendall
Ropp
k.ropp@worldnet.att.net
From Dick Bergman 9/19/05
Enlisted in September 1952. Raio Intercept training at Keesler
until late August 1953 then to Det#2 at Brooks for one month. Received orders
for overseas deployment from Camp Kilmer on the Gen. Maurice Rose and debarked
at Bremerhaven Germany in early November.
I was assigned to Det#4 136th CSS at Camp Pieri (an Army base-5th
AAA) just outside Wiesbaden which remained my home base for the next three
years. Not much to talk about except that I was the ground monitor for the
first U2 flight over the former USSR in July of 1955. Now that was excitement!.
I took my discharge in Sept. 1956 , got a job, married and started
raising a family (1 boy, 1 girl) In 1967 I returned to school at night and
received my BS with honors in 1973. After that I went to work for National Can
Company as a Human Resource manager and progressed to Employee Services and
Industrial Safety Director for the glass division.
I am now retired for 10 years and enjoy many activities such as
antique restoration and repair, competative running, hunting and a local
ukulele band.
Neglected to mention; I was born in Chicago in 1933. Got my degree
in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin.
We have six grand children, 5 boys and one girl. The two oldest
grand sons are now at Fort Shelby awaiting deployment to Iraq.
Dick
Bergman
odin@mia.net
From Bob Spiwak 9/21/05
I was born on November 29th 1931 in a very small town in
Connecticut called Moodus. Moodus is an Indian name for noises, which are heard
frequently coming from the local caves. I quit high school at age 16 and
started working in a lampshade factory. After about three years, in April 1951,
I joined the Air Force took basic training at Samson AFB in New York, and went
to Scott AFB as a private first class to study radio repair. I was then
assigned to Brooks AFB as a corporal to await a clearance and assignment to a
radio security squadron. While waiting for my clearance I, like many others,
was "demoted", due to the change from the AAF to the USAF, from
corporal (NCO) to A2C and started taking turns at KP. I finally got assigned to
the 136th CSS Detachment 12. I worked for/with Major Krula, S/Sgt.
Bohac, S/Sgt. Pierce, S/Sgt. Lemons, Lt. Wilson, S/Sgt. Fletcher and T/Sgt.
Burns
For about the next six months I did radio repair and taught a
class in basic electronics. At the end of 1952 I was assigned to the 136th
CSS Det. 6 in Moriyama-cho, outside of Nagoya, Japan. I "shipped" (I
thought I had joined the Air Force) out of California at the end of January
1953. In Yokohama I met Ed Harrop (coming for his second tour). We left for
Nagoya but due to bad weather we flew to Taegue, Korea then Miho, Japan and
finally took a train to Nagoya.
By April 1 1953 I was at K55 Osan-ni, Korea replacing Irving Moody
at Det. 6 Section 1. We lived in tents and the radios were in huts on the backs
of 6Xs until our Quonset huts were built. T/Sgt. Hayes and later T/Sgt. Brown
was in command of Detachment 6 Section 1. We shared Hill 170 with C Battery of
the 398th AAA, which had 40mm and 50 cal. antiaircraft guns. We also
ate in their mess.
We had some great vehicles in Korea. Our personal carrier would
only go up our hill backwards due to a pinhole in the fuel line. The fuel tank
had to be above the carburetor. Our jeep lost a front left wheel so John Fox, Emil
Wilson and I took a bottle of booze to the motor pool sergeant and we swapped
hoods (they had the serial numbers) with a working jeep.
Who remembers the night that our fifty kilowatt diesel generator
ran away? We were playing cards when the lights started to get brighter and
brighter and then went out. We all ran outside to watch the generator run
faster and faster until the engine head began to glow red. The fuel injectors
failed. No one wanted to get close to it for fear it would blow up. Finally T/Sgt.
Hayes, using a long stick was able to pull the fuel hose from the diesel
barrel. A few minutes later the generator gave out a loud shriek and died. It
boiled out all 20 something gallons of water from the radiator.
During my stay in Korea word came that our billets had burned to
the ground. Lucky for me all of my civilian clothes and most of my dress
uniforms were in storage. I made A1/c and returned to Japan in November.
In December 1953 we flew to Yokoda Air Base on a mission to
monitor some Air Force nets. The plane was flown by "Rapid" Robert
Reckner our CO. Rapid was his MARS amateur radio handle. On our way we flew
past Mount Fugi in our C-47. Unfortunately we recorded everything using 60
cycle recorders not knowing the power at Yokoda, Japan was at 50 cycles. Upon
our return to Moriyama we found the tapes unreadable. But it was a fun trip.
My next job was to run the
Moriyama club, which served steak dinners, hamburgers, beer, free coffee etc. I
ran the club until I went stateside in late summer of 1954. A lot of beer was
consumed in that club. These were about the best nine months in my Air Force
career.
I spend my last six months in the Air Force at the 26th
Radio Squadron Mobile at March Air Force Base, California. I was discharged on
April 5th 1955.
Using the GI Bill I attended the Ward School of Electronics at the
University of Hartford. In 1957, after graduation I joined Bell Telephone
Laboratories in New Jersey as a technical aide. During my time at Bell Labs. I
worked on the Transatlantic Telephone System, Silicon Microwave Devices,
Ferromagnetic Memories, Gallium Arsenide Microwave Generators and Silicon
Intergrated Circuits. In September 1957 I married Carol Anderson and we began a
family, which after 48 years (as of today) consists of four children and eleven
grandchildren with another due December 31, 2005. I retired from Bell Labs in
1995 as a Member of the Technical Staff (Engineer). Since retirement we spend
our time in Basking Ridge, NJ. Carol is involved in the St. James choir and I am
a volunteer driver for the church. I play a little golf, fish and ski and like
going to watch the NJ Devils hockey team. We attend the NJ Symphony several
times a year. We bought a lake front lot in Maine about 30 years ago and in
1995 built a small cabin on it. So we try to spend as much time there as we
can.
Bob
Spiwak
carol-bob@att.net
From Joseph C. Burns 10-16-2005
My name is Joseph C. Burns
(known as Joe for the past 20 or 30 years). I was born in Nashville, TN in May 1931,
and grew up in and around Hohenwald in Lewis County, TN. Joined the Air Force
in August 1949, and took basic training at Lackland AFB, TX. Was in radio
operator and radio intercept operator school after basic training until August
1950. Spend about 3 months in the fall of 1950 at Brooks AFB, TX in the 136th
RSS (Det M and Det B). Departed Brooks in November 1950 en route to Nak Nek,
Alaska
Arrived Nak Nek (Det A, 136 RSS) in Feb 1951 after two months wait for a troop
ship at Camp Stoneman, California and a weeks stay at Ft Lawton, Seattle,
Washington. In October 1951 our Detachment moved to Ladd AFB, Fairbanks,
Alaska, and later became Det 1, 136 CSS. I departed Ladd in May 1952 en route
to Brooks AFB, TX and stayed there until April 1956. While there this
Detachment was redesignated Det. 2, 136 CSS, Flt A 36 CSS, and later Det 1,
6936 CSS.
I arrived at Shiroi AB, Japan in May 1956 and was assigned to 6924th RSM. Our
operation there was later re-designated Det 4, 6921st RSM and later as Det 2,
6920 Sec Wg. I departed Shiroi in November 1857 en route to an assignment in
ADC at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, and was never assigned back into the USAFSS
again. For the most part I was a radio intercept operator and a shift chief
throughout my USAFSS service.
While at Wright-Patterson I was a radio operations supervisor in the 58th ADiv
headquarters. In Sep 1958 this unit was deactivated and I was transferred to
Otis AFB, Mass where I was assigned to the 551 Aor Base Gp as NCOIC of the Base
Billeting Section. Departed Otis in August 1959, and served one year at Sidi
Slimane, Morocco in the 4th Radio Relay Sq as a Tech Control Operator. After
returning to the states in Sep 1959 I was assigned to the 651st Comm Sq and
llater the 507th Command and Control Gp (TAC) at Shaw AFB, SC. From May 1962
until May 1966 I was in the 1946th Comm Sq (AFCS) at Lajes AB, Azores where I
was a shift supervisor in the Airways Station for two years and later
transferred into Plans and Programs Mgt for two years.
From May 1966 until Jan 1968 I was assigned to 18th Comm Sq (SAC) at Westover
AFB, Mass. Then the next two years I was assigned to the 1861st Comm Gp (AFCS)
at Clark AFB, PI. Then from Feb 1970 until my retirement from the USAF in Feb
1972 I was at AFCS Hq at Richards-Gebaur AFB, MO. I was in Plans and Programs
Mgt from 1966 until my retirement.
Following my retirement from the USAF I worked at two temporary civilian jobs
there in Kansas City, and then moved back to TN in Mar 1973 where I was
employed as a sales engineer and inside sales manager with a company that
manufactures walk-in coolers. After 5 years there, I went into business for
myself installing walk-in coolers and refrigerated buildings. In 1991 I retired
completely.
I was married in 1952. This marriage ended in divorce in 1957, and I married
again, to my present wife in 1958. I have 5 children, 13 grandchildren, and 5
great-grandchildren (plus another due next April). I have served as a member of
the local board of education for 25 years.
Joseph
C. Burns
jmburns@mlec.net
From Tony Lemons 10-20-2005
Anthony Pasquale LEMONS--strange last name for someone whose
bloodlines are 100% Italian, but then again, strange and funny things began to
happen to me from the day of my birth. That was early in the morning on Easter
Sunday in April 1931. None of the women in my town went to hospitals back then,
and either delivered themselves, or had help from a relative who had experience
in these matters, or a midwife assisted in the birthing process. The doctor was
not called unless there were complications, and most births took place in the
home. So when asked, "under which sign were you born?" I can honestly
answer under "GOD BLESS THIS HOME".
My grandfather was living with my parents at the time and gathered
me up and went into my sister's room and awakened her. She was 8 years old at
the time and Grandpop said. "Look what the Easter Bunny brought". She
was elated and very happy to have a new sibling. Then he went into my
4–year-old brother's room and said, "Look what the Easter Bunny
brought". I am told that my brother had a much different reaction than
that of my sister. He started to cry and mumbled, "I WANTED A
RABBIT".
As the years passed, I think he really thought his little brother
was OK, and we joked about "the rabbit" until the day he died.
I grew up in the small town of Winslow, New Jersey. The town had
been settled by Italian immigrants and most of the townspeople were farmers. My
parents had a couple of acres and we grew a lot of fruit and vegetables that we
shipped to market or preserved for the winter months. We raised chickens and
sold some of the eggs we collected. The effects of the Great Depression were
being felt and we were fortunate to have this source of food and income.
I helped my parents with their small farming efforts, but also
worked for my cousins who had a very large farming venture. The wide variety of
produce and fruit, coupled with a very short growing season, required long
hours in the fields. I couldn't wait until I was old enough to drive the
tractors and farm equipment (usually about 11 or 12 years of age).
I attended grammar school and then when the same school was just
starting a high school, I continued with them. I was the class Valedictorian,
but don't get too excited or impressed about this! When I graduated, we were
the largest class to have gone the full 4 years and we numbered 15 students. We
were able to field a basketball team and played flag football. However, when it
came to baseball, we needed help from the 8th graders to put 9 men on the
field. Another drawback from attending such a small school in the late forties
was the fact that there were no guidance counselors to speak of, and
information about colleges and scholarships were almost negative. Having doubts
about course offerings, and really not knowing what I wanted to do, I decided
to enlist in the military. After checking out all the service branches, I
thought the Air Force or the Navy had the most to offer. My brother (who wanted
a rabbit instead of me) had just been discharged from the Navy where he served
as a radio operator and gunner on a torpedo bomber (TBF) stationed on an
aircraft carrier in the Pacific during WWII and was in Tokyo Bay when the
Japanese surrender took place. He related some wonderful stories about the
Navy, but I didn't think I would be happy with a life at sea, so I chose the
Air Force. I have never regretted that decision.
I completed basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio and then
was chosen to attend Radio Operator Tech School at Scott AFB, Illinois. I went
to Scott, but never started classes there because the entire school program was
being moved to Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS. So I was in one of the first classes to
start and finish at Keesler. Next assignment was to the 136th Communications
Security Squadron at Brooks AFB, San Antonio. There I made a lot of good
friends and a large number of us shipped out together to Det F in Moriyama
(Nagoya), Japan. The powers to be must have known that something was brewing in
the Far East, because our group nearly doubled the ranks of Det F's personnel
when we arrived in early May, 1950.
The Korean War broke out on June 24, 1950, and we began to prepare
for deployment to that combat zone. A large contingent went by ship to Pusan,
Korea in early September and would set up operations in Taegu, Seoul, and all
over in the mountains depending on where the front lines were at the time. Our
name would also change from Detachment F to Det 6.
In 1951 President Truman issued an order that would extend all
troops in that area to one more year of service. For whatever reason, be it the
thoughts of a brash 20 year old, or the fact that I was not controlling my own
destiny, I revolted against this extension. HOW? I re-enlisted for 3 more
years. At least it was my own doing, and not something that was being forced
upon me. After alternating between Korea and Japan for a couple of deployments,
I left Japan/Korea in April, 1952. I was assigned to the Training Detachment at
Brooks as an instructor in high speed monitoring. It was here that I met Bob
Spiwak, by the way, before he shipped out to Japan. While at Brooks, I was
picked for a couple of special missions. One that was very interesting was a
mission to Stuart AFB in New York on the Hudson. Capt. George Ridler was in
command and had checked out a B-25 bomber to transport the team to Stuart AFB.
My seat was in the tail gunner's position, and during the flight I kept
thinking about the Doolittle raid on Tokyo. This was a rough flying aircraft
and I admire the men who performed their mission so gallantly. Once more I was
proud I had chosen to serve in the Air Force. Our mission at Stuart was to
monitor telephone communications between that base and NATO headquarters in
Germany. We accessed the main telephone frame, used recorders and then would
later make a hard copy from the record cylinders. WAS THIS A LEGAL WIRETAP???
As 1952 was drawing to a close, there was an opening in Det 5,
Hickam AFB, Honolulu, Hawaii for a Radio Operatioins Supervisor. Although I did
not have the "70"MOS at the time, Capt. Ridler and a couple of other
officers thought I could do the job and made the recommendation that I be sent
to Hawaii. I agreed to the transfer, but then was told I could not go. Hawaii
at the time was still a Territory and considered an overseas assignment. AF
regulations said "a person returning from a combat zone had the right to
remain Stateside for one year before being shiped overseas again". This
did not stop me because I had learned from our Det 6 chief clerk, Vic Schwartz,
that most if not all regulations have an exception. This one did too, and all
that was required was my signature waiving my right to a year in the States!
Orders were cut and I was given a 30 day leave plus travel time to get to Camp
Stoneman and eventual transport to Honolulu. That night I made a phone call
that would change my life completely.
Earlier in this writing I mentioned that I attend a very small
school. In the 6th grade, a young lady joined our class and I was fascinated by
her blonde hair and blue eyes. She was NOT Italian! She was only with us for
one year and then her family moved to Burlington, NJ. We had become good
friends and kept in touch with each other over the next few years. When I
finally was of legal age to get my driver's license (after driving for about 5
years on the farms), my brother of the "wanted a rabbit" fame would
lend me his car. I would drive to Burlington from time to time to see her. She
graduated from Burlington High and then the Presybterian-U of P School of Nursing.
We kept in touch by letter and some visits whenever I had leave. When I made
the trip to Stuart AFB, I thought we would have a weekend together, but she was
off in Indiana at the time. Those of you who remember the days before the Salk
Vaccine, our country was facing a Polio Epidemic of widespread proportions and
the Iron Lungs were the only means of survival for stricken patients. Lylla had
volunteered for disaster nursing with the Red Cross and was sent to Methodist
Hospital in Indianapolis, where she worked long days for 6 months. Fortunately
when I received my orders to Hawaii, she was back home in New Jersey when she
received that phone call. I proposed marraige and she accepted. On January 17,
1953 Lylla Lorena Daneker became Lylla Daneker Lemons. I reported to Camp
Stoneman on Jan 29, was in Hawaii on Feb 8 and she joined me there on February
12th, 1953. We lived off base because she worked in a local hospital and it was
a very easy commute for me to Hickam. We opened our home to a lot of the enlisted
men, and I am sure they enjoyed a home cooked meal and time away from the
barracks. A lot of the radio operators there had gone through training at
Brooks under my supervision.
I passed my "70" exam and was promoted to T/Sgt shortly
after arriving at Hickam AFB. I actually achieved that rank in just under 5
years of service. This was a great incentive to continue a military career that
had been my original intention. Now, however, I began to associate with people
in the medical profession and my feelings began to lead away from the Air Force
and I knew I wanted to be involved with medicine in some way. It was a very
difficult decision, because the Air Force was tempting me with another stripe
for a signature, or a chance at OCS for another hitch. After some deep soul
searching, Lylla and I decided to leave the military ranks and I was discharged
on December 1, 1954.
I applied to the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science and
was accepted with no problem, only to be told that since it was January, there
was no way I could catch up to the class that had started in September. The
curriculum was such that there were no semester breaks, but classes were the
entire yearlong. So I began to work--at about 13 different jobs--until the next
class would start in September. I did a little farming, tried my hand as an
insurance salesman, worked for a maintenance contractor who installed black tip
driveways, worked in a tomato cannery processing sauces and catsup, drove a
dump truck for a contractor, worked at Maguire AFB in their Radio repair as a
parts specialist, and other odd jobs. As September drew near, Lylla who could
not get pregnant before this time, suddenly found herself with our first child.
The news was great, but the GI bill at that time was not the greatest, and I
decided to wait another year. I continued to work at Maguire and spent my lunch
break in the MARS station where the GI's let me receive and transmit messages
for them. I am sorry I did not stick with Amateur Radio. On December 30, 1955,
Gail Lee Lemons arrived into this world. Those of you who attended the Colorado
Springs reunion in 1998 or the Biloxi Reunion in 2002 had the opportunity to
meet Gail.
Now it seemed that despite all earlier failed attempts to become
pregnant, now all we had to do was shake hands and it would happen. Joyce Carol
Lemons was born on August 7, 1957, and I began class work in September of that
year. So despite the fact that it was 9 years since I had left High School, I
discovered that being Valedictorian of that small high school class was no
fluke. I was elected class President for 4 years, President of the Student Body
for 3 years, graduated with honors and elected into the Rho Chi National
Honorary Pharmacy Society.
Our third daughter, Susan Kay, was born in March 1960 just before
graduation. The fourth girl, Donna Jean was born in March 1963, and Lylla and I
decided not to try for a boy--they would be around later as these 4 girls grew
up.
Lylla and I still kept in touch with a lot of nurses and some
doctors from Honolulu and one day I received a letter from one of the doctors
who had become a close and dear friend. He wanted me to come to Hawaii and work
in St.Frances Hospital there. He had laid out all the ground work, and we
jumped at the chance. It didn't take us long to pack up all four daughters and
fly United to Hawaii, arriving on a Saturday and starting to work on Monday. I
also did some "moonlighting" in retail Pharmacy and had the
opportunity to fill prescriptions for some celebrities while doing so. The list
included Sean Connery, James "Dano" Kennedy, Jack Lord, and Julie
Andrews while she was filming Hawaii, Don Ho, and Duke Kahanamouka. Had trouble
fitting his name on the prescription label. Also had to take a medication
history on Billy Graham while he was hospitalized with Pneumonia during one of
his evangelistic crusades. We spent 5 years in Hawaii before returning to the
mainland.
I then went to work for the West Jersey Hospital Systems, a
complex of 4 different hospitals. I worked my way up from staff pharmacist to
Chief of the largest (750 beds) of the group. Lylla was employed as a Neonatal
Natal Intensive Care Nurse for St.Christohper's and the University of
Pennsylvania Children's Hospitals in Philadelphia. Her job included some helicopter
and ambulance transfers of sick babies from small hospitals to the Neonatal
Center.
Lylla and I had both long ago determined that we were not
"cold weather" people. As a matter of fact, if the temperature drops
into the 60's, I nearly fold up. So I flew to Florida to take the Pharmacy
State Boards there. It was the 5th state in which I had written boards,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii (which were California Boards) and
now Florida. HAVE LICENSE WILL, TRAVEL! So we moved to the Ft. Lauderdale area
in 1979 and after spending 2 years there, relocated to the Clearwater-Tampa Bay
area where I presently reside.
Over the course of the years, I would often think about some of the
old buddies I had met during my military service, but never did anything about
it. Sometime in late 1952, I received a letter from George McMahan asking if I
was the same Tony Lemons who was in Japan and Korea while he was there. Besides
his own, he included the phone numbers for Don Maddux and Carl Waterhouse. WHAT
A WONDERFUL DAY THAT WAS. I immediately called George and assured him that I
was the same person. Even though it had been 50 years, it seemed that we had
never been apart. After talking to George, I then called Don and Carl. Same
results and the many years between seemed to shrink away. I was saddened to
hear that close friends like Sam Sensenig, Dean Parrish, John McMahon, John
Render and others had been located, but were deceased at the time. When they
informed me that a Comsec Veterans Group was being formed and a reunion planned
for Branson, Missouri in June 1994, Lylla and I were very interested and became
actively involved.
We joined forces with Richard White, our founder, and Lylla actually
did all the planning for meals and tours in Branson. My daughter Gail designed
the program for the reunion. Nothing fancy, but adequate and a format that has
been used for every reunion since, and will be used again in 2006 for the
Nashville reunion. Those of you who attended the Brasnson and the San Antonio
reunions had the opportunity to meet Lylla and found that she was a very out
going person. At the San Antonio reunion in 1996, I was elected as the reunion
secretary, and with Lylla's help began to plan for the '98 reunion in Colorado
Springs. Unfortunately, however, the Lord called her home on September 1, 1997.
I had just put in for retirement and we had planned to do some traveling and
other things, but those plans had to be canceled.
I finished the work on the reunion planning that she had started
and have been doing it by myself ever since. I miss her advice and
companionship, but have many good memories from the 45 years of a great
marriage. My daughter Gail accompanied me to the Colorado reunion, saying she
didn't want me to be alone. I tease her by telling her she just wanted to make
sure Dad wasn't chasing the widows. Gail and her husband Dave came to Biloxi
and provided special music entertainment one night.
I enjoyed the retired life for about 30 days, then went back to
work part time. I used to call a lot of my patients’ "elderly," but
now who is talking? Nevertheless, I can help a lot of them, who have become
confused about their medications, so I will work as long as I am able. I also belong
to the VFW and the American Legion, but not too active in those groups. I do
take an active part and hold office as Secretary and Quartermaster of our local
chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association and an active member of the
Forgotten Korean Veterans Association here. Combine these activities with
volunteer work I do at a Hospice pharmacy, church groups, and enjoying my
grandchildren; you can see that I have little time to sit at home.
I am blessed with 8 grandchildren; the oldest is 29 and a graduate
of Rutgers University currently the Marketing Director of the Metro Stars
professional soccer team in New Jersey. The youngest is a 5- year- old grandson
and I recently became a great grandfather last year.
I enjoy the close contact that I have with all the Comsec
veterans, many that I have not met personally. I will continue to offer my
services to them as long as I am able.
TONY
LEMONS
Hi
Bob,
While
looking thru my stuff I came across this traffic ticket I got in Seoul, Jan 2,
1952. I had just left K-16 Airfield with a load of VIP people.
Since all that stuff has been declassified, I can give you their names. I
had the Canadian Club, the Seagram Seven, Hiram Walker, Jack Daniels and Jim
Beam. They were all in a box marked TOP SECRET. Thought you would
enjoy. Please note height: 5'9" weight 145. Those numbers have
changed, nopw 5'6", 190. Oh well, it's better to be a has been than a
never was!!
Tony
Tony
I think I was with you that night---we were also running with the lights on in
a black out area. We had new PT 6 recorders with us----we were taken to a
police station and they finally let us go about midnight---Don fm Mo
Hello
Don from MO,
My
recollections of that night are kind of foggy. Yes, we were
"escorted" to the Provost Marshall's off ice and stockade in Seoul
and as I recall, the MP's wanted to check out our cargo. I also seem to
think that besides the equipment, we also picked up a couple of guys who were
making their first trip to Korea. Still foggy memory!
Gave
the citation to then Capt. Ridler and he laughed. Told me to keep it for
a souvenir and that was it. Interesting that I had a reply from one of
our members who served on Okinawa. He said I must have had a pretty good
truck, because the PC he drove couldn't go over 30 MPH. I told him it was
because we had Dick Sholts in charge of our vehicles and they were all in tip
top shape--even broken axles, leaking gas tanks and all were taken care
of.
I
left Korea shortly after that night and returned on the same ship with Dick
Sholts. I never got to use the recorders in Korea, but later from Brooks
went on a mission to Stuart AFB in New York and we taped into the telephone
circuits between Stuart and AF Headquarters in Europe, using the
recorders. Again, memory is bad and I don't know who went with me, except
that we flew from Kelly to Mitchell AFB in a B-25 that Capt. Ridler had
checked out for the mission. I think John McMahon was the analyst on the
trip. I remember that the bases in the NY area were closed because of
dense fog and we were re-routed to Westover in Mass. We were the only
ones billeted overnight in a 3 story brick building that was like a
refrigerator and then flew into Mitchell the next day.
Despite
some of the things I can't remember, I do have some great memories of my
service time.
Catch
you later,
Tony
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE! GOD BLESS YOU, AND GOD BLESS AMERICA
From Bruce Case 11/1/2005
COMSEC
RECOLLECTIONS
May
1954
In the beginning …
In May 1954, I qualified for Air Force Pilot Training as a 19-1/2
year old high school graduate. USAF needed pilots and observers (navigators,
weapons systems, and radar officers) due to high resignations immediately after
the Korean Armistice. I took my 5-day qualifying exams at Chanute Field in
Rantoul, IL. Of my 18 member cadet class, 2 qualified as pilots and 7 qualified
as observers. Nine were disqualified for physical and aptitude reasons. Of the
9 qualifying, all had college degrees except me.
I didn’t make it to Pre-Flight at Lakeland though, because they
determined late on the 5th day that my blood pressure was marginally
high and there was a slight heart murmur. Although a tremendous disappointment,
I am convinced 5 systolic points saved me from bad things 10 years later in
Vietnam. So, there I was, stranded with nowhere to go and nothing to do. So I
opted to enlist in the regular AF and entered basic training at Lakeland in
early August 1954.
After basic, I was assigned to the USAF Security Service, 6966th
Technical Training Squadron, at Kelly AFB and spent 4-1/2 months in 202 (Radio
Traffic Analysis) school. It was just a short bus ride up the hill … no travel
pay. The first 9 week’s classes were from 0600 to 1200. The last 9 weeks were
1200 to 1800. As I can best recall, the curriculum included cryptography, radio
network analysis, weather, Morse code, radio/rtty fundamentals, traffic
analysis, flight fundamentals, USAF organization, global deployment and
missions, and possibly more that I don’t recall There was also some Russian and
Mandarin Chinese language familiarization. On top of all that, we got a heavy
dose of handling classified materials, and how to manage and transport
classified documents up through Top Secret-Crypto. We spent the last 2 weeks
working on a simulated Traffic Analysis problem.
The TA problem consisted of teams working through volumes of plain
text and encrypted radio logs to glean as much COMINT as we could. My team did
fairly well. The complete solution was that an enemy bomber (a Russion Bison)
was flying sorties near the New England coast, and was launching and recovering
drone observation aircraft. The drones use the call sign Argus, which was a
great clue. The Argus flights overflew and photographed US Navy installations,
including the submarine base at Groton/New London.
The school was great since we locked up all our notes and books in
the vault after classes and there was absolutely no homework. My top
secret/crypto clearance came in during my fourth week of school. There were
about 20 in my class and all but four got their clearances in due time. One day
during our sixth week, these four moved out of the dorms one night and were
never heard from. During my USAFSS career such overnight disappearances
occurred probably about a dozen times. We called them "OD"s.
While I was in 202 school, I took flying lessons at Stinson Field
which was about 10 miles up the road. I soloed my J3 Piper Cub after 5 hours.
In total, I accrued 15 hours which included two cross-country flights (San
Antonio-Cotulla-Uvalde). This experience came into play later in my post-AF
life.
March
1955 – February 1956
Detachment 2, 6932nd Communications Security Squadron;
Clark AB, PI
My 202 training was completed in late February 1955 and I got
orders to report to Det. 2, 6932nd Communications Security Squadron
at K55 Korea. (I don’t have a copy of these orders, but it really could have
been for Flt B, 32nd CSS). Fast forward about 3 weeks, and I am at
Tachikawa AB waiting for a flight assignment to K55. Before that could happen,
I got revised orders assigning me to Det. 2, 6932nd CSS, Clark AB,
Philippines … same unit different location. Det. 2 had moved to Clark since my
original orders were cut. (The change from Flt B, 32nd CSS could
have been coincident with the change of station to Clark.
So, I joined Det. 2 about a week later at Clark. A1C William
McNamara flew down with me from Tachi. He was to be Supply Sergeant. When Mac
and I arrived, we were shocked. The unit had been assigned a
group of ramshackle quonset huts for HQ and barracks. It was
really bad. The quansets were in a deserted area at the far southwest edge of
Clark … a location uninhabited since 1946. The location was called the
Maned Area, presumably a name with some WWII meaning. We also were
given an abandoned house about 200 yards south of the quansets to set up
operations.
As we arrived, we found the guys unpacking a huge cache of weapons
they brought down from Korea. They were all in wooden crates, disassembled and
packed in heavy grease. There were M1 Carbines, Grease Guns, Thompsons, and
Colt 45 Autos. So they were cleaning the parts and putting them all back
together. It was fun but a real mess in the sweltering heat and humidity. I
helped myself to an M1 and a Colt 45 with holster, web belt, and plenty of
ammo. They were also patching up rotted plywood floors and fixing the plumbing
in the quansets. I also remember they were digging post holes for marking off
the parking area … spent 120 mm Howitzer shells painted white were to became
the posts. In the coming days, I participated in all these "sports"
and still remember horrendous blisters from the post hole diggers.
We made the place our home though and probably enjoyed the
situation more than we realized.
Det. 2 was one of 4 Detachments of 6932nd CSS. HQ was
at Shiroi AB, having recently moved from the New Kaijo Building in Tokyo.
Shiroi was about an hour train ride west of Tokyo.
Det. 1 was at Obu Site just outside of Nagoya. Here my memory is
fuzzy. I believe Det. 3 was in Southern Japan on the Island of Itazuke, and
Det. 4 was in Northern Japan, possibly at or near Misawa AB. By late 1956 there
were also some operations at Fuchu near Tachikawa AB. Fuchu was HQ, 5th
Air Force. Whatever our Fuchu mission was, I suspect spooking HQ, 5th
AF was part of it.
In Det. 2, we had a Captain, a Master Seargent, a Tech Sergeant, a
few Staff Sergeants, about thirty A1C and A2C, and one A3C (me!). We had 6 radio intercept stations and two radio
teletype CF2 bays. Of the 6 radio intercepts, 4 were live HF CW (High Frequency
Continuous Wave) and two were tape recording UHF ( Ultra High Frequency)
systems. The 4 HF stations used Hammerlund SP600s. We had two Traffic Analysts
… A1C Ray Fuchs and me. Ray had come down with the unit from Korea.
Ray and I closed off our TA section which was two small adjoining
bedrooms (kinda cramped but we did have our own private toilet). We secured the
door with a deadbolt and tacked up a "No Entry – Top Secret Area"
sign. Nobody but Ray or I could enter …. not even our Captain or First
Seargent, neither of whom had security clearances. All we could talk about with
them was the heat and humidity. Any documents the Captain had to sign, we
spread out on the day room pool table with a everything covered except the
signature line. We had a standing joke about our reports going to HQ with green
fuzz on the back.
As I said, we took over the old house, set up our radios and radio
teletype equipment, our TA section, and a maintenance section. Our maintenance
guys were really skilled from experience at K55. They built our antennae farm
…. " dipole rhombic double doublet", not the familiar "elephant
cage’ array the RSM’s (Radio Squadron Mobile) and RGM’s (Radio Group Mobile)
preferred. That was for HF. We also put up 60 foot monopoles for UHF. (I have
great pictures of the antennae farm, as well as our converted house operations
building, and the quanset huts.)
At first, Ray and I assigned radio frequencies to the trick chiefs
who made the operator assignments. We got some starter freqs from HQ at Shiroi,
but after a month or so that we let our 292s (Radio Intercept Operators) scan
and find productive frequencies. Before long, we had our own home grown Top
Secret frequency directory, including day/night links. Magically, the
maintenance guys tuned in the two radio teletype bays to some very productive
plain language and crypto channels. I don’t know where or how
they got the frequencies. We got our best intel from radio
teletype. The CW logs and UHF recordings were a great challenge though and
contributed significantly. Overall, I estimate we got 60% of our intel from
radio teletype, 35%from HF and UHF, and 5% from "other creative
sources". Among these sources were base and unit phone directories and
newsletters, Stars and Stripes, and some HUMINT (Human Intelligence) from
"friends" at Clark.
After 2-3 months, we got two more 202 Traffic Analysts assigned,
A1C Frank Jarosz, and A1C Dale Forrest. Jarosz came down from Det. 1; Forrest
came from HQ at Shiroi. Forrest was formerly a 292 but cross-trained into 202
at HQ. He was by far the most experienced and sharpest of the four of us. We
all learned a lot from him.
During the year I spent with Det. 2, we did a lot of good COMSEC
work. Twice a day we processed long rolls of teletype, CW, and voice logs …
separating the useful from the chaff. After analysis we shipped all the logs to
HQ at Shiroi. Everything was USAF communications. We also did some COMINT work.
Once a week, we received a pouch of transcribed Chinese traffic from a Marine
unit at Subic Bay. This was not part of our official mission and we never
discussed it with HQ at Shiroi. I really can’t recall why or when this started.
Maybe it was worked out at some high level on the base. COMSEC units often got
odd jobs like this because we all had high clearances and could be trusted to
handle highly classified materials. We scanned the Chinese traffic but couldn’t
do much without a Chinese linguist. So we would fold up the long rolls of
traffic accordion style and repackage. Once a week, I would take the package to
the base communications center for shipment to the National Security Agency at
Arlington, VA. Once in a communication for NSA, the word "patrol" was
mentioned which led me to believe the traffic was intercepted by a Marine unit
on a sub near China. As I said, I never knew why we were the delivery point for
this stuff.
We had a terrific crew of 292s. I can still see them in their
T-Shirts soaking wet with sweat in our operations "house". There was
no air conditioning, but we had plenty of electric fans. There were 4 tricks
manning three 8 hour shifts. They had a rotating shift schedule, and I seem to
remember they worked 6 on and 3 off. Productivity was amazing. Between trick
changes and maintenance, up-time ran about 95%. We averaged 2700 hours of live
HF intercept monthly, and 1300 hours of recorded UHF. Our two radio teletype
lines did even better, averaging 1400 hours up-time.
Although we didn’t allow the 292s inside the TA section, the
analysts spent a lot of time in the radio room assigning frequencies and
helping the operators interpret Morse. Our "targets" had distinctive
"hands" and some were really whizzes with their tuned up
"bugs". Sometimes dots and dashes ran together so it was difficult to
separate characters. An A could easily be an E and a T, or a call sign such as
1EE4 could be heard as any number of different characters. Since the TAs had
the big picture, we helped the operators know how to recognize repeated call
signs, words, and phrases. A lot of times the TAs would put on headsets and try
to make some sense of things. I remember visiting with the intercept operators
at lease once a day to keep them up on what we were doing.
We wrote three kinds of reports. 1) Security Incident Summary
describing a breach in procedure (call sign compromise, Q-Signal abuse, wrong
encryption address procedure, etc.), 2) Weekly Intelligence Digest, and 3)
Special Intel Study Report. There may have been others. At times we sent up
special "gisting" reports, which was an unstructured vehicle for
shortcutting formal channels. Our reports were TOP SECRET. There were also
other "housekeeping" reports on maintenance of Top Secret manuals,
destruction of records, etc.
The Top Secret manuals were a pain in the posterior. I think we
must have had 5 or 6 assigned to us. They were huge loose leaf binders filled
with Top Secret pages of Army, Navy, and Air Force communications procedures,
call signs, code words, etc. Once a month, we received a bundle of updated
replacement pages for these manuals. One of my jobs was to insert the updated
pages and ship back the obsolete pages … with a Top Secret transmittal sheet of
course.
Once I made a huge mistake. I inadvertently tossed a set of
obsolete pages into my burn bag, and proceeded to burn the bag with contents at
the end of the day. The next day I discovered what I had done and panicked. Of
all the stupid things, I reported the pages missing, rather than report that I
burned them. Well, in about two weeks a Major from somewhere I never found out,
showed up at our operations building looking for me. What really made things
bad was our Filipino guard wouldn’t let the Major into our building because his
name wasn’t on his authorized access list. The incident took place at our front
door and later a couple of operators told me it was a real fiasco. By the time
the Major did get in to see me, he was really in a bad mood. The bottom line is
I finally confessed to the Major that it was "possible" that I might
have accidentally burned the Top Secret pages. Well, that was the worst chewing
out I ever had in my life. But that was the end of it, and needless to say I
was extremely careful from then on.
In our role of enemy COMINT we gleaned some remarkable
intelligence from our own Air Force communications, such as:
We monitored our USAF communications involving nuclear test shots at
Eniwitok. We reconstructed the Special Weapons encrypted and PL radio net, and
identified many of the Project Code Words, such as Cherokee and Apache. We also
identified many the field grade officers, and tracked the SAC B47 squadrons as
they deployed to Guam. It was obvious most of the activity was directed from
Sandia and Kirtland (HQ AF Spec Weapons Depot). In one of our reports we
criticized the AF for using Project Code Words that could be linked by
commonality and were descriptive of the activity. We later got some praise for
that from SAC (Strategic Air Command).
We monitored AF and Navy communications and verified they were
floating high observations balloons over the Soviet Union. Code Names Mobey
Dick, 119L, and Skyhook. Once again, bad use of Code Words. Mobey Dick … the
balloons looked like whales on carrier decks; 119L … the retrieving aircraft
designator; and Skyhook … the 119Ls deployed a long hook which snared the
balloons out of the air over the Sea of Japan. We had great help on this
project since A2C Callahan up at HQ Shiroi had cracked the Project Skyhook
communications code. I seem to recall it was based on a system using colors.
Det. 1 at Obu also did great work on Skyhook, reporting a great number of
communication security violations and contributing to the intel development.
We reconstructed the Southeast Asia ACW (Aircraft Control and
Warning) command radio net, identified their call signs, and their day and
night frequencies. The net included Okinawa, Formosa, and the PI. It was a 6
point "free star with lateral" network. I still remember the call
signs: 1EE1 through 1EE6, with 1EE4 being the center of the free star.
We reported about a dozen call sign compromises a month, mostly by
pilots from the 16th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (F86Ds), and the
44th Fighter Bomber Squadron (F86Hs). Most of the time it went
something like this " ... Clark, Mophead (pause) …. ah, er, Porkpie niner,
86 delta …. ".
We contributed to intel involving clandestine activities of the 581st
Air Resupply Squadron. They flew black B29s and C119s out of Johnson and Misawa
and dropped people, equipment, and supplies above the 38th parallel
in Korea. This was extremely sensitive and we got some serious inquiries from
5th Air Force
about this. We were able to get most of this from plain language traffic back
and forth to the Clark aircraft paint shop. That was where the planes all came
for painting and retouching.
Most of this work was
done in close collaboration with HQ at Shiroi. When Dale Forrest joined us from
HQ, he brought with him valuable intel that helped point us in the right
direction.
One last funny story to
show how loosely we were allowed to operate. Our CO, Captain Waring was a rated
pilot and needed to fly 8 hours a month to maintain his rating. So every two
weeks he checked out a C47 from base ops to put in his flying time. He always
invited anybody who was off duty to go along for the ride. I went every time I
could, off-duty or on-duty. On one of these excursions, I took along one of our
radio maintenance mechanics, A1C Lockhart, an intercept operator, A2C Anagnost,
and a portable battery powered UHF radio receiver, and 200 feet of wire. After
we strapped on our parachutes, we snuck the radio and wire aboard out of sight
of our Captain. Once in the air over the China Sea, we attached the wire to the
radio and strung the wire out through the passenger door for an antennae. Our
intent was to see what we interesting things we might pick from 10,000 feet
over the South China Sea. Bottom line was we couldn’t pick up anything, only
static. However, we did succeed in tearing up the fabric covering over the left
elevator and part of the rudder with the flapping wire. Of course we didn’t
realize this was going on … until Captain Waring came on the intercom and said
there was some problem controlling the plane. It was an interesting return
flight. Once again we got into a bit of trouble when Captain Waring saw what we
had done.
That seems to sum up pretty
well what we were doing in Det. 2 while I was there from Mar 55 through Feb 56.
In mid to late ‘55, Ray
Fuchs finished his tour and went back to the States. Over the next few months,
we got two more 202s bringing our 202 compliment to 5. The new guys were A2C
Tom Ray and A2C Cliff
Guillot. Both were
inexperienced but trainable. My experience was that it took 6 months or more of
OJT before a 202 could become productive. 202 school was heavy on academics but
lacking in application.
One other note well worth
mentioning!! Of all the 202s we had in Det. 2 (or anywhere else for that
matter), A1C Dale C. Forrest was the most experienced and brightest 202 I ever
ran into. He mentored all of us in Det. 2, and was the main influence behind
our successes. I haven’t tried to locate him. He was from Clark County, South
Dakota, possibly the town of Clark. When I knew him at Clark AB he was a little
older than me, maybe about 24-25. I didn’t know if it was his first or second
hitch, but I believe it was his first and only. I also don’t know where he got
his experience … maybe Det. 1 at Obu or maybe HQ at Shiroi. I do know he was
originally a 292 but OJT’d as a 202. He was a real character. He had a rare mix
of sarcasm and humor. He was a heavy drinker and smoked three packs of Camels
and about a half a dozen cigars a day. He inhaled it all. Maybe someone out
there remembers Dale C. Forrest.
The thing I was impressed
with in my Det 2 tour, was how vulnerable our USAF communications were to enemy
COMINT. It was as if they had no concept of communications security and weren’t
even aware there was enemy COMINT out there. I assume it was because of the
heavy turnover in Air Force command after Korea. The command structure in the
mid-50s was relatively inexperienced in combat support functions, and it was a
time of mellowing. Korea was over. The French had moved out of IndoChina, the
China/Formosa situation had quieted down, and the buildup in Vietnam (formerly
IndoChina) had not yet started.
I’d like to think we
played a part in improving the situation by our work in Det. 2.
March 1956 – May 1956
Detachment 1, 6932nd
Communications Security Squadron; Obu Site, Nagoya, Japan
In February 1956, I
applied and got a transfer to Det. 1 at Obu. I liked my work at Det. 2 and
enjoyed Clark, but I wanted to see Japan.
I was only at Obu for
about two months before my cousin, A!C Ronald Riffel, influenced my transfer to
HQ, 6932nd CSS at Shiroi. Ron was one of about a dozen 202s there.
That will be covered in the next chapter.
Obu was remote, very
remote. According to my memory, it was about 20 miles outside Nagoya, on the
opposite side of Komaki AB. Except for a few small villages between Obu and the
outskirts, it was all two lane road, much of it unpaved.
The site consisted of one
street. You entered the main unguarded gate and looked down main street. The
opposite end was about 500 yards down the street. It was said that the street
was a runway for Kamakazi pilots during WWII. It could have been because there
wasn’t much room for landing. As you came through the gate, operations was on
the left, then the mess hall, and then the snackbar and the ham radio station.
On the right was a couple, maybe three, two story barracks. I think there must
have been a couple of other smaller buildings for maintenance and grounds.
Overall, it was not a scenic place.
Except for going to
Nagoya on weekends, the best spots on the site were the mess hall and the snack
bar.
The food was really
great. We had a generous food budget since we were such a remote location. The
snack bar was a little tarpaper shack where we hung out to knock back beers on
our time off. A1C Waterhouse operated a ham radio station in or near the snack
bar building.
The 202 section was
arranged classroom style. There were two "teacher’s desks" at the
front. One manned by our NCOIC, SSGT Red Maddox, and the other by A2C Simkins.
He must have been Red’s assistant.
There were about eight
202s. The only other name I remember was McLaughlin. I don’t remember anything
special I worked on. I just processed logs and occasionally wrote summaries for
the WID (Weekly Intelligence Digest). I can still remember Sgt Maddox bugging
everybody about items for the WID. I also don’t remember much rapport between
the 202 TAs and the 292 intercept operators. I remember only entering the radio
room one time. Off duty of course, we were all great drinking buddies, but at
work there wasn’t much contact between the 202s and the 292s. I think a lot was
lost compared to the close working relationship between the 202s and 292s that
we had in Det. 2 at Clark.
I guess each unit takes
on it’s own personality. I suspect the Det. 1 situation was more normal.
Whereas the Det. 2 family at Clark was close knit and operationally very
energetic and creative, because of our small size and the way we had to rebuild
our living quarters and operations building. We pretty much did our own thing
in Det. 2. I seem to remember there was more emphasis on communications
security violations than intel at Det. 1. At Det. 2, intel was the first
priority. This might have been by directive from HQ Shiroi based on the
different theatres of operation. Det. 1 was in the 5th Air Force
domain, while Det. 2 was in 13th Air Force territory. Maybe the
"contracts" between these two Air Force commands and USAFSS were
different, i.e. 5th Air Force more concerned with security while 13th
Air Force more concerned with intel vulnerability.
I’m sure there was a lot
of good work going on at Det. 1, it’s just that I just barely got moved in, when
I got orders to move to HQ at Shiroi.
A couple of fond memories
from Obu stick with me. I was one of only a handful who had a military driver’s
license. So one day, I got called to drive a visiting Major to Komaki to catch
a plane. (Rremember the MATS C-54 Convair "Bee Liner" that flew up
and down Japan every day?) So I gathered up the
Major in my jeep and we
headed off to Komaki which should have been no more than a 45 minute drive.
Well, I decided to drive
directly through the center of Nagoya to show the Major the local sights. At
that time, all the street signs in Nagoya were in Japanese which should have
deterred me. Anyway, to make a long story short, I got hopelessly lost. The
Major got really angry, to put it mildly, and fretted about missing his plane.
Miracle of miracles … after about an hour and a half of going around in
circles, all at once the Komaki main gate appeared before us.
Through the main gate, I
could see the Convair sitting on the ramp with its right engine running and the
walkway still attached. I speeded, up racing past the guards and screeched to a
halt just at the walkway. I remember looking back and seeing the guards
screaming and waving their batons. At the walkway, the Major snatched his B4
bag, he snarled "…what’s your name again airman?" I gave him a fake
name and he said "… good, I’ll never ride with you, ever again!"
Other times, I would have
to drive a courier run to other military sites around Nagoya. I can remember
driving through tight narrow streets with my holstered 45 and a courier sack on
the front seat of the jeep. It was like WWII occupation. Little kids would come
up wanting to touch me and, especially, my pistol. They all knew a dozen words
or so, some of them not being too nice. It’s funny they all wanted me to meet
their sisters. I’ve never figured that out.
Another time, I headed
out on a courier run driving our weapons carrier instead of the jeep. The
"weps" carrier was hard to drive. You had to up-shift 6 times to get
up to speed. The steering wheel seemed as big as the wheels and was just as
hard to turn. Anyway, I raced out the gate with my usual abandon, intent on
shifting and steering, when I hit a huge pothole and the vehicle careened off
the dirt road into a rice paddy. It sunk up to the floorboards and died. So the
only thing to do was to climb out and walk back to the compound for help. So, I
showed up at the orderly room with mud up to my hips and told my story.
It was great fun … for my
buddies. A gang of them from went out to the half sunken truck … all the while
giving me a real hard time. They did get it pushed out and, believe it or not,
I continued on my courier run for the day with the weapons carrier and me both
caked in rice paddy slime and mud.
May 1956 – March 1957
HQ, 6932nd
Communications Security Squadron; Shiroi AB, Japan
I finished up at Obu and
shipped up to HQ at Shiroi in May, 1956. As I said before, my cousin A1C Ron
Riffel pulled strings to get me there. Shiroi was a fairly big place. It had no
air operations, and I believe was entirely land-lorded and occupied by USAFSS.
It could have been HQ, 6920th Security Wing, with at
least one RSM and/or RGM.
I’m not real clear on this memory. Anyway, 6932nd occupied a small
suite of offices at the end of one of the wings of a larger building occupied
by other USAFSS units.
Our suite was only two
rooms. One was the admin office, occupied by Major Hicks, Lieutenant Larson,
MSG Carney, and A2C Homer Rentz.
The other room was a much
larger area, occupied by Captain Banta, and about a dozen 202s. We had large
laminated wall maps of the Far East lining the walls, which always contained
copious notes, flight paths, and other annotations.
Our job was to receive
all the logs and reports from the four detachments. Each of us had designated
logs and reports delivered to our desks every morning, from which we did our
traffic analysis work. One of the most interesting things I did was to discover
how to determine the operational readiness of all USAF fighter interceptor
squadrons in Japan. I gleaned this from plain language maintenance messages and
was able to reconstruct all the squadrons’ consignment of F86Ds and F100s by
tail numbers. Once I had this, it was fairly easy to track AOCP (Aircraft Out
of Commission for Parts), and ANFE (Aircraft Not Fully Equipped) reports and
determine the units’ operational readiness on any given day. AOCP meant not
flyable, and ANFE meant flyable but problems with the weapons systems. I got a
pat on the back for this work, and was very shortly promoted to A1C. I must have
done other work, but can’t remember much else. I do remember, that all of us
worked extremely hard and there wasn’t much foolishness on the job.
Major Hicks was also a
stickler for our own security practices and we had regular lectures on handling
classified materials, how to store, package and ship classified materials, etc.
April 1957 – May 1958
AG-32, National Security
Agency, Arlington, VA & Ft. Meade, MD
After a short leave back
home, I bought a 1952 DeSoto in St. Louis for $300 and headed for the 6972nd
Support Squadron, USAFSS at Suitland, MD. Suitland Hall was a group of two
story dormitories on the Suitland Parkway. Except for the US flag, it looked
like any other typical set of government buildings. There was no fence or
"main gate". There were no guards, motor pool, etc. Except for the
dorms, I only remember the mess hall. Every day Air Force busses picked up
Airmen to ferry them off to various Washington area locations.
I was assigned to AG-32
at NSA (National Security Agency) at Arlington Hall in Arlington, VA. It was
about a 45 minute bus ride through Washington to get to Arlington.
So, my first day at work
I walked up the long flight of steps through the front door at Arlington Hall.
Following directions, I turned left at the first hallway and walked to the far
end. There I came upon double doors with a small placard "AG-32 Restricted
Entry". So I knocked. Inside was a very large area. At the front was a
small cluster of desks. The two big desks were occupied by Lt. Commander Carter
and GS-12 Jozy Chelzeldine. Three subordinate desks were manned by a Navy
Warrant Officer, a Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Shriver (a CT–
equivalent to a 202 Radio Traffic Analyst), an Air Force AIC 202. I can’t
remember the names of the Warrant Officer and the A1C. One empty desk was for
me.
Down the room were three
or four long rows of tables with about 20 civilians working at them.
In the first few days, I
learned that I was a replacement for the A1C who was getting discharged very
soon.
So he gave me on the job
training over the couple of weeks.
The mission for AG-32 was
simple. It was the receiving point for all hard copy COMINT materials coming
into NSA from all over the world. There were two incoming shipments per day,
equivalent to about two full tractor trailer trucks. In all, I estimate we
received about 1000 bags a day.
One of my jobs was to
check each bag with the shipping papers and sign official receipts. Any
discrepancies and/or missing bags I reported to Lt. Cmdr Carter by written
report. I assume action was taken, but I never found out what. After receipt,
the bags were dumped on the long tables and processed by the civilians. Their
job was to open the bags and packages inside, then based on the labels and/or
content description they sorted out the materials into bins marked with
acronyms such as ACOM-12, ECOM-34,
AX-2, MCOM-6, etc., for
distribution. In all, there must have been thirty or 40 different bins.
I learned that each acronym/bin
represented different groups in NSA specializing in different missions,
countries, regions, or targets. I never did see any COMSEC materials or
acronyms.
The sources of all these
bags were NSA, Army, Navy, and Air Force COMINT intercept sites around the
world. Their official NSA names were simply US1, US2, US3, etc. I don’t
remember how many there were, but there were probably over 300.
My main job was to send
reports to these sites when they made errors in shipping their materials. The
civilians would send me discrepancy reports such as US1 – No classification
stamp on inner envelope, missing documents, manifest errors, etc. I had to look
up the NSA regulation that was violated and send the violating site a nasty
message. I would also have to insure they acknowledged and understood their
error. I probably wrote about thirty or forty messages a day. I’m certain my
name was very well known all over the NSA "intercept" world.
Looking back, I guess NSA
wanted an experienced COMSEC person for this job, since it was a form of
"communications security". This was another one of those
"odd" COMSEC jobs as I mentioned earlier.
In September, NSA moved
from Arlington Hall to the new site at Ft. Meade. AG-32 was one of the advance
parties since the receiving system had to be in place to insure continuity. I
remember the day we loaded up all our furniture and materials (no computers in
those days except for several experimental mainframes by IBM, RCA, and Cray)
onto 18-wheelers and convoyed to Ft. Meade. Naturally, there were armed guards
and soldiers along the route. The journey took about two hours. Ft. Meade was
about mid-way between Washington and Baltimore, just off the
Baltimore-Washington Parkway.
Our new operations was at
the south end of the first basement. We had plenty of space with lots of room
to expand. I recall that the main corridor running north-south through the
first basement was wide enough for two 18-wheelers to pass (which they did
sometimes), and about thirty feet high. Outside there were huge ramps leading
from ground level into the basement corridor.
Once we were operational,
my new job description remained pretty much the same. However, for some reason,
our incoming volume of hard copy nearly doubled. I was real busy, receiving and
signing for the two or three shipments a day, and then sending out my
reprimanding messages to the offending US sites around the world.
There were times when my
job was a little more interesting. Once a week or so, I made personal
deliveries to NSA sites at the Pentagon, Bolling AFB, and residual offices at
Arlington. On these runs I carried a sidearm and an attaché case (usually not
very heavy). I remember the pleasant commutes between Bolling AFB and the
Pentagon on the Potomac River via the Air Force operated ferry boat. It was
actually a quite plush 36 foot ChrisCraft. A lot of times it was only me along
with a couple of Generals. We had very interesting conversations. Of course, I
was extremely intimidated.
There were also times
when I needed to visit other parts of the NSA Ft. Meade building to conduct
AG-32 briefings. On these occasions, I had to have escorts because my red and
blue AG-32 badge limited my travels.
These were interesting
experiences and I had the chance to work alongside some of the COMINT sections.
There was brilliant work done there, even though there were no computers. I
also had some access to the CRYPO section and see the experimental mainframes.
The Cray was all the buzz at the time.
I continued my brief
AG-32 experience through early May 1958 when I got an early discharge to attend
Louisiana State University.
While I didn’t strictly
do Traffic Analysis work at NSA, is was no less interesting. In ways, I was
exposed to the broader functions and workings of the Agency. Had I been
assigned to a COMINT section, I probably would have done pure Traffic Analysis
but with narrow targets not fully integrated with the broad mission.
There was one most
remarkable incident while I was at NSA at Ft. Meade. During the wee small hours
of October 4, 1957 all the lights came on in my dorm and the Officer of the Day
raced through the hall ways
shouting get up and go to
work … NOW. We did! The
emergency was the USSR’s successful launch of Sputnik. The 183 pound basketball
size satellite was already installed in its 98 minute orbit of the Earth.
As far as I ever knew,
this caught the Agency by complete surprise. In the ensuing weeks, hard copy
traffic deliveries picked up significantly. This was the first time I recall
receiving magnetic tape. I later learned these were ELINT (Electronic
Intelligence) materials which included up/downlink traffic between Russia and
the satellite.
FINALLY
…..
This concludes my COMSEC
Recollections. In summary, it was a great experience and I feel most fortunate to
have had the opportunity to serve with outstanding people in such a noble
effort. I will never forget my many friends and the great organizations with
which I had the privilege to serve.
EPILOGUE
I did attend Louisiana
State University and earned my degree in Mechanical Engineering. After a 33
year career with DuPont, I retired in 1993.
In 1994, I finished what
I had started at Stinson Field in 1954. I got my private pilots license and
bought a
Piper Tomahawk. I earned
a commission in the Civil Air Patrol, flew search missions, and was squadron
flight training officer. I retired from the CAP in 2000.
Now, in 2004, I am fully
retired and in reasonably good health. I survived a mild heart attack and
double bi-pass surgery in March 2001 so I should be good for a lot more years.
Bruce Case
jkqxz@sc.rr.com
From Fredrick R. Wagner
11/14/2005
USAF Veteran of Korean
War and
Mechanical Engineer
Birth 18 March 1931, 1st
son of Daniel Ray Wagner and Edna Irene Price Wagner, Phoenix, Arizona
EDUCATION: Public School
1936 Started 1st grade in Tuscon, Arizona. It was a year before most of
classmates started school.
1942 Completed elementary
education in Sacramento, California.
Attended grade schools in
Tuscon, Arizona; Sparks, Nevada; Susanville, California; Medford, Oregon; and
Sacramento, California
Most memorial events of
this period of was a trip to San Francisco, California before and then after 7
December 1941. Was astonished by the defensive fortifications, which had been
erected after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Also witnessed the
injustices perpetrated against Americans of Japanese origin in Sacramento
valley.
1942-44 Attended 7th and
8th grades in Holladay, Utah
1944-48 Attended and
graduated from Murray High School, Murray,
Utah. Was one of the five
top scholars in a class of slightly less than 100 students.
WORK: 1948-50 Unable to
attend college for financial reasons, set out on a career in photography.
Worked in a photo finishing laboratory, portrait studio and photo supply house.
AIR FORCE: Enlisted 17
July 1950. Enlisted in USAF, hoping to further development as photographer
while in the service.
Basis Training
July-September 1950, Lackland AFB, Texas. Lived in tents. Was one of the top
students in the math-training course and received the highest grades in each of
the skill evaluation tests. The Air Force didn't know what to do with me and
wouldn't let me be a photographer. Rejected several suggestions for USAF
training courses and chose to transfer to USAFSS although none of the career
planning personnel knew what it was or what it did.
USAFSS Training October
1950- January 1951: Attended USAFSS's traffic analysis school at Brooks AFB.
Was one of the eleven students who completed the course of study out of the 30
students who started the course, Finished as the top student and received a
promotion to Cpl.
USAFSS Assignments
January-March Assigned to Headquarters, 136th Communications Security
\Squadron. Received additional training while waiting for a field assignment.
April 1951 November 1952
Assigned to Det. 6, 136th CSS. Completed a half-tour in Japan and a half-tour
in Korea.
January 1953 Assigned to
Hqtrs. Det, 136th CSS but almost immediately loaned to and then transferred to
Det 2, 136th CSS (which later became Flt. A, 36th CSS, Brooks AFB, Texas.
Served as analysis NCOIC and
assisted in mobile
missions to (1) Love Field, Dallas, Texas; (2) 9th AF bases in North and South
Carolina; and (3) Eglin AFB, Florida.
Honorable discharged on
25 June 1954 at Brooks AFB, Texas. Served 3 years, 11 months and 9 days of a
4-year enlistment.
POST AIR FORCE
ACTIVITIES:
University Studies
1954-1958: Attended University of Utah, granted a BS degree in Mechanical
Engineering, elected to
four honorary societies, graduated at the top of the class. Schooling financed
by
Veterans benefits,
part-time employment, and a small scholarship.
Significant part-time
employment: Draftsman/designer with a heavy-equipment manufacturer. Major
accomplishment was redesign of a tractor's throttle and brake system resulting
in a reduction of over twenty machined parts.
University Graduate
Studies 1958-60. Attended University of Southern California while working part
time for Hughes Aircraft Company, Culver City, California. Schooling financed
by Hughes fellowship, veteran benefits (covered one semester), and part time
employment. Received MS degree in mechanical engineering. Graduated top of the
class.
While at Hughes Aircraft,
worked on (1) Gar-9 missile for a Mach-3 fighter aircraft which got canceled
before it was completed; and (2) the first Hughes synchronous communications
satellite.
Professional Employment
1960-1965: Worked for three aerospace manufacturers, namely, Thiokol Chemical Company,
Brigham City, Utah; Utah Research and Development Company, Salt Lake City,
Utah; and Martin-Maretta Corp, Orlando, Florida. Worked on the 1st stage
booster for the Minuteman ICBM, and the Sprint anti-missile missile. At
Thiokol, worked on a conceptual design team for a solid-propellant rocket motor
for space applications. Championed a new type of grain design for the booster
that won out over the objections of several senior members of the team. This is
basically the design used for the Space Shuttle boosters.
1965-1980: Was a member
of the faculty at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. The only member of
the faculty with industrial experience but without a PHD. Developed a new
course in engineering experimentation, which was considered one of the most
practical courses in the curriculum. Course was dropped when I left because
there was no other professor who cared to teach such a practical course.
Faculty members are
allowed and encouraged to provide consulting services to local business. As a part
of this, I assisted several local manufacturers in matters of machine design
and was qualified to testify as an expert witness in legal proceedings
concerning accident reconstruction, product liability, patents disputes and
injury causation. Testified in district, state and federal courts in several
states.
Made numerous
presentations in technical society meetings and published several journal
articles. One paper appears in the proceedings of two different international
meetings.
1980-1988: Worked at Utah
Research and Development Co., and MPI Corp, manufacturer of a dot-matrix
printer for personal computers. Helped develop battery-charger systems for the
F/A-18, A-10, and B 1-B military aircraft.
Left employment for
health problems. I was sick of working.
1988-92: Taught course in
automatic control technology and mathematics at the Salt Lake Community
College on a part-time
basis.
FAMILY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Married his wife, Elaine, on 12 June 1953, while still in the USAF. She passed
away in 2001, two years before we got to celebrate our 50th wedding
anniversary. Elaine always told me if I didn't live until our 50th, she would
kill me. It didn't work out that way. She left first.
Together with his wife
raised 5 children, all of whom attend post-high school educational
institutions. Three received university degree s. One boy in electrical
engineering, a boy in mechanical engineering and a girl in accounting.
As of 2003, the Wagner
posterity consisted of five children, 24 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
That’s more than a crowd when they all get together.
Fred Wagner
fredwagner@comcast.net
Jacob Roskam (Jay) 1/26/2006
1150 W. Marshall Phone: 248-545-6852