Page Twenty

The last flight was planned for the following sequences.

1. Schedule the takeoff time such that the day and night hookups could be performed and notify the tanker crew of the time, location, and altitude.

2. Drop the bombs, one at a time, on Matagorda Island bombing range.

3. Perform the web hookup just before official sundown, orbit a couple times, and come back in for a dry night hookup.

4. Complete the first celestial leg from Austin, Texas to Kalamazoo, Michigan and complete the second leg   from Lansing, Michigan back to Lake Charles. This would complete the final quarter requirements

In the Air Force, you learn to expect the unexpected, so you always have a backup plan in mind. This helped when, just after passing the maximum refusal speed on takeoff, the number six engine acted up and had to be shut down.

Flying a B47 on five engines was not a major problem, except it limited the cruise altitude.

We were schedule to be at 35,000 feet over the bombing range. When we asked to come in at 30.000 feet (minimum for a legal score) we were informed that a B36 was using that altitude. The B36 crew agreed to let us use the altitude, so we completed our four runs. All four scores were good.  

The wet and dry hookups went off per schedule and we left Austin on our way to Kalamazoo. The plan was to some computation adjustments for the second leg, while going over to Lansing.  

After I had determined my final ETA to Kalamazoo. I noted that the air speed had dropped off. I won't go into the details except to say the copilot was fooling with the number six (dead) engine controls when he accidentally pulled the feathering button on number 5. By now, with no bombs and less fuel, we had climbed to 36,000 feet. This was no place to be on four engines. Because of this, while going from Kalamazoo to Lansing, we went into a shallow dive to hopefully enable the pilot to restart number 5 engine. A jet engine normally will not start at such an altitude but the dive apparently helped the restart.  

The fact that we got the number 5 engine restarted allowed us to stay above 30, 000 feet, the minimum altitude to get credit for the second celestial leg back to Lake Charles. We completed all planned activities and the scores were all well within the requirements. This flight turned out to be a somewhat typical way to complete my nearly eight years of flying with the Army Air Corps and the U.S. Air Force.  

There is my story covering a few of the many events that transpired over the eight years. I've tried to capture and, share events that stood out in my memory to give some clarity and meaning of those times to those who are interested in what the military service aspect of lives, mine and others, might have been like. Putting this down on paper has proven to be a good way for me to reflect on those times. It has allowed me to validate in my mind the significance of the events and of the individuals that shared those same experiences.  

Planes flew in Korea: Reluctant Dragon (46 Missions), Mason's Honey (1 Mission), 

P.S.

I am adding this postscript, to hopefully make a point. You can put physical items away whereby they will seldom see the light of day over a period of many years. (My Air Medal is still in its original box, which also contains my Captain Bars, two sets of Wings, one of six Oak Leaf Clusters to the Air Medal, and one of two Campaign Ribbons with three Battle Stars.) By contrast, past memories cannot be put away, such that they will never be recalled again - nor should they be. The past provided the seeds for the fruits of the present and future.

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