Our time at Walker AFB, near Roswell NM was good, from what Mom told me. Since Dad did not mention it, I gather he had a good time as well since if Mom liked it is highly likely that he did. They were just that kind of couple. Dad's assignment was as a bombardier in the B-36 Peacemaker, one of the biggest propeller driven aircraft ever made. The Peacemaker was designed to drop nucs. From what I understand now, part of the bombardier's job entailed going back to the bombs and arming them during flight as well as directing the plane to the bomb release point. Hard to imagine being around that immense amount of nuclear power, actually unlocking the fail safe in preparation to destroy an entire base, or whatever the target would have been.
As mentioned, I was created a conjoined twin (thighs and knees) and we tore apart about a month before I was due. After spending time in the incubator after the surgery needed to repair the damage caused by the sudden separation I went home to our quarters on base. The doctor told my parents that I would always have weak knees, though they never told me if that was internal to the knee or just because of the damage done over the patella that occurred as I pulled away from my twin. The scars seem to be on the surface only, and I am fairly sure that the pain and other symptoms in my left knee are the result of the malpractice from Air Force medicine's failure to properly diagnose an injury during my first assignment and not from my birth trauma. But back to the story: Mom told me that the house was under the flight path of the massive B-36's, and that when they would take off the whole house shook to the point where we had cracks in the ceiling. She said I loved the noise and vibration, but that she was concerned. Having spent time under air attack in World War II, and having been trapped in a collapsed building in Vienna that collapsed due to bombing, it should not be considered surprising that she was less thrilled about the magnificent roar that the Peacemakers made than I was. I have no first hand memories of that time, but a few stories from Mom and Dad remain:
To set the stage: During this time the US and the USSR (for you young ones who have or will suffer through the ever more useless baby-sitting that carries the name public schooling now), that was what Russia and the countries that communist state annexed after World War I was called until the West, using the principles of democracy and capitalism, beat them to a pulp with almost no violence over the span of 45 years were Cold War enemies, pretending to be OK with each other's existence but in reality worried that the other would launch a surprise attack and win while wanting nothing more than to defeat the other if they could. The world mostly divided into three spheres of influence: The West primarily US, Western Europe, and a few other democracies or friendly aligned nations, the East primarily the USSR and Eastern Europe sort of with but sometimes definitely without China and a few other socialist nations, and the Nonaligned Nations who tried to steer clear of both blocks. Many countries each built huge military forces, since in the time before advanced technology you really needed a big military to win against another big military.
Once, when the Soviets were being particularly annoying, two Peacemaker's from Walker were sent to get them back to reality with a demonstration of their vulnerability under the Communist boot. This was back in the days before surface to air missiles, and when the typical Soviet solution to a military need was to build a lot fast and not worry much about capability. So they had a lot of fighters, but they did not have a fighter that could threaten the B-36 at the altitude that our bomber could reach. Our planes flew out to Moscow, circled the city, and came home. I can only imagine with a smile how much anger and embarrassment that caused the Soviets as the hated Yankee Imperialists showed them how vulnerable they were despite all the propaganda that they had been spewing about the superiority of their political and economic system that even back in those days was starting to unravel. A word to the wise: Socialism/communism failed the USSR, and if we keep trying to push that system here like we are now it will fail here as well. Do not believe the liars telling you otherwise!
The Peacemakers often deployed to Alaskan bases in times of tension or for training. They also had immediate response drills when they would be alerted to fly to Alaska but would not actually fly there. Using Alaskan air bases was a good idea, since obviously Alaska is a lot closer to the targets they would have been hitting than Walker. The crew members had cold weather gear chests to take with them for these often no-notice immediate response trips. Apparently one of Dad's crew mates used his cold weather chest to store his dirty laundry, and once brought it on board filled with that. Perhaps he thought this was to be one of the drills that did not end up in Alaska, but his thinking was incorrect and a few hours later he was trying to stay warm in gear suited for the southern New Mexico climate rather than the Alaska cold. I believe Dad noted that this was a one time occurrence.
From there, we went to Texas for Dad's next assignment. If I remember correctly, that was training to be an Intelligence Officer at Ft. Worth. Of course Dad having been in IN means that there are no stories from that time; that is just the nature of that field. But a big change to the family did occur while on that assignment. My sister, Elizabeth, was born on Halloween of (I think) 1958. Remind me to look through the family papers to confirm the year. The date I am sure of, because for some reason for years we celebrated one day off of this. I have no clue as to how that happened, but I happened to be in the room when Mom read Sis' birth certificate one day and looked a little shocked or confused and mentioned it to Dad. Perhaps she was born near the end or beginning of a day and my parents, relieved at her healthy birth, did not check to ascertain the date.
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