Steve Roberts’ Story - From Homestead to the Bahamas
Steve Roberts' Story - From Homestead to the Bahamas
HAFB (Homestead Air Force Base Florida - I worked in the M-292, trick 2, with Harvey Juergen, if you can remember him - albino. He was single then. I finished the supervisor (054.60) course sometime in the spring of 1964, and went right down to the 6th. The family was bunked down near Bird Road - if you can remember the Palmetto Expressway and where Tropical Park was/is, that's where we lived. I can remember some hot drives back and forth to work. No A/C in the car, and in khakis...!!! I cannot remember ANYBODY on our trick except for Juergen. I can't even remember our OIC/NCOIC. The name of the ops operator is on the tip of my tongue....short, chunky pain-in-the-ass... (He came over to the island a couple of times with his wife to go skin-diving and taking back a bunch of lobster to "share with others." BS - he never did pass out any lobster to ANYBODY back at the 6th (6th USASAFS - "Seminole Station").
Sometime in early 1965, there were notes on the positions asking for volunteers to go to Eleuthera. I couldn't - didn't meet the "18 months in the states" requirement. I was working a swing, and the wife woke me up the next morning, said my OIC was on the phone. He asked me why I didn't volunteer - they needed SP5s. Told him why, and he said they were waiving that requirement. I'm gone!
We were told to go shopping for some tropical clothes (shirts, short pants, etc.) and the US of A Army would foot the bill. Got that done, and we were flown up to the Hall (Arlington Hall Station, Arlington Virginia), where I met the OIC, NCOIC and other guys I would be working with. We were taken out to Andrews AFB where a C-124 was loaded with ALL of our gear - the 23, crypto and communications gear, etc. We stopped at Hunter AFB overnight ( I think you know where that is) and the next day, arrived at the island. The pilot flew the whole length of the island and back so we could see the place. Pretty green water, schools of fish and coral reefs. Water so clear, it gives you vertigo to look down...
Anyhow, the plane was unloaded and the gear taken to a large hill about 3 miles from NASA's tracking station #4, close to the north end of the runway. We were replacing the Navy site there - they had their DF gear right next to the runway...
The two huts were painted white (DF hut and hut containing the crypto/commo). We built a shack adjoining these huts for radio maint. The Pan-Am base supplied two generators, maintained by them, for power. If this is confusing, let me clarify: The base was called the Eleuthera Aux AF base. It was maintained by Pan-Am personnel. Roads and grounds, fire truck to meet aircraft, power, etc. RCA supplied the technicians for manning all the tracking stuff. An AF officer was in charge of the base as a figurehead.
We were up and installed and working in no time. We had an extra position for testing a RACAL receiver with digital bearing readout. Wasn't very accurate and was removed
Can you remember Hurricane Betsy, October, 1965? Went by us, up to the Carolinas, did a figure-eight and came back down. Tore the hell out of the island. Our antennas (lashed to the ground) were sandblasted clean. The huts had no white paint on them at all. Everything was a shiny aluminum color!
Eventually, we moved into a rehabbed building down the hill. You can imagine the length of the cables that had to be made for us. Had some fantastic reception there - if a sig was up, we had it.... I could go on the hill with a pocket Sony and pick up NYC, XRJ in Del Rio, WWL in New Orleans, and even that trucker station in Ohio.
We were bunked down on the Pan-Am base. Ate in their civilian messhall (you wouldn't believe the chow we had there.) Monday night was T-bone night. All you could eat. The serving line was a monster - all kinds of meat, vegetables, salads, deserts. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year - big feast. The drink vats were filled with eggnog - one plain, the other brandied!
Did a lot of fishing there. We'd catch so many fish, we'd give some to the natives and even to the messhall. Down below our building was a cove. You could wade out chest-deep in water and pick up as many lobsters as you wanted.
I left there in 1967. Sure hated to leave. The wife came over twice (Easter) to visit. And the whole shebang was closed down a few years after I left. Not needed anymore. The tracking station was closed, along with the small Navy base next door. From what I hear, the whole place is overgrown with scrub brush and everything is deteriorated.
Steve Roberts