About ten Airman left Biloxi, Mississippi on the train and arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico in August, 1955. We were picked up in a bus and taken to our radar site in north central New Mexico. The site was about 20 miles southeast of Chalma, New Mexico with an elevation of about six thousand feet. We were given our barack’s and room numbers as we departed the bus. I was assigned to a room that was occupied by Frank Herman who was from Garden City, Kansas. Frank had been there for several weeks and I was assigned to the same crew he was on. He was a good roommate and we became good friends. Also on my team was James Cable and the three of us hung out together.
The radar site was there to keep all aircraft away from Los Alamos Atomic bomb proving ground. There were several other radar sites spread around that area. Our site had around three hundred people on site. The radar operation was a 24/7 we worked as teams, there were four teams and we were “Dog” team. We had private aircraft who would call us to guide them out of storms as they were flying over the Rocky Mountains. We also would be tested when the Air Force would fly unidentified B-52’s. We would call for fighter aircraft out of Sandia AFB to intercept any unidentified aircraft or any aircraft that was flying towards Los Alamos. We would direct the fighters where to intercept the Air craft. Sandia AFB is located at Albuquerque, NM. Our site was five miles from Elvado Lake where there was a bar/restaurant, filling station and a few old rental cabins. Zeke and Carlotta Bruswelos opened and operated it, Zeke also worked at the radar site as a handyman.
Pat and I got married on December 23, 1955 she stayed in school and graduated in May – June 1956. I had rented a 18 ft trailer from Zeke which was close to the bar/restaurant. Pat would help in the restaurant while I was at work sometimes just for something to do as there wasn’t television. There was an Apache reservation on the other side of the lake with their village about ten miles from the bar. When they would get their monthly check they loaded up in the pickups, males in front females in back then off to Zeke’s for a evening of fun and booze.
In October 1956 mom called and said dad was in the hospital and not doing very well. I got a emergency leave and we started home. We got five miles east of LaJunta, Colorado and our car broke down. We had a wrecker pick up the car and take it to a garage for repairs. We then walked to the bus station and in just thirty minutes the bus was to leave for Wichita, KS. Dad died a few days after we arrived of cancer and we went back to pick up our car then went back to our trailer. Uncle Fred and mom went to the Red Cross and I got a honorable emergency discharge to help mom on the farm. We loaded up our stuff the first part of December, 1956 and came home to Kansas.
