-- My name is Ronald (Ron) Gustafson (used to be Gus). I am writing this prior to our first reunion in 1999 because of correspondence indicating Chuck Zimmaro wants inputs for history and possibly for info to put in a book. I`m not too sure how much or what to write about but I`ll continue as long as thoughts occur. Chuck and anyone else can do whatever they want with it.
--I served on Texas Tower #2 from Dec 1959 to Feb 1961 when it was a 45/15 day rotation that varied considerably. With a shortage of radar maintenance troops, we generally spent more time on the tower and less on shore. I was relieved one trip early from a full TT tour to fill an urgent Radar Maintenance manning requirement at the 649th Radar Sqdn in Bedford, Va. At that point, who was I to argue? I was on the tower during the demise of TT4. We were in the same storm and none of us slept that night. TT4 was in contact with the other towers and indicated that they were deeply concerned about their safety. We all knew when the tower went down.
--I was cancelled from the AKL17 on my first scheduled trip out. That is the trip the crane cable broke when it reached its maximum up limit and broke the clamps. The 4 persons in the donut were dropped. Two of them were never found because the current under the tower was so swift. The two that were found were trapped in the donut enclosure and pulled out by tower personnel in the lifeboats. After hearing the news, my mother-in-law, who I was staying with in the New Bedford, MA area, was so worried, she prepared steak and eggs for my breakfast. I went to the tower on the next scheduled chopper flight (Dec 18, 1959). I`ll never forget that day. I was sitting in the dining hall watching a movie and thought I was sick because I was getting dizzy. It was the movement of the tower that I was feeling. Then in our little NCO lounge, I saw the water in the tropical fish aquarium sloshing from side to side.
--In radar maintenance, we usually had about 5 people on the tower at any time and although we were assigned to shifts for 24 hour coverage, everyone showed up when we had scheduled maintenance or a malfunction. After performing scheduled maintenance, evening shifts were primarily a monitoring function and a lot of time was spent in the dining hall watching movies or playing cards/monopoly, talking, etc. with the hallway doors open so we could hear the radar alarms if they went off. Operations personnel always knew where we were and would also contact us if we were needed. Let there be a problem, though, and all the maintenance people on the tower were immediately there.
--When we had no barber on the tower, a couple of us tried cutting each others hair. You should have seen the bowl shaped and scalped looks! I did fairly well, however, and was asked to cut again. Soon, I became fairly proficient and had a regular job every day when I wasn`t on duty. It even got to the point where people would come for a haircut just before they left for shore. Prior to that, it was unheard of to get a haircut for 3 to 4 weeks before leaving the tower. They would get a decent cut on shore before they saw anyone. I ended up charging 50 cents and paid for all my tower needs plus a few goodies on every trip. I still have my clippers, shears, etc. Once in a while, I tell a barber that I used to be a barber and get to tell my TT story.
—I had a close friend on the tower who had a personality such that you would think he was totally secure, however his hands were always covered with sweat and he slept but 3-4 hours per night. This was all due to being nervous about being out there. When he was on shore, these symptoms all went away. I knew several others that had sleeping problems only when they were on the tower.
—All dining hall baking was done on the night shift. The baker usually joined in with the mid shift troops lounging in the dining hall. It is memorable to think about the times he provided us with extra baked goods he had prepared for our enjoyment. And were they ever good!!!
--TV on tower 2 was almost non existent we were so far out and we tried everything we could think of to be able to watch TV. I remember and have film of our radar maintenance NCOIC climbing the Tropo antenna to install a new and supposedly superior TV antenna. I think we still picked up only one or two Boston channels with lots and lots of snow. Once in a while, a weather inversion allowed us to get something we could actually watch.
--Most troops called loved ones almost daily through the Otis switchboard. We lived outside of New Bedford and I had to sweet talk the operator into letting me use the New Bedford land line. I never knew what to expect. Some operators were real understanding and connected it through every time but others wouldn`t help at all. The ladies were the best and fortunately outnumbered the men on the switchboard.
--Transportation to the towers in the 1960 time frame was provided by Air Force H-21 helicopters (bananas) and the Merchant Marine AKL-17 ship. The choppers were quicker and more convenient but only flew when conditions were perfect. The AKL went out just about anytime it was scheduled, even when the seas were rough. I distinctly remember people so sick they couldn`t even eat crackers, One individual I remember lost 7 pounds on a trip that took us about 3 days and that was from as much of what came up rather than what didn`t go down.
--Its a shame that all photos, etc., all I`ve seen anyway, were taken during good weather and calm seas. Of course the decks were off limits during bad weather but I remember watching seas through the radar tower windows that were at least 60 feet. Previously, I couldn`t have imagined the ocean so turbulent but when waves hit the flying bridge underneath and I saw them breaking over the Shoals, I knew it would be impossible for anyone to survive in the water or on top of the water in anything but the largest of ocean going vessels. Scenes like this are burned into my memory.
--I`m sure all those having served on the towers remember pinning their socks and sometimes other garments together with the 6 inch safety pins for identification and to ensure you would get them all back from the laundry. Other items that stick to my memory include:
Ron Gustafson, SMSgt, USAF, Retired