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An Airman's Recollections Of |
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SiteBuilder Note: Author, Jim Pingrey, in 1953, was a USAF Military Pay Specialist, attached to the 50th F.B.Wing Headquarters, while they were still at Clovis Air Base, New Mexico. The following is his 'Recollections' and 'Impressions' of the 50th, from their journey from Clovis to the new Hahn Air Base, French Zone, in West Germany. |
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Clovis Air Base, New Mexico!  July 23, 1953 We departed Clovis in late July, for our new base in the French zone, at Hahn, West Germany. The 50th Fighter Bomber Wing had been activated New Year Day,1953 as part of the government's buildup to counter the Soviet threat; and for the past six months, the wing had been training in their new F-86F Sabres. And now we were all going to the front lines of the Cold War!  Everything, from the smallish detail had been planned ahead, the Air Force had a troop train waiting for us, just outside of Clovis' main gate, and for much of the morning on the 23rd, we gathered by units along the tracks. This was to be the first time, that a complete wing, rotated to Europe at the same time!  Once we were all loaded on the train, we proceeded to the seaport at Galveston, Texas; where we immediately boarded the USN General M. B. Stewart, a WW II troop ship, bound for Bremerhaven, West Germany via San Juan. When the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing departed from Galveston, we were unaware that we would have a stop over in San Juan to pickup some army troops. It wasn't until we turned south on the east side of Cuba, that we were made aware of this.  We all spent alot time on deck...the weather was so very hot! Most of us couldn't sleep in the bunks provided in the holds. It was simply too hot. We were given permission to sleep on the decks but only if no blankets were used. They explained that a blanket would act as a surfboard if waves were to come over the decks. We didn't think that was too likely, as the sea was as smooth as a millpond during that part of the voyage.  The General Stewart put out a small newsletter telling us all about San Juan and the history of Morro Castle, which guarded the harbor with its cannon. We were also told that Special Services had arranged transportation for anybody wanting a tour of the city and island. For some unknown reason, we circled about in the ocean for a couple days until we were permitted to enter San Juan Harbor. When we finally docked, the buses were all lined up to load us but at the last minute the ship's Captain decided only officers would be allowed ashore. We were mightily disappointed! We were told that he was afraid too many men would miss the departure. As it turned out, several officers didn't make it back in time.  After docking, local kids leaped into the water and swam to the ship asking us to drop coins over the side. Some of us did, then the boys would dive to retrieve the coin, surface and hold it up for us to see. They would then pop it into their mouths and wait for another coin to fall. A infantry company of Puerto Rican National Guards came on board! I think they numbered about 2,000 but I'm not certain of that. We didn't see much of them after we left the harbor and we didn't know their final destination. We seemed to only share toilet facilities. We were kind of amused by the large number of them that became seasick while still in the glass smooth harbor. I am sure they got their sea legs before too many days past. At Bremerhaven they were held on board until after the 50th debarked.  After leaving San Juan's harbor, the ship set a northeast course towards England, out into the cold Atlantic, for what was a very long boring sea voyage. The days were long, the food was awful and there was almost nothing to do except write letters that couldn't be mailed.  The first land fall we sighted was the White Cliffs of Dover while entering the English Channel, heading towards our destination...Bremerhaven, West Germany!  Caption reads: 12th Air Force and Navy officials are on hand as members of the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing, a Sabre Jet outfit, arrive at Bremerhaven. The 50th will be stationed at Hahn Air Base in the French Zone as part of the 12th Air Force. (Stars & Stripes) On our arrival at Bremerhaven, there was a short welcoming ceremony dockside, then we were quickly marched off the ship onto a waiting train, for the overnight trip to Hahn.  We arrived at the base on August 10th, 1953 and two things stand out most vividly. First, everything was so new, fresh and clean. Secondly, it was so quiet. No aircraft engines running up or flying about. Clovis was really a noisy place, our barracks there were fairly close to the flightline and there were always flying activity going on.  We arrived tired and hungry. Most of us hadn't had a good night sleep in several weeks. When we left the troop ship, we were marched directly to a waiting train that consisted of small compartments with facing benches, that would hold three persons or six to a compartment. They were anything but comfortable. The powers that be, knew all this and the chow hall was ready for us with mounds of good American chow! Plus the mess hall was ordered to stay open!!!  We were anxious to see our quarters and were quite surprised to find that our bunks had been made up and were waiting for us. This was courtesy of our advance party, that had arrived several months earlier to prepare the base for our arrival.  So we ate, napped and ate some more for the rest of the day. The Wing Headquarter Squadron's barracks was a three story building with open bays on the upper floors. The first floor had some NCO rooms and of course, the Orderly Room.  We were thrilled with the facilities, as we had left very primitive living conditions at Clovis. Clovis Air Base was built in the WW II years as a temporary base. It was miserably cold in winter and very hot in the summer. At Clovis AB, there was a old saying, that there was nothing between Clovis and the North Pole but a barbed wire fence and the fence was down! But at Hahn...we thought we were at the North Pole!!!
The next thing we wanted to see...was our new offices. They were great...there were new desks, file cabinets and brand new typewriters and adding machines with unheard brand names. Once again, the advance party had done its' work and even the desk had our name plates on them. I never felt that the advance party had received the recognition it should have. Thanks guys! Looking out our barracks window on our first morning after our arrival I could see the village with its spires peeking through a morning mist. My first thought was that it looked like a Currier & Ives print.  At our first opportunity a friend of mine and I wanted to take a closer look. We walked into the little town and I remember several things. The townspeople would tend to duck into the doorways as we approached; we attributed that to their lack of much contact with Americans. I would have thought that they would have been used to us by now, after the lengthy base building process. I also remember...we found the town didn't smell very good, but soon found out, that it was because of all the 'honey piles' kept in their front yards. And we also saw that some of the buildings housed livestock and the farmers were living just above the stables. At the time, there were only two drinking establishments in town, one was run by a former sergeant, a leftover of the war, and his french girl friend; the other was a hastily built 'beer joint.'  Sometime later my friend and I bought a couple bicycles and did some serious exploring. It was on one of these excursions we discovered a heavily damaged German pillbox, leftover from WW II, located not far from the village. It was positioned at the top of a rise and commanded a view of open ground below it. It was apparent that tanks had circled around and attacked it from the rear. It was heavily reinforced and must have taken a lot of shelling. When I was transferred from Hahn some six months later to North Africa, I often wondered what effect a big military base located so near a quaint village, would have on it.  We reported to work on August 12th and so began my Air Force tour of duty at Hahn Air Base, West Germany. SiteBuilder Note: It is interesting to point out, that as late as 1953, Command Squadrons were still pulling guard duty. This practice was discontinued in the late fifties and all base defense came under the Air Police Security Squadrons. The formation we called "Guard Mount" consisted of those men drawing guard duty for a 24-hour period starting at 6:00 p.m. The inspection was conducted by the Sgt.-of-the-Guard and the Officer-of-the- Day.  The whole idea was to pick the sharpest airman of the flight and as a award, he would be relieved of the duty. Only on one occasion was I so lucky! The base areas we guarded were the aircraft parking areas which consisted of what were called "Clover Leafs" as they were in the shape of a three leaf clover and each held three F-86 with a taxiway leading to the main taxiway.  The clover leafs were hidden in the trees and were connected by paths created by the maintenance crews. These paths were of special concern to base security, as they provided a road map to the Sabres, for potential base invaders. Hahn was obviously heavily forested before the base was built and many of the trees remained. They reminded me of my native Northeastern Minnesota. After the inspection we would then return to the barracks and don fatigues in summer or in winter, heavy winter issue consisting of insulated boots, zip on pants with heavy suspenders and topping it off with a heavy parka trimmed in fur; for when the snow got deep, it could get very cold! We were issued standard M-1 Carbines with 15 round clips. SiteBuilder Note: The following article is an exact reprint of a article that appeared on August 18, 1953 in the Stars & Stripes newspaper. HAHN AIR BASE. Aug. 18 (S&S) A fleet of sleek F8Fs swept into this French Zone base fresh from the States yesterday, making the 50th Ftr-Bomber Wing the first in Europe to be fully equipped with the new improved version of the famed Sabre jet.  Maj. Gen. Dean C. Strother, 12th AF CG, and Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Jenkins, deputy CG, flew here from their Ramstein headquarters to welcome the pilots to their new home. The two toured the installation, chatted with the officiers and then returned to their headquarters.  Col. Wallace S. Ford, wing CO, was the first to land his craft. He was greeted by Col. Albert F. Law, wing executive officer; Col. George E. Poor, maintenance and supply squadron CO and Lt. Col. James E. Sturgis, advance detachment CO.  Many of the wing's airmen, who arrived at the base just a week ago, gathered at the airstrip to join in welcoming the pilots, more than half of whom are Korean veterans.  Among these are Capt. Robinson Risner, who is credited with shooting down eight Soviet-built MiGs, and Capt. Albert W Schinz, 50th Ftr-Bomber Gp CO, who also amassed an impressive record against the Korea MiGs. The Sabres began their long journey to Hahn at Clovis AFB, New Mexico. Storms over the Atlantic delayed their takeoff from the States, but Ford said the flight itself was uneventful.  The F86F, he said, "is the best plane in the Air Force and the boys really love it." Ford added he was glad to be at Hahn and said the field appeared greatly improved since he saw it last April. With the arrival of the planes, the 50th Wing reached full operational strength at its new home. |
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