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SCARWAF ENGINEERS AVIATION THE PEACE MAKERS WHO HELPED PREVENT WORLD WAR III
817TH ENGINEERS AVIATION http://youtu.be/q3AG-JsjoyA
I WAS WITH THE 817TH ENGINEERS FROM 1948 UNTIL 1953 colonfrank@embarqmail.com     |
POST A MESSAGE ON THE MESSAGE BOARD 817TH ENGINEERS AVIATION, MARCH AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION FAIRFORD, ENGLAND ,ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION CHELVESTON, NORTH HANTS, ENGLAND
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LISTED ARE REGULAR ARMY MEMBERS OF THE H&S COMPANY
817TH 1951 SCARWAF ENGINEERS AVIATION FOR THE PEACE MAKERS R.A.F. FAIRFORD, ENGLAND Members Regular Army 817th Engineer Aviation Bn. Sept.1951 M/SGT JOHN B. NEFF, M/SGT JACK H. NICOLL, M/SGT. ARTHUR B. PANGBURN, SFC CHARLES W. CHITTY, SFC RICHARD D. MASON, SFC MARCUS OTERO, SFC GEORGE F. HAMBECK, SFC PRENTIS PUGH, SGT JOSEPH ANAS, SGT PAUL E. AULTMAN, SGT EDWARD BISHOP, SGT HOWARD R. BREITENBACH, SGT LEONARD A. BUDD, SGT LAVERN C. CHRISTMAN, SGT BEN M. BYRD,JR. SGT JOSEPH M. BYRD,SGT CHARLES S. CAMPBELL, SGT GLENN E.COOPER, SGT ROBERT HILL, LLOYD E. HOLLINGSWORTH, SGT. JAMES W. JACOBSON, SGT CHARLEY C. JOHNSON, SGT WALTER H. JOHNSON, SGT. LEONARD M. KAYLOR, SGT CLIFFORD G. LEVINE, SGT MARTIN E. McCLAY, SGT PHILLIP M. McMILLIN, SGT PAUL W. MEIER, SGT. RUSSELL W. E. NORGAN, SGT. LOUIE G. O'CAMPO, SGT. LUTHER PHILLIPS, SGT. JAMES C. RAE. SGT. MAX E. RIGNEY, SGT. HOMER L. RUCKMAN, SGT. JULIUS R. SELL, SGT. CARL E. SMITH, SGT. EDWARD E. TEAGUE, SGT. RICHARD G. WHEAT, CPL. THOMAS B. BAILEY, CPL. JACK E. BANKS,CPL. JOHN B. BAXTER, CPL. HUBERT HUBERT BLEDSOE, CPL. ROBERT D. BUTLER, CPL. RAYMOND R. CAIN, CPL. CHRISTERN E. CALVERT, CPL. NICHOLAS J. CARACCILO, CPL. LAWRENCE B. CARLEY, CPL. SANDY D. CROWDER, CPL. WALTER F. DAULBAUGH,CPL. JAMES M. DIEHL (SHADY), CPL. DONALD R. HENSLEY, CPL. THOMAS N. KIRBY, CPL. EDWARD W. KIRK, CPL. BENARD L. KUSEBUSKI, CPL. GEORGE E.LESLIE, CPL. WILLIAM J. LESSER, CPL. NELSON V. LINHART, CPL. E. H. LOGAN, CPL. ANTONIA C. LOMBRANA, CPL. ANTHONY J. LOSIEWICZ, CPL. LLOYD E. LOTT, CPL. ABE MATZA, CPL. EUGENE MAZZA, CPL. CHARLES D. McCOLLUM, CPL. WARREN A. McDONALD, CPL. ELMER A. McKEE JR., CPL. WILLIAM C. McMANUS, CPL. JAMES G. McVAY, CPL. COLON F. MELVIN, CPL. BOBBY M. MORGAN, CPL. HAROLD E. MORRISON, CPL. GEORGE F. MORSE, CPL. JAY ORANGE, CPL. WILLIAM PARTON, CPL. THOMAS C. PENNEY, CPL. EARL D. PIPES, CPL. GLENN A. REDDICK, CPL. EUGENE SCOTT, CPL. THOMAS J. SPILLARS, CPL. HERMAN STEED, CPL. HAROLD C. STERNBURG,CPL. JAMES E. TAYLOR, CPL. ARVID G. TURNER, CPL. THOMAS C. WAGSTAFF, CPL. ODDIE G. WALSTON, CPL. L. C. WILSON, CPL. JAMES A. WRIGHT, CPL. JOSEPH S. ZADIK,PFC. MILTON J. ALTEMUS, PFC. JOSEPH G. R. ASSELIN, PFC. MARVIN L. BARNETT, PFC. GLEN E. BECKER, PFC. ROY B. BONHAM, PFC. DOUGLAS E. BRAITHWAITE, PFC. JAMES B. CANTRELL, PFC. RICHARD P. CONNELL, PFC. MIKE CRAWLEY, PFC AVERY B. CROWDER, PFC. JAMES E. CROXTON, PFC. JAMES E. DAHL, PFC. GERALD A. DAVIS, PFC. HAROLD D. DEINES, PFC. GERALD F. DONAHUE, PFC. NICOLAI DONOLUK, PFC. HUGH E. DUTTON, JR. PFC. CHARLES EARL, JR. PFC. EARNEST E. EASON, PFC. DOUGLAS N. FARMER, PFC. JOHN D. FURNE, PFC. GILBERT GONZALES, PFC. BARNEY L. GRACE, PFC. CARL L. GUISINGER, PFC JOSEPH P. HAGGAN, PFC. KELLY W. HAM, PFC. HORACE E. HARRISON, PFC. ROBERT W. HERBERT, PFC. KENNETH D. HERMANN, JR. PFC. JOE D. HILL, PFC. HOWARD P. HOLLOWAY, PFC. ROBERT E. JONES, PFC. ALOYSIUS P. KINZER, PFC. ADOLPH R. KOSTIHA, PFC. CLIFFORD W. LITTLEJOHN, PFC. RICHARD C. LENDER, PFC. ERNEST D. LOVELESS, PFC GEORGE A. MAAT, PFC. HOWARD Q. MARTIN, PFC. LELAND E. McCLAIN, PFC. LESTER McKOY, PFC. NOBERT W. MILLER, PFC. WAYNE W. MILLER, PFC.PHILLIP L. MILLS, PFC. JERRY R. MONNETT, PFC. WILLIAM E. MORGAN, PFC. WILLIAM G. ORLANDI, PFC. BILLY B. RATLIFF, PFC. JESUS R. RICO, PFC. BILLY RODGERS, PFC.LEOBARDO F. RUIZ, PFC. RONALD A. SARAZIN, PFC. JOE B. SARTAIN,JR.PFC.GEORGE I. SCHMIDT, PFC. BILLY J. SMALL, PFC. GERALD A. STOVER, PFC. EDGAR H. TILLOTSON, PFC. JOHN B. TURNER, PFC. JERRY D. VINCET, PFC. JOHN M. WATSON JR. PFC. DONALD E. WEYRICK, PFC. JAMES H. WINGO, PFC. HARRY L. WOLF, PFC. GLEN E. ZIRPOLE, PVT. HOWARD W. CHAUSSEE, PFC. RAYMOND L. DAVIDSON, PVT. GEORGE D. ELSTE, PFC. CALVIN E. GILBERT, PVT. ROBERT R. LASHLEY, PVT.WILLIAM L. LAUDERDALE, PVT. JOHN T. MATHE, PVT. FRANK M. SCHMIDT, PVT. GERALD J. SEIDL, PVT. HILARY F. SHOULTS, PVT. DAVID N. SMITH, PVT. MACK W. ETHERIDGE, PVT. DAVID R. WASHAM, PVT. ROBERT S. HALL, PVT. ELDON J. JOHNSON, PVT. RALPH E. O'DELL, PVT. BALLARD B. RHODES, BY THE ORDER OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL MASON, HAROLD L. MARTIN, MAJOR, CE USAF ADJUTANT SCARWAF ENGINEERS AVIATION SPECIAL PEACE MAKERS
| | SCARWAF 817th ENGINEERS AVIATION BN. 928th ENGINEERS AVIATION GROUP MARCH AIR FORCE BASE.CALIFORNIA LATE FORTIES UNTIL JUL 50 BUILT OVERSHOOTS AT MARCH FIELD, TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CASTLE AIR FORCE BASE, PROJECTS ALASKA, MOSES LAKE, WASH. CAMP HAHN,CALIF. NEVADA, ARIZONA, CAMP PENDLETON,CALIF. JULY 1950 MOVED TO R. A. F. STATION FAIRFORD, ENGLAND. BUILT RUNWAYS, TAXIWAYS, HARD STANDS FOR THE B-36 PEACE MAKERS, B-47 and B-52. NOVEMBER 1952 MOVED TO R. A. F. STATION CHELVESTON BUILT RUNWAYS, TAXI STRIPS AND HARD STANDS FOR THE PEACE MAKER B-36, B-47. Thanks to Miss. Margaret O'Brien who came to March Field Christmas 1948 to brighten up Christmas for the children. When Jack Northrup brought his Flying Wing YB-49 to March Field in 1949 we provided the tow vehicle for it. A 12-Ton Corbett Prime Mover. I had the honor of taking the Prime Mover out of mothball for the occasion.(Mechanic not Driver)(Driver was Martin E. McClay) Mr. Northrup asked me if I would like to take a look inside the plane. I went up a ladder underneath the plane and had a look at the cockpit, I was impressed to say the least.Dana Andrews used our Barracks to make part of the film My Foolish Heart with Jean Crane. August 1949 the 817th went down to Coronado Naval Amphibous Training Center and made beach landings using L.S.T. Number 845 AND L.C.V.P's. We loaded our Equipment (TRUCKS, BULL DOZERS, TURNAPULLS GRADERS ect.) onto 845 and went out the harbor and back down to the ocean side of Coronado and made a run for a beach landing. We got hung up on a sandbar and spent several hours waiting for high tide. The only meal that I missed in five years was that day. The L.S.T. did not have anything to provide Lunch for us. Then up to Camp Pendleton Marine Base to build and pave a road too there water tank. We spent about a week at Camp Pendleton in squad tents. The 29th of August 1949 the USSR exploded a Atom Bomb ! The 817th Engineers were located in the area which was thought to be a prime target area and within reach of USSR Bombers, March Air Force Base , California. The 817th was trained at once to respond as a rescue team to provide showers and clean clothing as the victims left the radioactive area. For training we were asked to build an Air Strip at Camp Hahn. (Camp Hahn was a Coastal Artillery and Dog training center during World War Two. Rin Tin Tin was trained here.) Three days from start a C-47 landed on it. We worked day and night by seting up search lights for the night. Sgt. Richard Mason sleeped in a sleeping bag, one morning he had frost in his hair. Other project's while at March Field were Terminal Island,San Pedro, Fort McArthur, Santa Ana Air Force Base, Officers Club and Swimming Pool At March Field. Golf course March Field. When we got the orders to add overshoots at March Air Force Base, we went about 35 miles out in the hills and cut the top of a hill getting rock to crush. This was in an area where lots of old Gold Mines were located. It was thought that we would find gold under the rocks. i escorted convoys of heavy equipment to Travis AFB and Castle AFB. They extended the runways. We went up thru Cajon Pass and Highway 138 on Pear Blossom Road to Gorman and Bakersfield. Now called the most dangerous road in the world. This was near the end of 1949. I was on a M-1 wrecker. We received our orders for Project Be-Ready in June 1950.We had a troop transport and a cargo ship waiting for us in San Pedro.We were in the process of loading the cargo ship with our equipment when the Korean War started June 25TH,1950. The plan was that we would sail down thru the Panama Canal to England. They decided to use the troop transport to send Marines to Korea. July 14th 1950 We traveled by troop train from March Field to Fort Dix, NJ we sailed on the 20th of July 1950 from New York to Southampton, England on the Troop Transport General J. H. McRae. Arrived 29th July. The General McRae was on a Six months mission for The United Nations mission transporting displaced persons from Europe. By train from Southampton to R.A.F. Station Fairford.On a Saturday night in August 1950 in Swindon I saw the most beautiful young lady to ever grace this Earth Miss Diana Dors (Mavis Fluck). This was at a dance, she asked to meet me. Our first big job was to remove all the pierced planking from the runways Next came the extension of the runways and grading of taxiways and Hard Stands. At this time rain started and we found our equipment operating in from one to two feet mud slush. This started taking a toll on U-Joints, Brakes, Rear ends, transmissions and transfer cases. Our vehicles had been setting up in a pickle state at March Field for several years except for brief periods of time. This factor required lots of repairs of the power trains. At one point we were working seven days a week twelve hours a day to stay on schedule.March 12,1951 a flight of B-36s land at R. A. F. Station Fairford. General Curtis Lemay promoted the Commander of the flight to Brig. General for the mission on March 13, 1951. We were all given an invitation to take a close-up look inside the B-36s. In the rear of the Peacemaker they had bunks kitchen. Travel to the front of the plane was thru a tube on a creeper type rig. Congratulations to Ernie Banks on being selected to the Base Ball team of the century. Ernie Mr. Cub served at Fairford. August 1952 we spent a week at Royal Army Aldershot Weapons Range,training with weapons. July 1952 R. A. F. Station Fairford completed and turned over to the U. S. Air Force. The day that we turned Fairford over to the U. S. Air Force they took us up in a C-47 and gave us a view from the air. R. A. F. Station Chelveston I have been told was where Curtis E. Lemay was stationed with the 305th Bomb Group. The 305th Bomb Group sign Can-Do was still at the Chelveston gate when I left in May 1953. The Movie 12'O-Clock High was based on the 305th Bomb Group based at Chelveston, England. PLEASE LEAVE INFORMATION ABOUT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR OUTFIT ON THE MESSAGE BOARD OR GUEST BOOK! THANKS ! ROSTER OF 1951 AND PHOTO'S WILL FOLLOW ! The Chelveston link below is worth visiting, just click on it |
THE 817TH BUILT BASES IN ENGLAND AND NORTH AFRICA DURING WORLD WAR II. THE 817TH HAD PROJECTS IN ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, ARIZONA, NEVADA ,GREENLAND, WASHINGTON AND ENGLAND AFTER WORLD WAR II. http://youtu.be/DWGarJ5G6hY |
Notifying Visitors of Site EnhancementsB-36 Bombers visit England
Please send me storys about your tour of duty with SCARWAF Aviation Engineers ! Frank Melvin
MY WORLD STARTING IN CLARKTON, NC USA
THE DOCTOR CHARLES DANIEL McNEILL FAMILY OF BROWN MARSH, NC USA (NOW CLARKTON, NC USA) ANNA MCNEILL WHISTLER, WHISTLER'S MOTHER http://youtu.be/NQevyIy8hzs The Clarkton North Carolina Lions Club Birthday Calendar for 2004/2005 feature's a picture of Whistlers Mother (Anna Matilda McNeill) on the cover. Anna lived at Oak Forest Plantation ,Clarkton, North Carolina at different times between 1804 and 1863. It has not been determined if Anna was born in Clarkton or Wilmington, North Carolina. Wilmington had a outbreak of yellow fever in August 1804 which lasted until the end of October . The citzens of Wilmington would flee to the inland area of the state during outbreaks of the fever. This means that Anna was most likely born at Oak Forest Plantation Brown Marsh,NC USA (Now Clarkton, NC) She left North Carolina in 1863 and sailed for England running the Federal Civil War blockade at Fort Fisher, North Carolina to be with her son James Abbott McNeill Whistler in London.James painted the famous portrait in 1871. (WHISTLER,S MOTHER ARRANGEMENT IN GREY AND BLACK NO. 1)September 27th, 2004 is Anna's Two Hundreth Birthday. George Washington Whistler was visiting his U. S.Army West Point classmate William Gibbs McNeill (ANNA'S BROTHER) at Oak Forest when he first meet Anna his future wife. Many railroads and bridges were engineered by George Washington Whistler and William Gibbs McNeill from Georgia to Maine. The first mile of passenger railroad built in the United States was built by Whistler at Baltimore, Maryland the B & O. William Gibbs McNeill engineered and was President of the C & O Canal .Doctor William McNeill Whistler James Abbott's brother served with the CSA Army and was recorded for bravery at Spotsyslvania, Virginia. After the war he went to England where he lived the rest of his life. He practiced medicine at several London Hospitals Anna's father Doctor Charles Daniel McNeill died at Oak Forest while visiting from New York City and is buried in Brown Marsh Presbyterian Church Cemetery Clarkton, North Carolina USA . Anna, William and James Abbott McNeill Whistler are all buried in England. |
817TH ENGINEERS AVIATION CALIFORNIA .Camp Pendleton Marine Base August 1949
Mechanics with the 817TH Engineers Aviation SCARWAF kept vehicles and equipment running in a high ninetys average helping build RAF Fairford in record time. Pictured LR Orville Ray Lane from Crab Orchard, West Virginia and Lawrence B. Carley. PHOTO BY MELVIN
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