thanks for starting this thread each year TUM301, and Happy Veterans Day to all our Net54 Veterans!
Ted Zanidakis from 11/11/22
I was a RADAR Specialist stationed for 2 years at a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base in Maine which was loaded with F102 Fighter planes and B52 bombers. Those gigantic
flying machines (B52's) have been patrolling the skies since 1952.
In the Fall of 1962, these "Big Birds" were reassigned to Florida as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was awesome to see all of them take-off from our 11,000-ft runway.
An even more beautiful sight when all our B52's returned 2 weeks later. One of my biggest thrills was sitting in the cockpit of a B52. The cockpit's instrument panel, (meters,
switches, fuel gauges, Radar indicators, etc.) are absolutely mind-boggling.
The last year of my four year career was at the Air Force Technical Training Center (near Champaign, Illinois) teaching Analog & Digital electronics and RADAR systems.
