+ bermuda triangle +
When a group of 440th Air Force Reserve Airlift Wing maintenance workers moved a C-119 Flying Boxcar to a spot on the Milwaukee base that used to be a baseball diamond, they had to take the wings off the bulky plane.
On the wing splice, an unseen spot when the wings were attached, they signed their names in pencil. That was almost nine years ago.
"We thought we'd be dead and gone by the time they moved this again," Senior Master Sgt. Todd Ramsey said Thursday morning.
Ramsey smiled. He's not dead, and he's certainly not gone.
Neither is the rest of the maintenance crew who scribbled their names for posterity, but the C-119 painted in the same scheme and tail number as a 440th plane that disappeared along with 10 men in the Bermuda Triangle more than 40 years ago will soon be gone.
Though it has been more than a year since the proud Air Force Reserve unit that has called Milwaukee home since the 1950s was included on the list of base closings, not much has changed outwardly. Many 440th members have retired or moved to other jobs but for those who drive by the military facility at the south end of Mitchell International Airport, it doesn't appear like a base that will shutter its doors next year.
That changed this week when workers began carting off one of three planes on static display.
On Thursday a crane was used to remove the Flying Boxcar's wings and twin tails before they were loaded on long flatbed trailers destined for the Air Force Reserve base in Niagara Falls, N.Y. where the C-119 will be on display.
Several current and retired 440th members showed up to snap photos, reminisce and watch the dismantling of a plane that they joked was so slow the only way it got anywhere was because the earth rotated underneath it.
For some it's the first tangible eviction sign for the base.
"It's a painful thing," said Osbee "Sam" Sampson, who retired in 1996 after almost four decades in the 440th. "It's just unbelievable. And to see them start dismantling the aircraft, it's a very emotional thing."
Joe Davis, a 440th flight engineer who retired in 1992, flew on C- 119s for many years and, like Sampson, knew the 440th members who disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. "I almost hate to see it go because (the C-119) was such a big part of our lives."
The Flying Boxcar on display at the 440th was acquired from the Forest Service in 1989, a year after the plane was used to fight the fires that devastated Yellowstone. It was restored and painted in the colors of the C-119 that vanished in June 1965 while traveling from Milwaukee to the Bahamas to drop off an engine and maintenance crew. Nine of the 10 men lost on the flight were from the 440th, including Dick Nugent's brother Thomas, a loadmaster.
The loss was especially devastating for Nugent, now 72, because he should have been on that flight. But because he had already reached his allotment of military flights, his younger brother took his place.
On Thursday, Nugent drove from his Necedah home to take one last look at the plane that looked just like the one he loaded with parachutes and life rafts for the ill-fated crew. He was dismayed the plane was leaving.
"That bothers me because that was a Milwaukee crew, not a Niagara Falls crew. They couldn't find a place in Milwaukee to keep it?"
All three planes on display at the 440th are on loan from the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The other two planes are an F- 4 Phantom painted in the same colors and numbers as the jet flown by Bay View native and Medal of Honor recipient Lance Sijan when he was shot down in Vietnam, and a T-33, the most widely used jet trainer in the world.
The Air Force Reserve base in Niagara Falls had requested a C- 119 Flying Boxcar many years ago and when the Milwaukee plane came up "on the bidding block" the New York reserve unit got it, said Col. Merle Hart, 440th commander.
Hart, who will be wing commander when the unit moves to North Carolina in 2007, said he plans to formally request that the C-119 continue to have the same paint scheme and number since it honors a 440th crew.
"I'm sad to see this whole base leave. (The C-119) is part of that," Hart said. "When things start getting dismantled it starts the emotional trail."
The $100,000 cost to dismantle, transport and reassemble the Flying Boxcar is being paid by the Niagara Falls unit.
The T-33 is scheduled to go to a VFW post in Racine County while the F-4 at the entrance to the 440th is expected to stay put. Milwaukee County Supervisor Richard Nyklewicz, a member of the board's transportation committee, said the F-4 dedicated to Sijan's memory will remain part of Mitchell Field.
"The intent is to keep it in Milwaukee and at the airport at its current location perhaps as long as 10 years," said Nyklewicz, adding that the area where the 440th is located is a likely spot for another east-west runway at the airport.
Senior Master Sgt. Scott Schroeder, who is in his 23rd year with the 440th, was among those snapping photos of the Flying Boxcar in pieces on Thursday. Schroeder said it's difficult to see any of the planes leave the base, but "I know it's going to a good place. I'd rather see it go to another Air Force reserve base where they'll take good care of it."
C-119 FLYING BOXCAR
-- The 440th Airlift Wing flew C-119s from 1957 to 1971, when the unit switched to its current plane, the C-130.
-- The plane earned its nickname because it resembled French rail boxcars and because of its cargo hauling ability.
-- C-119s were used extensively during the Korean War to move troops and equipment. They were also used in the Vietnam War.
-- A C-119 was featured in the 2004 movie "Flight of the Phoenix."
Copyright 2006, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)
Copyright 2006 Journal Sentinel Inc. Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
AUTHOR :
by MEG JONES
When a group of 440th Air Force Reserve Airlift Wing maintenance workers moved a C-119 Flying Boxcar to a spot on the Milwaukee base that used to be a baseball diamond, they had to take the wings off the bulky plane.
On the wing splice, an unseen spot when the wings were attached, they signed their names in pencil. That was almost nine years ago.
"We thought we'd be dead and gone by the time they moved this again," Senior Master Sgt. Todd Ramsey said Thursday morning.
Ramsey smiled. He's not dead, and he's certainly not gone.
Neither is the rest of the maintenance crew who scribbled their names for posterity, but the C-119 painted in the same scheme and tail number as a 440th plane that disappeared along with 10 men in the Bermuda Triangle more than 40 years ago will soon be gone.
Though it has been more than a year since the proud Air Force Reserve unit that has called Milwaukee home since the 1950s was included on the list of base closings, not much has changed outwardly. Many 440th members have retired or moved to other jobs but for those who drive by the military facility at the south end of Mitchell International Airport, it doesn't appear like a base that will shutter its doors next year.
That changed this week when workers began carting off one of three planes on static display.
On Thursday a crane was used to remove the Flying Boxcar's wings and twin tails before they were loaded on long flatbed trailers destined for the Air Force Reserve base in Niagara Falls, N.Y. where the C-119 will be on display.
Several current and retired 440th members showed up to snap photos, reminisce and watch the dismantling of a plane that they joked was so slow the only way it got anywhere was because the earth rotated underneath it.
For some it's the first tangible eviction sign for the base.
"It's a painful thing," said Osbee "Sam" Sampson, who retired in 1996 after almost four decades in the 440th. "It's just unbelievable. And to see them start dismantling the aircraft, it's a very emotional thing."
Joe Davis, a 440th flight engineer who retired in 1992, flew on C- 119s for many years and, like Sampson, knew the 440th members who disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. "I almost hate to see it go because (the C-119) was such a big part of our lives."
The Flying Boxcar on display at the 440th was acquired from the Forest Service in 1989, a year after the plane was used to fight the fires that devastated Yellowstone. It was restored and painted in the colors of the C-119 that vanished in June 1965 while traveling from Milwaukee to the Bahamas to drop off an engine and maintenance crew. Nine of the 10 men lost on the flight were from the 440th, including Dick Nugent's brother Thomas, a loadmaster.
The loss was especially devastating for Nugent, now 72, because he should have been on that flight. But because he had already reached his allotment of military flights, his younger brother took his place.
On Thursday, Nugent drove from his Necedah home to take one last look at the plane that looked just like the one he loaded with parachutes and life rafts for the ill-fated crew. He was dismayed the plane was leaving.
"That bothers me because that was a Milwaukee crew, not a Niagara Falls crew. They couldn't find a place in Milwaukee to keep it?"
All three planes on display at the 440th are on loan from the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The other two planes are an F- 4 Phantom painted in the same colors and numbers as the jet flown by Bay View native and Medal of Honor recipient Lance Sijan when he was shot down in Vietnam, and a T-33, the most widely used jet trainer in the world.
The Air Force Reserve base in Niagara Falls had requested a C- 119 Flying Boxcar many years ago and when the Milwaukee plane came up "on the bidding block" the New York reserve unit got it, said Col. Merle Hart, 440th commander.
Hart, who will be wing commander when the unit moves to North Carolina in 2007, said he plans to formally request that the C-119 continue to have the same paint scheme and number since it honors a 440th crew.
"I'm sad to see this whole base leave. (The C-119) is part of that," Hart said. "When things start getting dismantled it starts the emotional trail."
The $100,000 cost to dismantle, transport and reassemble the Flying Boxcar is being paid by the Niagara Falls unit.
The T-33 is scheduled to go to a VFW post in Racine County while the F-4 at the entrance to the 440th is expected to stay put. Milwaukee County Supervisor Richard Nyklewicz, a member of the board's transportation committee, said the F-4 dedicated to Sijan's memory will remain part of Mitchell Field.
"The intent is to keep it in Milwaukee and at the airport at its current location perhaps as long as 10 years," said Nyklewicz, adding that the area where the 440th is located is a likely spot for another east-west runway at the airport.
Senior Master Sgt. Scott Schroeder, who is in his 23rd year with the 440th, was among those snapping photos of the Flying Boxcar in pieces on Thursday. Schroeder said it's difficult to see any of the planes leave the base, but "I know it's going to a good place. I'd rather see it go to another Air Force reserve base where they'll take good care of it."
C-119 FLYING BOXCAR
-- The 440th Airlift Wing flew C-119s from 1957 to 1971, when the unit switched to its current plane, the C-130.
-- The plane earned its nickname because it resembled French rail boxcars and because of its cargo hauling ability.
-- C-119s were used extensively during the Korean War to move troops and equipment. They were also used in the Vietnam War.
-- A C-119 was featured in the 2004 movie "Flight of the Phoenix."
Copyright 2006, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)
Copyright 2006 Journal Sentinel Inc. Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
AUTHOR :
by MEG JONES
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