Memories of the

Rhein Main Air Force Base 1951-54



Stockard W. Witherspoon


Hello Bill;
I guess it took long enough to get this up. But better late then never. Please feel free to edit any part or all of this, delete, add or anything else.

It is obvious that you have put in many hours on the 12th TCSq page. You have done a bang-up job. It brings back a flood of memories, some good, some bad, some funny and some not so funny. The bad ones are like the '82 that went down into the mountain top in the Rhone Valley, killing all crew members and 42 troopers. The radio op had sent in a position report just 15 minutes before the crash showing they were on course, They THOUGHT. They were 50 miles off course to the left in route to Marselle. The funny ones like: One day during a baseball game between RM/Neubyberg, a C-82 flew over the ball field dropping parts off the plane, right onto the field. Three parts hit the field. The plane landed ok, then before it could taxi off the runway one of the booms just dropped to the ground. Still no one was hurt.

The a not-so-funny (then, but funny now): We were grounded at Wheelus Fld, Tripoli for parts. I had a schedule to call group headquarters each day at 13:00, by CW. One day the engineer and myself went to the plane to make the call. I went on up the ladder to the cockpit and the engineer started the APU. When he hit the on-line switch the right gear collapsed. (see picture) What a sound and a mess!!! Besides what is shown in the picture, it put the right wing tip in a 90 degree up angle. Someone had removed the pin out of the right gear and when the power was turned on it started to retract. They had to class 26 the aircraft. Strange thing is I never heard about a accident investigation being made.

On the memories page one you ask if anyone can identify any of the other cars in the picture. That is my 1933 German Addler in the background. I bought it from Bob Belcher in the 11th squadron and them sold it back to him.

I first came to Germany when my squadron was transferred from the Philippines to participate in the airlift. After the lift I was assigned to the UN Truce Supervision team in the Palestine. From there to the 60th group in the 11th squadron and then the 12th squadron. I was in the 12th for about two months and a group of very bright young RARAR maintenance men arrived and I was told to make airborne radio opperators out of them. I did just that, and thanks to their intelligence and willingness to learn, it was an easy task. McDonald and Krynski are two of them. I left Germany in '52 and ended up in Korea went into OSI for awhile and then to Turkey, two more tours in Germany, two tours in southeast Asia retirng in 1974. Went back to my home town in Tennessee and met a girl who is now my wife, Bernice. We are presently living in Athens, Alabama.

I wonder what ever happened to the OIC of communications, Lt. Dugolpolski. Boy, he sure didn't like me. Or what happened to the 12th Commander, Lt. Col. Kidd. He did like me because we were the first squadron in all USAFE to reach it's full quota of Class One Radio Opperators.

All in all it was a great experience and it gives me much pleasure to relive a little of it each time I look over your home page. (I also bore a lot of people, I am sure, showing off the old 12th squadron).

Remember what I said, please feel free to edit this in any manner you wish. I am well aware it is much to long to print verbatim.

Best wishes: Spoon

Thanks for the great letter Spoon. I loved it!