The married officers lived in a standalone house with their family. The Realignment of Griffiss Air Force Base. As a young airman, assumed we were returning the stuff to supply to send to the next base. Everyone from the mechanics keeping the planes flyable, to the cookspreparing food for the airmen stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, to thecommanders who ensured that everything from the flight schedules being correctto the proper paperwork being completed to allow the missions to continue. There were 10 passengers and six crew members on board. The Airacobra reached its peak usage in the USAAF in early 1944, with over 2100 in service. Veteran Compensation Programs (USVCP) (www.veteranprograms.com), and any of their associated websites is for general informational. Engine not damaged. At this time, the camp was renamed and the airfield was under III Fighter Command jurisdiction. Eielson Air Force base, Alaska. So now what? Ellsworth Air Force base, South Dakota. On January 18, 1994 it was listed as a Superfund due to extensive groundwater contamination with heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethylene, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane . [5] In recent years groundwater contamination has be linked to jet fuel, cleaning agents, and fire suppression agents used at Wurtsmith Air Force Base. He brought this idea to the attention of his squadron commander Major Carl Spaatz. [5] In recent years groundwater contamination has be linked to jet fuel, cleaning agents, and fire suppression agents used at Wurtsmith Air Force Base. The Wurtsmith Air Force Base, created in 1923, played a large role in WWII. I didnt know anything about the Tuskegee Airmen until we got into this.. WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. [4] Its mission was to, maintain half of the fleet on a 15 minute alert, meaning the plane could be in, the air in 15 minutes, to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet preemptive missile, strike. As seen, in the picture of the runways, there is a Christmas tree coming off of the, beginning of the runway with a building next to it. Although in the past the Wurtsmith Air Force Base was extremely successful there are some prevalent issues with it today. Major Gary Geiger assigned to the 911TH Safety Office with me back in the late 60's or early 70's was a Navitgator on the B-52's assigned to Westover AFB as he used to tell me when we deployed there do not know if he did time at Wurstmith AFB. Residents of the Oscoda area raised $600 to clear 40 acres of land next to the lake as a spot for a training camp and target range. This would cause some big problems for the fish and other life that lives beneath the surface. There are many different ways that PFOA and PFOS can affect the human body. On May 9, 1961, the base took delivery of its first new Boeing B-52 H Stratofortress, The State of Michigan. [1] As tensions increased around the world and the likelihood of an actual mission being flown while on ready alert increased, the weekbecame more stressful. Environmental context Total organofluorine and known fluorosurfactants were quantified in 11 aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) used to extinguish fires in Ontario, Canada, and one commercial AFFF product. Theyve seen lots of things underwater, but the story of the P-39 fighter lost just off the Port Huron beachfront touched them. It had a commissary, a gas station, a hospital, housing, a bowling alley," said veteran Michael Grogan. Hill Housing area-- Wurtsmith Elementary School, Grissom Elementary School, Wagner Middle School, . [5] One crew flew 29mission out of Jeddah, setting the record for most missions flew by a bombercrew in theater. Michigan Radio. Dover Air Force base, Delaware. Ruben C. Moffat flew a P-6 converted with a supercharged Conqueror engine on a record-breaking flight. I am not a doctor or attorney, and cannot give medical advice or legal advice. When the Gulf War started in 1990, the 379, Bomber Wing sent B-52s as well as their accompanying KC-135s into the Middle East. Maximum speed was 178 mph at sea level, 171 mph at 10,000 feet. OSCODA, Mich. - Oscoda residents and PFAS activists today held a press conference on the shores of Van Etten Lake to set the record straight on the Air Force's contamination of their community from the former Wurtsmith Air . This article is from 2018.. The P-6 could climb to 10,000 feet in 6.6 min. Anyone know the status on this? Published August 24, 2021 at 4:15 PM EDT. [1] This was followed by one and a half weeks of normal day to day activities, until the flight crew relieved crew on ready alert in the bunkers. These bases wereresponsible for a housing a Ready Alert Nuclear Strike Force. The runways were aligned NE/SW, E/W, and NW/SE. At one point, they had to use these toxic foam chemicals to put out a fire at the Oscoda High School in 1995. In addition, it would facilitate the installation of nose cannon since the armament could be mounted near the centerline, minimizing the effects of recoil forces. It is primarily a large jet airplane salvage, jet engine maintenance and light general aviation . The Arrow Street purge system, installed in 1982 to remove contaminants from the Building 43 plume, has lowered concentrations o My daughter was born at the base hospital. The Wurtsmith Air Force Incident. Had some issue at Loring Maine where I was stationed from 86-88 and nothing.VA is cricket s on this Richard Stanfill, 12/5/21I was stationed there from 1982 to October of 1985 and lost my left kidney to 3rd stage clear cell carcinoma I never smoked or did drugs. Aircraft was at Camp Skeel, Oscoda Michigan for Aerial Gunnery training. Mrs. Cecil V. Fowler saw the crash, according to the Times Herald article. The EPA began requiring public water systems to monitor for PFOA and PFOS in 2012, but even today there is no federal drinking water standards for PFOA or PFOS. This, flight crew would spend one week in the bunker and be confined to an undisclosed. A ground-water divide cuts diagonally across the Base from northwest to sou To all who are interested in the Camp Skeel/Oscoda AAF/Wurtsmith AFB History. As long as these assignments were under 180 days they were considered Temporary Duty Assignments. The P-47 Thunderbolt fighter and fighter-bomber was used by the Allied air forces during World War II. They took a photo on April 11, from the surface of Lake Huron, of the wing of a Wold War II-era fighter plane that crashed during a training exercise, killing its pilot. The P-47D, in general service by the spring of 1944, had a maximum speed of 440 miles (700 km) per hour and a ceiling of 40,000 feet (12,200 meters). This meant that Wurtsmith Air Force Base was essentially a self-contained airport with all of the necessities to support a full community on Base. The aquifer overlies a thick clay layer at an average depth of 65 feet. This judgement flies in the face provided by the federal ATSDR and the National Institute of Health. High blood serum levels of PFOA are associated with infertility, decreased semen quality, and a higher risk of thyroid disease. The base was put into a standby status to be there just in case something happened in those areas. In a nutshell, this is what were trying to do get permission to relocate the parts so they would resemble a plane, David Losinski said. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in Iosco County, Michigan.It operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. [1] Wurtsmith Air Force Base was 2nd Lt. Nortons first, permanent duty station in the United States Air Force. Wurtsmith got its start in 1923 as Loud-Reames Aviation Field, a soft-surface landing site for Arm Air Corps aircraft from Selfridge Field. DISCLAIMER: Information displayed on U.S. The majority of married enlisted and officers preferred to live on base because of the free daycare for children. Drew said, Dad, thats an airplane., You could see the wings. WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. By Steve Elliott 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs. Facebook: Wurtsmith AFB Water Health Issues via water Created to serve as a reference point for former WAFB residents to share information regarding health issues, and probable chemical exposure via base water sources. Mr. Norton remarked that they were flying the wings off of the planes. More than 40 private businesses and public agencies use the former Air Force facilities and infrastructure, providing more than 1,300 jobs to the area, as well as the conversion of former base housing to 700 privately owned residential homes. On the other hand, the rear-mounted engine offered increased maneuverability since the weight of the plane would be near its center of gravity. This man later took the proposal to build a gunnery range to the people of Oscoda. This remoteness of Wurtsmith Air Force Base, as well as common brotherhood of being in the United States Air Force resulted in a tight knit community formed by the airmen and their families. The Au Sable River is an attraction for families all around Michigan. At just after 10 pm on the 30 th October, on-duty personnel at Wurtsmith Air Force Base would report seeing a strange object hovering over the . However, the P-6 differed from the P-1 in having its fuselage rounded out to match the fatter engine cowling required by the Conqueror engine. The P-39 had a unique configuration with the engine placed behind the pilot and the drive shaft running under the cockpit to the propeller. The base is influential in Michigan, as well as the United States military history. Once we brought that up and cleaned the tag, we knew it was the 221226 serial number.. [5] The 379th Bomb Wing immediately continued the 4026thStrategic Wing operations and training. This is very dear to my heart and want to get involved however I can. The state says, We dont have jurisdiction over that; its the Air Force, Losinski said. This is a very big issue for the people of Oscoda and the surrounding areas for obvious reasons. In 1955 Wurtsmith Air Force Base became an official permanent post in the United States Air Force, which meant that many new services were implemented on base. Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport became a public airport in 1993. I was stationed there from 11/84-1989. This is desirable from a strategic standpoint, but for the airmen that served on the bases themselves this meant that they were removed from the vast majority of society. My first assignment as a Nuclear Weapons specialist was at wurtsmith where we deployed the AGM 69A SRAM missile system. She gave Kelly the rundown of the base. U.S. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in northeastern Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Continued study of ground-water contamination at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan, defined the movement and distribution of volatile organic compounds in the glacial sand and gravel aquifer at known sites of contamination, and has defined new plumes at two other sites.