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Contact Info
Home Town Yakima, Washington
Last Address 22208 - 8th Avenue South Des Moines, Washington 98198
Created/Owned By 282 Theriault, Joseph R. T. (Joseph Ralph), Capt5
Last Updated: Mar 17, 2013
Memories For This Unit
Best Moment TDY to England, and bought a bike for my son
Worst Moment Son's bike was stolen from his school
Other Memories In 1954 our entire Air Wing was scheduled for a rotational TDY (Temporary Duty) from Roswell, New Mexico, to Anderson Air Base, Guam. The entire wing (509th) of B-50 four engine bombers and KC-97 tankers would be involved. I was in maintenance section and would fly in a C-97 passenger type aircraft. On take-off from Walker Air Force Base, and engine failed and we had to return to base. As this aircraft was equipped with the 28 cylinder Pratt & Whitney engine also common to the B-50s and KC-97s, the engine change was completed quickly, and we took off a day late. Landings at Travis AFB, California, and Hickam AFB, Hawaii, then Wake Island and finally Guam were routine. The B-50s took off at intervals and had air crews and huge storage bins in front and rear bomb bays. The bins contained spare parts and anything needed for service of the aircraft. A bin could be replaced with a platform on which things could be lashed down and the platform raised into the bomb bay with the bomb hoists. In several aircraft these platforms contained small motorcycles and scooters. It was neat to have wheels in Guam. One B-50 had refueled at Hickam AFG and took off for Guam, but not far out he also lost an enging and could not maintain altitude with the load of motorcycles, storage bins, and crew - so the aircraft raidoed that they would have to return and dump fuel and the bin or the cycles. A colonel that was a passenger riding the jump seat said to dump the motorcycles, but the aircraft commander said it was his aircraft, and that he would elect to dump the bin, which he did and then he returned to Hickam and landed. The colonel was irate over that decision to dump the bin, for good reason to him because his baggage and his golf clubs were on that bin and they were in the Pacific Ocean! The B-50 had and engine change and some sheet metal work as the engine was torched from a fire. All that had to be repaired plus the colonel had to have some new clothes and essentials.
