Moving to Libya came right out of the blue, but of course it would to a 9-year old. We had been living at George AFB, near Victorville, CA. Dave was 6-1/2 and the girls were maybe 1-1/2 years old and a handful. I was really enjoying 3rd Grade with Mrs. Clark, when suddenly Mom and Dad announce we’re moving to Africa! Mind-blower!
I don’t really remember the whole sequence of events, but it seems like Dad went on ahead of us, to get settled in his job, and find housing. Having 4 kids made things a bit more difficult than if you were single or only had a small family. There were probably few 3-or 4-bedroom houses on post, so you would have to wait in temporary living facilities (TLF) which were usually one or two rooms with maybe a kitchenette. Someone probably told Dad to go ahead, find a place and then bring us over. Back then if you had no sponsor with you, you had to move off base, so I’m pretty sure we went up to Anacortes, and stayed in the beach house for a couple months.My vivid memory of that time was going to the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station to get our shots, and getting either the Typhus or Typhoid shot. it hurt to get it, and then Mom took me back to school. About an hour later my arm hurt so bad I thought it was about come off. I was in agony! I went to the Nurse, they called Mom back in and she took me home for the remainder of the day.
I think we left Washington before Christmas, and flew to Minneapolis to say goodbye to our Branby relatives since we were probably going to be gone for 2-4 years. While we there, both girls caught colds which in time turned into raging ear infections as we flew on to New Jersey to catch transportation to Tripoli. Somehow Mom figured out what was going on and got us to McGuire AFB, and into the TLF there so she could get the girls seen by the base hospital. We ended staying there for almost two weeks.
When we finally got a flight to Libya, I remember stopping Tunis, Tunisia, and then a short hop over to the Tripoli airport, where Dad met us. I remember getting off the flight into bright sun, heat and palm trees.
We were there probably just about a year, so the biggest memories are snapshots: We rode to school (to a different part of the base) in a big white ambulance bus with half the seats missing in back so you could put litters in. Our house was right across the street from the High School. I joined Cub Scouts and my Mom and Madge Berryhill (developers of our favorite Mollassas Sugar Cookies) were our Den mothers. During the summer we played baseball in the field across the street. We swam at the base swimming area in the next housing area up the road.
The base was situated on the Mediterranean Sea, which was pretty cool. You could snorkle around and the bottom would go out pretty gradually probably two hundred yards, then drop off completely. Nothing but blackness. Scared the crap out of me the first time I swam over it… I beat feet back to “safety” as fast as possible!
It was there that we watched the Moon landing.
We had a great climbing tree in our yard… I climbed it all the time. Pretended it was a B-17 called “Miss America,” and flew missions across Europe in WWII. I must have told my Dad, buecause he told me about a bomber called “Lady Be Good.” which had gotten lost over the African desert coming back from a bombing raid. Flew out into the desert for hundreds of miles till their fuel ran out, so they all bailed out. Years later the plane was found almost intact. Turns out the crew had mostly survived the bail-out, and started walking back north. The last one got as close as 75 miles to the coast before dying. I think they eventually found everyone but one crewmember’s remains. One of the propellers was put on a monument on the base near the Chapel. That has always stuck with me, especially when I became a Navigator.
I think we left Washington before Christmas, and flew to Minneapolis to say goodbye to our Branby relatives since we were probably going to be gone for 2-4 years. While we there, both girls caught colds which in time turned into raging ear infections as we flew on to New Jersey to catch transportation to Tripoli. Somehow Mom figured out what was going on and got us to McGuire AFB, and into the TLF there so she could get the girls seen by the base hospital. We ended staying there for almost two weeks.
When we finally got a flight to Libya, I remember stopping Tunis, Tunisia, and then a short hop over to the Tripoli airport, where Dad met us. I remember getting off the flight into bright sun, heat and palm trees.
We were there probably just about a year, so the biggest memories are snapshots: We rode to school (to a different part of the base) in a big white ambulance bus with half the seats missing in back so you could put litters in. Our house was right across the street from the High School. I joined Cub Scouts and my Mom and Madge Berryhill (developers of our favorite Mollassas Sugar Cookies) were our Den mothers. During the summer we played baseball in the field across the street. We swam at the base swimming area in the next housing area up the road.
The base was situated on the Mediterranean Sea, which was pretty cool. You could snorkle around and the bottom would go out pretty gradually probably two hundred yards, then drop off completely. Nothing but blackness. Scared the crap out of me the first time I swam over it… I beat feet back to “safety” as fast as possible!
It was there that we watched the Moon landing.
We had a great climbing tree in our yard… I climbed it all the time. Pretended it was a B-17 called “Miss America,” and flew missions across Europe in WWII. I must have told my Dad, buecause he told me about a bomber called “Lady Be Good.” which had gotten lost over the African desert coming back from a bombing raid. Flew out into the desert for hundreds of miles till their fuel ran out, so they all bailed out. Years later the plane was found almost intact. Turns out the crew had mostly survived the bail-out, and started walking back north. The last one got as close as 75 miles to the coast before dying. I think they eventually found everyone but one crewmember’s remains. One of the propellers was put on a monument on the base near the Chapel. That has always stuck with me, especially when I became a Navigator.
In the fall of ‘69 Colonel Muammar Gaddafi led a military coup d’tat in Libya, taking over as the country’s de facto leader. It was quickly decided that the base would close by some date in the spring, so everyone had to pack up and move again. For us kids, it meant 6-day school weeks all fall and winter. At some point we got on a large prop military plane and headed to Aviano AB in Northern Italy. It wouldn’t be my last trip to the African desert.
Very busy year.
Very busy year.
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