project glynco

A History of NAS Glynco Brunswick,Georgia

Project Glynco

Official U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

By Leslie Faulkenberry

2 ForewordBy the 1950’s, the need for more sophisticated Anti-Submarine Warfare tools paved the way forimprovements in the design of the Navy airship.Enhanced radar capacity was offered by an additionalradome, the small protruding capsule located on theunderside of the blimp between the control car andthe nose. US Navy photo courtesy of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Foreword3

The Glynn County AirportCommission, in the developmentof the new airline terminalproject, realized the former Navy Air Station Headquartershistory of the “Base” was quicklybeing erased. The Commissiondetermined the need to formalizethe history of the Naval AirStation (NAS) Glynco and itstransformation to a civil airport was vital to the mission of the Commission and thecommunity’s history.

In 2004, the AirportCommission asked a localmarketing and advertising firm,Faulkenberry Certain Advertising,Inc., to assist with the solicita-tion, documentation, andpresentation of a history displayin the new terminal building.During the process, a multitudeof requests were made to thepublic to gather the lingering

history elements of the Base and its transformation. Much to the surprise of the AirportCommission, an abundance ofinformation poured in from avariety of resources which wasdocumented by FaulkenberryCertain, and prepared for anoutstanding presentation to beunveiled at the New TerminalDedication Ceremony.

The Airport Commissionextends sincere appreciation tothe military personnel thatcontributed to the history andshared their recollections, thelocal residents who steppedforward with historical artifacts,the Federal Law EnforcementTraining Center for generouscontributions from their archives,and past and present AirportCommissioners and personnel for their assistance in developingthis project.

The Commission also owes adebt of gratitude to FaulkenberryCertain, particularly LeslieFaulkenberry, for the outstandingeffort and world-class historicpresentation of the Base from its inception through its currentuse as a civilian airfield.

The records accumulatedthrough the process of develop-ing this history project have been preserved digitally on CDfor presentation to all interestedparties and for use in publiceducation. The Airport Commis-sion takes great pride in makingthis small contribution to thepreservation of the history ofBrunswick and the Golden Islesfor future generations.

STEVEN V. BRIAN

Executive DirectorOn behalf of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission

4 Welcome AboardCharles Tillery’s shipmates gleefully find him“guilty” of a number of humorous crimes at the celebration of his promotion to ChiefPetty Officer at NAS Glynco in the 1950’s.Photo courtesy of Charles Tillery.

In January 2004, a press releasewas sent to the media searchingfor anyone who had beenstationed at Naval Air Station(NAS) Glynco, Brunswick,Georgia, their family membersand civilian employees. Theseindividuals were invited tocontribute to the development ofa permanent display that tracedthe history of the base for thenew Brunswick Golden IslesAirport passenger terminal. The facility occupies the site ofthe former Operations Buildingfor NAS Glynco, near the locationwhere gigantic blimp hangarswere hastily built in World War II to protect the coast from marauding U-boats.

Veterans’ organizations werekind enough to include the infor-mation in their newsletters andmembership correspondence.

Friends forwarded emails toformer shipmates and their fami-lies. An initial trickle of responseturned into a flood of calls,emails, bulky envelopes arrivingin the mail and visits fromveterans and their loved ones.

Many people simply called to wish us well. Some called orwrote to share stories; otherssent photographs, artifacts anduniforms. Over the year and a half of work and research on this project, the veterans ofNAS Glynco and their families,local citizens and communityleaders were lavishly generouswith their memories and their time.

Although the display space in the terminal was generous and well-placed, the completecollection was too large to fit behind the sleek glass doors.

We searched for a way topreserve these pricelessmemories, letters and imagesthat told the saga of NAS Glyncoin greater depth. This CD-ROMbook was developed to sharethese treasures with anyone who loves history and theGeorgia coast. The natural titleemerged in the form of theoriginal email address thatbecame the lifeline with ourbenefactors: Project Glynco.

These are the stories of thepeople who made NAS Glynco avital part of the nation’s defensein times of war and peace. The stories of young peoplecoming of age in a strange place,of learning new cultures andacceptance of great responsibility.Of commands and transitions,brilliant careers and humorousdetours. Of lifelong friends,

Welcome Aboard5

danger and romance,emerging technology andopportunity. And of thecommunity that gained andlost and eventually triumphed.

Project Glynco does notclaim to be a total, completehistory of military procedure or every personal experience.But it does open the door tounderstanding the importance ofthe place, its accomplishmentsand the proud legacy of service

offered by the many outstandingindividuals who spent time there.

Being asked to participate inProject Glynco has brought manyblessings. I am deeply honored tobe a part of this inspiring project. I commend the Glynn CountyAirport Commission and theircommitment to historic preserva-tion as well as their vision for the community’s future. To theCommissioners, ExecutiveDirector Steven Brian and his staff and all the wonderful peoplewho contributed to this effort: I thank you for the opportunity totime travel and make so manyenduring friendships.

LESLIE FAULKENBERRY

August, 2005

Welcome Aboard6

A letter from a long-timefriend found its way past Navycensors to aviation mechanicJ.H. Browning, “Brownie”, atNAS Glynco in January 1945.Courtesy of Michael F.Browning

7 Acknowledgments

Aviation mechanic J.H.Browning kept this precise logof every one of his flights out ofNAS Glynco in 1944. Courtesy of Michael F. Browning

Project Glynco has benefited from the generosity of authorswhose published works go intogreater depth on military andregional history. If you want to learn more about how the coastal Georgia area hasimpacted the history of ournation, you will enjoy readingthe following books:

Memories from the Marshes of Glynn: World War II,by Thora Olsen Kimsey andSonja Olsen Kinard. Available for sale locally, or via website.www.marshesofglynn.com

Wasn’t I the Lucky One,by Commander John A. FaheyUSN (Ret.) Available from B&J Books, 901 Pillow Drive,Virginia Beach, VA 23454.www.electrinpins.com/faheycollection/

Special thanks are in order to Jane Hildebrand at theBrunswick- Glynn County PublicLibrary and Colletta Harper atthe Coastal Georgia RegionalDevelopment Center, for theirenthusiasm, professionalism and extreme donation ofvaluable time. Ms. Hildebrand

and Ms. Harper providedinvaluable resources inassembling images andinformation for Project Glyncoand the history display at the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport passenger terminal.

Acknowledgments8

At ADMAT inspections, like thisone in 1970, sailors at NAS Glyncohad an opportunity to displaymilitary form and readiness in every detail. Photo courtesy of Commander Al Ufer.

Table of contents9

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Welcome Aboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Chapter 1: Vulnerability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Chapter 2: The War Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Chapter 3: Building the Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Chapter 4: Giant Warriors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Chapter 5: The Bold Mission of LTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43Chapter 6: POW’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Chapter 7: Life and Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55Chapter 8: Golden Isles Gold Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61Chapter 9: The Cold War Heats Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66Chapter 10: Dangers and Demands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72Chapter 11: Tarzan and the Martians . . . . . . . . . . . . .78Chapter 12: The Legend of Blackdog . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85Chapter 13: Brownie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88Chapter 14: Airborne Early Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91Chapter 15: NATTC- State of the Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99Chapter 16: Marines at Glynco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110Chapter 17: The Navy from a Woman’s Perspective . .115Chapter 18: Changes at Glynco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126Chapter 19: The Best-Kept Secret in the Navy . . . . . .133Chapter 20: Wings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144Chapter 21: Wild Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150Chapter 22: Heartbreak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157Chapter 23: Searching for Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162Chapter 24: Reality 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169Chapter 25: A Ray of Hope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175Chapter 26: Triumph! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190

Table of Contents

Vulnerability Chapter110

Fire crews on the USS West Virginia fight a frantic battle againstoverwhelming odds at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.

C H A P T E R 1 Vulnerability11

The Early DaysAfter the stunning losses at Pearl Harbor in 1941, andthe declaration of war by

Germany just four dayslater, the United Statesbarely had time to catch its breath before another

menace emerged in theform of vicious navalaggression. On January 15,1942, the German sub-marine campaign againstAmerica was formallyinitiated. In just two weeks,fourteen ships, includingnine desperately neededtankers, were sent to thebottom of the sea by aforce of only five U-boats.

The future of Britainlooked bleak, as thebeleaguered nation reliedheavily upon Americansupply of materiel, food andfuel. Severing the lifelinewith their most powerfulally threatened the survivalof all Allied forces inEurope and the West Indies.The daring and ambition of the German Navy

The crew of Coast GuardCutter Spence watches ondeck as a direct hit sinks U-175. In the distance, 10Naval combat vessels haveboxed in the “Rat Pack”submarine to meet its fate.Blimps were used to identify locations of themarauding submarines that terrorized the Easternseaboard. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.

was backed by a well-prepared, well-suppliedfleet of vessels which had been waiting for anopportunity to wage war.But Americans were soon to experience thatdisarming Britain was notthe only objective of thedeadly campaign.

In the first six months of the war in 1942, U-boats,under command of AdmiralKarl Donitz, sank 400 ships off the Atlantic coast.Frequently executed inbroad daylight whilehorrified onlookers onnearby beaches watchedhelplessly, these unprece-dented raids paralyzed both military and merchantmarine operations. Theresult was a virtualembargo of the entireeastern coast. Accounts of U-boats firing onshorespread alarm in coastalcommunities. St. SimonsIsland residents rememberchilling sightings of sub-marine lights surfacing atnight during those first grim months.

The War Hits HomeThe tranquility and charmof Georgia’s coastal barrierislands was shattered bythe U-boat menace. Militaryships, merchant marine,even pleasure craft werefair game. School childrenwalking along East Beachwere shocked to discoverthat a puzzling, sand-covered stick they steppedon by accident was thedisembodied arm of awoman that had washed upon the shore. Sheer terrortransported them home totheir parents, who alertedthe Coast Guard. A searchrevealed the spoils of aprevious night’s attack,grisly bits of humanremains amid the debris of a wrecked ship.


Before blimps patrolled the coast, a walk along St. Simons Island’s pristinebeaches might revealshattered bits of cargo andhuman remains. Theseshocking discoveries werewashed ashore from vesselsambushed by U-boats. Photo courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

No one was safeon the seas thatAmerica had pre-viously looked uponas insulation fromEuropean conflicts.Sinkings were sonumerous that theNavy referred to theCape Hatteras area inNorth Carolina as“iron bottom,” whereships’ masts werevisible topside as thecasualties piled up atan alarming rate.President Franklin D.

Roosevelt decided to limitreporting of these events to a traumatized Americanpublic to avoid furtherdamage to the shakennational morale. Thepapers and radio obliginglydid not report the extent of the losses.

Winston Churchill wroteto Roosevelt in 1942,worried about the escalat-ing attacks. He confided,“The spectacle of all thesesplendid ships being built,sent to sea crammed with priceless food andmunitions, and being sunk–three or four everyday–torments me day and night.”

The southeastern coastwas particularly vulnerablefor several reasons.

Vulnerability13 C H A P T E R 1

At the J.A. Jones yards in Brunswick, worksurges ahead on a Liberty ship after the keel is laid. Photo courtesy of theBrunswick-GlynnRegional Library.

The intricate channels andbarrier islands prevented aclear sighting along a farstretch of coastline from

the surface. The peculiarconfiguration of the outerreefs and bars made itnecessary for ships to

venture farther away fromshore–and its protection–to encounter waters of a navigable depth.

A number of newtargets, shipyards, werecropping up on the Atlanticcoastline as fast as theycould be thrown intoaction. The J. A. Jones yards in Brunswick, as wellas facilities in Charleston,South Carolina andJacksonville, Florida, werefeverishly building Libertyships at a phenomenal pace to supply troopsabroad. Unless a reliablesystem of protection couldbe devised, each launch of a newly completed shipwould become U-boattarget practice.


This photograph taken moments before the launch of the Liberty ship Westoreat the Jones yards was shot from an NAS Glynco blimp.Photo courtesy of John A. Fahey.

The War Begins Chapter215

Major Thomas H. Daniel,commander of CoastalPatrol 6 of the Civil AirPatrol on St. Simons Island.In the frightening earlymonths of World War II, the Civil Air Patrol gatheredcivilian pilots and privateplanes to search off theGeorgia coast for lurking U-boats. Photo courtesy of Winn Baker.

Brunswick’s Newcastle Street in the early 1920’s. Behind the arched doorway was the Grand Opera House, later the Ritz Theater, where the war could be forgotten for an hour or two. Photo courtesy of the Golden Isles Arts & Humanities Association.

C H A P T E R 2 The War Begins16

Why Glynn County?The Navy selected GlynnCounty, Georgia, to base anew defense against sub-marine warfare: airships, orblimps as they were com-monly known. A fleet of

non-rigid, helium-filledairships had been orderedby the Navy in 1940, and alanguid peacetime deliveryschedule was quicklyshifted into high gear. Twohundred additional ships

were ordered from theGoodyear Company inOhio. Airship bases inRichmond, Florida,Weeksville, North Carolina,and Key West, Florida, weregranted priority status forconstruction along with thefacility in Brunswick.

Why was Glynn Countyselected? The Bureau ofAeronautics had severalcriteria for site selection.Accessibility to the AtlanticOcean was within an 8-mile range, and all thenecessities of good water,adequate electric power,and rail transportationwere already in place.There were no hazards toair navigation on the flatcoastal plain, and clearapproaches were available

over the Marshes of Glynn.The potential building siteitself was flat and undevel-oped, at a relatively highelevation for the area. Theland was covered with pineand palmetto growth, asopposed to the trademarkgiant oak trees so typical ofSouth Georgia. Fewfamilies lived in

that portion of the countysix and a half miles northof Brunswick, yet the roadswere adequate.

The chaotic early monthsof the war caught sleepyBrunswick, Georgia, offguard. In one aspect,however, it was wellprepared.

The town had suffered fromthe Depression as painfullyas the rest of the nation,yet an enlightenedleadership in Glynn Countyhad been surprisinglyprogressive in promotingaviation for years.

Above: Malcolm B. McKinnonRight: Delta Air Lines initiatedair service to Brunswick at Sawtell Field in 1941.The county’s main municipal airport at the time wasMcKinnon Field on St. SimonsIsland, but local enthusiasm for aviation justified theestablishment of anotherairfield. First day cover courtesy of Bryan Thompson.


As German militarypresence strengthenedominously in Europe in the1930’s, businessman

Howard Coffin, the founderof Sea Island Company,worked with Brunswickmayor and County

Commission ChairmanMalcolm B. McKinnon tobuild a “handsome newairport” on St. SimonsIsland. In 1942, the U.S.Navy purchased the 4-year-old airfield toestablish a radar trainingschool. From the first daysof the war until the Navytook possession of thefield, a fearless group ofprivate pilots volunteeredthe use of their ownaircraft in the newlyassembled Coastal Patrol 6of the Civil Air Patrol.

For month afterfrustrating month, CoastalPatrol 6 flew over theAtlantic, spotting Germansubmarines making theirway toward the Georgiacoast. The unarmed small


Below: McKinnon Field wasrenamed NAS St. Simonsfrom 1942 until 1947. Photocourtesy of Larry Wade.

planes were underpoweredto pursue retreating vesselsout to sea when theyrealized they had beensighted. Sam Baker, a localflight instructor who flewfor the Civil Air Patrol,sighted a grounded U-Boat

and its crew stranded onthe sandbar off of nearbySapelo Island, waiting for afavorable tide. Anotherforay revealed a submarinevery near the surface andclose enough to fireonshore, disguised with a

sailboat rigging obscuringits periscope.

“Captain Sam,” as hewas known in GlynnCounty, radioed urgent callsfor help to Navy bases inCharleston and Jackson-ville. The responses were

Above:“Captain Sam”Baker. Right: The“Sandwichand SuicideSquadron,”Coastal Patrol6 of the CivilAir Patrol.Photoscourtesy ofWinn Baker.


condescending, suggestingthat all the Patrol pilots had“overactive imaginations.” Sam Baker and the otherbrave souls of the so-called“Sandwich and SuicideSquadron” could do nothingmore than turn their planesaround in helpless fury asthe U-boats slid away,undamaged, and waited for an unguarded ship.

No one was imaginingthe terrifying blast thatshook the southeasterncoast of Georgia early inthe morning on April 8,1942. German U-boat 123,under the command ofCaptain Reinhard Hardegen,sank two tankers off thecoast of St. Simons Island.The SS Oklahoma and theSS Baton Rouge lost 21

crewmembers. The tankercaptains had naivelyassumed that since theywere traveling at night,they did not need to takeevasive “zigzag” maneu-vers, despite repeatedinstruction to do so by theNavy. Their running lightsand on-board lights made them an easy target.Depositions given bysurviving crewmembers

pointed strongly to thepossibility that a saboteurhad been aboard at leastone ship. That day, the war literally hit home forcoastal Georgians.

Survivors of the attackwere brought to thehospital in Brunswick to betreated for burns, exposureand shrapnel wounds.Despite the fact that everysingle hotel room in the


The damaged hull of the SSBaton Rouge revealed thepoint of impact from a U-boattorpedo. The ship sank quickly,but was recovered later andtowed into the St. SimonsSound. The tanker, along withthe SS Oklahoma, was hit 13 miles off the Georgia coast near Brunswick. Photoscourtesy of Carl Phillips.

city was already taken byshipyard workers andnewly assigned militarymen, the crewmen wereoverwhelmed by the

hospitality of the citizens ofBrunswick. Somehow, evenin those days of “hotbeds”where shipyard workersrented 8-hour stretches on

boarding house beds forwell-deserved sleep,accommodations werefound for the shakenmerchant mariners.

Underneath the flurry of Southern hospitality,coastal Georgians knewthe stark truth. Thewreckage of one ship wastowed the short distanceinto the St. Simons Sound,where it was plainly visibleto the shocked citizens ofGlynn County as they stoodon the St. Simons Pier.

The ships were hit inwater so shallow that thebroken hulls stuck upabove water level. On-lookers were awed by thesize of the chasm made by a torpedo in the side ofthe tanker. They were

The War Begins21 C H A P T E R 2

Survivors of the attack on theSS Baton Rouge in the earlymorning hours of April 8,1942 took this photo from the lifeboat. Photo from the collection of Mrs.Olaf H.Olsen as published inMemories from the Marshesof Glynn–World War II.Reprinted by permission of the author, Sonja Olsen Kinard.

more vulnerable thananyone had cared todiscuss. And being therather remote, sleepy littleresort and port town thatthey were, would anyonein Washington care?


Downtown Brunswick as it appeared in the early1940’s. Glynn Academy is in the foreground and the Oglethorpe Hotel is near the riverfront in the distance. Photo courtesy of John A. Fahey.

Building the BaseChapter323

The first of two blimphangars at NAS Glynco takesshape in 1942. US Navyphotograph courtesy of theFederal Law EnforcementTraining Center.

Downtown Brunswick at theturn of the 20th century.Photo courtesy of the GoldenIsles Arts and HumanitiesAssociation.

C H A P T E R 3 Building the Base24

The United StatesNavy ArrivesNews that the Navy hadselected Glynn County as a site for a base waswelcomed in many ways.The Depression had taken

its toll. Elegant Victorianfacades of downtown shopsand offices held on to theirdignity as the occupantslost their own. Businessafter business failed.Offices that once held

thriving sewing machinedealerships, dry goods andimport firms were vacated.City fathers turned a sym-pathetic, blind eye to rowsof cots that were lined upin the spaces upstairs overthe shops on NewcastleStreet. Anyone whosefamily could earn $7 aweek was consideredmarvelously fortunate.

Hardship was not new to Brunswick, Georgia. The city’s history was awildly fluctuating series of good times and bad,ranging from a prosperousseaport in peacetime to anearly deserted outpost inboth the Revolution and the War Between the States.Epidemics of yellow feverand other diseases typical

of the 18th and 19thcenturies reduced the pop-ulation to a fraction of itsusual census on severaloccasions. When war wasdeclared in December 1941,

favored status was given to building new ships tosupply the troops. Highpriority was also given to construction of newmilitary bases. Staggering

losses of newly manu-factured munitions andsupplies to the Nazis madecoastal defense imperativefor survival and successoverseas. Glynn County,Georgia, was the epicenterof several extremely urgentwar efforts: the shipyards,coastal patrol and the Navy base.

This sudden and uniquereversal of fortunesincreased the population of the area more thanfourfold. When the warbroke out, the population of Brunswick was scarcely15,000 people. Within a few months, it reachedapproximately 65,000people, bringing all thepredictable problems ofvirtual overnight growth.

A Navy airship flies over theJ.A. Jones Yards on Brunswick’ssouth side, where Liberty shipswere built at a feverish pace inWorld War II. Photo courtesyof the Brunswick-GlynnCounty Library.


A fierce competition beganfor skilled workers andliving space. Commercialand residential constructionin the United States came

to an abrupt halt asstructural steel, plumbingpipes, electrical wiring andpaint were diverted to

military uses. Seasonedforemen were nearlykidnapped from job sitesaround the Southeast, luredto Brunswick with sign-onbonuses that representedmore than a year’s wagesin Depression days. Thepressure was on to findable-bodied workers forboth the shipyards and the Navy base while themilitary was urgentlybeckoning young men andwomen into their ranks.

Base representativestraveled to small townsnear Brunswick, then tomore remote ruralcommunities to recruitworkers. Housing was indesperately short supply,and many people, about40% of the total workforce,

were trucked in from as faraway as 40 miles each day.Exhausted men were oftenfound sleeping soundly inthe back rows of the town’stwo movie theaters, theRitz and the Bijou.

Along with the increasein population came anincrease in bars, madeprosperous with the unac-customed presence of“folding money” in tradi-tionally empty pockets. Lawenforcement was inundatedwith complaints andemergencies. Young peoplefrom more isolated ruralareas were well accustomedto extreme manual labor,but not to unlimitedquantities of strong drinkand even less to the closeproximity of strangers.


A supervisor watches overworkers at the J.A. JonesYards in Brunswick. Photocourtesy of the Brunswick-Glynn County Library.

The “real country boys,”as foremen called them,were thrown into asituation as strange anddisorienting as soldiers inthe field, as many of themhad never been more than

a few miles away fromhome, and never withouttheir families. Those whowere too far from home to travel back and forth tothe base construction sitemight be forced to rent a bed for the 8 hoursbetween shifts andovertime. The days andmonths passed, withoutsupport from loved ones or familiar faces in the seaof humanity that swarmedover the once-sedatesidewalks of Brunswick 24 hours a day.

The Work BeginsThe property, 2,400 acres offlat pineland and what thegovernment described as“palmetto swamp,” waspurchased for $6,000,000

and all contracts weresigned as of August 8, 1942.The site was created from a series of transactionsincluding condemned landand outright purchase ofacreage from the BrunswickPeninsular Company andT.R. Sawtell. Later acquisi-tions enlarged the base; but for the time, the initialfootprint of the facility was deemed sufficient forwartime activity. The nameNAS (Naval Air Station)Glynco, acknowledgingGlynn County, was devisedto avoid confusion withBrunswick, Maine, thelocation of another airbase.

Initially, the designindicated one hangar forthe new base. In June of1942, Congress reassessed


Shipyard workers toil in thesweltering South Georgia sunto complete the top deck andgun turret assemblies for a Liberty ship. Photo courtesyof the Brunswick-GlynnCounty Library.

its plans for coastaldefense and added asecond hangar toconstruction orders. Thisenabled Glynco to houseits own eight-ship fleet,and dedicate space toservice ships of otherdetachments for refueling,maintenance and repair.Since patrol and escort

areas sometimes over-lapped the usual territoriesfor specific squadrons, thiscapacity was important forNavy airships too far fromtheir home base to make itback safely. Requisitionsand specifications werealtered for seven of thenew east-coast bases toinclude a second hangar.

At Glynco, work beganon September 15,1942 asthe site was cleared. Thefirst order of business wasthe installation of a seriesof railroad connections,including a 1.6 mile longspur of track to connect thebase to three existingcommercial lines that cameinto Brunswick: Southern,Atlantic Coastline and theAtlanta, Birmingham and

Coast lines. On the baseproperty, workers struggledin the mud after typical fallrains to lay 5.4 more milesof track that would delivermaterials to the buildingsites. Work was halted to allow the relocation of an African-Americanchurch and its burialgrounds. The Navy hiredthe church’s minister anddeacons to locate andtransfer the remains.

After the clearing andgrading were completed,landing mats, taxiways and mooring-out circles for blimps were paved.Specifications called forbituminous asphalt pavingrather than the usual heavyconcrete, since airshipswere considerably lighter


The blimp hangars wereassembled in Tacoma,Washington, dismantled andreassembled like giant puzzlesin Georgia. A numberedposition code was marked on each piece of lumberdelivered by rail, as seen here,to the construction site at NAS Glynco. US Navy photocourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.

than fixed-wingaircraft. The rest ofthe land was readiedfor building while afantastically compli-cated plan wasdevised by architec-tural engineers ofRobert and Company,Inc. in Atlanta tobuild the behemothhangars needed tohouse the airships.

An intricate network of beams rise to form the parabolic arches ofthe huge hangars at NASGlynco. The hangars werecompletely assembled in Tacoma, Washington,numbered and dis-mantled for rail transport, then reassembled inBrunswick. US Navyphotos courtesy of theFederal Law EnforcementTraining Center.


The Henry Mill andTimber Company inTacoma, Washington, wasselected as the supplier forbase construction materials.The design called forDouglas fir timbers, cutand milled in Oregon.Normally, such largestructures were fabricated

from steel supports thatwere later covered withanother material, but thewar demand for steel madeit necessary to build all-wooden hangars. In fact,the hangars at NAS Glyncowere the largest woodenstructures in the world atthat time.


Roofing materials on HangarOne seem to grow over thebeams in layers as workers stepcarefully across a hastily assem-bled platform. All the timberswere fireproofed before delivery,using a chemical that did notprotect them from moisture and might have hastened theirdeterioration in later years. US Navy photographs courtesyof the Federal Law EnforcementTraining Center.

The hangars werecompletely assembled atthe mill, where each piecewas numbered. Thebuildings were thendismantled, and sent onerail car load at a time tofireproofing plants all overthe country. The pieceswere reloaded in the same

sequence. An orderlyprogression repeated thatprocedure, steadilydelivering the parts asneeded so that lumber didnot stack up and presentan obstacle to the crewsmanipulating the gianttimbers. Amazingly, evenin the chaotic days of the

first year of the war, therewere no delays in thedelivery routine.

Steelworkers werecalled in by W.C. Shepardand the Griffin Construc-tion Company of Atlanta,the assembly contractors,to fabricate the hugewooden parabolic arches


Enormous concrete pylonsserved as door supports forthe hangars. Walls of thepillars and crossbeam were15” thick. US Navy photoscourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.

of the hangars. A railroadline was positioned downthe middle of each of thehangar floors, with cranes

on the site lifting thetreated timbers directly offthe rail cars into placeaccording to the numbered

plan. The 51 trusses thatformed the supports ofeach hangar grew from thesandy coastal plain like theribs of a massive beast.Stationary steel towerderricks, used as scaffold-ing to erect the timbers,were dismantled andmoved numerous times asthe hangars took shape.Concrete pylons over 14"thick and 150 feet tall werepoured to support thedoors of the hangars. When they were finished,each of the two hangarsmeasured 1,058 feet long,297 feet wide and 182 feettall. The Navy estimatedthat one hangar alonecontained enough lumberto build 380 6-roomhouses. Each hangar cost


Both hangars, mooring out circlesand the first cluster of buildingswere finished by January 1943. USNavy photo courtesy of the FederalLaw Enforcement Training Center.

$3 million to build, andwas large enough toenclose 6 football fields. In just six months the base

became operational. NavalAir Station Glynco wascommissioned on January25, 1943. At that point, the

entire base was about one-third completed, with justone barracks structure, a mess hall, two storagebuildings, administrationand radio buildingsfinished in time for theceremony. The landingmats, taxiway andmooring-out circles for theblimps, the most essentialrequirements to launchairship activities, werecompleted as well.

As time progressed, theNavy built gas and heliumtanks, housing and messhalls, recreation facilities


A pair of K-series airshipsapproach the hangar on portablemasts, dwarfing the waitingground crew. US Navy photocourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.

and adispensary,garages andmaintenanceshops, plusall thestorage andutilitiesrequired forthe operationof the base. At the peakof the con-structioneffort on the

base, 2,300 civilian workerswere employed at Glynco.Initially, the work wasscheduled for one 10-hourshift per day, Mondaythrough Saturday. Hourswere cut back in Decemberand January due to theearly arrival of darkness onthe fledgling construction

site. In the summer of 1943,Lt. Commander L.G. Loyd,the officer in charge of theproject, allowed theschedule to ramp up to two 10-hour shifts per day,seven days a week, tocomplete the facility. The entire project was built in an incredible 429 days, or 14 months.

What was the larger,more permanent impact of the Navy presence on Glynn County, Georgia? The influx of new moneywas certainly welcome aswar erased tourism and theshipping trade. Construc-tion workers came for theNavy base, and many whowere too old for militaryservice stayed on after itscompletion to lend theirskills to record-setting


Below: Commissioningceremonies for NAS Glynco on January 25,1943. US Navy photo courtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center. Right: The cover of theAirship Squadron 15newsletter, dated June 1943.Courtesy of Ruby Allman.

work on shipbuilding lines.The Great Depression wasmost certainly over.

The wide recognition ofthe area’s new importancewas a source of pride. The

arrival of the United StatesNavy lifted the status ofBrunswick, Georgia, to that of a National defenseresource that played a major part in repelling a ruthless enemy. Pasthardships were sweptaside, small stature wasignored and natural assets were recognized. A new, permanent legacy of supplying thecountry with well-trained defenders began.


WAVES and sailors onparade in downtownBrunswick. Photo courtesyof the Golden Isles Arts andHumanities Association

Giant Warriors

36 Chapter4

At a length of 250 feet, with a gas volume of over400,000 cubic feet, K series airships dominated the skies over Glynn County in World War II and the Cold War years. US Navy photo courtesy of the Glynn County Airport Commission.

C H A P T E R 4 Giant Warriors37

ZP-15In the discouraging earlymonths of the war, accusat-ions flew about generalmismanagement, lack ofnational leadership andpoor training. In fact, mostof the scramble in the firstsix months of 1942 was due to a severely downsizedmilitary and a poor state of readiness. When the warbroke out, the entire LTA(Lighter Than Air) programcould count only 100 pilots,including active, retired,reserves and students, in its numbers. Only 100qualified, enlisted aircrewmen were on the rolls,

with a pitifully understaffedadministration census of 30 officers and 200 enlistedpersonnel. By 1944, theprogram listed 1,500 pilotsand 3,000 air crewmen onactive duty. By 1945, therewere 706 officers and 7,200enlisted men and women.

In February 1943, FleetAirship Wing One estab-lished their newestcommand, Airship Patrol 15(ZP-15), at Naval Air StationGlynco. CommanderAnthony L. Davis, the firstcommanding officer of thebase, welcomed K-34, thefirst ship to arrive at Glynco.Soon, seven other blimpswould join the K-34 tobegin patrol and escort duties for the vulnerableships off the Georgia coast.

The cover of the Basenewsletter, April 19, 1943.Courtesy of Ruby Allman.

Airships in WartimeInitially, the Navy had used airships primarily forresearch and development,along with duties in pho-tography, map-making and placement of mines.Early experiments in rigidairship design broughtwell-publicized calamity.The growing German U-boat menace brought about a re-examination of the newer helium-filled,non-rigid K-series craft. Its low-altitude flyingcapability and relativelyslow speed were ideal tohunt and track the deadlysubmarines that wereterrorizing the coast.

Compared to traditionalpatrol aircraft available for anti-submarine warfareat the time, blimps provideda relatively vibration-freeobservation platform to detect the presence of U-boats. Stationed at the large windows that wrapped around the control car, lookouts had a wide vista to reportanything unusual–bubbles,ripples, oil slicks or othersigns of a suspected U-boat’s presence.

K ships were capable of sustained flight, with atypical mission averagingabout 8 hours during thefirst year of patrol duties.Since the airship programwas so abruptly acceleratedin the first confusing

months of the war, thenumerous operationaldifficulties, mechanical andtechnical shortcomings and crew training problemswere overcome in combatconditions. Despite theseobstacles, average missionsincreased to 15-20 hours,and longer on occasion.

Finding the EnemyBeneath the SeaLocating a submarine fromthe air was a serious test of vigilance and endurance.On a smooth, glassy oceansurface, a submarineperiscope could be visibleseveral miles away.Unfortunately, that wasrarely the case. Experi-enced U-boat captains usedtheir periscopes sparingly

K-ships on a training exerciseover the waters off theGeorgia coast.US Navy photoCourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.


and knew to travel veryslowly to reduce theirtelltale wake. A choppy seareflected every bit of light

in the sky, turningeach shadow intoa potential sub-marine sighting.Limited visibilityfrom rain, haze,fog or mist on a windy dayhampered effortseven more.

Blimps werearmed with

several surveillance toolsthat increased theireffectiveness and madetheir participation inhunter-killer squadronoperations viable. All K-series ships were equippedwith ASG radar with a 90-

mile radius and underwatersearch gear. Later in thewar, Loran long-rangenavigation equipment,customized for its firstaviation use, was added.

Submarines of WorldWar II vintage relied on

periodic surfacing for air intake and exhaust.Airborne radar wouldinitially sight a periscope or snorkel from the sub-marine’s diesel engines.Once a suspicious signsuggesting a submarine’s


Right: Three of the eight K-ships assigned to NAS Glyncomoored on portable masts in front of their immensewooden hanger. Official US Navy photos courtesy ofFederal Law EnforcementTraining Center.

Below: A K-series airshipframed in the doorway of an NAS Glynco hangar.

presence had beendetected on radar, theairship went toward it atfull throttle- between 65and 75 mph. At that point,the submarine wouldgenerally realize it hadbeen spotted and sub-merge quickly, a maneuvercalled a "crash dive.” Whenthe blimp arrived at thepoint of the disappearingcontact, a smoke floatwould be dropped to markthe location.

Once over the suspectedarea, the blimp droppedinstruments know assonobouys around thetarget in a circular pattern.

Developed specifically for anti-submarine warfarein 1942, a sonobuoycombined aspects of aradio receiver, transmitterand good old-fashionedfishing float. The devicemeasured 6 inches indiameter by 3 feet inlength, and floated uprightwhen dropped into theocean. The impact of itslanding popped an antennaup, and at the same time ahydrophone, or underwatermicrophone, dropped downon a cable, flooding theinterior compartment withseawater. A salt-waterbattery was activated, and began to send a signaltuned to a specific FMfrequency. This effectivelygave the hovering blimp


A U.S. submarine preparing to crash dive in a training drill. Photo courtesy of Charles Tillery.

“ears” under the water tohear sounds of the sub’sscrews turning. Eventually,the U-boat would be forced to pass between two sonobouys placed onthe circumference of thecircular pattern. At that

point, its location would beconfirmed by a magneticanomaly detector (MAD),which could be used todetect a large metallicmass moving beneath thewater’s surface.

Originally developed asairborne aids for geologistssearching for oil andmineral deposits, combat-adapted MAD equipmentallowed blimps to detectvariances in the earth’smagnetic field caused by the submarines. The MAD gear could “see" the submarines withoutinterference as airships had very little metal in the bow area, where thedetector was grounded.

Inside the gondola, orcontrol car, of the blimp,

the readings were inter-preted as distortions in the sweeping arcs of aneedle attached to a pen,which transferred markingsto a steadily advancing roll of paper in a chartrecorder. In the early daysof the war and the LTAprogram, the false alertswere frequent, due to the sobering number ofwrecked ships alreadyfallen victim to earlier U-boat attacks. Updatedcharts, improvements to the equipment, moretraining and experiencequickly reversed the trend.Soon, the electronicsoperators defined thespecific "signature" sub-marines created on thecharts, making them


Commander, Fleet Air WingsAtlantic, Rear Admiral RobertHickey (seated above the twostars), enjoys a turn at therudder of the K-80. Visible in the “bubble” above the wind-shield is the ship’s 50-calibermachine gun. Photo courtesyJohn A. Fahey.

vulnerable to detectioneven when submerged andin an all-quiet state.

After moving in on thesonobuoy signals, the MADwas again used to attempt

to find a precise location ofthe lurking U-boat. Threepositive MAD readingswere considered sufficientjustification to attack, and the airship would drop

whatever armament it had–contact bombs, depth charges or homingtorpedoes. A burst of airfollowed by an oily patchon the surface meant that target had been hit.

Often, the blimp wouldmark the spot with yellowdye markers or whitesmoke bombs and stay toguide fighter aircraft fromnearby carriers or bases tomake the attack with their more powerful weapons. If the sub surfaced, airship crews were ready with a 50-caliber machine gun mounted inside the control car.


Contact! The specific size and shape of this air bubblecluster on the surface, shownhere as part of a US trainingexercise, meant a direct hit on a submarine below. Photo courtesy Charles Tillery.

The Bold Mission of LTA Chapter543

Enormous K-series shipstower over the basecontingent of fighterplanes in the hangars at NAS Glynco.US Navyphoto courtesy of theFederal Law EnforcementTraining Center.

Pratt and Whitney engines(suspended in the frame) onblimps offered power, but a pun-ishing level of noise. US Navyphoto courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

C H A P T E R 5 The Bold Mission of LTA44

On BoardThe entire patrol crewconsisted of 9 men: a pilot,one or two co-pilots, twomechanics, two riggers,and two radiomen. One ofthe co-pilots would assume

duties as a navigator forthe mission. Pilots mannedthe elevator control andrudder during takeoffs andlandings. On patrols, arigger could take control of the rudder, while one

of the pilots remained atthe elevator control. Thisarrangement offered pilotswelcome relief on flightsthat could last as long as 20 hours. The men workedin harmony in tightquarters, communicatingover the roar of the craft’stwo powerful 425 horse-power Pratt and WhitneyWasp engines and theconstant arcing and spark-ing of the temperamentalradar and radio equipment.

Many veterans of airshipservice came away fromthe experience with glow-ing memories, damagedeyesight from the closeproximity to the radarequipment and hearing lossfrom the incessant noise. A former blimp crewman

stated simply, “Even if wehad known about thepotential dangers of doingour jobs, it wouldn’t havemade a difference to mostof us. It was war, we had

a job to do and the enemywas out there.”

The skill of the pilot wasa substantial factor in thesuccess of this type ofmission, as in all aviation.

Numerous unpredictableconditions had to bemonitored simultaneously,with pinpoint accuracy and timing. Rain was adangerous variable.Although in photographsand from a distance, thesilvery surface of the blimpsappeared smooth, therewere millions of crevices onthe textured “skin” of theenvelope, the large, inflatedbag-like portion above thecontrol car of the airship.One veteran stated, “Upclose, the skin of theenvelope would remind youof an automobile tire.” Eachof the indentations in therubberized fabric createdan opportunity for water to collect, potentiallyadding up to 500 pounds


A routine patrol mission from Glynco to “Gitmo” in Cubaended tragically, with a suddenlyshifting wind slamming theairship into the rocky cliffs, then into the sea. Photo courtesyof Charles Tillery.

to the ship’s weight in moments.

Wind was more of achallenge to an airshipthan to a traditional fixed-wing craft, as its enormoussize created a mass and

resistance dilemma. Aconstant adjustment ofpressure was required tokeep the blimp in propershape, at a safe altitudeand to keep the craftreasonably stable so that

accurate readings could be made.

Another category of“sailor” was sometimesincluded on board a patrolairship: pigeons. Blimppilot Commander JohnFahey recalled, “We didcarry pigeons on some ofour flights and there was a pigeon loft on the base. We never had to actuallyuse them for communi-cations, but took them outfor pigeon training, lettingthem go for their flightback to the base makingsure that we were not over 100 miles from Glyncobecause over 100 milesnone ever returned. I wasalways amazed to find that most of them returnedeven though flying from


An airship executes a difficult landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Photo courtesy of David Gilland Wanda Taylor.

so far out to sea. AtLakehurst (New Jersey, thebase where the Lighter-Than-Air program began),we carried pigeons on free

balloon flights, whichwas the only way to notify the base ofour final landing.”

Patrol flightspresented a number of challenges, asCommander Faheyrelated in his book, Wasn’t I theLucky One.

“Probably the mostdifficult problem wasnot flying the airships,but navigating. Pilots usually rotatedthis responsibility on a daily basis. All navigation was

by dead reckoning. Theenvelope prevented anopportunity for celestialnavigation. Radio directionwas in its infancy and often

a blimp was too far distantfor it to be effective. Whennavigating, every hour Itook wind stars, measuringthe drift on various coursesto be certain of the windand staying on track duringthe many zigzags outlinedon the patrol area chart.Constant vigilance of theweather and wind servedme well. I never failed to return to the base safelyon time. Others were not as fortunate. Some for the lack of remaining fuelcrashing within ten miles of home base. A monthbefore I reported to ZP-15,on November 8, 1943, K-13 ran out of fuel eight miles from NASGlynco and crashed in the Georgia pines.”


The shadow of a Navy airshipsilently announces its returnhome to Glynco. Photocourtesy of Charles Tillery.

Blimps: An ExclusivelyAmericanAdvantageAlthough hunter-killeractivity was an importantcomponent of airshipservice in the war,probably the most well-

documented success of the program was convoyescort. In fact, K ships inWorld War II flew a total of 55,900 operationalflights with more than550,000 hours in the air. Of the 89,000 surface shipsescorted by blimps, there

was not a single loss of a ship to a U-boat whenescorted by an airship.Vessel losses from Germansubmarine attacks wentfrom an early-wartime highof 574 ships in 1942 to 65in 1943, dropping to a totalof 8 for the entire year of


A Navy blimp follows a CVE aircraft carrier as part of a hunter-killer mission. US Navy photo courtesy of the Federal Law EnforcementTraining Center.

1944 and only 3 in 1945.None of these losses wasincurred while a surfaceship was escorted by ablimp. There was only onedocumented loss of anairship as a result of a combat encounter with a submarine in 1943.

Attacks on escortedvessels became too great

a risk for the Germansubmarines, and the enemyblockade of the coastline of the United States ended.Once they suspected theyhad been spotted by ablimp, or “Luftshifft,” mostU-boats would abandonthe raid. If they broughttheir submarines to a depththat would insure theproper angle to accuratelylaunch a torpedo volleyagainst a convoy ship, they were vulnerable toconfirmed sighting andcounter measures. Blimps became a potentdeterrent to attack, makingthe success rate of theprogram much higher thandirect contact with U-boatswould indicate. John P.Hely IV, a former blimp

pilot, noted, “Part ofGermany’s fear of theblimps came from theirbelief that we would be as efficient as theywould have been if they had blimps.”

But in fact, nobody butthe United States, or anally, would have blimpsduring World War II. Thereason was simple: helium.The United States had theonly source of helium inthe world adequate tomaintain military airships.Although the Germans had done a great deal ofresearch and engineeringon the principles of lighter-than-air flight before thewar, they lacked thematerials to make a fleet viable. The crucial balance

Impure helium was stored in a Hortonsphere adjacent toHangar One. During a longpatrol, helium would becomecontaminated with fuel and other substances, whichhad to be removed beforereuse. US Navy photographcourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.


in the war against the U-boats was tipping in favorof the United States at last.

Denied RespectDespite the confirmed

success of the program,Lighter-Than-Air receivedsurprisingly little respectfrom other parts of thearmed services and thegeneral public. Tauntingsongs followed them,referring to anyone whoserved in an airshipsquadron as “…just apimp/who flies a blimp.”Personnel on cruisers and destroyers referred to blimps as “gas bags,”even though airship escortsaved thousands of menfrom dying a horrible death

in the freezing Atlanticwaters following a surpriseU-boat attack. Since thebases were on Americansoil, many civilians withfamily members overseasexpressed scorn and

resentment toward mem-bers of LTA squadrons.

President Rooseveltmade the decision in thefirst weeks of 1942 todownplay the dangers ofU-boats within gun range


Service in the LTA programwas dangerous, and sadly, not widely recognized or appreciated. Fire was a constant concern, claimingmore airships than enemyguns. The crash crew was a highly respected groupin every airship unit. Crash crews were often called out inthe community to help localfirefighters. Many GlynnCounty families rememberNavy firefighters, pictured herein an Armed Forces Dayexercise, with deep affectionand gratitude. US Navy photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

of coastal towns on theAtlantic seaboard. Thespecific anti-submarinewarfare technologydeveloped for the airshipprogram, such as improvedMAD equipment andsonobouys, appeared ininventories and reportssimply as “special equip-ment” to conceal their

top-secret nature. Althoughhis concern was publicmorale, Roosevelt’s actionseffectively made the air-ship’s contribution todomestic security seem like a low priority to anyonewho did not have access to the classified reports,including other militarypersonnel. Even today,

many Americans hold theopinion that Germany never directly attacked theUnited States.

The term “homelandsecurity” would not becoined until the aftermathof terrorist attacks onSeptember 11, 2001– decadesafter thousands of men andwomen honored theircountry with valiant servicein LTA, repelling a ruthlessenemy. When CommanderJohn Fahey attended thefuneral for a close boyhoodfriend who had perished on the beaches ofNormandy on D-Day, theboy’s father refused tospeak to him. “The priesttold me later that thereason was that he felt I had never gone to war.”


In addition to their success asescort and patrol craft, blimpswere excellent research anddevelopment ships. Numerousadvances in defense, navi-gation and communicationstechnology came frompainstaking trials on boardairships. US Navy photocourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.

POW’s Chapter 652

Behind the gates of NASGlynco were manysecrets, including theidentity of some of theinhabitants. US Navyphoto courtesy of theGlynn County AirportCommission.

The dilapidated militarysurplus Jeeps assigned tostateside bases were nothingmore than a collection ofmismatched parts on four baldtires, according to therecollections of many WorldWar II veterans. Photocourtesy of Joseph Schlosser.

C H A P T E R 6 POW’s53

Roadside AssistanceLike the Navy RadarTraining School at NAS St. Simons, which islocated at the currentMcKinnon St. SimonsIsland Airport, NAS Glyncohoused some Germanprisoners of war. TheGerman prisoners workedprimarily on base construc-tion projects. Rumorscirculated about thepresence of a larger groupof German POW’s atGlynco, but since the baseoccupied hundreds ofacres, many men stationedthere never saw them.

Commander John Faheywrote, “Recently, I recalledan incident which hap-pened involving me andGerman POW’s at NAS

Glynco which, I am afraid,showed my naivete and mylack of experience farremoved from the presentmore sophisticated lifestyle of modern youth inour country.

“Although I could fly anairplane as a teenager, I was not licensed to drivea car until I was 27 years of age. During and after WWII (from 1943-1947) we traveled around theMarshes of Glynn on busesor by hitching rides fromthe many generous andhospitable Brunswickresidents. In the days ofWWII and its immediateaftermath, one couldn’tpurchase an automobile.

“In 1945-1946 BlimpSquadron12, Detachment 5

operated out of NAS Glynco.I had returned to Glynco asa pilot in Detachment 5 inJuly 1945. We had a Jeepassigned to the unit, andon one morning I decidedto drive it around what wecalled Perimeter Road, adirt road just inside theouter boundary of the base. The road was desolate with nothing but brush andpine trees on both sides.Surprised and distracted onthis isolated road by agroup ahead in some kindof military garb, I let myJeep slide off into a ditch tothe right. After exiting thevehicle, to no avail I triedto push it up onto the road.

“The group ahead– theywere Germans. There wereno American guards with

them. I had heard thatthere were Germanprisoners housed on thebase, but never encoun-tered any or knew anyonewho had contact withthem. Some of us thoughtthat it was a rumor.

“The Germans were veryfriendly. None, however,spoke English. Four or fivejoined me trying to pushthe vehicle out of the ditch.It wouldn’t move. They kept trying until finally oneGerman walked to thedriver seat, smiled, andtook the gear out of second

and placed it into neutral.With all the manpowerpushing, the Jeep, ofcourse, almost flew out ofthe gully. All of themlaughed and looked at me with expressions ofamazement, wondering tothemselves, I am sure, howin the world did they lose a war waged against such dumbkorfs.

“Many years later whileon dangerous reconnais-sance missions as anAmerican assigned to theRussian army behind theIron Curtain in East

Germany, I encounterednumerous Germans whohad been POW’s in theUnited States. Most knew a little English and helpedme in intelligence collec-tion or getting out ofdifficult situations. Mosthad been housed in Waco,TX, and I never ran intoone who had been aprisoner at Glynco. Eventhough stationed on thebase in those days, we hadno information provided to us about housing ofGerman POW’s.”

C H A P T E R 6 POW’s54

Life and Opportunity

Chapter755

Original plank owners of NAS Glynco andAirship Squadron 15 gathered for this historicphoto two weeks before the commissioningceremony. Photo courtesy of Captain C.H. Dorchester.

C H A P T E R 7 Life and Opportunity56

The Life SaversDuring the war, the LTAprogram continued itsoriginal assignment ofresearch and developmentwhile carrying out intensivepatrol duties. Submarinedetection equipmentdesigned and refined forairship use served as thebasis for Airborne EarlyWarning (AEW) andsatellite technology in lateryears. Another applicationof airship expertise was air-sea rescue. A techniquerefined at NAS Glynco bymembers of Squadron 15was tested in the watersright in front of the St.Simons Lighthouse. Twoairships, K-118 and K-88,were rigged for retrievalsfrom the open water.

John A. Fahey piloted the K-88, (nicknamed“88 Keys”) in this 1945air-sea rescue trainingexercise over the St. Simons Sound. A bag of sea waterserved as an anchor tohold the craft steady as the sailor in distresswas hauled up to theship. Photo by Ralph B. Jones, Chief Photo-grapher for the AtlantaJournal. Courtesy of Sandy Jones.

Commander John Faheywas selected to test thenew procedure.

“Someone with greatingenuity designed anexcellent method to beused by a blimp inretrieving an individualfrom the water,” Fahey

wrote in his book, Wasn’t Ithe Lucky One. “All that wasneeded was a pilot to testthe new idea in flight…Thecrew would drop a bagwith the capacity to holdabout 3,000 pounds ofwater. The bag would beconnected by wire to awinch in the blimp’s controlcar. Trailing behind as theblimp approached a downedpilot, the bag would fillwith water and eventuallyanchor the blimp over theman. A life ring would belowered to the surface andthe crew would hoist theperson aboard. The blimpwould be in a slightly light condition when theoperation began. Onceanchored, any tendency forthe blimp to rise would be

countered by the weight ofthe water in the bag. I triedthe maneuver. It worked.”

Airships used theirunique abilities to greatadvantage in rescue work.Helicopters were still anovelty at this point inhistory, and none of theearly models were at sea.The blimp’s ability to hoverin a stationary locationallowed the crew to lowerfood, medicine, first aidsupplies and hot soup orcoffee to survivors ofshipwrecks still in lifeboats,awaiting rescue by surfacecraft. This was especiallyimportant in situationswhen the sea was toorough for surface rescueunits to reach the men. As techniques were refined


The air-sea rescue trainingmission, as seen from thewater. The rescue subject inthe life ring was hoistedaboard the K-88 as a 3,000pound bag of sea water heldthe ship steady over the man’s location. Photo courtesy of John A. Fahey.

over time, other dutiesincluded delivering chartsto surface craft andoccasionally lowering adoctor onto a ship’s deckto attend to a critically ill seaman. Air-sea aid andrescue would be used forthe duration of the LTA inthe Navy.

OpportunityFor many young people inthe United States, the warpresented an opportunityto change their lives whileserving their country. TheGreat Depression had heldmillions of Americanscaptive, unable to evendream of further educationand travel while theystruggled simply to keepeveryone fed and sheltered.Although no one wouldhave chosen this particularway to pull the country outof its paralyzing inertia, thefact remained that a war of such large proportionsleveled the playing field for many.

“Faced with a widowedmother and three youngerbrothers, at the age of ten

in the depression years ofthe thirties, my prospectsfor a professional life werevery gloomy,” CommanderJohn Fahey related. “Myfather had been the secondoldest of fourteen childrenand worked with his olderbrother and his father tosupport younger brothersin pursuing their collegeeducations shortly after the turn of the century.Although his brothersbecame successful andaffluent in later life, whenmy father died at the age of 45, my mother struggledalone without help to keep our family together.

“Despite the fact thatthere was no hope for meto seek a higher education,my mother let me enter


John A. Fahey continued his early success at NAS Glynco in a long, illustrious career in theNavy. As a Russian linguist andspy for the United States in theCold War, Fahey was called uponto advise military leaders andPresidents. Pictured here withJohn F. Kennedy as he cam-paigned for President in 1960,Fahey remembers JFK as a “good listener.” Photo courtesy John A. Fahey.

the college track in highschool where I excelled inmath, physics and foreignlanguages. After graduatingfrom high school, I wasable to enter a federally

sponsored program at TuftsCollege, training selecteesin engineering drawing. I had no secondary educa-tional background foradmission, but I learned

many years later that mymother visited the directorof the program and pleadedon the grounds of mymeager financial opportu-nities to get a skill or an education. The director had succumbed to herdesperate appeals.

“It took me quite a whileto catch up to the otherstudents who had a highschool background indrafting. Upon completionof the intensive programwhile still a teenager, I wasqualified as a draftsmanand offered a position inthe U.S. Coast and GeodeticSurvey Department. Beforeaccepting the offer, from afellow high school class-mate I learned of a Navyannouncement about

accepting high schoolgraduates for the NavalAviation Training Programto join college students if they could pass theentrance examinations with high scores. I sped tothe Boston Naval head-quarters and took the tests.Fortunately I not only hadadvanced physics in highschool, but also hadenrolled in an aerody-namics course, enabling me to pass the Navy testswithout difficulty.

“Entering the Navy Flight Program was a greatequalizer. My college-educated first cousin, son of one of my affluent uncles for whose educationmy father had toiled as askilled laborer, was a


F4F Wildcats were used at Glynco and in many US Navy aviation trainingprograms in World War II.US Navy photographcourtesy John Lindgren.

Naval AirshipAviator, and now I was to join himas an equal withthe opportunity toachieve my ownpotential in life.

“Assignment in 1943 to NAS

Glynco was provided byeither a stroke of luck or a godsend. A fairly newbase of airship operations,it provided opportunities to excel far more plentifulthan those at the Mecca of airship operations,Lakehurst, New Jersey.Experienced senior blimppilots in large numberswere stationed at Lake-hurst, where opportunitiesfor young Ensigns, noteven old enough to vote,

were few. At Glynco,chances to advance tosenior and command pilotwere excellent forunfledged officers whoshowed promise.

“The United States alsounderwent a new equaliza-tion in its geographicalareas as well as in therapidly changing prosperityof its citizens. NAS Glyncoand its surrounding regionalso experienced a meta-morphosis. The areabecame well known for its wartime contributionsas a Navy anti-submarinewarfare center at Glynco,Navy training school on St. Simons Island, and inBrunswick the constructionof liberty ships so essentialfor winning the war. My

new life began at Glynco at the same time the areain southeastern Georgiaalso flourished anew.

“Equalization, as a resultof my opportunity to enterthe Navy and the founda-tion established during athree-year tour of duty atGlynco, led to completionof my Naval career withone rank higher than thatof my Lakehurst-stationedfirst cousin and providedme with a future as auniversity faculty member,a Russian linguist withmany exciting experiences,a wonderful wife, met atGlynco over sixty yearsago, and three children, six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.Thanks Glynco!”


Glynn Academy seniorBarbara Ann Haag and herNavy beau, John Fahey, on adate at the Palm Lodge onHighway 17 in 1944. Theirromance entered its 60th yearin 2005. Photo courtesy John A. Fahey.

Golden Isles Gold Coast

Chapter861

The Glynn Academy Class of 1945. Every memberwould forever be affected by the War. Photo courtesy of Barbara Ann Haag Fahey.

Golden Isles Gold Coast

C H A P T E R 8 Golden Isles Gold Coast62

Love in BloomIt was not surprising thatthe citizens of GlynnCounty loved the Navy.Their arrival signaled not

only the end of theDepression in the county,but the assurance that theywere to be cared for andprotected. When two Navy

officers were billeted inAgnes Lyons’ spacious Old Town Brunswick homein the early days ofGlynco’s construction,

The Graduation Dance for theGlynn Academy Class of 1945offered Glynco sailors in theirdress blues a chance to impressthe local girls. Photo courtesy of Barbara Ann Haag Fahey.

she worried that the criesof her newborn son woulddisturb them. They begged

her repeatedly notto worry about them, as both hadchildren of theirown and cryingbabies werenothing new. Still, she tookextreme care tokeep the childrenquiet in the fewhours the officerswere asleep in her home.

“They workedsuch long, awfulhours,” she

recalled. “It seemed likethey would just get to sleepwhen someone would callfrom the base for them to

go back for some problemor another. They wouldhave to leave even before I could fix something forthem to eat. They nevercomplained, just thankedme for what I was able todo for them and left.”

For young, single ladiesin Brunswick, the hand-some new boys in theirsnappy dress blues wereexciting. And as youngpeople often do, they founda way to have fun even inthe midst of fear, uncertain-ty, shortages and hardship.Wartime brought peopletogether who never wouldhave had the chance tomeet otherwise. BarbaraAnn Haag Fahey, a studentat Glynn Academy in the1940’s, found not only

wartime romance but a life partner thanks to NAS Glynco.

“I was fresh out of theninth grade living with my mother alone in ourhome, as I was the last offive children,” Barbarareminisced. “Brunswick,Georgia, became my homeaway from my Jenkintown,Pennsylvania, home by anunexpected circumstance.My sister, Bette, hadreturned to Pennsylvania to have her first child. Her husband was a chem-ical engineer, working atHercules Powder inBrunswick, Georgia. Shehad to have an appendec-tomy and of course neededhelp to return with a babyto Georgia. My mother


Newlyweds John and BarbaraFahey dance at the Officer’s Clubat Glynco in 1945. Photocourtesy of John A. Fahey.

agreed to allow me to helpmy sister, as school wasout for the summer.

“At that time war was all around us in one way or another. We sat in acrowded coach all the wayto Georgia with servicemenin every car. Bette, herhusband, Bill, and daughter,Barbara, my namesake,had a small second floorapartment with Mrs. Hotchat 1406 Lee Street.

“I completely fell in lovewith Brunswick and all ofits very friendly residents.

You couldn’t say, ‘Hey,’ to anyone in Pennsylvaniaand I loved the quiet,peaceful surroundings.Now, if you didn’t knowme, you’d believe this-what I found werehundreds and hundreds of men, no service ignored.I was 17, and it was aGolden Isles Gold Coast for me.

“It didn’t take me a long time to let my motherknow that there wasanother small apartment inMrs. Hotch’s house acrossfrom my sister Bette.

“ ‘Please,’ I pleaded.‘Rent our home and movehere.’ Bless her heart, she did just that and soon I was in Glynn Academy’sclass of ‘45 and dating


A NAS Glynco blimp flieslow over the schoolyard atGlynn Academy in 1945,allowing a lovestruck youngsailor to ask a pretty coedfor a date over the ship’sloudspeaker. Photo courtesyof John A. Fahey.

and dancing through everyservice group.

“My dear mother startedto alter uniforms for servicemen. The shipyard was infull swing, turning outLiberty ships like magic and we knew we all had to work together andsupport the war effort. We stepped on tin cans at home and practicedmarching at school. About$7.50 was what our foodcost per week for motherand me. With $35 rent permonth, life was withoutmuch strain.

“The Glynn Academystudents were very kind tome, and friendly. With thatall day, plus dating anddancing at night, I had agreat time in Brunswick.

There were some draw-backs – the pulp mill let youknow it was there when the wind was right–andheaven help you if you had to drink sulfur water.The Marshes of Glynn wereO.K. for swimming if youstayed out of the mud–sailing was good at hightide–going over a ricketybridge to St. Simons Islandand its beautiful beaches was welcome and it was all sweet.

“There were days when a neighbor heard her son was lost and we allmourned. Once a sonthought lost was found, and we celebrated.

“I met my future husband,John (Fahey), on the base at Glynco. He swept me

off my feet–well, notcompletely–we had notransportation as youcouldn’t buy a car, and so we walked a lot and took the bus to thebase. A taxi cab happenedoccasionally–or we mightdouble date with a friend.In a year and a half heasked me to marry him,which I did and our lives for 60 years have been filled with travel,challenges, 3 children, 6 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren.John’s an overachiever and has kept me busy,productive and active, from our first meeting at lunch on the base at Glynco in wonderfulBrunswick, Georgia.”


John and Barbara Fahey ata Navy ship reunion in April2005. The couple met on a blind date set up by one of Fahey’s fellow pilots, Bob Ashford, at NAS Glyncoin 1944. John remembers, “For me truly it was love at first sight.” Photo courtesy of Dunning Company Inc.

The Cold War Heats Up Chapter966

Several eras of Navy aviation coexistedpeacefully at NAS Glynco in the 1950’s.A row of McDonnell F2H Bansheefighters poise on the edge of the newlyconstructed runway. In the background,the enormous K-series airship and itshangar are reminders of the base’simportance in the Lighter-Than-Airprogram. NAS Glynco was the only airstation in the world to operate allcategories of aircraft at the same time:blimps, helicopters, propeller craft andjets. Photo courtesy of Bob Badzinski,supplied by John Lindgren.

Caption

For a brief time after World War II,blimp hangars at Glynco were usedfor storage of decommissioned warplanes. Right: Rows of SNJ fighterswith their wings removed werestacked in the hangars until reacti-vated for use in Korea. US Navyphotos courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

C H A P T E R 9 The Cold War Heats Up67

The War EndsWhen the war ended in1945, the base was reducedto Naval Air Facility status.By 1947, operations atGlynco were cut backconsiderably. The blimps

departed for Weeksville,North Carolina, and even-tually were returned to thehome base for all east-coast LTA activity, Lake-hurst, New Jersey.

At the end of the war,the Plane PreservationProgram began. Glynco’simmense hangars wereturned into storage areas

for partially dismantledaircraft. Where the giantsilvery airships oncefloated, tethered to theirfragile-looking masts, row upon row of F6F’s and other attack planeswere stacked, eerilystripped of their wingassemblies and formerfierce appearance.

In 1948, the Navyannounced its plans to closethe base in the summer of1949, after all the planesscheduled for storage wereprocessed. By March of1949, the program was tohave been cut short asmany of the aircraft on thelist for preservation were

needed again for activeservice with tensionsbuilding in Korea. Thecontingent of 168 civiliansand 175 military men waitedfor the next development as the directors of theChamber of Commercepleaded with the Navy notto close the base.

But it was not theChamber of Commerce thatconvinced the Navy to keepthe base open. CommanderW.R. Peeler announced tothe Brunswick News thatGlynco was to be “keptopen indefinitely because of its importance in theNavy’s Lighter-Than-Airoperations.” He also pointedout that Glynco was theonly blimp base betweenWeeksville, North Carolina,and the Florida Keys. If the Navy closed the base,it would be handicapped in its experimental LTAoperations at Key West,where there were nohangars to store the blimps. In his January 1949 press release, Peelerannounced that LTA


NAS Glynco enjoyed acomeback in the early 1950’sthanks to a renewed interest inusing blimps for anti-submarinewarfare. Once again, sailorsassembled for inspection in theenormous wooden hangars at Glynco. Photo courtesy ofCharles Tillery.

activities would be themain focus of Glynco’sfuture activities.

The town was over-joyed, and efforts weremade to create a volunteerNaval Reserve LTA unit. In September 1949, anairship returning to Glyncoafter a long flight paid avisit and thrilled crowdsgathered at dedicationceremonies and theinaugural football gameat the brand-newLanier Field.

“For sheer drama,”reported the BrunswickNews, “the dropping of a football from a Glynco blimp was hard tobeat... Incidentally, thatwas quite a feat ofmaneuvering. In fact, the pin-point bombing of the 50-yard line did everything but steal the show.”

Heated Words, Cold WarThe late 1940’s and early1950’s were a time ofadjustment and unrestwhere the military wasconcerned. Postwardecommissioning of basesleft many small towns ineconomic turmoil, andconfidence had been


A visit from a Navyblimp made a lastingimpression on crowdsgathered for thededication of LanierField in 1949.Courtesy of theBrunswick-Glynn County Library

shaken by the vulnerabilityof the coast to submarineattacks. Plans to step backLTA activities after the warcreated passionate outcryfrom the public as well assome sectors of the military.Disputes between variousbranches of the militarybecame a turf war overaviation responsibilities.

In August 1951, AirshipSquadron 2 was transferredfrom Lakehurst, New Jersey,

to Glynco. The outbreak oftrouble in Korea promptedthe Navy to take anotherlook at its Anti-SubmarineWarfare (ASW) posture andupgrade its participation inthe airship program. Thetemperate climate of theBrunswick area meant thattraining exercises could becarried out all year long,with minimal interferencefrom the weather. ByJanuary 1952, Glynco’sclassification went fromNaval Air Facility to NavalAuxiliary Air Station(NAAS). The base carriedthe unique distinction ofbeing the only facility in theworld with every knowntype of aircraft in use:blimps, helicopters, propplanes and jets.


Caption

Free-ballooning was a favoritepart of LTA training at Glynco.Pilots and crewmen needed toknow how to guide a ship thathad lost power safely to thesurface. Judging by the smilingfaces, nobody minded thestanding-room-onlyaccommodations. US Navyphoto courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

The period of timebetween 1951 and 1953was a time of frustrationand false starts for theNavy in Brunswick and theGolden Isles. Congressapproved an expenditure in 1951 of $10,000,000 forexpansion at Glynco. In the

midst of the bidding andcontract awards process, a new administration waselected and ordered allfederally- funded defensespending to come to a haltpending review. Protestsand confusion followed.

By January 1953, allconflicts were resolved andthe future of NAAS Glyncolooked bright. All airshiptraining programs for the entire US Navy weretransferred to Glynco. In April, the go-ahead wasgiven to bring the CombatInformation Center (CIC)School from Glennview,Illinois, to Georgia. The target date for thecompletion of transfer ofall CIC courses was set for1956. A massive building

program included theconstruction of a new8,000’ runway, CIC trainingbuilding, new BachelorOfficers Quarters,Operations Building andEnlisted Mess Hall. Thebase regained its full NavalAir Station status by theend of the decade.

Further changes cameabout when Glyncobecame part of the NavalAir Training Command in1953, and the CIC Schoolwas designated a separatecommand from the airstation in 1955. By the end of 1958, Glynco hadthree resident commands:the Naval Airship TrainingCommand, AirshipSquadron Two and theNaval CIC School.


Construction begins on the new 8,000’ runway at NAS Glynco. Photocourtesy of Charles Tillery.

Dangers and Demands

Chapter1072

A Glynco sailor on pressurewatch makes an adjustmentto the envelope of a K-seriesblimp. US Navy photocourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.

Blimps were demandingaircraft, requiring a largecrew of skilled groundhandling personnel to launchand land. These shots frominside the gondola of a blimpshow the number of menneeded on an ordinary day;windy weather or anapproaching storm might call for a larger crew. Photoscourtesy of Charles Tillery.

C H A P T E R 10 Dangers and Demands73

Hazardous ConditionsDespite their impressive,poetic appearance, blimpscould be difficult anddangerous. On the ground,blimp veteran and authorLarry Rodrigues referred toairships as “bucking aroundlike a wild animal caught ina trap” when landing in

windy weather, or inextreme temperatures.Flights were timed todepart and return at dawnwhenever possible, whenwinds were lightest andtemperatures coolest. Mentrained at Lakehurst, New

Jersey, remembered theearly morning launches inmiserable, frigid winterweather with loathing; atGlynco, they appreciatedthe milder climate and thelack of treacherously icypavement. In difficult

weather, everyone on theflight line might be called in to help land a ship, fromthe clerk to the mechanics.Teams of men grabbed lines to guide the ship inand out of the hangars,mooring them on portable

masts drawn by heavy-duty military vehicles called “mules.”

Great care was exercisedto stay clear of the exposedpropellers on the powerfultwin engines mounted oneach side of the control car.Common sense woulddictate this, however uponlanding in hot or windyconditions, the great shipsshifted suddenly andwithout warning. Groundcrews would have to watchseveral things simultane-ously: wind speed anddirection, the speed atwhich the ship approached,the condition of the runwayand the effect of humidityor, worse, rain, on the ship’sweight. Larry Rodriguescommented, “In no other

aircraft situation do you not know how much yourcraft weighs.”

Another unusual variablein LTA flight was the veryfact that the ship wasconstantly trying to escapefrom its moorings. Themooring-out circles, as thelarge cloverleaf-shapedtarmac discs were called,gave the anchored airship afull 360 degrees to rotate in the wind without hittinganother blimp.

If the ship was outdoorson a portable mast, aseemingly mild gust of windcould send the tail of theship straight upward, a condition called “kiting.”Anyone inside the controlcar performing routinechecks and maintenance


Two K ships on portable mastsawait their next patrol at NAS Glynco. US Navy photocourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.

could find himself hurledheadlong into the frontwindows, pelted withanything left loose in thecabin when the ship kited.When the wind stopped,the ship would level out

again, landing on thewheels supporting thecontrol car with a bone-jarring impact.

Despite the demandsand many hazards, lifewas not all work in thehuge blimp hangars atGlynco. Sailors in the LTAprogram were proud oftheir unique craft and theimportance of its contribu-tion to anti-submarinewarfare and search-and-rescue operations. Themen and women of Glyncoenjoyed a certain amountof freedom and autonomy,and an occasional opportunity came about to develop new talents. Don Donatt remembered,“During the Christmas of1953 we had a tree in the

electronics shop. I hung all the VR tubes, or anyvacuum tubes with gas inthem, on the tree, and then I turned my radar onscan. The radar sweptback and forth across thetree, the tubes would light on and off at regularintervals. Everyonethought that was cleverand I think the local paperhad a write up about it. “

A well-known saying inGlynn County was that the massive blimp hangars“had their own weather.” It could be dry outdoorswhile a shower drenchedthe inside of the structure.What must have seemedlike an urban legendreferred to the terrarium-like effect of semitropical


A slight breeze was capable of sending the tail of a blimphigher than the nose, a condition called “kiting.” US Navy photo courtesy of theFederal Law EnforcementTraining Center.

humidity inside thecavernous, stifling woodenbuildings meeting coolercoastal breezes when the clam-shell doors were open.

Blimps were highlysensitive to change inclimate. AT3 Robert L.Koryciak, aviation techni-

cian for Patrol Unit 2,explained, “Pressure watchmeant going from airship toairship inside the hangarand checking their internalpressure. There wereusually 5 ships in thehangar and the pressurereacted to the outsidetemperatures. If the outsidetemperature was dropping,we had to pump air into the airships to keep themrigid; if the temperaturewas rising, we had to openvalves to let some air out.”

The sensitivity to itsenvironment and itsimmense size made a blimpa hazardous craft to fly inpeacetime as well ascombat. Altimeters, whichindicated the ship’s altitude,were crucial to the safety

of airships, which oftenstaged launches beforesunrise, making visualevaluation impossible.Robert Koryciak recalledthe failure of an altimeteron a foggy February day onpatrol from Glynco in 1956.

“One morning we tookoff in the K-100 at about4:40 A.M. behind one of ourother airships, the K-97.Our command pilot, Ibelieve, was a CommanderDoyle. The first radiomanwas a first-class pettyofficer named Jeffries. Hewas in the radio positionduring take-off and sent the take-off information, by Morse code, to NAASGlynco (NEA-1). I was inthe middle of the gondola,in a seat with my seatbelt


K ship vs. Georgia pines: Analtimeter malfunction causedthis dramatic crash in 1956.Fortunately, no lives were lostand no serious injuries weresustained. Photo courtesy ofRobert Koryciak.

fastened and looking outthe side window. It wasextremely dark and therewere no visible lights onthe ground except for oneor two cars when wepassed over Highway 17and turned south.

“In a matter of a fewminutes and without warn-ing, we began hitting trees.The gondola was bouncingviolently from side to sideand the lights were goingon and off. Finally, after

one last violent jolt, wecame to a stop. Command-er Doyle ordered the fueland electric power to beshut off. Everything wenttotally black until a coupleof flashlights came on andwe went to the rear of thegondola and jumped thefive or six feet into thebrush and broken treeslimbs. We got to a clearingnearby where a head countwas taken and everybodywas accounted for.

“We fired off signalflares and a young man ona motorcycle saw them andfound his way back towhere we were. He wentback out and led theemergency vehicles backin. We were all transportedback to Glynco and giventhorough physical exams atthe Medical Center. Otherthan a few scrapes andbruises there were nomajor injuries.

“The Navy released astatement that was printedthe next day in theBrunswick newspaper thatone of our airships hadmade an emergencylanding in a wooded areadue to mechanical failure.”


Right: The engine of the blimpthat crashed off US Highway17 in February, 1956. Below:Limbs of pine trees pierced theskin of the blimp gondola as itdescended in the predawndarkness. Photos courtesy ofRobert Koryciak.

Tarzan and the Martians Chapter1178

Imagine how a 10-year-old would react to anenormous blimpsuddenly appearingwithout warning outsidehis classroom window.US Navy photo courtesy of the FederalLaw EnforcementTraining Center.

C H A P T E R 11Tarzan and the Martians79

“So Sail On Menfrom Mars!”While residents of Brunswick and the GoldenIsles became accustomed

to seeing the blimps sailover their heads, noteveryone in other parts ofthe Southeast was immuneto the impact of the sight.

On January 18, 1956,children at Live OakElementary School inFlorida were shocked tolook out the window oftheir classrooms and see a blimp from Glyncohovering overhead. Several classrooms emptiedto join the lucky fifthgraders already outside for physical education.

Senior pilot Lt. Com-mander Ervin Hodge, anative of Live Oak, wastouched to see a group ofexcited children on theplayground, hurriedlyorganized into formation by their quick-thinkingteachers to spell out theword, “HI.” The airshipcame as close as it could,and dropped down cups

Routine training flights took Glynco blimps over a number of small communities on the southern Atlantic coast.US Navy photo courtesy of theFederal Law Enforcement Training Center.

bearing the identification of ZP-2 for the children to keep.

Resourceful teachersturned the

incident into a languagearts lesson, directing thefourth and fifth graders towrite letters to the crew.

Their letters ranged fromthe hilarious to thetouching. One young ladythought the ship was agiant bird’s egg, whileanother child feared thatthe approaching blimp wasa bomb. A young boythanked them politely forinterrupting class, andsuggested that the crewconsider becoming“daredevils in movies. I think everybody wouldlike you, too.”

In those days of heroicscience fiction of the mid-1950’s, every intergalacticintruder was assumed to befrom Mars. Apparently onelad named Buddy Lintonwas unconvinced that theship’s inhabitants werehuman, breezily bidding

C H A P T E R 1180 Tarzan and the Martians

To a teacher, everything is anopportunity to learn, includingthe discovery of a huge silverblimp hovering over yourclassroom.Courtesy of the Brunswick-Glynn County Library.

them, “So sail on men fromMars.” The lettermost treasured bythe men of ZP-2was from ayoung mannamed LesterFrier. Hewrote, “Someof us werescared atfirst, butwhen I sawthe UnitedStatesNavy

written on it, I wasn’tscared any more.”

Tarzan and the Martians81 C H A P T E R11

Playing TarzanLife at NAS Glynco wasbusy, and the duty wasfrequently dangerous. Yetmany of the veterans ofservice there remember itas a “more relaxed, not-by-the-book type of place.”And with the lure of everytype of airborne

transportation known tomankind in the 1950’swithin reach, young sailorssuccumbed to the call ofthe gigantic “toys” in theblimp hangars. As DonaldDonatt, a member of the ground handling crew ofAirship Squadron 2remembers, the fun could

easily turn into a thrill ridewith very high stakes.

“Let me review theprocedure to take a blimpout of the hangar,” heexplained. “After theportable mast is attached at the nose, the blimp ismoved forward. However,the tail section is controlledby hauling on the two longlines attached at the stern.Crewmen are directed topull one way or another bythe Chief in charge (to keepthe tail from the side of thehangar). When the blimpreaches the sill, the tractorpulling the mast acceleratesto clear the sill quickly, incase a side wind outsidewould blow the blimp intothe side of the hangar. Atthis time, the handling crew

C H A P T E R 11 Tarzan and the Martians82

The ground handling crewawaits the arrival of anairship on the runway atNAS Glynco. Photo courtesyof Charles Tillery.

releases the two aft linesand after the tractor hasstopped, someone (in thetradition, the first man onthe line) disconnects the

line, gathers it up andreturns it to the hangar.

“Well, we discoveredthat as long as the personwho recovers the line has

to go out there, why nothang on to the line andplay Tarzan? With thetractor accelerating, theswing on the line turns outto be very long.

“It was my turn to playTarzan that day exceptthere was one problem.The man in the cockpitwas not paying attention.He was supposed to givethe blimp up elevator as itcleared the hangar to keepthe blimp from ‘kiting.’(Kiting happens when thetail rises while on theportable mast.) Well, hegave it down elevatorinstead and it kited!

“Now, everyone in LTAknows that once your feetleave the ground you let goof the line– except when


Don “Tarzan” Donatt poses infront of his ship in 1953.Photo courtesy of Don Donatt.

you’re playing Tarzan. Thenext thing I remember was

the Chief hollering, “Getthe hell down from there!”

“There I was, about 100 feet above ground andeveryone looked like ants.Well, fortunately I did notpanic and came downhand-over-hand while theidiot in the cockpit turnedto up elevator.

“The next day in thebulletin there was anannouncement: No moreTarzan play. Still feelqueasy, though, when I am in a high area.”

The cover of a safety manualcompiled at NAS Glyncofeatures the squadron’smascot, Blackdog, lecturing a class full of young blimps.The booklet contained acollection of actual mishaps,losses and near-catastrophesin LTA on the base, including “horseplay.”Courtesy of Ruby Allman.


Chapter1285

Blackdog, the mascot of ZP-2, from1944 to 1957. US Navy photo courtesyof the Federal Law EnforcementTraining Center.

The Legend of Blackdog

The official Christmas card ofZP-2. Courtesy of the Brunswick-Glynn County Library.

C H A P T E R 12 The Legend of Blackdog86

The Mutt with WingsWhen ZP-2 transferreddown to the Georgia coastfrom Lakehurst, New Jersey,in August 1951, the crew had

a special member accompa-nying them: Blackdog, ascrappy little mixed breeddog of probable chow andboxer ancestry. The mutttook up residence with theAirship Utility Detachment in 1944. When the unit wassent to Glynco seven yearslater, no one questioned that the dog would comealong as well.

Before coming to Georgiafrom Lakehurst, Blackdogflew enough hours to justifythe notation “Received flighttraining.” The little mascotwas always on hand duringground handling operations,chasing lines and grabbingropes in his teeth. AroundEaster in 1953, a piece oflumber fell from the ceilingof the hangar, puncturing

the envelope of a blimp atthe mast. Blackdog barkedincessantly until someonecame to investigate. Thelittle dog earned his keepthat day, saving the Navy thecost of K ship by allowingthe riggers to patch the shipbefore it had deflated to thepoint where it collapsed andother areas were damaged.

On August 12, 1955,Hurricane Connie threatenedthe Georgia coast withdamaging high winds. Themembers of ZP-2 preparedto evacuate the blimps to a safer mooring. In the rushof preparations, no onethought to check on thedog’s whereabouts. As thelast ship was airborne, theground crew began to lookfor the dog, but he was

nowhere to be found. Thesearch went on for 20 minutesbefore the ground crewfrantically radioed the lastblimp, asking them to checktheir lines. To their horror, theairship crew realized that theanimal’s leg had becometangled in their lines and hehad been dragged aloft. Thepoor dog had been danglinghelplessly beneath the blimpfor a total of an hour andtwenty minutes, badly injuredand buffeted by approachinghurricane winds.

The crew immediatelyturned the $2 million blimpback toward Glynco, fightingstorm force gusts, andlowered the hurt, frightened

dog into the waiting arms ofthe ground crew. He wasrushed to a local vet, who puthim “on the binnacle list” for 2 weeks while his leg healed.This episode won Blackdog aspot in the limelight on WSBRadio 750 in Atlanta as “The Newsmaker of the Day.”

After his dramatic rescueand recovery, Blackdog was“grounded,” and on numerousoccasions, required forcibleremoval from the hangar.Slightly insulted from hischange of assignment, thecanine mascot of ZP-2 madehimself useful catching rats.He died on August 22, 1957, at approximately 18 years of age. The little dog wasburied near his belovedhangar, with his crew inattendance at his funeral.

C H A P T E R 1287 The Legend of Blackdog

ZP-2 at Blackdog’s funeral.Photo courtesy of the Brunswick-Glynn County Library.

Brownie

Chapter1388

Blimps of silver;hearts of gold.The men of ZP-2had plenty ofboth. Photocourtesy of theBrunswick-GlynnCounty Library.

Katherine West greets her newpuppy, compliments of thetender-hearted men of ZP-2 at NAS Glynco. Photo courtesyof the Brunswick-GlynnCounty Library.

C H A P T E R 13 Brownie89

“What are we goingto do about this?”In most ways, the men of Glynco’s Airship Squadron2 were just like all otherAmerican men of theirgeneration. Family men,patriotic, head of the

household-typeguys. Loved kids,loved dogs. Justlike everybodyelse– except forthe fact that theysoared over theEarth’s surface ingigantic, silvery,helium-filledblimps.

It was thatinclinationtoward intrepidtender-hearted-ness that

encountered the cruelty ofthe world in the early fall of 1956. Chief Petty OfficerR.C. Duncan read a letter to the Editor of the AtlantaJournal that moved himdeeply. It was a letterwritten by little KatherineWest, who had recently lost her father and had just been assaulted with a new, unbearable grief.

Her beloved dog, a boxernamed Brownie, was killedby a hit-and-run driver. She wanted to know howthis could happen, howsuch a good dog could becarelessly killed, how thedriver could just go onwithout stopping to helpher suffering pet and howgrownups who weresupposed to be in charge

of the world could allowsuch things to happen. The plaintive letter sent aspear of fatherly indigna-tion through the Chief’sheart. He cut out the letterfrom the paper, and tackedit to the Mess Hall bulletinboard the next morning.

“What are we going todo about this?” he wrote inthe margin of the clipping.

The squadron’s mostdedicated dog-lover, Lt.Commander Edwin Kryspin,raised championshipboxers and as luck wouldhave it, his own pet hadjust given birth to a litter of promising new pups.Commanding Officer R.T.Brinn wrote little Katherinea letter, informing her thatthere were still people in

the world who caredabout such things, andthat she was to have thepick of the litter. As soonas the puppy was oldenough, two men fromZP-2 enlisted the aid of Lt. Commander WalterFoley, a pilot at the airstation, and flew the

dog in a Glynco plane toAtlanta on October 19, 1956,where they delivered it to itsdelighted new owner.

C H A P T E R 13 Brownie90

Katherine West and her Glynco benefactors admire herboxer puppy at NAS Atlanta.Her smile was all the thanksthey needed. Photos courtesy of the Brunswick-Glynn County Library.

Airborne Early Warning Chapter1491

This enormous Super Constellationaircraft, shown here at its final dutystation at the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, served many years on its training mission at Glynco. Photo courtesy of George Giessman.

The new Combat InformationCenter School complex at NASGlynco boasted every piece of state-of-the-art radar andmilitary equipment available in its day. Photo courtesy of James S. Smith.

C H A P T E R 14 Airborne Early Warning92

CIC SchoolThe relationship between blimps and the CombatInformation Center, or CIC,School at Glynco in the1950’s was a logical union.When radar capabilities

improved during World WarII, the entire system beganan evolutionary process. Whether the report camefrom a patrol or a trainingmission, the procedure wasthe same. The coordinates

of the sighting wereradioed to the CombatInformation Center on land.The sightings, as in thewar, might have originatedfrom visual location, radar,magnetic anomaly detec-tors or sonar equipment.

In wartime and in the1950’s, the readings weretransferred at the CIC to alarge plexiglas disk thatbore the same markings asthe radar screen. A lightwas placed behind the lensof the reading disk, and alarge piece of paper wasclamped to the surface. The radar readings weremarked on the paper,which bore register marksto re-position the sheet if it was needed for laterreference. After the

information had beenanalyzed, decisions weremade concerning directing

fighter aircraft, surface craftor ordering a response bythe airship. One veteran ofairship service noted wrylythat although the systemmight have been primitiveby today’s standards,“nobody had to stop thewar because the computerwent down.” The system’sonly flaw was the occa-sional need to replace thelight bulb behind the lens.

As the science ofelectronics developed,Glynco’s training advancedwith it, keeping combatsupport personnel from allbranches of the service onthe cutting edge of defensetechnology. By April 1956,the new CIC Building wascompleted at a cost ofnearly $1 million, equipped

to train both officers andenlisted men. The newBachelor Officer’s Quarters,called BOQ in the Navy,was completed at just over$1 million, supplying 180rooms for participants inAdvanced Naval FlightOfficer and other trainingcourses. The commandingofficer at the base wasquoted by the BrunswickNews, forecasting a total of 3,000 men and womento be stationed at Glyncoby 1958.

Willy VictorThe advent of the Cold Warcalled for new technologyto comply with theemerging need for AirborneEarly Warning (AEW)protection. The EC-121


Sailors in formation at NAS Glynco proudlyspelled out the name of their new school for anArmed Forces Day photo in 1956. US Navy photocourtesy of the Brunswick-Glynn County Library.

aircraft,manufacturedby Lockheed,was desig-nated as theWV-2, orConstellation,by the Navy.The men and womenattached to WV-2squadronsreferred tothe planeaffectionatelyby its

alphabetic equivalents,“Willy Victor.”

Numerous adaptationsand improvements weremade soon after the firstConstellations were putinto service, and the Super

Constellation, or “Super-Connies,” as they were alsonicknamed, appeared onNavy bases. Designed forlong-range reconnaissanceand surveillance flights,these elegant airplanessported a prominentradome on the top andbottom of the cabin, whichhoused a mobile radarstation. The Super-Conniesaugmented the blimps’patrol activities withgreater speed and longerrange per patrol.

The Constellation was considerably moreexpensive to manufactureand operate than anairship. But its longerrange, modern technologyand quick responsecapability made it ideal

to counter possible enemyaggression in the ColdWar’s intense early years.The WV-2 was animpressive, powerful, 4-engine aircraft with anunusually wide wingspanof 123.5 feet in proportionto its 116.3-foot long body.Inside the cabin werenumerous workstationswith sophisticatedelectronics equipment,bunks for the crew and asizable galley for foodpreparation on the Super-Connie’s long missions.

Bo Watwood, who spent much of his time inthe military associated with these aircraft,recalled, “I was in Navyschools there in Glynco in the spring of 1956.


An occasional moment of mugging for the camera lightened the mood in the flighttower at Glynco for Richard E.McInturff (in the sunglasses) and his fellow sailors at the Naval Air Station. Photo courtesy of Richard McInturff.

My best memories are of the wonderful weather,great food, (prepared bylocal cooks on base at themess halls), and my first

sighting of a Navy blimp.Although at the time I didnot know it, the airships Isaw were of the “K” series.I later attended an abbre-

viated flight course in these wonderfulships. Being a nativeof Alabama, the folksseemed like home to me and I enjoyedmy 20 some-oddweeks there.

“There were twotraining missionsgoing on at Glynco in the mid-50’s. The most important of which was theNavy training crews to operate and use the Super Constella-tion aircraft made byLockheed. Keep in

mind, this period of timewas before any satellites.Our military needed a way to detect any aerialattack from the USSR so as to issue an earlywarning to all the militaryand civilians alike.

“The short-term answerwas these amazing aircraftand their even moreamazing crews. So far as I know, all of the AirborneEarly Warning crews [forcertain operations] weretrained at Glynco. My firsttraining flight on one ofthem was the first time this Alabama country boy had been on a flight of any kind.

“The blimp connection is that the Navy wasdeveloping the same


Young visitors to NAS Glyncoenjoyed the Aerology displayat an Armed Forces Day openhouse in 1956. US Navy photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

electronic detection gearfor blimps to be used overthe Atlantic as “semi-

stationary” radar stations.The reason was that it costabout 80% less to do it with

blimps as opposed to WV-2aircraft. Glynco was themain cog in this largewheel of national security. I suspect the fine folks ofBrunswick had no idea of the importance of theirlocal Navy training base.”

Area school childrentoured the planes onArmed Forces Day OpenHouse events, staring inawe at the many blankscreens and the numerousforbidding ropes stretchedacross the task areas, each bearing a signwarning them not to touchanything. AT2 Ken Hayesremembered, “It was a lotof fun working on all thatstuff behind the ropes.Some of that equipmentwas classified at the time


Armed Forces Day visitors to NAS Glynco in the 1950’swere awed by the towering arches of the cavernous blimphangars. US Navy photo courtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

and visitors did not see allthat there was. It was evenmore fun flying on the WV-2’s. I got to go to theCaribbean and quite a fewplaces in the USA. I evengot to ‘fly shotgun’ whenthe Pilot or Co-Pilot neededa rest. This was usually onmissions over the Atlantic.

“These planes were usedfor training personnel asoperators of the equipmentthat flew the Barrier Flightsover the Atlantic andPacific Oceans monitoringthe skies looking for SovietAircraft attempting toattack the USA. This wasthe method used beforedays of satellites to do themonitoring. These barrierflights flew over theAtlantic from Newfound-

land to the Azores 24hours a day, 365 days ayear. They even had bunkson the planes for the crewsto sleep while the secondcrew monitored the radarscreens, etc. The flightswere typically 14 hours.”

Assignment to theConstellation crews wasnot only prestigious, butfascinating work and acareer-enhancing move foranyone involved withelectronics in the Navy.The long missions andlarge crew census createdan opportunity for a crewmember to distinguishhimself with culinary skills.AE3 Frank McCabereminisced about waitingfor an opening to join thecoveted “Connie Line.”

“I had just beenpromoted to AE3, so whenwe reported to the line, Ipulled rank to be assignedto the Connie Line. Afterseveral months, one of theflight Electricians wasleaving the service, so theslot on (Aircraft IDNumber) 331 opened up. I volunteered for and wasaccepted for flight status.The duties of the flightelectrician on my crewwere, of course, theelectrical system and theflight log, but the mainduty was the Galley. Wherefeeding up to 32 peoplewas accomplished on athree burner hot platewhile maintaining freshlybrewed coffee for thecockpit, I kept my flight

AT2 Kenneth Hayes in 1960.Photo courtesy of Kenneth Hayes.


status because myskills with coffeewere as good as myskills with volts and amps!”


An infrared photographtaken July 10, 1971, showsseveral types of trainingaircraft used at NAS Glynco.“Hot spots”, created by theretained heat of recentlyflown planes and thosecurrently in flight, areclearly visible. Thesepatterns on the pavementrevealed information aboutthe inventory of planes andactivity at Glynco. The T-33’sdid not fly that day, so theirposition on “cool” pavementcreated lower contrast andmade them less visible. A lone WV-2 was too largeto fit into the hangars atNAS Glynco. US Navy photocourtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

TS-A2’s

WV-2 “SuperConstellation”T-39 Sabreliners

T-39

T-33 CH-34 Helicopter

TS-A2

T-39 Sabreliners“Hot spots”

“Hot spots”

“Hot spots”

“Hot spots”

T-39 Sabreliners

T-33 Trainers

99

Pride and precisionwere the orders ofthe day during theADMAT inspectionheld on March 23,1961 at NAS Glynco.Photo courtesy ofCaptain John Lowe.

Chapter15NATTC-State of the Art

C H A P T E R 15 NATTC–State of the Art100

LTA DepartsThe announcement of the Navy’s plans to discontinueall LTA activities stunnedthe military and civiliancommunities in 1959. Manyoperational shortcomings

had been overcome in thatdecade. Notable achieve-ments included perfectingthe art of aerial refuelingand landing a blimp on theheaving deck of an aircraftcarrier. Successful research

and field trials carried out on blimps contributedto the advancement ofaviation electronics.Advanced models of the K ship and two newclasses, the M and N series,were larger, faster and lesstroublesome to operate. As the threat of cold warhostilities increased, it seemed incredible toeliminate a successfulprogram of Airborne Early Warning in 1959. As usual, cries of politicsand favoritism rang out at announcement of theNavy’s decision.

It was not politics thatended the blimp era for theUS Navy; it was nuclearscience. A well-publicizedtrial was staged to test the

Blimps in the 1950’s had evolvedfrom the WWII K series. Newermodels had elongated gondolaswith bunks and galley areas,longer envelopes and vastly improved radar capabilities.US Navy photo courtesy of theGlynn County Airport Commission.

airships’ ability to track thenew Nautilus class nuclearsubmarines. Several

American destroyers andcruisers were sent out onthe open waters, and the

test submarine pursuedthem. A blimp, hoveringoverhead, attempted totrack and intercept thesubmarine, yet with alltheir combined skill andimproved equipment, thecrew could not “see” thenew Nautilus. The sub-marine could dive too deep,too fast and did not needthe revealing exhaustsnorkel that a World War II-issue diesel craft required.The exercise resulted in justone submarine “destroying”the entire convoy of thetrial mission.

The cost of newer air-ships was a factor as well.During World War II,airships of the prevailingversion of the K class wereordered in quantity, driving


A Glynco airship in the late 1950’s shows signs of evolving technology. Note the angled rear fins and large radome on thebottom of the control car.These ships were capable of sustained missions to monitor the activity ofRussian submarines.US Navyphoto courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

the average cost down to$318,000 per ship. After1949, innovations inelectronics and smallerorders drove unit costs upto an average of $2,736,000per blimp–over an 8-fold increase in price.

Sophisticated technology in the newer blimps hadbenefited other platformsof aviation. No one coulddeny that the airships hadperformed admirably asresearch and developmentcraft. But as these dis-

coveries werepassed on for specificadaptation innewer aircraft,the limitationsof the blimpsbecame moredominantfactors inponderingtheir survival.The require-ment of large groundhandling

crews, even with newer,reversible motors, added to their cost. Improvementsin the design of agile, lesscostly helicopters madethem a better option forrescue operations.

The days of Navy LTAwere over. At NAS Glynco,Lt. Commander Robert Gillclimbed aboard the gondolaof the last airship with aheavy heart, and flew itaway from Georgia, back toLakehurst for deflation andstorage. He never forgothis love for the Georgiacoast, however. When heretired from the Navy, he returned to Brunswickto open Troupe CreekMarina, now operated byhis wife, Wanda Taylor,and son, David Gill.


Lt. Commander Robert Gill andcrew board the gondola oftheir ship at Glynco as theground crew holds the blimp inposition. Photo courtesy ofWanda Taylor and David Gill.

Mother Nature andthe NavyWhile sad, the departure of the blimps did not slow

progress at Glynco. Basecommander Captain John T. Lowe recalled taking“one last ride” in a visitingairship that stopped by thestation in 1960. “It was


Captain John Lowe, right, waitsto board a visiting blimp for“one last ride” at Glynco.

Lt. Commander Robert Gilland crew steer their shipthrough the uprights of theold Sidney Lanier bridge.Photo courtesy of WandaTaylor and David Gill.

just too expensive toimprove the detectioncapabilities of the blimps,”he pointed out.

The gigantic blimphangars, now showingsigns of age and deteriora-tion, were reused for a

number of other trainingpurposes, particularly airtraffic control school.Ironically, the original specifications called for theDouglas fir timbers to befireproofed, but no treat-ment was done to preventthe more predictableelement that plaguesstructures in the semi-tropical climate of theGeorgia coast: moisture.The Navy did not plan, in 1942, for a long-term use of the structures in itshaste to protect maritimeinterests along the Atlantic coast. Bit by bit,the hangars were rottingaway. The row of “lean-to”buildings added to the sidesof the hangars for addi-tional classroom and office


Years of wind and weathertook their toll on the giganticblimp hangars at Glynco by the 1960’s. The hangarswere hurriedly built in a timeof national crisis; the Navy did not plan for their long-term use. US Navy photocourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.

space were stronger thanthe original building astime wore on and pieces of the arched ceilings fell tothe ground. Hurricane Doracaused between $50,000and $60,000 worth of

damage when it torethrough Brunswick and the Golden Isles onSeptember 8, 1964. Thenecessary work was doneto stabilize the damagedstructures, but time andhumidity worked harder.

Although the blimpswere no longer at Glynco,the base’s ability to handleLighter-Than-Air flightoperations made it an ideallocation for Project Sky-hook in the early 1960’s.This study for the NationalScience Foundationemployed balloons as aplatform to study cosmicrays. The research effortreminded many former LTApersonnel of the early daysof the giant airships andtheir contribution to a

number of non-combatapplications of flightresearch, includingmapping, photography,meteorology, navigationand communication.

Symbols andStructures

The addition of theNaval Air TechnicalTraining Center, or “NATTCenter,” as it was called,increased the budget androlls of the base. WhenCaptain Lowe arrived atGlynco in 1960, a massivebuilding program was inthe works. Many of theprevious structures built inwartime were intended fortemporary use only; theextended life of the basecalled for replacements

The “NATT Center’ headquartersat NAS Glynco in 1964. Photocourtesy Captain John Lowe.


and upgrades. The impres-sive jet runway had beenadded to the base in themid-1950’s after more landhad been added to the base holdings, and a newoperations building andflight tower were added in 1960. The tower, whichstood intact until the

passenger terminalreplacement project of2004, became a symbol of the base.

The base’s trainingmission expanded, and thecommand was divided intotwo parts. The Air Stationhandled the logistics of thefacility, such as the messand residence halls, main-tenance and upkeep ofaircraft for the students.The Training Schoolhandled a wide array ofinstructional tasks, includ-ing Advanced Naval FlightOfficer and navigatortraining, electronics andradar operation, targetacquisition, and the AirTraffic Control Schools.

Gone were the plexiglasdisks and hand-marked

paper records of the 1950’s.The program, along withthe other courses, called forsophisticated electronicsand nearly error-free main-tenance. Lt. CommanderRoy Norman was clearlythe right man for the job.He had worked on a widevariety of demandingtechnical assignments,including the nuclear


Above: Thousands of militarymen and women gainedimportant skills in classroomsat the NATTC School at NASGlynco. US Navy photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

Right: Lt. Commander RoyNorman. Photo courtesy of Lt.Commander Roy Norman

testing program in the Bikini Atoll and thedesign and construction of the television studioand on-board broadcast network on the USSSaratoga. While serving as the original Electron-ics Maintenance Officer on the USS Enterprise,Lt. Commander Norman was summoned toNAS Glynco to reconstruct the equipment foundon the ship in a classroom setting.

C H A P T E R 15107

Right: Captain John Lowe, right, “passes the wrench” to his counterpart at the NAS as he took over the NATTC command. Below: The change ofcommand ceremony separatesthe NATTC and the Naval Air Station in 1961. Photoscourtesy of Captain John Lowe.

NATTC–State of the Art

Instruction in class-rooms with realistictraining situations wasimportant for all membersof military aviation teamson the ground and in theair, Lt. CommanderNorman pointed out. Underhis guidance and super-vision as Assistant Mainte-nance Officer, 206technicians created a

unique instructional facilityin the “T” building. Theground floor housed work-shops, classrooms and atheater. The top floor wasdivided among CIC class-rooms, which were exactreplicas of radar rooms ofcarrier and destroyerclasses operational at thetime. The second floor wascompletely taken up by“literally miles and miles ofelectrical cable.” In thedays before the microchipand semiconductors, thecomplexity of Glynco’svarious training programsrequired an entire floor tohouse the wires, and adouble-reinforced ceilingon the first floor to preventit from collapsing from theextreme weight.

Above: The “T” Building. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission. Right: Miles of heavy electricalcable were necessary to runcomplex training programs inthe 1960’s. Photo courtesy of Lt. Commander Roy Norman.

NATTC–State of the Art108 C H A P T E R 15

“Today, we could proba-bly replace all that heavywire with one or two desk-top personal computersthat people have in theiroffices,” Lt. CommanderNorman observed.

A program called airintercept training created asimulated combat situationthat gave ground personnela chance to guide pilots inNAS Glynco’s 50-square-mile dedicated air spacetoward a target. A targetrepresenting an aircraft or

surface ship was simulatedelectronically by instruc-tors. Students at the CICSchool directed airplanesfrom the base toward the targets in a variety of possible scenarios. The skyline of Glyncosprouted a futuristic,bristling collection ofantennae and radarequipment. The work wasdemanding for instructorsand students, requiringprecision, diligence and enormous patience.

Above: A CIC School simulation of an Essex class carrier. Right: Ground ControlledApproach equipment in front of the classroom complex.Photos courtesy of Lt.Commander Roy Norman.


Marines at Glynco Chapter16110

Members of the Marine AirDetachment at Glynco were animportant element in the AirTraffic Control Schools, both as students and instructors.Photo courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

C H A P T E R 16 Marines at Glynco111

Except for the RoofDisintegrating…Things Were Fine.In 1962, the Marines moved

their Air Traffic ControlSchool operations to NAS Glynco from Oletha,Kansas. When MasterSergeant Don Lee arrivedin January to set up opera-tions in Georgia, he wasdelighted to leave thesnows of Kansas behind.His years of service inKorea had left him with apermanent distaste forsnowy weather, and heimmediately liked the townand its friendly residents.

Master Sergeant Lee had plenty of work to domaking arrangements forthe arrival of the Marine AirDetachment at Glynco

This aerial shot ofNAS Glynco takenin 1961 shows the relationshipbetween the blimphangars, locatedat the edges of themooring-out area,and the runway at the Air Station.Air Traffic Controlschool officeswere located inthe blimp hangarswhen the Marinesarrived in 1962.Photo courtesy of Captain John Lowe.

before everyone elsereported in the spring. Theschool anticipated fullenrollment of around 800students and 130 instruc-tors from the first days ofoperation. The scope of thetraining mission involved

a number of complex curricula for both Navy and Marine students. Sincethe Marines and the Navy are considered part of theSea Services in militaryclassification, training forall air operations in both

branches wasdesigned to beinterchangeable.

“Marineswould accountfor about 25% of all people inthe combined Air TrafficControl Trainingoperations atany time,” Lee explained.“On an aircraftcarrier, youmight have, say,

three Navy squadrons andone Marine squadronflying. Marine pilots go toNavy flight school, while anumber of the instructorsat the Navy school might be Marines.”

When Lee stepped on tobase at Glynco, he foundthe basic facilities favorable,but he was taken aback atthe dubious condition ofthe location of the school-the old blimp hangars builtunder wartime conditionsin 1942. The roof wasdeteriorating rapidly, withtimbers scattering insidethe massive structure asthey fell from above. Pasthurricanes and moisturehad taken their toll.

“I didn’t know what tothink of it,” he admitted.


The World War II vintageblimp hangars werebeginning to surrender to the humid coastal climate by the early1960’s. U.S. Navy photo courtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.

“Those hangars weren’t in what you would call thebest of shape in 1962.”Despite the lodgings, the school was rapidlyorganized to offer theprogression of demandingcourses required to keep

the military in the air. Basic Air Traffic Controlinstruction, or A School,was the starting point for all military flightcontrollers. The men andwomen who had been inthat job with the fleet for

around five years returnedfor advanced training tobecome Senior Air TrafficControllers in B School.

Ground ControlledApproach, or C School,taught enrollees to “talkpilots down” to a safe


Right: Students at the controlsof mobile consoles in vans for Air Traffic Control school.Below: Ground ControlledApproach equipment inside the training building in atraditional classroom. Photoscourtesy of Lt. Commander Roy Norman.

landing when the runwayswere obscured by badweather conditions. CAACtraining, or Carrier AirApproach Control, enabled

its graduates to offer thesame life-saving assistanceto pilots on aircraft carriers.

Additional training forenlisted personnel dealt

with maintaining theequipment for flightcontrol services underall conditions. Dieselmechanics weretaught to keep thevital generatorsrunning, and radarrepair specialistslearned the intricaciesof the equipment inthe large vans parkedoutside the blimphangars. RIO (RadarIntercept Operator)training for officerswas also part of theinstruction at Glynco.

Many additional types of training were offered at Glynco, but the Marineswere not involved withprograms outside of theaviation control classes,Don Lee pointed out. “Alltraining for the Marines atGlynco dealt with launchingand recovering aircraft.”

Although the instructionwas uniform, the individualidentities of the Navy andthe Marines were firmlyestablished. Marines had their own barracks,administration offices andcommanding officers. The spirit of cooperationwas present, but it neverinterfered with the prideeach branch of the serviceupheld for its own heritage.


These 15F2 training deviceswere used to train RadarIntercept Operators in the F-4 fighter aircraft. Photocourtesy of Lt. CommanderRoy Norman.

Chapter17115

WAVE Kay C. Bauerre-enlisted for anadditional 6 yearswhile at Glynco, as Commander Al Ufer, seatedbeside her, lookedon. Photo courtesyof Commander Al Ufer.

The Navy from aWoman’s Perspective

The Navy from aWoman’s Perspective

WAVES in WWIIWhen war broke out in 1941, there was an unprece-dented call for male andfemale volunteers. TheNavy WAVES (WomenAccepted for VoluntaryEmergency Service)created opportunities for

young women from allwalks of life to serve theircountry. As she conductedinterviews and research for her fascinating book,Memories From TheMarshes of Glynn: WorldWar II, Brunswick authorSonja Olsen Kinard

C H A P T E R 17 The Navy from a Woman’s Perspective116

WAVES at NAS Glyncoprovided airship crews withvital weather informationbefore each launch andlanding. Weather balloonswere released (right) andthen tracked with a theodolite(below) to measure theirdirection and the angle ofascent. Photos from thecollection of Phyllis RhoadesSteinmann, in Memoriesfrom the Marshes of Glynn-World War II. Reprinted bypermission of the author,Sonja Olsen Kinard.

developed a deepappreciation for thesacrifices and difficultiesyoung WAVES at NAS

Glynco encountered in the 1940’s.

“A WAVE arriving atGlynco Naval Air Base

during World War II soonfound that her paycheck of$40 a month didn’t go farwhen she had to buy heruniforms,” Ms. Kinardexplained. “Coming in Mayto the south with only awool uniform necessitatedpurchasing a seersuckeruniform. That was the onlykind they had in Brunswick.For a dress uniform, shehad to go to Jacksonville…by Greyhound Bus! Thecost of a dress uniform was $15.00. Because of thesmall income and the need to buy uniforms, sherequested shirts be sentfrom home and dyed theappropriate color to wearwith the dress uniform.”

The lack of structuralsteel for the blimp hangars


A young Glynco WAVE takes areading from an anemometer,a wind velocity monitor, andprepares to cut off the printouttape from the chart recorder. Photo from the collection of Phyllis Rhoades Steinmann, as published in Memoriesfrom the Marshes of Glynn–World War II. Reprinted by permission of the author,Sonja Olsen Kinard.

created unique problemswhen the base was built,calling for the use ofenormous wooden timbersas substitutions. Yet in the smallest of details,

the wartime metal shortage affected youngWAVES in ways that arehard to imagine today, asMs. Kinard discovered.

“Shoulder pads were a permanent part of theuniform. Every time auniform was washed, theshoulder pads had to be cutout and then sewed backin. Snap fasteners were theanswer. However, therewere no snap fasteners tobe found in Brunswick dueto the shortage of metal.These were shipped in by mothers.”

Mothers have alwaysbeen a valuable resourcefor young people in theservice, especially to youngWAVES away from homefor the first time. Mail call

might contain a bundlefrom family members thatstaved off the lonelinessand homesickness for alittle while. Ms. Kinardnoted, “Home packages notonly contained cookies andcakes, but items that hadbeen requested such ascoat hangers, tooth paste,hose, pajamas plus fresh fruit.”

Fatigue was an ever-present factor for everyoneon the base, includingyoung WAVES. Time was a valuable commodity and sleep was a “catch it as you can” component of military life.

“The working scheduleleft only time for sleepingas a shift was never workedlong enough at the same


Sailors from NAS St. Simonsdo their best to impressyoung WAVES from NASGlynco as they sunbathed by the pool at The CloisterHotel. Photo courtesy of Joseph Schlosser.

A 1966 front-page article in the base newspaperannounced both increasesand decreases in pricing for WAVE uniform clothing.Courtesy of Ruby Allman.


time of day to get used to it. Two mid watches(midnight to 7 a.m.); twoday watches (7 a.m. to 4 p.m.); two eveningwatches (4 p.m. to mid-night). Then two days off.Days off could be spent atthe beach on St. Simons or at the Sea Island pool,where the military couldcome for just a 10-centcharge for a towel. Otherdays away from the basewere used for shoppingtrips to Jacksonville.”

“Transportation to and from the base wasalways inventive,” Ms.Kinard recalled. “If youmissed the bus to thebase, you hitchhiked.Once a group of WAVESmissed the bus at night

and needed to hitchhike to get back to the base ontime. An elderly gentlemandriving a very nice car gave them a ride. He wasable to get inside the gateby showing a card, and he fussed at them forhitchhiking. The gentlemanwas U.S. Senator Georgefrom Georgia.”

Service in the SixtiesAndrea Gondek Cadieuxwas barely nineteen whenshe arrived in southGeorgia in 1966. She wasstill shaken from a severebout of mononucleosis thatput her in the hospital foran extended period right at the end of her A Schooltraining in Memphis,Tennessee. Before she fell

ill, Andrea had registeredher preferences of basepostings. During herrecovery, she found outthat she was being sent toNAS Glynco, a place thatshe never requested.

While she recuperated in a hospital on a base near her parents’ home in Massachusetts, Mrs.Cadieux remembered, “Ikept saying, ‘Where is this

place, anyway?’ In the backof my mind, I wondered if Ihad done something wrongand was being punished for it. Nobody I knew hadheard of Glynco.”

The young WAVE wasunderstandably disap-pointed when learning thestatistics. After her basictraining in Bainbridge, shewent to Memphis for ASchool, receiving her AZ

(Aviation MaintenanceAdministrationman)designation that qualifiedher to work in aircrafthangars as well as anumber of other clericalduties. Memphis was “amonster base,” she recalled,with a male to female ratioof roughly 170 to1. Andwith 170,000 admiringmales at their disposal,young single WAVES could“decide to replace a guyevery week and never runout!” To say the least,Memphis was an excitingplace for a young militarywoman to be in 1966.

When she arrived,Andrea Gondek Cadieuxfound a completelydifferent atmosphere atGlynco. The WAVES


Part of AndreaGondek’s dutiesinvolved main-taining logs ofaircraft like thisF2H Banshee.Photo courtesy of Bob Badzinski,supplied by JohnLindgren

barracks were left overfrom World War II, whenwomen in the Navy servedas clerical workers,information specialists,aerologists and meteorol-ogists, among other duties.The quarters were old but “really nice compared to others I had seen.” The cubicles had walls

as opposed to the opendormitory style arrange-ment in Memphis, andcareful placement of herlocker gave her even moreprivacy and a feeling thather quarters were “a realroom.” The group ofwomen stationed at Glyncoin 1965 was very small-only 40 WAVES lived onbase at the time, withanother group of marriedpersonnel still on activeduty living in a trailer parknearby. The women in thebarracks would get togetheroccasionally and cook inthe kitchen located in their building.

From the first minute shearrived, AZ Gondek wastreated with “great respect.”What it lacked in single-girl

excitement, Glyncoreplaced with sincereappreciation. The base wasmuch smaller than thefacility in Memphis, withthe population fluctuatingas students at the NATTCarrived and departed. The average was, as shefigured, probably about3,000 to 3,300 between the air station and theTraining Center.

Wherever they were,WAVES “got a lot ofattention” from men ontheir bases, Mrs. Cadieuxrecalled. At Glynco, “it wasa settled bunch of guys,”eager to be helpful andshow her around the base,make sure she felt at homeand extend the Navy’sversion of Southern


The main hangar and officesat NAS Glynco. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

hospitality. Almost at once,she noticed a differentattitude at Glynco towardthe WAVES than at otherlocations during theVietnam era.

“Back in the ‘60’s,women were not allowedin combat situations,” Mrs. Cadieux explained.“At most bases that saw alot of combat preparationand deployment, the mentended to resent thewomen for taking up all

their shore duty. At Glynco,all of the duty was shoreduty, so that kind oftension was just not there.They appreciated the workwe did, and everyone wasextremely polite.”

The issue of women inthe Navy created amusingsituations for Andrea.Some officers tried to takea modern approach to theyoung WAVES, but found it harder than anticipated.One of Mrs. Cadieux’sfavorite stories of herGlynco days was an incident early in her tour of duty, involving a no-nonsense gentlemannamed Lt. Stern. Heordered the young womanto accompany him on aninspection of a group

of the men’s barracks,thrusting a notebook at her and instructing her totake notes at his direction. At the first building, theywere met at the door by adismayed enlisted man,who tactfully tried to warnthem that “the guys whohad night duty are sleepingin there, umm, and are notexactly fully dressed…”

The man was given abrisk lecture on “this is theNavy, we have women inour service, keep up withthe times and get used toit!” Lt. Stern brushed by the mortified young man,beckoning the young WAVEto follow him. Inside, thepair found that the warninghad been politely inade-quate. Mrs. Cadiuex


T-39 Sabreliners like this one,shown here in front of ablimp hangar, were usedextensively in training at Glynco. Navy photocourtesy of the Federal LawEnforcement Training Center.

laughed as she recalled her own discomfort at agenineteen in the more-proper 1960’s, standing atthe foot of the bed of asleeping serviceman whowas decidedly out ofuniform, taking detailed

notes as Lt. Stern barkedhis comments. The officerwent through the first ofthe several barracks on theday’s schedule without anyindication of concern. Atthe end of the tour throughthe first building, however,

he gruffly ordered, “Gimmethat notebook and go sit in the car!”

From the vantage pointof her office adjacent to therunway, Andrea got a close-up view of the dangers of training operations.Sometimes training flightstested the skill and judge-ment of more than thestudents. She clearlyrecalled a terrifying daywhen a T39 Sabrelinerradioed in to the flight linethat one of the wheels wasjammed in the up position.Mrs. Cadieux, with heradditional responsibilitiesas Technical Librarian, andher friend, base librarianKaren Carsilies, rushedthrough the emergencylanding literature. Other


The jet runway, hangar, tower, operations building and support buildings at NAS Glynco in the late 1960’s.Photo courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

flight line crewmemberswere consulted, and it was determined that the only way to avoid a deadly crash was to foam the runway.

The flight linecommander made anincomprehensible decision

not to foam the runway to“save money.” The pilothad no choice but to landand do his best to controlthe plane on two of thethree wheels. He did anadmirable job, but as theaircraft approached, theanxious ground personnelwere unnerved by astrange spectacle. Thefront wheel assembly ofthe plane was overcome by exceeding its weightand stress capacity. Thelanding gear collapsed andpunctured the body of theaircraft, piercing the floorof the cabin and emergingbetween the pilot and co-pilot. Miraculously, therewere no injuries. No onewas surprised when the abrupt retirement of

the flight line commanderwas unceremoniously announced in the following days.

Unlike the World War IIyears, transportation was no longer an issue in the 1960’s. Access toBrunswick and pointsbeyond became a matter of choice. While many of the personnel stationed at NAS Glynco becamevery familiar with the townand made many localfriends, others stayed closeto the base and created anextended family exclusivelywithin the Navy com-munity. Even after Andreamarried and started afamily, the couple and theirson saw little of GlynnCounty except the beaches,


The beautiful beaches of theGolden Isles were part of themost fondly rememberedimpressions of Glynn Countyfor all veterans of Glynco.Photo courtesy of theBrunswick-Golden IslesConvention & Visitors Bureau.

where friends and familyspent long, happy hours.Looking back on herexperience, she has someregrets about not seeingmore of the area.

“I guess we were just too young to appreciatewhere we were,“ she

admitted. “We were in the beautiful Golden Isles,for heaven’s sake!”

Although Mrs. Cadiuexmight not have seen asmuch as she would haveliked of the Georgia coastin some respects, she didhave a chance to enjoy astirring sight that manylocal people have neverseen. Her duties includedkeeping flight logs of thetwo Super Constellationaircraft at the base. Usedfor training purposes, theaircraft flew missions ofwhat she called “hide andseek,” instructing crewmembers on navigation,locating and tracking radartargets on what was thenthe preeminent airbornesurveillance technology.

Andrea and her friend,Karen, put in a request fortwo extra seats when theybecame available on ashorter-range training flight.After the required programof emergency proceduresinstruction was completed,enhanced by a certainamount of good-naturedteasing, the huge planetook off over the barrierislands. The two womenwere treated to a dazzlingoverview of the Marshes of Glynn and their favoritebeaches when the pilotturned and guided the planeover the deserted beach ofCumberland Island. As if oncue, a herd of wild horsesappeared on the white sand,galloping at full speed,rejoicing in their freedom.


The pristine coastal forests andbeaches of Cumberland Islandoften rewarded passengers of NAS Glynco training flightswith breathtaking glimpses of wildlife. Photo courtesy of the Brunswick-Golden IslesConvention & Visitors Bureau.

Changes at Glynco

Chapter18126

Captain John Lowe did the honors by cutting the the ribbon on the newbowling alley at Glynco.Photo courtesy of CaptainJohn Lowe.

C H A P T E R 18 Changes at Glynco127

Civilian Neighborson the FieldWhen the 1960’s drew to a close, NAS Glynco wasthriving. Energetic buildingprograms were underwayto create more housing for officers and enlistedpersonnel, a new WAVESbarracks, a gymnasium andother recreational facilities.In the midst of his heavyschedule, base commanderCaptain C.H. Dorchesterreceived a call from com-munity leaders proposingthe joint use of the airfield’s8,000’ runway. The countyofficials were seeking ameans of offering improvedpassenger air service byusing a facility that couldaccommodate larger jetsthan McKinnon Field

Captain John Lowe tries out the new lanes with his men. Photo courtesy of Captain John Lowe.

on St. Simons Island couldhandle. Captain Dorchesterposed the idea to his boss,Rear Admiral E.E. Christian-sen, who approved theplan. Land was donated toallow the county to build apassenger terminal, and in1971, Delta Airlines offered

passenger service atGlynco. A schedule wasdevised to keep civilian andmilitary aircraft out of eachother’s way, and a new era in aviation for GlynnCounty began.

Landmarks’ DemiseBy the early 1970’s, itbecame obvious that theWorld War II-vintage blimphangars were becoming a


Right: The civilian terminal at NAS Glynco.Photo courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.Below: Captain C.H.Dorchester signs an agree-ment between the Navy and Glynn County ascommunity leaders look on. Photo courtesy ofCaptain C.H. Dorchester.

hazard. Great chunks ofthe roof were missing. “Youcould chart the sun’s posi-tion in the sky by watchingthe patches of light on the

hangar floor that camethrough the holes in theroof,” according to Lt.Commander Roy Norman.More pieces of lumber fell

at every storm, and thedecision was made,reluctantly, to tear thelandmark structures down.

The sad task of planningthe demolition fell toCommander Al Ufer, thebase Executive Officer.“Nobody wanted to seethem go, exactly,” Ufer re-called. “But nobody wantedto see them collapse andhurt someone, either.“


Sections of the giant blimphangars were dramaticallysliced apart. US Navy photo courtesy of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Below Right: Holes in thehangar roof created animpromptu sundial effect onthe floor below. US Navyphoto courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission

The Hudgins DemolitionCompany of Atlantadevised a plan to demolishthe hangars in January 1971.Long steel cables wereused to cut the hangars into pieces, “like a cheeseslicer,” Commander Ufer

explained. Supportmembers were pulleddown on each section,and the unsupportedsegment of roof wouldcave in. The collapsing“slices” of the hangarsgroaned and twisted,then crumpled with a roar. This methodallowed removal of one segment at a time, rather thancreating an unman-ageable mountain oflitter to be cleared

away all at once. Everyonewas a bit nervous about theproject, as the contractoradmitted, “Nobody has hadmuch experience in tearingdown blimp hangars.”

At last, after threemonths of steady work,

it was time to destroy themassive concrete pylonsthat supported the hangardoors. The base Boy ScoutTroop was allowed to go through the piles ofdowned timber, withsupervision, and removenails with large magnets.They mounted the nails on plaques that commem-orated the LTA program at NAS Glynco as a fund-raising project. Every singleplaque was sold at once.

The official plan to saygoodbye to the hangarswas to invite the Navyfamilies to witness thehistoric moment when thepylons came down. Whenthe contractor gave him theschedule, Commander Uferrefused to sign it until the


After the immense roof archeswere torn down and clearedaway, the concrete pylons,crossbeams and panels of theclam-shell doors remained.US Navy photo courtesy of theFederal Law EnforcementTraining Center.

time was changed from8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.Demolition day was on aSaturday, and the firststructure to be demolished,Hangar Two, was adjacentto the WAVES barracks.

“Saturday was the onlyday most of those youngladies got to sleep in a littlebit,” he explained. “Therewas no way I was going tosign anything that gavepermission to start theirday off at 8:00 a.m. –with an explosion and a crowd.I told the contractor hecould do it my way, or itwas no-deal.”

The contractor relented,and the demolition was setfor 11:00 a.m. Dynamitecharges were set and thecrowd placed at a safe

distance. The pylonslooked like two towers and a crossbeam topped by an arch. No one caredto hazard a guess at theweight of the assembly,which had walls 14 inchesthick. The charge wasdetonated, and theconcrete towers rose upabout a foot off of theground, then settled,upright, about six feetshorter, and inches awayfrom the position they hadoccupied for 30 years.Eileen Lundgren Ligay,watching with her children, recalled, “They sort of hopped!”

The final reckoning for the last remnants ofHangar Two came the nextday, when a series of


The pylons and crossbeams await their inevitabledestruction. US Navy photo courtesy of the FederalLaw Enforcement Training Center

dynamite charges finallybrought it down. Themagnificent hangars, proudBrunswick landmarks thathoused airborne defendersof the Georgia coast, weregone. In the followingmonths, Hangar One metthe same fate. The result-ing rubble required a fullyear and over $232,000 toremove. Every veteran who witnessed the eventand reported afterwardssaid the same thing: “I wanted to cry.”

Changes at Glynco132

Demolition of the landmarkblimp hangars of NAS Glyncowas a sad but unavoidableconclusion to their useful years.US Navy photo courtesy of the Federal Law EnforcementTraining Center

The Best-Kept Secret in the Navy

Chapter19133

Families enjoy a summerafternoon at the NAS GlyncoOfficer’s Club pool. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

134

Don’t Put Sugar onThose Grits, Sailor!The term “culture shock”hardly begins to cover thefeeling that many newpersonnel experiencedwhen arriving at NASGlynco. It was small, as

military bases went, withenrollment varying from600 men in the 1950’s tonearly 3,300 at other peaktimes. Civilian employeesbrought the numbers up,and fluctuating classenrollment changed thedensity at times. It was“casual, not overly strict indress or attitude,” as manyveterans related. Beingtransferred in from a largebase, or coming straightfrom a major schoolenvironment like Memphis,was quite an adjustment.

Perhaps a more difficultadjustment was experi-enced by sailors like self-described “Yankee with anattitude,” flight line crew-man, ASM3 Jim Miller.Soon after he was sent to

C H A P T E R 19 The Best-Kept Secret in the Navy

New arrivals atGlynco received acopy of this localguidebook full ofbase and communityinformation.Courtesy of CaptainC.H.Dorchester.

Glynco, Jim met fellow NewYorker, John Polito, and alifelong trust and friendshipwas forged. The men wereoriginal members of VT-86,a training squadron thatwas formed under the leadership of CommanderGeorge Eckerd on June 5,1972. The squadron flew T-39 Sabreliners, training

aircraft prized by the Navywhich enabled the instruc-tor to act as the co-pilot.They also had sleek,streamlined A-4 Skyhawkfighter jets, “beautifulairplanes,” as Jim Millerrecalled. The unit laterdevised a name andidentity for themselves bycombining the names of

the aircraft; Sabrehawks.The squadron still exists, currently based inPensacola, Florida.

When the squadron wascreated, a partnershipbetween the two men grew,and the pair set out to testthe waters of what was acompletely foreign cultureto them: South Georgia.

C H A P T E R 19 The Best-Kept Secret in the Navy135

Below, left: Maintainingliterally hundreds of enginesfor everything from forklifts tofighter jets kept sailors busyon the base. Photo courtesy of Captain C.H.Dorchester.Right: An A-4 Skyhawk on the runway at NAS Glynco.Photo courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission. Below, right: A Sabrelinertrainer pauses in front of a World War II blimphangar beforea takeoff. Photocourtesy ofCaptainC.H.Dorchester.

After coming to terms withthe humid heat and the factthat the insects and variousforms of wildlife werelarger than he had everdreamed existed outside ofa Hollywood film studio,John Polito tried to adjusthis taste buds to the food.Having grown up in a close-knit, traditional Italian

family where all the pastawas handmade each day,John soon grew homesickfor “real pizza–and lasagnaand linguine…” What he got instead was grits.

“We went to Shoney’sfor breakfast one morningand there they were. Thefirst time they served gritsto me, I said, ‘You gotta bekiddin’- you want me to eatthis stuff? What is a gritanyway?’” he laughed.“I never did learn to eat

them. I even tried to eatthem with sugar–all theSoutherners told me not todo that because that wasthe way Yankees ate them.I figured, what the heck, I was a Yankee so maybethat would make themtaste better. It didn’t.”

Another problem wasregional accents. At first,Jim Miller recalled, “No-body could understand meand I couldn’t understandthem, either. John and Ilearned to stay out of those‘country bars.’ Peoplethought that with ouraccents, we were trying to be wise guys and start a fight. But the Pier 17 at Ramada Inn-that wasdifferent. We ownedthat bar!”

The atmosphere on the base was one of aheightened sense of safety,but military installations inthose times lacked the highlevel of security of the 21st century. Open Houseevents invited the public tothe base, a time when both


Sailors joke withCaptain John Lowe atthe Enlisted Men’sbirthday party atGlynco. Photo courtesyof Captain John Lowe.

men were uneasy aboutcivilians getting close to themillions of dollars-worth ofsensitive airplanes undertheir responsibility. Millerrecalled with a shudder theday when the Blue Angelscame to the base toperform. He and Politowere on their way to the

edge of the viewing areaafter all the visitors hadbeen escorted out of theflight line sector. Suddenly,something caught their eyenear the tail of one of theirtreasured Skyhawks. Closerinspection revealed a youngboy of about seven, asleepin the tailpipe of the

powerful jet. Shaken andfurious, the two mendislodged the child andreturned him to his parents,who seemed more amusedthan concerned.

Gradually, both menbegan to feel more at home.They helped to build theGlynco Golf Course, and


Above: Two of Glynco’sprized Sabreliners above theMarshes of Glynn. Photocourtesy of CaptainC.H.Dorchester. Right: The Blue Angels fly information over NAS Glynco.Courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

met more local people.When the Sidney LanierBridge was struck by afreighter, Jim Miller hap-pened to be in traffic onthe bridge, and volunteeredin rescue operations. Overtime, they cautiouslyaccepted invitations fromtheir girlfriends’ families tojoin them at gatherings,and on hunting and fishingtrips. Soon, they werecaptivated by the warmth

and genuine acceptance of their hosts.

“After a while, we wereinvited to every familyevent– picnics, July Fourth,holidays, everything,” JimMiller smiled. “If somebodydecided to go fishing, they would give us a call. It was great.”

When he was trans-ferred to the Naval AirStation Oceana in VirginiaBeach, John Polito remem-

bers the drive into colderand colder weather. When he arrived at thefront gate, the sentry gavehim a disapproving once-over, making reference tothe fact that he was not inregulation uniform. John’sheart sank as he realizedjust how much he wasgoing to miss his home in Georgia.

Friends and FamilyThe majority of personnelassigned to Glynco left it reluctantly. “It was thebest-kept secret of theNavy,” ADRC GeorgeGiessman confirmed.“Everyone who wasstationed here wanted tocome back. It was thecountry club of the Navy.”


When a freighter struck theSidney Lanier Bridge in southGlynn County, Navy men and women from Glynco aided in the search and rescue efforts. US Navy photocourtesy of the Glynn County Airport Commission

Instructor Lt. Bill Schnell-man and his wife Maryremember their years onthe base as “ideal, aCamelot type of life withthe family all together and so many friends, greatweather for swimming and golf. It was the besttime of any place we livedin the Navy.”

TD Wally Bevan took atransfer from a job heloved, working with theastronauts at the Naval AirExperimental Lab inPhiladelphia, to come toGlynco. His original inten-tion was to get as close aspossible by retirement timeto Jacksonville, Florida,where he and his wife hadpurchased a home on aprevious tour. But from the

first moment he stepped on base at Glynco, he said,“I absolutely loved it.” The entire family holdsfond memories of Wallyfinishing work at 3 PM,stopping by their home onbase to join his wife andchildren and heading forthe beach on Jekyll Islandevery summer afternoon.

All three Bevan childrenjoined the Civil Air Patrol

Below: Base housing at Glynco.Right: The Aquarama on JekyllIsland in the 1960’s. TheAquarama offered the best ofboth worlds for swimmers: a smooth, clean beach and an impressive indoor Olympic-size pool. The beaches of the Golden Isles were favoriterecreation spots for Glyncosailors and their families.Photos courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.


Squadron that was basedat the old Brunswick AirPark, located until the early1970’s in the area nowoccupied by the GlynnCounty Stadium. In time,their father became theSquadron Commander.

“The Navy gave somestrong support to thatgroup of kids,” Bevanpointed out. “The majorityof cadets in the Civil AirPatrol were kids from thecommunity, not militaryfamilies. But the Navy gaveus the use of their bus, anddonated the gas for anytrips we needed to make.”

When Wally Bevanarrived at Glynco, his firstassignment was withelectronics maintenance in the mysterious inner

workings of the legendarysecond floor of the “T”Building. When he wasoffered an opportunity towork on the Tri-AnnualAudit, a procedure thatchecks out every singlepiece of equipment on amilitary base, Bevanjumped at the chance toget to know not only the

equipment but the people,both civilian and military.Soon, his interactions withthe entire base populationgrew beyond the gates toform strong bonds withGlynn County residents.After his retirement in1972, Bevan and his familyremained in Brunswick ashe took a job in local law


Below: The AdministrationBuilding at Glynco. Courtesy of the Glynn County AirportCommission. Right: A Valentine’s Day Dancein the 1960’s meant a time forsailors and their sweethearts todress up and dance the nightaway. Photo courtesy of EileenLundgren Ligay.

enforcement. His loyalty tothe community started the day he arrived in 1968.“It was the best duty station I was ever at,” hestated emphatically.

Coming of Age at Glynco

Dan Davis came to NAS Glynco in 1970 as a

teenager,ready to meetthe world and makenew friends.He found thesmall size and relaxedatmosphere of the base a goodenvironmentto accomplish

both goals as he began hisadult life.

“I have almost exclusive-ly good memories of myyear at Glynco, Dan Davisreminisced. “Except forboot camp or trainingschool, I was away fromhome for the first time andinto a normal duty routine. I was 19, healthy, happy,and had shore duty.

“The base had a small-time feel about it, not toospit and polish, not toomilitary. A softball or volley-ball game could usually befound. I listened to Simonand Garfunkel records atthe base library, and I stillremember the voluptuousnurse holding my head as I had a tooth worked on by the base dentist.

“The barracks buildingwas far from luxurious;plywood partitions made‘rooms’ for pairs of sailors,the bath and shower wasdown at the end. Onsummer evenings we wouldsit at the windows watchinghuge bolts of lightningstrike the base, windowsshaking, thunder crashing.


Below: Barracks for enlistedpersonnel featured rows ofplywood partitions that createdcubicles where two sailorswould sleep and store personalpossessions. Photo courtesy of Dan Davis. Right: Some sailors even had fond memories of going to the dentist at NAS Glynco. Photo courtesy of Captain C.H. Dorchester.

I believe the chow hall wasright next to the barracks.Not remembering the foodmust mean it wasn’t all thatbad, right?

“On duty days I was aduty driver, a plumposition. I would normallywait around at the OPSbuilding, waiting for a call.I might have to deliversome papers to anotherpart of the base, oroccasionally pick up or

deliver someone to thefront gate. But I had acertain amount of freedom.I was able to take my time,drive the gray Chevy stationwagon at my leisurearound the large base,through the Georgia pines,and feel a certain amountof privilege.

“Sam House fromBaltimore. Jim Bible fromOhio. Jim Erickson fromArizona. Milford “Ogee”Ogier from Oklahoma.

These were my closestcircle of friends. Art Wallloaned me books and reallyignited a passion forreading that I have to thisday. Thanks, Art! Onename I don’t remember, buthe was from Iowa, and hada sweet little yellow MG-TDwith a Volvo engine. LanceErb had a Dodge SuperBee. Enough guys had carsso it was always easy tofind a ride, always easy tofind someone old enoughto buy beer. And thatmeant the beach!

“We were on staff at theNATTC training school onbase and a normal daywould be to work throughthe morning and have theafternoons off. We spentmany days; many, many

Above: The entrance to NASGlynco in the 1970’s. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.Right: The “Ops” building with the flight tower at the air station. Photo courtesy of Dan Davis.


hours down at the beachon Jekyll Island. The warmGeorgia weather, the un-crowded beaches, soft sand,friends, beer. We had it all.

“We took the occasionalside trip; Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Okefenokee,but mostly it was the

Islands and Brunswick. I had a small motorcycleand never worried about ahelmet or other protectivegear–hop on and go! Times seemed muchsimpler then.

“The year passed quickly,Vietnam was not even onour radar screen. We werewarm, well fed, taken care of and for the mostpart a happy bunch ofsailors. I left in Decemberfor the frozen Great Lakesand a couple months ofschool. Following that was two years at sea on a destroyer out of LongBeach. I haven’t been backto Brunswick but I’d like to visit again. I have manygood memories of thatyear, that duty.”

For many military men,women and their families,the idyllic setting on theGeorgia coast took secondplace to the friendshipsthey made while at Glynco.Base Commander CaptainC.H. Dorchester enjoyed his dealings with localleaders and stated, “All the men that I met downthere were fantastic folksand a real credit to thecommunity.” Perhaps AT2Ken Hayes put it best as he reminisced, “The onething I enjoyed the mostwas the great people I metin Brunswick. Truly greatpeople in that town. All inall, it was a wonderful time spent in Brunswick. I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.”


The unspoiled beaches ofJekyll Island were the settingof many fond memories forsailors at NAS Glynco. Photocourtesy of the Brunswick-Golden Isles Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Wings Chapter20144

Off duty hours meant sun, sand andhamming it up for the camera for Foster Hurley and his shipmates atGlynco. Photo courtesy of Foster Hurley.

Navy Tactical Data Systemconsoles were the “scenery” formany students in classroomsat Glynco. Photo courtesy ofLt. Commander Roy Norman.

C H A P T E R 2 0 Wings145

Foster and the FaustDuring the 1960’s, America’sinvolvement in Vietnamfilled classes at NAS Glynco.From electronics to flightsupport and officer training,the curriculum in class-rooms and in the air wasintense, incorporating

technology that would notbe available or evenrecognizable to the publicfor decades. For the youngmen and women sent to theGeorgia coast for training,another set of importantlessons mastered early inthe process dealt withopening their hearts andminds to people from othercultures. When NAO FosterHurley came to Glynco fortraining in 1965, he foundstrong friendships and anopen door to the world. In his memoirs, he recalleda turning point in his young life.

“When it comes to NavalAviation, the only thingsbetter than the planes arethe women–the gloriouslyexotic and varied creatures

I’ve encountered around theworld. But there weren’t alot of them available to alowly NAO cadet at NASGlynco, GA, in the spring of1965. And after a long weekof chasing bogies on myradar screen in 90’s and135’s lead intercepts, I’dhad enough of the latterand wanted to chase theformer. So every Fridayafternoon, my fellow cadet–and fellow Texan-TomMitchell and I would pullout of the base in his ailingTriumph–it suffered fromcancer of the floorboard,with large holes that let theroad show through–andtoss a coin. Heads, north toSavannah. Tails, south toJacksonville. Savannahoffered more culture; Jax,

more action. Depending onour mood, sometimes we’dgo two out of three if thetoss wasn’t cooperating.

“As a lapsed architecturestudent at the University ofTexas, I was drawn more tothe then un-restored rowhouses in Savannah thanthe sprawl of Jax, eventhough there were mixerswith local girls at the NavalAir Station. So on oneparticular Friday in April,Tom and I put the top downand headed north, soonleaving the pungent aromaof the pine processing plantfar behind in the briskbreeze. He and I enjoyed aneasy camaraderie, honedover weekly, ridiculouslycheap martinis in the DogHouse–the small bar across

the way from the BOQ–while watching TheJonathon Winters Show onTV. The miles flew byquickly, absorbed by themutual recounting of ouradvanced training thatweek, and before long,Savannah was in sight.

“We drove directly to afavorite waterfront spot ofmine for dinner–BoarsHead Tavern. The place hada dank, dark ambiance, andone might meet a nice ladyat the bar if one were lucky.I was, however, moreinterested in meeting thenew waitress we had thatevening–a beautiful Asianof unknown origins.Westerners are woefullyignorant of differences inthe features of Chinese,

Japanese, Koreans, Thais,etc. And though I’m farmore perceptive now aftera year in Southeast Asia, Ididn’t have a clue then. Hername was Lee Song Cha (atleast that’s how it waspronounced), she wasKorean, she was divorcedand–be still my beatingheart–she was interested,too. I laid on my best south-western charm andconvinced her that sheshould spend some of thenext day with us touringFort Pulaski. She did, and itwas the beginning of abeautiful friendship–thatand nothing more. But itdidn’t matter because shewas such a delight.

“We only saw each othera few times over the next


Foster Hurley at Fort Pulaskinear Savannah. Photocourtesy of Foster Hurley.

few weeks, as I reported toVAW-12 at NAS Norfolk inJune. But on more than oneoccasion during our brieffriendship, she invited Tom and I and two or threeother classmates to herhome for delicious Koreanmeals. She was amazing towatch, efficiently foldingrice into snug littleseaweed packets with chopsticks that were like exten-sions of her fingers– farfaster and neater than anyof us could have done withour own fingers–servingthem to us like an assemblyline. She could have givenEdward Scissorhands a runfor his money. They weredelightful evenings, and thefirst exposure to traditionalKorean food for most, if not

all, of us. But the mostinteresting meal we sharedwas not in her home, but inthe captain’s quarters of aGerman freighter–Faust.

“During this time periodthere was a dockworkerstrike in Savannah, perhapsthe entire eastern seaboard.The harbor was full of shipsat anchor, and thosemoored at the pier weren’tgoing anywhere anytimesoon. So the crewmen hada lot of time on their hands,and would invariably spendit– in the time-honoredtradition of tattooed,seafaring men– in any ofmany waterfront bars. Iloved the internationalflavor of those smoke-filledbars, teeming with seamenfrom all over the world–

their different languagesvying for attention like an argument in the UNgeneral assembly.

“I was never terriblycomfortable in thesesaloons, afraid that if Iwalked into the wrongroom I’d find myself in anold Wallace Beery movie,shanghaied by a group ofsmugglers. But it was injust such a dive that Tomand I met our soon to befast friend, Immo, skipperof the Faust. He was big,beefy, red-cheeked, funloving and gregarious–andif the strength of his hugsdidn’t take your breathaway, the potent piquancyof his armpits would. Wemet Immo shortly beforemeeting Lee and had


Lee Song Cha at Fort Pulaski.Photo courtesy of Foster Hurley.

already enjoyed his week-end hospitality aboard theFaust– sleeping on boardand enjoying breakfast inthe galley with his small,friendly crew. And as theend of our training neared,he invited Tom, Lee and I for a farewell dinner in his small, but comfortable,quarters aboard ship.

“We were joined thatevening by the skipper of aJapanese freighter that wasmoored directly behind theFaust. I’ve forgotten itsname– the something orother Maru. I don’t remem-ber much about what wasserved, either. I recall theJapanese skipper brought abottle of plum wine that weenjoyed with our desserts.No, what I remember most

was the extraordinarywarmth and good cheer inthe room, and the sense ofunbelievably good fortunethat had befallen me to begifted with that exceptionalmoment in that place atthat time. Tom and I sharedseveral quick, silent glancesover the course of theevening, each conveyingthe same acknowledge-ment–‘Can you believethis…that we’re here?’

We were two young guys from small towns in Texaswho never would havecome up with a script likethis–breaking bread with a Korean, a Japanese and a German onboard a German freighter at a dock in Georgia.

“The Navy has enticedyoung men onto its shipsfor years, of course, withthe promise of adventure, of seeing the world.


The Faust, home ofinternational hospitality fortwo Glynco students. Photocourtesy of Foster Hurley.

Tom and I bought into that dream hook, line andanchor, with the addedexcitement of flying tossedin. But to get this rich,sweet taste of it all so soon,without even leaving thestates– hell, we were still intraining! Over the nextthree years I would beprivileged to enjoy many

special moments in manyspecial places– Brazil,Philippines, Japan, China,France, Spain, Mallorca,Italy, Greece, Sardinia and Malta; and, closer to home, St. Thomas, Puerto Ricoand Cuba. But none heldthe singular, intimate magic of that quiet dinnerwith friends.

“NAS Glynco will alwayshold a special place in my heart. It’s where I metmy future wife, the sister of a classmate. It’s where I was commissioned, andwhere I received my wings. But I believe that nightaboard the Faust was whenI first began to fly.”


Wild Things Chapter 21150

A Glynn Countycivilian–a 15’-longalligator–enjoys a strollalong East Beach whilea crew member of aNavy blimp snaps hispicture. Photo courtesyof Charles Tillery.

Early residents of Glynn Countyleft these archaeologicalspecimens behind. Top: A mastodon tooth withridged chewing surfaces.Bottom: A claw from a giant sloth. Photos courtesy of Chet Kirby, Kirby Kids Fossil Museum.

C H A P T E R 21 Wild Things151

“If You Dig a Hole...”The land six and a half miles north of Brunswickthat the U.S. Navy selectedfor an air base had manyprior uses. Millions of yearsago, enormous mastodonsand giant sloths the size ofsmall light-duty trucksroamed the area, feastingon the abundant coastalvegetation. Later, NativeAmerican hunters chaseddeer and other game across the sandy plain. And through it all, thenatural predators keptthings in balance.

From the earliest days of blimps at NAS Glynco,sailors were curious aboutthe local wildlife. Youngmen and women fromdifferent parts of the

country were stirredtogether in the Navy meltingpot. Those who hailed fromcolder Northern climateswere surprised at the sizeand vitality of many things,particularly the gnats,mosquitoes and palmettobugs. John Polito recalledhis dismay at the number of love bugs as he rodearound Glynn County on hismotorcycle during his firstspring at the base.

“Simply unbelievable,”the native New Yorkergrimaced at the memory. “I was picking those thingsout of my teeth! You learnnot to smile on a motor-cycle in Georgia during love bug season.”

Perhaps nothing on thebase drew as much

fascination and attention as the most recognizable oflocal predators: alligators.“If you dig a hole in SouthGeorgia, the old sayinggoes, the hole will fill withwater and the water will fill with alligators,” Lt.Commander Roy Normanlaughed. “At Glynco, weproved that theory to betrue many times.”

During test and trainingflights in blimps, the pilotsand crew would often besurprised to see alligatorsambling through themarshes close to familiarplaces, obscured at groundlevel by the tall marshgrass. CPO Charles Tillerytook a memorable snapshotfrom a blimp in the early1950’s of an impressively

large gator strolling alongEast Beach.

Have Rope, Will LassoFew of the young peoplesent to the base for trainingwere from the Low Country,so very few of them realizedhow dangerous feeding thealligators could be. Quitethe contrary, most of theNavy veterans of Glyncochuckle at the thought andmany can offer a personalrecollection of alligatorencounters. The star ofmany stories was the size-able specimen that lived inthe pond at the end of thejet runway. In fact, thelegendary gator was proba-bly several generations ofreptiles that competed fordominance in the small

body of water wherehumans appeared withabundant delicacies on aregular basis. Veterans from every decade reportforays to the pond to bring leftover hamburgers fromthe snack bar and generousquantities of beer.

“There are some crazystories… things that 19 and20 year old sailors will dofor pranks,” Ken Hayesrelated. “I did hear about acouple of guys lassoing thealligator with a heavy ropeand pulling it up to andtying it to the GCA (GroundControlled Approach, or airtraffic control) Radar vanthat was parked alongsidethe runway. The GCA Radarvan had its brakes set andyet the alligator was bound

and determined to return toits swamp, GCA Van andall. The van operators cameout of the van in a hurryand let the alligator have it.I never heard how the gatorgot untied, but I do knowthe van was still therewhere it belonged.”

By 1966, an effort to free the pond of alligatorswas temporarily successful.From her office on therunway at the airfield,Technical Librarian AZAndrea Gondek Cadieuxhad a clear view of the run-way and the pond beyondit. In her two years atGlynco, she never saw analligator but heard storiesabout them. Curious, shelooked back over flight logsfrom previous years and


The rudimentary, prehistoricbrain of a coastal Georgiaalligator apparently containsknowledge of how to untie Navyknots...and walk away smiling.Photo courtesy of theBrunswick-Golden IslesConvention & Visitors Bureau.

saw numerous instanceswhere launches had beencancelled because therunway was blocked byturtles and large, stubbornalligators. Perhaps theywere simply asserting aprior claim, since the pondthey lived in had been on the land long before the Navy.

When Eileen LundgrenLigay, husband CareerRetention Officer EdLundgren and family movedto NAS Glynco fromAlameda, California in 1968, the custom had longbeen established for peopleto visit Florida and buybaby alligators as pets. She remembers that peoplewould take their overgrownpets to the pond at the end of the runway, where it was common knowledgethat alligators thrived.Overpopulation might have been the result, asalligators began to appearin places where they hadnot been seen before.

One such place was asmall pond near a trashdump on the base where

families took discardedChristmas trees. A largeand apparently prosperousgator would often appearwith its huge jaws openingwide and snapping shutimpressively. Eileenremembers children on the base enjoyed throwingfood to the animal, pleased when their offeringlanded right inside itsenormous mouth.

Welcoming PartyVT-86 flight line crewmembers John Polito andJim Miller appointed them-selves the welcomingcommittee for any newpersonnel who reported forduty on the flight line. Theiralliance with the “RunwayPond Gator” was strictly


At welcoming parties for newcrew members, VT-86 flightline sailors John Polito andJim Miller enlisted the aid of

the the “Runway Pond Gator”to create a lasting impression.Photo courtesy of theBrunswick-Golden IslesConvention & Visitors Bureau.

non-regulation. The pairtook it upon themselves toarrange “picnics” for anynew man assigned to theirunit. Before the gathering inhis honor, somebody wouldfeed and pacify the alligatorwith burgers and beer. Thenthey would throw the “newguy” in the pond with thegator. The alligator wouldbe more curious than hungryat that point, perhapssomewhat drunk as well, ifgetting a reptile drunk iseven possible. Anyoneunfamiliar with the protocol,especially the victim of thewelcoming party, would bememorably scared.

Jim Miller jokingly defend-ed his youthful indiscretions,“Hey, we worked closetogether in a very dangerous

job. You had to be quick,you had to think on yourfeet. Anybody who couldn’tdo that was a danger toevery other man on theflight line. And if you didn’thave enough sense to stand up and wade out of ashallow pond to get awayfrom a drunken alligator,then maybe we didn’t wantto work with you anyway!”

Generally, the resultwould be one wet, sheep-ishly-recovered newcomerand a lot of laughter andback-slapping from previousinitiates. But on oneoccasion when thehospitality committee hadtheir traditional greetingritual planned, the flight linegot unexpectedly busy,diverting attention back to

business for several hours.Each man assumed theothers had taken care of the hungry gator inproper time before theevening’s program. In fact,nobody had.

When they reached thecrucial moment of the“ceremony” and tossed the new man in the pond, Polito and Miller werepuzzled at the gator’sunusually aggressiveresponse. A quick survey of“How much beer did yougive it this time?” revealedthat the alligator was notonly hungry and offended,but stone-cold sober.

Now, over thirty yearslater, both party plannerssimply laugh and decline to report how it turned out.


Jim Miller enjoyedbroadening his careerhorizons in the Navy byplanning welcoming parties for newcomers to the Sabrehawks. Photocourtesy of Jim Miller.

But they did offer anobservation on how largean alligator’s eyes lookedwhen they are approachingin the water and yousuddenly realize that you

have not yet shared yourbeer with it.

Things That GoGrunt in the NightPart of the “Camelotexistence” of NAS Glynco inthe early 1970’s for instruc-tor Lt. Bill Schnellman wasa nightly bike ride aroundthe base on the PerimeterRoad, accompanied by thefamily dog. Schnellmanlistened with mild interestto the wilderness symphonyof sounds coming from the darkness beyond hisbicycle light, and assumedthat the snufflings andcracklings were from thenumerous raccoons,possums and deer seenevery day in the pine foreston the base property.

It wasn’t until his next-door neighbor found a babywild boar in his back yardthat Schnellman took aninterest in the wildlife onthe base. He watched inamazement as the babypiglet snarled and snappedat everyone who tried toapproach it. For two days,his neighbor tried in vain to feed and pacify the baby,which he assumed hadbeen abandoned. No one inthe nearby Navy housingwas interested in taking onsuch a fierce pet either.

It became apparent thatthe piglet was a stray, notan orphan, when the large,strong mother boar wasseen in yards on theirstreet, searching for thesquealing baby. The piglet


Guards at the gate of NASGlynco did an admirable jobof screening human visitors.However, their gates provedineffective at keeping hungryalligators off the property.Photos courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

was set free at the edge ofa nearby wooded area,where it ran quickly backinto the brush.

After that episode, Lt.Schnellman realized thatthe sounds beyond thesmall yellow circle of hisbicycle light might becoming from somethingmore dangerous than araccoon. He took a newinterest in the grunting andcrashing sounds especially.“I started keeping the dog a lot closer after that,”he grinned.


Heartbreak Chapter 22157

The target generator room that had trainedthousands of Navy pilotswas to be forever emptyafter December 31,1974.Photos courtesy of Lt. Commander Roy Norman

C H A P T E R 2 2 Heartbreak158

Denial and DisbeliefIt was the equivalent of abomb being dropped onGloucester Street. When aformal announcement ofthe NAS Glynco closurewas made public in

April 1973, the entirecommunitywas throwninto a rage

of grief. Although over 200military bases around thenation were on the samelist, people in Glynn Countyfelt as if a mistake hadbeen made in their case.The predictable procession

of local officials dutifullyflew to Washington todemand, complain, andplead with the Navy not to close the base. Theoutcome was the same;a firm “no.” A number oflocal people simply refusedto believe that such aviable and vital facilitycould be closed so abruptly.

To their credit, onlookershad a point. The Navy hadput the final touches on a recreational facility, andbarracks for the WAVES–the first all-femaleresidence ever built by the Navy–were nearly new. The Wavely Pinessubdivision, an entiredevelopment of single-family housing for married officers, was just

completed, with a numberof homes waiting for their first occupants tomove in. Equipment for the new Officer’s Club wasleft outside, still crated, on the ground. The basehad just undergone abuilding program that had cost the Navy millionsof dollars. Closing it at that point looked like a nearly criminal waste of money, a masterwork of bad judgement.

What the good citizensof Glynn County did notrealize was that regardlessof how arbitrary and unfairit seemed to civilians, or to the sailors stationed at “The Best Kept Secret in the Navy,” or their happyfamilies–the base was

The community braced itself to learn the fate of the Navybase that had been such an important part of thecommunity for three decades.Courtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

closing in twenty months.Newly paved roads built bythe county appeared toserve a cruel purpose: theymade it even easier for theNavy to leave. It was apainful twist of the knife.

CulpritsRumors of political dirtytricks, payback and favorsflew around the community.

In retrospect, it was likely a combination of factorsthat led to the astonishingdecision to close NASGlynco. An official withinthe Navy commanddecision structure specu-

lated years later thatGeorgia GovernorJimmy Carter, anoutspoken Democratwho was sharply

critical of PresidentNixon, was the target

of vindictiveaction by that admini-stration.

Congressionalredistricting in

the early 1970’senabled political new-comer, Democrat Ronald“Bo” Ginn, to unseat a long-

tenured Republican in the1972 elections. The additionof Glynn County to the First Congressional Districtmade the critical differencein the election. This factthat was not lost on theArmed Services Committee,where the incumbent had amassed a personalpower base.

Meanwhile at Glynco,ominous changes occurredpromptly after the election.VT-86, the Sabrehawks,were briskly transferred in December from thesquadron’s birthplace atGlynco to Pensacola,Florida. The decisiondumfounded instructors,who had enjoyed the 50-square-mile dedicated airspace off the Georgia coast


Grim reality was hard to face in1973. As ill-advised as it mighthave seemed, the decision was finalto close NAS Glynco. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

without interference fromcommercial traffic. Airtraffic and air traffic controlproblems in Florida weregrowing as rapidly as itspopulation, a situationfraught with potentialdisaster for training flights.Base personnel noted thesigns of an impendingdecommission withforeboding. Despite thevigorous building programthat proceeded withouthesitation, one veterannoted, “It’s never a goodsign when they starttransferring out your units.”Civilian employees of thebase were outraged. Thetraining building that hadjust been completed atGlynco would need to beduplicated elsewhere–

at Memphis, it turned out,for triple the cost. But tosome observers, anotherdevelopment was asignificant factor inmarking the base forclosure: technology.

Lt. Commander RoyNorman was in a positionto know. Since he had

designed many of theinstructional consoles, he knew every inch of themiles of cable that ranbetween the top andbottom floors of 3-storied“T” Building. All of theequipment of the 1960’sand early 1970’s, heexplained, operated on an


The target generator room atGlynco, with its switchboardsand desks, would be replacedat another training facility inan updated digital format.Photo courtesy of Lt.Commander Roy Norman.

analog system. As incom-prehensible as it seemed,studies confirmed thatreplacing the $3 millionbuilding at Glynco with a

$9 million project elsewherewas more cost-effectivethan retrofitting the existingstructure. The Navy’sdecision to make way forthe digital NTDS (NavyTechnical Data System)supplied the final nail in thecoffin for NAS Glynco.

“It wasn’t just politicsthat got us,” Lt. CommanderNorman noted dryly. “It was the microchip.”


The Electronic CounterMeasures (ECM) equipmentclassroom at NAS Glynco.Photo courtesy of Lt.Commander Roy Norman.

162

Searching for Answers

An Impact Studyattempted to grasp theenormity of the loss ofGlynco. Courtesy of theCoastal Area RegionalDevelopment Center.

Chapter23Chapter23

Above: Vernon Martin,Executive Director of theCoastal Area Planning andDevelopment Commission. In1973, he secured Federalgrants to assist in planningreuse for the base. Photocourtesy of Vernon Martin.Right: Banker Ben T. Sladetook on the enormous task ofchairing the Glynco SteeringCommittee in 1974. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

C H A P T E R 2 3 Searching for Answers163

Down to WorkThe community scrambledto make a plan for recovery.The base employed 2,804individuals, including bothmilitary and civilian, in1973. But as with all militarybase closures, that figurecan be misleading. Theimpact was widespread,considering the families andsupport industries for a

county the size of Glynn.While others panicked,Vernon Martin, ExecutiveDirector of the Coastal AreaPlanning and DevelopmentCommission, quietly appliedfor–and secured–a Federalgrant from the EconomicDevelopment Administra-tion to complete impactstudies for the area in July 1973.

By early January 1974,leaders realized that thetime for fighting the baseclosure was over. It wastime to get organized. The city and county jointlyappointed a 19-membercommittee with the missionof planning for the conver-sion of the Navy base. TheGlynco Steering Committeebegan by selecting banker

Ben Slade as Chairman, and elected sub-committeesto focus on special areas.

The Committee quicklyidentified one of their goals,to secure use of the airfacilities at Glynco for amunicipal airport. A publicmeeting was held onFebruary 6, 1974, and anhistoric joint resolutionbetween city and countygovernments was adoptedon February 12 to proceedwith that effort. The futureof Malcolm McKinnonAirport on St. Simons, theprevious official municipalairport for the county, hadbeen put on hold.

This decision was notmet with unanimousapproval, however.Scheduled carriers and

general aviation contractholders at McKinnon weredismayed that theirinvestments appeared to bein vain. Sweeping claimswere made that adoptingthe larger facility at Glyncowould cost the taxpayers of

Glynn County millions ofdollars. Detractors insistedthat the rapidly deteriorat-ing Brunswick Air Park, onthe site of the currentGlynn County Stadium, was

perfectly adequatefor future growth.

In fact, the FAAalready hadserious concerns

about the conditions of thefield and was prepared toshut it down for good. TheMcKinnon facility was inneed of major work, and itslocation would not allow

for the expansion requiredto eventually provide the quality of jet service the community needed.The drama was fueledwhen the more indignantplayers declared thecounty’s acceptance of theflawlessly maintainedrunways and facilities atGlynco was evidence of


Right: Acquiring the OpsBuilding and runway at NASGlynco were the first goals ofthe Steering Committee. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

Regional newspapers likethe Florida Times-Unionfollowed the base closureand its impact with keeninterest. Courtesy of theCoastal Area RegionalDevelopment Center.

a sinister conspiracy.Unfortunately, the cauldronof self-interest over theclosing of Glynco was justbeginning to boil.

Real Estate DistressDevelopers in GlynnCounty felt betrayed by thebase closing. A buildingboom had been underwayfor many months, encour-aged by investorconfidence in the Navy’srecent expansion. Manynew homes, condomini-ums and apartments wereunder construction whenthe base closing wasannounced. As President ofthe area’s largest Savingsand Loan Association,Steering CommitteeChairman Ben Slade waswell aware of the danger tothe already-weak housingmarket that the closure of Glynco represented.

“Obviously, foreclosureswere a concern when the

Navy income went away,”he explained. “Babcockand Wilcox, the boiler-making plant, had closed,Hercules was on strike, and the hotels on I-95 were in deep troublealready because of thegasoline price crunch. It was a terrible time.”

Another worry facingSlade and the housingindustry was the 232empty, brand-new homesjust completed by the Navy.Intended for officers andtheir families at Glynco, the large block of homeswould flood the depressedhousing market in GlynnCounty. With over half of the apartments inBrunswick unoccupied asthe Navy left, more vacant


When Glynco closed, 232brand-new homes built by the Navy for officer housing were left empty. Photo courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

real estate was the last thing thearea needed. The Committeeappealed to the Navy not to put the housing on themarket for at least a year, and the Navy complied with the request.

New Leadership for a New ChallengeA grant allowed the groupto hire a coordinator.Gordon Davis was sur-prised when a SteeringCommittee member, hisfriend Bruce Smith, calledhim to say “I have a job for you.” Davis had retiredfrom the Army and hadmoved to Glynn County to

become a tennis pro onJekyll Island. It took somepersuading, but in March1974, Davis agreed to join

the effort to find a way toheal the community as theCoordinator of the newGlynco Steering Committee.

His primary


Above: Local leaders on theSteering Committee took a preliminary tour of the base to prepare themselves for the upcoming visit by federal officials. Right: Captain William P. Hugo,base commander, welcomed a team of federal agencyrepresentatives who arrived to tour NAS Glynco on March27, 1974. Courtesy of the Coastal Area RegionalDevelopment Center.

duties were to assist thecommittee in finding newuses for the base property,secure the county’s right tothe airfield facilities and tohelp bring in new jobs to

replace jobs lost as a resultof the base closing.

One of Davis’ firstchallenges was to coordi-nate a Federal team visitonly two weeks after hebegan work with the EDA.The findings were sobering.The main employers in thecounty were hotels, relatedtourism venues and theNavy. Manufacturing wasstrong, with the BrunswickPulp and Paper Companyand Hercules, Inc. com-manding a significantportion of the labor market.But manufacturing wassubject to the economicplague of strikes. As luck–or lack of luck–would haveit, Hercules was on strike inGlynn County when thebase closure came to light.

“The timing couldn’t havebeen worse,” he recalled.

The lengthy presenta-tions and work sessionsprovided the communityleaders with a clearunderstanding of Federalrules and guidelinesnecessary in converting the base to civilian use.Despite initial skepticismabout “those Federalbureaucrats” from out oftown, local leaders came to understand that theagency representativesknew their business.

Gordon Davis visitednumerous cities that hadsuffered a base closure.Some prospered; somenever recovered. One simi-larity among successfulsurvivors became clear.


Bit by bit, the Navy removedpieces of equipment andmachinery vital to the function of the airfield and other oper-ations. Courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

A reasonable, well-informed local citizens’group was key in finding a new use for surplusmilitary property, and forreplacing the lost income.During his intensive searchfor answers to the future of Glynco, Davis estab-lished close liaisons with appropriate Federalagencies in Atlanta.

The intense, and some-times frantic, work began.The committee doubled itsefforts to find a new use forthe property. Using fundsfrom the same grant thatenabled the group to hire aCoordinator, the Committeehired a consulting firm toassist in developing a BaseReuse Plan. Officials fromthe General ServicesAdministration met withcity and county officialsalong with the SteeringCommittee to explain therules and the realities ofthe tasks ahead.

After the reality of closurewas accepted, thecommunity needed tofocus its efforts on findinganother use for the baseproperty. Courtesy of theCoastal Area RegionalDevelopment Center.


Reality101

Chapter24169

Commander Al Ufer,Glynco ExecutiveOfficer, with thewinners of annualCivilian Awards.When the baseclosed, non-military employeesfaced losing theirjobs in a seriouseconomic recession.Photo courtesy of Commander Al Ufer.

Chapel in the Pines at NASGlynco. Photo courtesy of the Glynn County AirportCommission.

C H A P T E R 2 4 Reality 101170

Wake-up CallEarly in the process, thepublic clung to theassumption that the FederalGovernment would “comeand fix it,” Ben Sladerecalled. After earlier base

closures proved disastrousfor so many areas in thecountry, the Department ofDefense created the Officeof Economic Adjustment toassist communities throughthe loss of military income.The goal of the agency wasto guide local groups fromgrasping on to ill-advised,short-sighted uses of former base property, andto encourage them todevelop a consensus planthat transcended what wastermed “parochial interests,”or individual agendas.

The first reality was thatmultiple Federal agencieswould have to dispose of various segments of theproperty. There was no“one-stop-shopping” toresolve the issue. Ben Slade

spent “many long after-noons” in storefronts andoffices patiently explainingto individuals in thecommunity that it wascounterproductive to sendmore passionate letters oroutraged spokespersonswho hoped to “talk to theright person” in Washington.

The second realitywarned of creatingbureaucratic quicksand by insulting the process.Attempting to engagecongressmen to maneuveraround the obstaclesspelled disaster in terms of delay and ill will.

The third sobering lesson was that theseemingly inexhaustiblesupply of local conflict andself-interest had to stop–

immediately. Some individ-uals demanded that thechapels on base be given tolocal churches. Severalrealtors wanted to buysections of surplus housingfor speculative purposes.Restaurant owners wantedto purchase equipmentfrom the large inventory ofkitchen supplies. Otherswanted to establish privatebusinesses in the messhalls and servicemen’sclubs on base. A GSAofficial confided, “If youshow any signs of localconflict, nobody will wantto come here.”

The last lesson was thehardest to make everyoneunderstand. “They told usthat the final decision onhow the property would be

used was up to the Federalgovernment,” Sladerecalled. “There would beno piece-meal uses thatdivided the base up intolittle parcels for privateindividuals to use for profit.It was up to us to researchthe best uses for the

property where our com-munity was concerned,then attract that kind ofuser to Glynn County. We needed to be preparedto show people we wereready to move on, that wehad something to offerthem. But we had to keep


Congressman Ronald “Bo”Ginn (in yellow jacket) arrivesat Glynco for a site tour.Congressman Ginn proved tobe an invaluable ally for GlynnCounty in determining thefuture of the base. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

one fact in mind, and thatwas the final decision onwho would use that landwas not our decision. It was the government’scall. And the possibilityexisted that one outcomecould be that they simplypadlocked the base andwalked away. We didn’twant to let that happen.”

These hard factsstrengthened the Commit-tee’s resolve, and createdthe battle cry for the entireeffort. “I was determined,”Gordon Davis emphasized,“to find exactly what the Federal governmentwanted, and that was

the highest and best usefor the property.”

Daffodils andJuvenile Offenders

The Navy’s standard ofexcellence in building andmaintaining its property didnot go unnoticed. When theword got out that theSteering Committee wassearching for new tenantsfor the base, the floodgates

opened and Slade wasinundated with requests fornew uses. One memorablesuggestion was a requestby an importer of flowers toreserve the use of just afraction of the 8,000’ longrunway to land his smallplanes that brought insupplies to regional distri-butors. Other inquiriesexpressed a desire to usesome of the buildings for


Right: The 8,000’ runway atNAS Glynco was a criticalresource for the future ofaviation in Glynn County.Photo courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.Below: A Reuse Plan wascreated to examine the assetsof the property and thecommunity. Courtesy of theCoastal Area RegionalDevelopment Center.

movie sound stages, othershinted that they had Araboil interests as backers.“I’m not sure all of themwere legitimate,” Ben Sladelaughed. “But I am pretty

sure some of them were illegal.”

Less outlandish, butcertainly more controver-sial, was the formal inquiryby the Georgia Departmentof Corrections about thepossibility of creating aninstitution for the training ofyouthful offenders. Thetraining setup at Glyncowas ideal, according to thestate official. Most citizensof Glynn County disagreed.

The response was quick and emotional. Thedebate got heated, but eventhe public dismay did not

defeat the idea. As Sladeremembered, in the com-mittee’s eyes, the problemwas not entirely the factthat it was a prison of sorts.The concern was that theDepartment of Correctionsonly wanted a portion ofthe large base property, onethat would awkwardlyseparate the remaining landinto somewhat unusabletracts. The proposal wasturned aside for logisticalreasons as much as thevocal opposition.

Countdown By November 1974, theSteering Committeecompleted a detailed reuseplan, approved by the cityand county, which wasforwarded to the General

Services Administration.From that point, the effortwas to be on the actualconversion once the planwas accepted. The Commit-tee determined that a legalentity would be needed to manage the airport,purchase and develop anindustrial park, andcomplete coordination ofthe remaining conversions.In March 1975, the countycreated the Glynn Develop-ment Authority under a1969 Georgia law designedto help communities dealwith growth and planningfor the future. The specificmission given to theBrunswick group was tomanage and develop prop-erties related to the NASGlynco conversion effort.


The community was in anuproar about the possibility ofusing Glynco as a youthfuloffender facility. Courtesy of the Coastal Area RegionalDevelopment Center.

Civilian employees of thebase were given an oppor-tunity to transfer to otherNavy installations aroundthe country, and many tookadvantage of that offer.

The people who stayedon at Glynco to help withthe de-establishment of thebase became indispensable.Two local women, RubyAllman and Ruth Kent, werehighly regarded by themilitary, and were singledout for commendation byNavy officials.

Ms. Allman came to workat Glynco in 1955, andserved under 13 command-ing officers. When theclosure was announced, shewas promoted to AssistantAdministration Officer,helping Lt. Commander

Murray Wright shut downthe facility. When inter-viewed by the BrunswickNews about her feelings onthe matter, she told thereporter, “I have developeda love affair with Glynco,and I feel like a traitorletting it go…Needless tosay, the day we got theword there were some weteyes around here.”

Ruth Kent had put in 15 years of service as a personnel staffing andclassification specialistbefore she was promoted toCivilian Personnel Officer.As of July 1973, Mrs. Kentrecalled, there were 2,804people working on the base, including military andcivilians. As the closureprocedure went into effect,

she spent month afterheartbreaking montharranging transfers andreassignments to places as far away as Spain andGuam, or as close asPensacola, Florida. As thestaffing infrastructureseemed likely to collapsefrom attrition of Navy per-sonnel, Mrs. Kent propped it up time after time withlocal people, grateful to getwork during the worrisometime of strikes and gasshortages. The sad irony of the situation was not loston her: by saying goodbyeto one group of cherishedfriends and Navy neighbors,she was able to open doorsand offer much-needed help to her fellow GlynnCounty citizens.


A Ray of Hope Chapter25175

It was finally official: The base at Glynco was closing. The formalreception marked the end of an era. Courtesy of the Glynn County Airport Commission.

Despite efforts to be discreet,Federal visitors were spottedinspecting NAS Glynco’sproperty. Courtesy of theCoastal Area Planning andDevelopment Commission.

C H A P T E R 2 5 A Ray of Hope176

Cautious OptimismAs the clock ticked towardclosing the base, effortswere intensified on findinga new tenant for theproperty. On December 23,1974, Naval Air Station

Glynco was officially de-commissioned. A few weekslater, Gordon Davis spotteda trio of “distinguished-looking gentlemen” lookingat the property, andhastened to make theiracquaintance. The men

were searching for a newhome for the ConsolidatedFederal Law EnforcementTraining Center.

Gordon Davis checkedout the potential for amutually beneficial future.

He discovered that theagency’s original plan tobuild a comprehensivetraining facility in Beltsville,Maryland, was plaguedwith problems. From thebeginning, the originalbuilding plan was under-

sized. Environmental issuesinterrupted construction on that particular site, andwhen the litigation wascomplete, the price tocomplete the project haddoubled from its originalestimates. The order wentout to find another locationfrom the list of militarysites planned for closurerather than spend anothertaxpayer dollar attemptingto rescue the doomed plans in Beltsville.

The fact that Glynco wasalready set up as a trainingfacility was a significantadvantage. The threevisitors from that Januaryday and other officials as well as GSA specialistsboiled the requirementsdown in a cool and

businesslike manner. Soon, Glynco took its placeon the “short list” ofpossibilities with five otherlocations. Congressman Bo Ginn, and GeorgiaSenators Herman Talmadgeand Sam Nunn put theirpowerful political shouldersto the wheel in the intensecompetition for the lawenforcement center. Thetentative plan was to makethe decision by the end ofMarch 1975 at the latest.Community leaders tried

not to get their hopes–oranyone else’s–up too high.

In Washington, the battleraged on between factions

that wanted to move to a base in Georgia and those who favored the San Francisco area. While


An initial good impression put Glynco on the list for theFederal Law EnforcementTraining Center. Courtesy ofthe Coastal Area Planning andDevelopment Commission.

decommissioned militaryproperties were in bothlocations, Hamilton AirForce Base in Californiawas little more than acollection of warehouses.Repurposing them wouldtake a staggering amountof money and time, both ofwhich were in short supply.The cost of living for staffand general operationalexpenses were so muchhigher in California thateveryone winced at the ever-

increasing total. Outfittingsites in the other locationsunder consideration camein at around $45 million.Glynco came in at thebottom of the cost esti-mates at a bit over $28million, thanks to the newconstruction left behind by the Navy. Anothercompelling argument wasthe fact that the commu-nity so desperately wantedthe facility.

March ended without anannouncement. Lists ofquestions from the govern-ment were addressed, butno answers came back inreturn. The months draggedon with delay after delay in making a decision. Thefinalists were notified: itwould be Albany, Georgia,

or Brunswick. Glynco’spolitical allies informed the community leaders that, at that point, they could dono more for them. Callshad been made, favorscalled in. The decision wasout of their hands.

Visit Your Mother!Month after month ofgrinding work and pressurewere taking their toll, andGordon Davis arranged totake a few days off to visitfamily members. With noend in sight for resolvingthe stalemate on siteselection, he felt that earlyspring of 1975 was as gooda time as any to pick up his mother and drive withher to visit a brother inVienna, Virginia.


Everyone in Glynn County heldtheir breath as Glynco movedhigher on the list to be chosenas the next site for the FederalLaw Enforcement TrainingCenter. Courtesy of the Coastal Area Planning andDevelopment Commission.

When they arrived lateon a Saturday afternoon,Gordon’s brother had amessage for him to callCongressman Bo Ginn inWashington. The Congress-man informed him thatsome twenty-plus delegatesfrom various Federalagencies involved inmaking the decision about

the training

center’s new location wereassembling in Washingtonearly the following Mondaymorning to take off on adecision-making mission toGeorgia. Ginn also informedDavis that he needed to beon that airplane with themon March 22.

“This was it,” Davisemphasized. “This was ourlast chance to show themwhat we could do–and

we had one day to plan it all.” A series of near-

panicked phonecalls followed as

he bid goodbye tothe family he hadcome to visit, andmade his way to

Washington instead.Back home in Glynn

County, Davis’ secretaryand staff worked feverishlyto set up a 2-and-a-half-day V.I.P. itinerary. While in route to Albany, the first stop on the site visit, the Federal officials “grilled” Davis about thearea’s capabilities and thebase amenities.

“I remember it beingDavid Macdonald, AssistantSecretary of the Treasury, a group of between 15 and18 Federal budget guys,four people from theTreasury Department andsome FAA officials,” hecounted. “While the groupdid the tour in Albany, Istayed on the phone in theairport terminal, arrangingeverything I could for theBrunswick visit.”


A steady diet of questions,delays and frustration wasserved to Glynn Countyleaders in early 1975 as theywaited for a decision ontheir future. Courtesy of theCoastal Area Planning andDevelopment Commission.

Best Foot ForwardThe trip could not havegone better, as Davisremembered. An informaldinner with communityleaders that evening setthe stage for the base tourthe next day. CommanderGeorge Eckerd, one of thelast Navy personnel left,accompanied the tourgroup, patiently explaining

the prior Navy use of each building. The afternoon wastaken up by tours of the port, theGolden Isles andThe Cloister. A banquet at theHoliday Inn on

Jekyll Island Tuesdayevening was put togetherby Vernon Martin’s staff.Marvin Bluestein, a GlynnCounty businessman who was well-known for his theater and vocalskills, entertained theguests with his signatureperformance from localmusical presentations,Tevyah from Fiddler on theRoof. A breakfast for thecommittee the next day atthe King & Prince Hotel

left the visitors with thefinal impression ofsparkling waves, cleanbeaches and the morningsun glowing through thestained glass windows ofthe main dining room.

Gordon Davis took offwith the group and flewback to Washington. As he parted companywith them to go back tohis brother’s home inVirginia, he still did notknow what the commit-tee’s decision might be.But he was proud of theway his hometown hadperformed, grateful for thebrilliant professionalism of Vernon Martin and hisstaff and glad that his own staff had risen to thechallenge, especially


Steering Committee membersscarcely dared to hope that adecision was finally at handas spring arrived in 1975.Courtesy of the Coastal AreaPlanning and DevelopmentCommission.

on such short notice.Whatever the decision wasto be, Gordon Davis knewthat everyone had given it their best shot.

The entire coastal regionwaited anxiously for adecision on the fate of Glynco. Courtesy of theCoastal Area Planning andDevelopment Commission.


Chapter26182

Original FLETCseal used in the

center’s first years. Center: All the hard

work and planning for the reuse of NAS Glynco resultedin a substantial reward with the announcement of the FLETC site selection. Courtesy of theCoastal Area Regional Development Center. Far left: FLETC became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. Official sealscourtesy of the FederalLaw EnforcementTraining Center.

Triumph!

Each local and regionalnewspaper put its own spin onthe Glynco announcement.Courtesy of the Coastal AreaRegional Development Center.

C H A P T E R 2 6 Triumph!183

The Hard Work Pays OffThe announcement wasmade on May 16, 1975, thatBrunswick’s

former Navy base, NASGlynco, had been chosen asthe next site for the FederalLaw Enforcement TrainingCenter. The news was metwith an uproar of rejoicingmixed with incredible relief.Ben Slade remembers it as “a huge thrill. It was aperfect fit for the basefacilities, the communityand the Law Enforcementpeople. Just a great thingall around.”

Local people who hadbeen suffering fromclosures and layoffssoon found opportu-nities at the formerbase. Projects left nearcompletion werefinished, and anythingthat needed to bedone was identified

as “renovation” so that thework could be expedited.All protests from thecommunity and demandsfor special interests weresuddenly stilled. In theirplace was one voice in the community, and it wasshouting, “Welcome!”

The Aerial PerspectiveAfter a period of attitudeadjustment, the wisdom ofthe decision to designateGlynco as the officialmunicipal airport wasreinforced by letter fromJoe Lynch, Director of Program Operations of the Office of EconomicAdjustment. The letter,dated June 5, 1975, told General ServicesAdministration Eastern

Region Chief NormanBersky that several goalshad been met by trans-ferring the status of primarymunicipal field to Glynco,

which opened asa civilian airporton April 30. The relief in theintensity of thenoise level, forexample, was asignificant advan-tage gained byreassigning theuse for Glynco.Neighborhoodsnearby would

have an estimated 25-30year window before amunicipal airport sustainedthe level of traffic that amilitary base required on a daily basis.

Joe Lynch noted in hisletter that at the beginningof the Glynco program 18months before, around thebeginning of 1974, thecommittees had “encoun-tered considerablereluctance on the part ofthe Brunswick area toconsider new uses for theformer military facility.” He further acknowledged a“complete

reversal in the communityleadership attitude” by mid-1975, triumphantlyannouncing that the entirecommunity was “now fullycommitted to the re-use ofthe Glynco NAS facilities.Moreover, we know of noopposition whatsoever–political, environmental orother–to this proposed use.”


Below: The air station facilities atGlynco became Glynn County’smunicipal field on April 30,1975.Photo courtesy of Dan Davis.

Right: The dedication of the new Federal Law Enforcement Training Center was a significantmilestone in the history of Glynn County, Georgia. Courtesy of the Coastal AreaRegional Development Center.

The period of mourningwas officially over. GlynnCounty was ready to move forward.

The Navy LegacyThe benefits left behind bythe Navy were considerable.A community the size ofBrunswick and the GoldenIsles “would never have

been able to afford an8,000’ runway,” Ben Sladenoted. When the Navydeparted, the area not onlygained the impressive air field facilities, but“regained 50 square milesof dedicated air space,” as Commander George Eckerdpointed out. This return tocivilian usage would havea major impact on thedevelopment of tourismand industry in GlynnCounty for years to come.The airfield and somesurrounding acreage wasset aside for County use;the rest of the baseproperty was accepted forthe Federal Law Enforce-ment Training Center.

The campus-likeatmosphere of the base

easily supported thetransition to classroom useby the Federal government.Since its opening in 1975,over 600,000 specialistshave graduated from state-of-the-art courses ofstudy in all phases of lawenforcement. Currently,enrollment at the Centeraverages 25,000 studentsper year. There was a greatdeal of satisfaction locallywhen certain parallelswere drawn between theoriginal mission of the baseproperty and the presentand future uses. For all ofits sixty-two years, thegoals have been consistent:the protection of the United States, its freedomand its citizens, at homeand abroad.


The community wasfascinated with every aspectof their important newneighbor, from the trainingprograms to the families itwould bring into Brunswickand the Golden Isles.Courtesy of the Coastal AreaRegional Development Center.

Building MomentumAfter the formalceremony that transferredthe airfield and surroundingland to the county, theGlynn DevelopmentAuthority was tasked withan enormous amount ofwork. Numerous projectswere undertaken toconvert the Navy facilities,

renamedGlynco Jetport, to civilianusage. The Federal AviationAdministration (FAA)funded and installed anInstrument Landing System,as well as new runway andtaxiway lighting systems.Two fixed base operatorsestablished on the propertyprovided fuel, tie-down

and main-tenance support. Theenviable runway built bythe Navy left Glynco Jetport in the position of being able to state with assurance that any type of aircraft in use at the time could be accommodated there.


Right: The airfield facilities were formally conveyed to Glynn County on July 19, 1975.Courtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.Below: At a special ceremony,Glynn County CommissionChairman Percy Harrell, left,signed an official document that finalized the change in ownership as CommanderGeorge Eckerd looked on.Courtesy of the Glynn County Airport Commission.

The second objectivewas to use the few build-ings left on the countyportion of the land as asource of income and job

development. The T Build-ing, home of Lt CommanderRoy Norman’s meticulousfreeway of heavy cablesand the classrooms where Lt. Bill Schnellmanpatiently taught new Navy pilots the basics of navigation, was leasedto the Department of Labor to create the JobCorp Training Center.There, young people inneed of job training comefrom all over the state togain employment skills.

Other buildings leftbehind by the Navy wereleased to small companies,and the DevelopmentAuthority purchased the330-acre tract of landnearby to create the GlyncoIndustrial Park. Newcompanies, new jobs andnew people came to GlynnCounty as a result. As the


Above: Gordon Davis (L) andFrank McBride look on asBen Slade signs papersestablishing a new industrialcomplex at Glynco. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

The first flight lands at thenewly named municipal fieldon April 30,1975. Photocourtesy of the Glynn CountyAirport Commission.

former base propertydeveloped and attractedopportunity, questions aboutthe existence of two airportsin a county the size of Glynnbecame a source of heateddebate. The DevelopmentAuthority assembled

representatives from JekyllIsland, St. Simons Islandand Brunswick to create anindependent governingentity, and the GlynnCounty Airport Commissionwas formed in 1980. Thisdecision was a wise one,

as it offered professional,autonomous managementfor the community’semerging aviation needs.

In the quarter-centurysince the Glynn CountyAirport Commission was formed, it has

(L-R) Frank McBride, Gordon Davis, Vernon Martin,attorney Jim Bishop andFLETC Assistant Director for Administration David W. McKinley celebrate thecreation of new industrialopportunities at Glynco,where men and womenworked for the previous 32years to protect our freedom.Photo courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.


accomplished much for the community. Scheduledcarrier service, thrivinggeneral aviation traffic andvastly improved facilities

have supported the area’sgrowth and prosperity.Virtually all aspects of thebusiness, industrial andcivic community have all

benefited considerablyfrom the vision anddirection of local AirportCommission leaders.


Glynco Jetport entertained a number of importantvisitors, including PresidentJimmy Carter in 1977. Photo courtesy of the GlynnCounty Airport Commission.

190 Epilogue

Renowned artist BettyLowe (far right), wife of NATTC Commander,Captain John T. Lowe,charmed the communitywith her cheerful energy. Mrs. Lowe gave countlesshours of volunteer servicein the arts and numerousother local causes. Here,she lends her expertiseand enthusiasm to theYWCA as she judges theirSpring Art Show in1961.Photo courtesy of Captain John Lowe.

Epilogue191

What was the most importantcontribution made bythe Navy to Brunswickand the Golden Isles of Georgia?

During the year of researchfor Project Glynco, respon-dents and intervieweeswere asked this question. It is touching, and in manyways, not surprising, to

summarize the results. Former Navy personnelanswered in nearly 100% of the cases with a list offacilities, jobs, dollaramounts and the fact thatthe Navy base structureswere a good fit for theFederal Law EnforcementTraining Center. Typicallymodest and focused ontheir mission, the militaryresidents of our hometownconcentrated on the thingsthey could build and do tomake it stronger and better.

Civilian citizens of Glynn County invariably responded with oneanswer: the people. Navyfamilies and individualswere wonderful neighbors,important volunteers,leaders and cherished

Captain John Lowe accepts acheck from the Glynco ExplorerScouts for Navy Relief, May1961. Photo courtesy of CaptainJohn Lowe.

friends. Retirees who wereable to stay here or returnto live in Glynn Countywere welcomed withsincere joy. Although theywill always be grateful for the infrastructure andfinancial advantages

left by NAS Glynco,citizens of Glynn County consider theinvaluable members ofall the military forceswho served there as its greatest benefit to our community.

Epilogue192

Sailors at Glynco made good use of their time and took fulladvantage of amenities like theflying club, stables, bowling alley and hobby shop. ArmedForces Day in 1953 was a goodopportunity for the men of AirshipSquadron 2 to display their talents. Photo courtesy of theGlynn County Airport Commission.

Members of the Navy wereactively involved parentswhose efforts were recognizedby the community. Ken Minickfound time to coach severalaward-winning sports teamsfor children in addition to hisbusy schedule at the Naval Air Station. Courtesy of Ken Minick.

Epilogue193

Commander Al Ufer, GlyncoExecutive Officer (pictured onthe extreme right), was proudto present the one-gallonblood donor group of civilian employees and Navypersonnel from Glynco inApril 1970. Photo courtesy of Commander Al Ufer.

project glynco

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