Drinking water laced with high levels of poisonous chemicals may be to blame for cancer and other chronic disease among veterans and families who lived at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in northern Michigan, according to a new federal health report draft. After being relieved, the flight crew had until the following Monday morningoff. . The 379th was reassigned to Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan without personnel or equipment in January 1961, assuming the aircraft, personnel and equipment of the discontinued 4026th Strategic Wing. Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Mich., served primarily as a combat crew and bomber training base throughout its 70-year history. One of these men were named Lt. Ennis Whitehead. Why are you focusing only on chlordane and other organochlorine pesticide (OCP) contamination at the Family Housing? Student projects from Michigan Tech's SS3505 Military History of the United States, on the people, places, and objects involving our military history in the upper Great Lakes region, Wurtsmith Air Force Base has been an integral part of the United States Air Force from the 1920s to June 3rd 1993. [1] The KC-135s had many more opportunities to travel because they would fly in support of any craft capable of refueling in flight. Report also stated that the Oscoda Michigan gunnery field was very rough and sandy and notoriously hard on wheels, landing gears etc. On January 18, 1994 it was listed as a Superfund due to extensive groundwater contamination with heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethylene, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane . 1946. I have also read about the PFAS via fire retardant foam. The base came to be because of chance. The site of Wurtsmith Air Force Base is located 2 miles Northwest of Oscoda, Michigan, about 150 miles North of Detroit. By Steve Elliott 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs. They included chemicals like MEK, PD 680, TRI CHLOROFLOIANS, ACIDS, ALODIANS, ALL KINDS OF PAINTS, SPECIAL MISSILE SKIN REPAIR KITS. This lead to Wurtsmith transferring to Air Combat Command control, and then on June 30th 1993, Wurtsmith Air Force Base closed. [1] This meant that they could be flying a mission supporting a fighter squadron in Iraq, then be redirected to refuel a bomber squadron over Saudi Arabia, then fly back to Spain to land. But these days, the county is becoming a haven for retired people such as the Kuhlmans . The Wurtsmith Air Force Base, created in 1923, played a large role in WWII. The museum's exhibits are extensive and incredibly high-quality -- including several aircraft that can be examined up . It was renamed Camp Skeel in 1924, for the World War I Pilot Captain Burt E. Skeel, and was used as an aerial gunnery range and for winter maneuvers 1924 through 1944 by the 1st Pursuit . It was also possible for these missions to originate in the United States. [5] The 379th Bomb Wing immediately continued the 4026th, During the Pacific conflicts personnel and the KC-135, Stratotankers were deployed to forward bases in the Pacific to support land, operations. These bases were, responsible for a housing a Ready Alert Nuclear Strike Force. According to Robert Delaney, a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality specialist, If you pull the water out of the ground in that training area, it still foams, theres so much in there. Since this entire problem stems from the fact that the foam used to extinguish fires on the base is what carried the toxic chemical, that goes to show just how invasive and problematic this contamination can be. Because of the restriction of being close to the Christmas tree they, resorted to playing cards, working out, reading, and sleeping while they were, not conducting recurrent training to stay up to date and proficient on their, equipment. [4] Enchanted Forest Web Page Design Service. [1] This meant that they could be flying a mission supporting a fighter squadron in Iraq, then be redirected to refuel a bomber squadron over Saudi Arabia, then fly back to Spain to land. The single officers who lived on base lived in a dorm type building. The sources Im using include The Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFRA); Photo collections from Wurtsmith Museum; Photo collections from Selfridge Museum, Selfridge AFB Historical files; and Aircraft Accident Reports. Even after the base closed in 1993, the base maintained a fire staff for many years. At this time Wurtsmith Air Force Base was still part of the, Strategic Air Commands bomber fleet. TCE in another well on Jet Street near the present day Wurtsmith AFB museum was 1,739-ppb. Located in Oscoda, Michigan this base is positioned no more than two miles off the shore of Lake Huron. However, the P-6 differed from the P-1 in having its fuselage rounded out to match the fatter engine cowling required by the Conqueror engine. This is heinous, and my heart goes out to so many. This weapon system used some hazardous and a lot of special chemicals to support it. All kind of special chemicals that Boeing told the USAF we had to have. 2 talking about this. My son, was born on the base, has a malformed aorta and congenital nerve damage hearing loss. The Bell P-39 Airacobra was not the best fighter aircraft of WWII, but it was the only fighter available in quantity during the first six months of the war. There were frequently extremely large and loud airplanes taxiing, taking off, and landing in the base. Chanute Air Force base, Illinois. He flew from Dayton, Ohio to Washington, D.C. at a speed of approximately 266 mph, at an altitude of 25,000 ft. The B-52 is being serviced under the Strategic Air Command Recovery Oriented Aircraft Maintenance (ROAM) system. I saw a big splash, and then the plane went out of sight.. [ July 4, 2018 ] Grissom Air Force Base, ID Air Force [ May 28, 2018 ] March Air Force Base, CA Air Force [ February 17, 2018 ] Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Navy [ November 5, 2017 ] Fort William D. Davis , Panama Army [ August 28, 2017 ] Naval Air Station Alameda, CA Navy [ March 19, 2016 ] Wurtsmith Air Force Base, MI Air Force [ June 2 . [1] This tight knit community was not confined to just the Air Force Base, but extended into the community as well. Veteran Compensation Programs. [1] This meant that there was always at least threeB-52s armed with nuclear bombs, ready to take off at a moments notice. The cockpit was fairly easy to enter and exit, but the doors had a tendency to fly open in midair at high speed if improperly secured. At the start of 1985, Wurtsmith maintained an $80 million annual payroll with 3,600 military and civilian personnel. Aircraft upper wing, left lower wing, rudder and propeller damaged. It is one of the most famous bases located in our state. For more information regarding services offered by the Lackland Air Force Base Education Center, call 210-671-2895 or DSN 473-2895. . At the time, George was a hub of F-4 Phantom fighter jets and OV-10 Bronco reconnaissance planes. The Air Force's decline to commit to Michigan's standards is among a litany of frustrations Oscoda residents say they have . Engine not damaged. The KC-135s would finish one mission and there would be another one waiting for them as soon as they were available. [1] As soon as the wheels touched down the clock would be reset and they could be sent out on another assignment. March 7, 1942: The first class of Tuskegee Airmen graduate from U.S. Army Air Force Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama. It has found from testing this area that some places to have over 1000 parts-per-trillion for PFOS and PFOA. Its poor high-altitude performance was a result of a critical decision to remove the turbo-supercharger. Residents of the Oscoda area raised $600 to clear 40 acres of land next to the lake as a spot for a training camp and target range. Most individuals are not educated on what the base did before and after World War II, what is currently happening at this location, or how the historical space is impacting the land and local citizens today. Photos of P-47s flown by French Pilots at Oscoda. There were also problems with the complex nose-mounted reduction gear, which caused reliability problems and resulted in fairly low serviceability rates as compared with other fighters. Weights were 2450 lb. [1] This was further broken down by marital status. In 1932, Capt. As seen, in the picture of the runways, there is a Christmas tree coming off of the, beginning of the runway with a building next to it. The P-47 Thunderbolt fighter and fighter-bomber was used by the Allied air forces during World War II. Veteran Compensation Programs (USVCP) (www.veteranprograms.com), and any of their associated websites is for general informational. [4] In the lateryears of World War II Wurtsmith Air Force Base was used as a fighter-interceptor training base and housed the 332d fighter group, which was part of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. [1], These KC-135s were necessary because the B-52 could not take off with both a, full load of ordnance and a full tank of gas.[1]. [1], The usefulness and mission type of the KC-135 in maintaining air superiority, as well as supporting missions originating in the United States meant that they would have longer assignments, as well as much more fluid assignments than other types of squadrons. She has all kinds of problems, my ex died of cancer and I have all kinds of problems. To all who are interested in the Camp Skeel/Oscoda AAF/Wurtsmith AFB History. [1] On the first Wednesday the, fresh flight crew would relive the current flight crew in the bunkers. He brought this idea to the attention of his squadron commander Major Carl Spaatz. There were four planes, and I was watching them from our front window, as I usually do when theyre engaged in gunnery practice. I worked on the flight line. City Picto Map, Clark Air Base / Angeles City. This remoteness of Wurtsmith Air Force Base, as well as common brotherhood of being in the United States Air Force resulted in a tight knit community formed by the airmen and their families. Lee N. 2023 Aspyre Media Group, LLC. 1944 -- Maj. Gen. Paul B. Wurtsmith, born in Detroit in 1906, led U. S. Army Air Corps training flights to Camp Skeel near Oscoda prior to World War II. While the vast majority of personnel on Wurtsmith Air, Force Base were not part of a flight crew rotating through ready alert, their, respective jobs all served to ensure those planes could take off at a moments, notice. [3], [1] Dave Norton, Former United States Air Force Captain, interviewed on 23 OCT 2017, [2] Ap. The Lackland Air Force Base Education Center is located at 1550 Wurtsmith Street, Suite 5. . The runways were aligned NE/SW, E/W, and NW/SE. Heavily armed with eight wing-mounted 0.50-inch (12.7-mm) machine guns, it could carry a bomb load of as much as 2,500 pounds (1,100 kg) and could carry ten 5-inch (127-mm) rockets beneath the wings. In July 2018 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), set the table for Congress to consider legislation that would force the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to extend health benefits to base veterans without making them prove their illnesses are linked to chemical exposure. [5] While the 379th, Bomb Wing was stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base they were part of the Ready, Alert Nuclear Strike Force. Ruben C. Moffat flew a P-6 converted with a supercharged Conqueror engine on a record-breaking flight. Im using a combination of several source materials to tell the history of the area. The armament of the P-1 was a pair of 0.30 cal machine guns mounted in the upper fuselage decking inside the V-cylinder blocks and synchronized to fire through the propeller arc. The Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12 engine behind the pilots seat drove the propeller by means of a driveshaft mounted under the pilots seat. It has recently been discovered that that the base has been leaking chemicals into the surrounding waterways. As a young airman, assumed we were returning the stuff to supply to send to the next base. These, planes would regularly fly missions from Wurtsmith Air Force Base during the, The 379th Bomb Wing moved to Wurtsmith Air Force Base in June of, 19661. According to the Air Force's account, in October 1977, a Wurtsmith base housing resident complained about a peculiar odor and taste in the drinking water. I was shocked when we drove to a wooded area not far from bomber alert pad and WSA up the road of the k9 area where a bull dozed had dug a large trench and we were ordered to dump the shit. It is perhaps the best-known of all the between wars Army pursuits. Wurtsmith AFB has a better paper trail showing irrefutable evidence of contamination of the base drinking water with Trichloroethelene (TCE) first discovered in 1977 as a result of a complaint from a base housing resident. Mr. Norton would occasionally return to fresh fish left by his neighbor on his porch. The base was put into a standby status to be there just in case something happened in those areas. For example a KC-135 could take off from Wurtsmith Air Force Base, fly across the Pacific Ocean, land in Spain, have the flight crew be relieved by a fresh crew, fly into theater, complete the mission and return to Spain, where the original crew would be rested and ready to fly the KC-135 back to Wurtsmith Air Force Base. This meant that Wurtsmith Air Force Base was essentially a self-contained airport with all of the necessities to support a full community on Base. The story stated Moody and three other pilots were taking gunnery practice about three miles north of Port Huron. (Superstorm) Sandy came along (in October) and moved things around, David Losinski said. I was stationed there from 11/84-1989. The intent is to create a self-help registry for those who were harmed by the extremely toxic organochlorine pesticide contamination detected at Military Family Housing. Home Buyers Guide; Find a Real Estate Agent; Price: $299,000. It was built out of a portion of the decommissioned Wurtsmith Air Force Base which housed nuclear armed B-52 Stratofortress bombers during the Cold War as well as air refueling squadrons. ROME, N.Y. -- There was nothing small-scale about Griffiss Air Force Base in the 1990s. It has been discovered that the chemicals that are impacting the health of these local citizens are chemicals that come from the foam that fire fighters used to put out fires that were on the base. A sand and gravel aquifer of glacial origin underlies Wurtsmith Air Force Base in northeastern lower Michigan. One of the unfortunate risks in flying is a crash. 1970 - The Air Force knew that some of the Webb Air Force Base Family Housing units, located in Big Spring Texas, were contaminated with and the occupants exposed to a large quantity of chlordane. We didnt know really what we had.. In a fly off against the contemporary Boeing P-12B, the P-6E was faster, but the P-12B was more maneuverable. [5] The 379th flew with a Triangle K tail flash to continue thetradition from their World War II counterparts. Student projects from Michigan Tech's SS3505 Military History of the United States, on the people, places, and objects involving our military history in the upper Great Lakes region. The Strategic Air Command activated a wing there on August 1, 1958. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. There are many historical planes you can visit as well as other interesting pieces of history that the public may view. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is said to have originally started with a fishing trip between two men. The result was an airplane which had a much deeper and broader fuselage than did the P-1. There is a lot of open runways still today that can be rented out for a multitude of events. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in Iosco County, Michigan.It operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. I do hope there is information on Wurtsmith AFB soon. In 1977 the 379th Bomb Wing upgraded the B-52H fleet to B-52Gaircraft. It was also possible for these missions to originate in the United States. During the Gulf War these planes were run practically 24/7, landing only to swap flight crews to meet the flight crew rest requirements. Download Images of Wurtsmith air force base - Free for commercial use, no attribution required. Over the course of Mr. Nortons career as both a KC-135 Navigatorand a DC-10 Pilot, Mr. Norton served as a flight commander, served numerousdeployments during the Gulf War escorting fighter squadrons from the UnitedStates into theater, supporting fighter squadrons and bomber squadrons intheater, served multiple temporary duty assignments to England, Spain, SaudiArabia, Alaska, and other Air Force Bases around the globe. It still haunts me today that we had to do that and were told to just follow orders. The chemicals, notably benzene and trichloroethylene (TCE), were documented at extremely high levels in Wurstmith AFB water many times when the former Strategic Air Command (SAC) base was active and home to B-52 Bomber Wings. [1] At some point over the week an alarm would sound, signaling to the flight crew that the B-52s had to be in the air. A new report compiled by a local group, Need Our Water (NOW) and the National Wildlife Federation . The Losinskis said they want to preserve the site for people to dive on. By comparing the concentrations of known fluorosurfactants with the total organofluorine, less than 10% of the fluorosurfactants were identified in half of the samples. The main mission of Oscoda Army Air Field, at the time, was to defend Sault Ste. Paul B. Wurtsmith Air Force Base closed in 1993, dealing a sharp blow to the economy of rural Iosco County. At the time, it was considered a vital Air Defense Command base and was equipped and manned with interceptor aircraft capable of flying over the North Pole into the Soviet Union. The base is influential in Michigan, as well as the United States military history. The study doesn't estimate past concentrations or exposure dosage and was released with . Wurtsmith Air Force base was one of fivenorthern tier bases in the Strategic Air Commands arsenal. Wurtsmith Air Force Base. A Brief History of Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan, www.wurtsmithairmuseum.org/Wurtsmith_AFB/wurtsmith_afb.html. The EPA began requiring public water systems to monitor for PFOA and PFOS in 2012, but even today there is no federal drinking water standards for PFOA or PFOS. .. did this bill die in the committee s? In a nutshell, this is what were trying to do get permission to relocate the parts so they would resemble a plane, David Losinski said. I served at Wursmith AFB from 1982 to 1989, living in base housing the entire time and drinking the water. [1] This meant that there was always at least three, B-52s armed with nuclear bombs, ready to take off at a moments notice. Representatives Dan Kildee (MI-05) and Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) today urged the U.S. Air Force to take more significant steps to address PFAS contamination around the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscoda. Kelly mentioned she'd been thinking about getting . Mr. Norton experienced this first hand while being station at Wurtsmith Air Force Base when he had his Squadron Commander help him hang drywall in his house. A series of stringers were added to the fuselage sides to round out the cross section. Our biodegradation . P-6E, serial number 32-156, 17th Pursuit Squadron from Selfridge Field Michigan. The aquifer overlies a thick clay layer at an average depth of 65 feet. With all of this in a single family, the V.A. [5] In recent years groundwater contamination has be linked to jet fuel, cleaning agents, and fire suppression agents used at Wurtsmith Air Force Base. U.S. [5] The B-52s did not get to travel nearly as much as the KC-135s. Marie and the straights of Mackinac. The human-made chemicals are in your blood, your clothes, your cosmetics. These are simply the specific . This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The P-47D, in general service by the spring of 1944, had a maximum speed of 440 miles (700 km) per hour and a ceiling of 40,000 feet (12,200 meters). Smoke started coming from the tail of the second plane, and I could see it was in trouble. [1], The northern tier Strategic Air Command Ready Alert Strike Force bases were considered less than desirable duty stations for one main reason. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Many tests have been done to see the extent to which the contamination is harming the citizens residing in the area. [1] Mr. Norton, arrived fresh from navigation school as a 2nd Lieutenant at Wurtsmith Air Force, Base in the fall of 1985. Click on a marker for base information. . This building was like the barracks, but each officer had his own room. The base was first named after Capt. They took a photo on April 11, from the surface of Lake Huron, of the wing of a Wold War II-era fighter plane that crashed during a training exercise, killing its pilot. Aircraft rolled 630 feet before nosing over. There is an ongoing project to decontaminate the area. At this time Wurtsmith Air Force Base was still part of theStrategic Air Commands bomber fleet. My wife has breast cancer, and Hashimoto's Disease (auto immune), I had a double mastectomy to remove growths, hormone issues, kidney scaring liver lesions, lumps in both lungs, sleep APNEA, sudden onset Headaches, unexplained stress attacks, to name a few. It is one of the most famous bases located in our state. A bomber squadron for example would be sent out to destroy a target and return to its home base within a week. What's next? In 1977 the 379th Bomb Wing upgraded the B-52H fleet to B-52G, During the Gulf War B-52s from Wurtsmith Air Force Base were flown. It was formed on 1 August 1961 to merge the 3908th Strategic Standardization Group for SAC aircrew evaluation with the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group that had originated from the 263rd Army Air Force Base Unit which transferred from 15th AF to directly under Strategic Air Command c. Learn how your comment data is processed. I was stationed there 1978 -81 lived on base they never told us about the water being contaminated . [1], As new technologies and mission goals evolved with time the need for the Strategic Air Commands need for the northern tier became obsolete.