by Tom Page

My "favorite" anecdote is documented in "My First Four Days at North Truro AFS, MA." That short narrative, among other things, relates my first meeting with one SSgt B. at the GATR Site. That same SSgt B. is the subject of this anecdote, too. This story took place in early 1980.

First of all, let me say that SSgt B. was a really nice guy and an excellent radio repairman. However, he also had more than his share of bad luck, much of which involved his first wife. (They divorced several years later.) In SSgt B.`s own words, his first wife was "the town whore" when he met her. Nonetheless, he was enamored with the idea of getting married, so he did his best to ignore her past and to make the marriage work. Unfortunately, some things and some people never change, and some things in life simply are not meant to be.

While the couple was at North Truro AFS, the wife (D.) had an affair with a certain SrA W. The affair was common knowledge around the station, much to SSgt. B.`s chagrin. That was bad enough; however, D. was also financially irresponsible, and ran up huge telephone bills with frequent and lengthy long-distance calls to her mother back in Ohio. SSgt B. was unable to pay those bills, so their phone service was terminated. Soon after, the couple then separated, and thus had to give up their assigned on-site housing unit.

After some time had passed, though, D. tired of SrA W., and she decided to end the affair. (In fact, on a trip to Ohio to visit her mother, SrA W. jumped into the car and went along uninvited. On the return trip, D. then stranded him at a rest stop near the Pennsylvania-New York state line. A friend of SrA W. then graciously agreed to drive all the way from North Truro AFS on Cape Cod to pick up SrA W., then drive all the way back.) Anyway, D. and SSgt B. reconciled and got back together. However, no houses were available in the on-site housing area, so they had to rent a small house in nearby Wellfleet. With money tight, they could barely afford the rent and the basic utilities, and could not afford a telephone because of the previous unpaid bills.

Now, not having a telephone made things interesting when it was SSgt B.`s turn to pull weekend standby for the GATR Site. SSgt B. reportedly made an agreement with his landlord, who resided next door, to accept phone calls in an emergency, and let SSgt B. know. Well, that sounded good on paper.

Late one Saturday night (technically Sunday morning), around 1:30 A.M. or so, the 21st Air Division SAGE computer, both strings, at Hancock Field, went down. When that occurred, the neighboring SAGE control centers like Fort Lee AFS would do an "expansion," and the telephone lines carrying radar data and radio links would have to be dialed up to the alternate control center. Our on-duty Operations NCO handled the radar data lines, but the GATR standby technician had to physically go out to the GATR Site to make the radio connections via the patch panel.

The on-duty Operations NCO then called the phone number for the on-call GATR troop which just happened to be SSgt B. that weekend. The landlord answered the phone. However, when the Operations NCO told him he needed to contact SSgt B. for official military business, the landlord replied with, "It`s too f***ing late!," and slammed down the phone. Our Operations NCO tried again, stating it was "an emergency," but got the same response – followed by a very stern, "Don`t call here again!" So, our Operations NCO tried calling the other assigned GATR personnel, but – through shear coincidence – all others were out of town that weekend. Not knowing what else to do, the Operations NCO called me (as I was the C-E-M Maintenance Supervisor), and asked me if I could contact SSgt B. Well, I had no idea where SSgt B. lived. No idea at all. Nonetheless, I told the Operations NCO I`d see what I could do.

I pondered this situation for a few minutes. It was now some time around 1:45 A.M. or so, and I had been sound asleep. What to do? What to do? Then it came to me. If anyone on site knew where SSgt B. and his wife lived, it would be SrA W.! Yes, their affair had ended, but I was betting SrA W. would still know where she lived. So I went over to the Airmen`s barracks, and asked around where to find SrA. W.`s room. (Several troops were still awake.) I was told where the room was, so I went there and knocked on the door. Luck was with me, as SrA W. was there and was still awake (he had just gotten off swing shift from the Power Plant). I told him that I needed to go to SSgt B.`s place, and asked him if he knew where it was. SrA said, "Yes, he knew where they lived," and said he`d give me directions. I said, "I don`t have time; you are coming with me." SrA W. seemed startled by this, but complied. So, we went over to Operations, got a squadron car, and headed down to Wellfleet. Sure enough, SrA W. knew exactly where to go. By now, it was after 2:00 A.M. I knocked loudly on the door, but got no answer. I knocked as loudly as I could for almost a minute, and finally got a response. "Who is it?!" SSgt B. shouted angrily. "It`s Captain Page. There`s an expansion, and you`re needed at the GATR Site right away!" The door then opened slowly, and SSgt B. said, "Okay, okay, I`m coming. Let me grab my clothes and boots." I shouted back, "Just grab your clothes; you can put on your boots in the car."

So, SSgt B. came out, quite bit groggy. Then he spotted SrA W. "What`s he doing here?!!" "He was the only person who knew how to find your house," I explained. "Well, all you had to do was call my landlord." I then told SSgt B. how well that had worked.

Neither guy spoke to or acknowledged the other the whole way back to the station. We dropped SrA W. off at the main site, then headed down to the GATR Site. I dropped SSgt B. off at the GATR Site gate, and told him I was going back to the BOQ and back to bed, and to call Operations for a ride home when the expansion was over. However, as I began driving down the hill, I looked in the rearview mirror only to see SSgt B. running after me, waving his arms wildly. It seems that when he called Operations to silence the gate alarm, SSgt B. was told that the expansion was over; 21st AD was back on line. So, I had to drive SSgt B. all the way back to his house in Wellfleet, then drive back to the main station. By the time I got back to bed, it was going on 3:00 A.M or so. I was just a little peeved by all this.

First thing Monday morning, the C-E-M Maintenance Superintendent and I headed for the GATR Site. I was determined that this situation would not happen again. Since SSgt B.`s landlord had proved he was not a reliable means of communication, and SSgt B. could not have his own telephone, we gave the GATR Site supervisor (MSgt R.) two basic choices: either SSgt B. would have to pull his standby duty in the barracks (so he could be contacted when needed), or the other assigned GATR troops – including MSgt R. – would have to pull all the standby duty. That was met with a, "That`s not fair. We only have three guys who can pull standby. Without SSgt B, that would leave only two. And, based on recent history, SSgt B. can`t leave his wife alone." My response? "That`s not my problem. But if I get awakened in the early morning again, you`re going to have a much more-serious problem! So, it`s your choice. Whatever you decide, the standby person must be able to be contacted. Is that clear?" The GATR NCOIC`s only response was, "Yes sir. I understand." So, the GATR NCOIC contacted the 1st Sgt and arranged a room in the NCO Barracks for SSgt B. when it was his turn to pull standby. There was no recurrence of the problem.

SSgt B. remains one of my favorite people. We occasionally exchange e-mail. He still works for the Air Force, now as a civilian. Several years after their divorce, his first wife died of complications from diabetes. SSgt B. is now happily married to his second wife, and now has a grandchild. Some memories are good, some are bad. That night at the GATR Site, well that was just interesting. It`s one of those events that I will always remember.