Uncle Billy and the DEW Line

Way back in time in the years following World War Two, the U.S. and Russia changed from allies to adversaries.

The realization became clear that Russian bombers with nuclear weapons could fly across the north pole and attack the U.S. The Dew Line (Distant Early Warning) was an early warning radar system set up with overlapping coverage across Alaska, Canada and northern Greenland. At some point after that someone figured out that the Russians could still could fly around the radar network with long range bombers and attack the U.S.

For every action there is a counter-action and in 1956 extensions were  established from Alaska to Midway Island in the Pacific and Newfoundland to the Azores Islands in the Atlantic. These radar barrier defences being over ocean areas required the services of the U.S. Navy.

The navy set up new squadrons flying the EC121 Lockheed Warning Star aircraft.

These planes along with radar picket destroyers formed the barrier patrols to keep America safe from the Russian threat. In the Pacific they flew from Midway Island to Alaska 24/7/365. The aircrews were stationed at Barber’s Point Hawaii, but spent 18 days a month on Midway flying 15 plus hour flights to Alaska and back. The radar destroyers were stationed along the way so if the planes had to ditch in the ocean they could do search and rescue. I do not know which was the worst duty, flying over the frigid area near Alaska or suffering the cold on a small radar picket destroyer or the warmth of a desolate Midway Island and being stuck there 18 days a month, but the navy does what is necessary to complete the mission. Long about 1964 the navy decided they needed airborne technicians to fill all of the crews to operate the radars and communicate with the necessary air defence command should the Russians try to attack. That’s where people like me came into existence, trained for that specific mission. But then in late 1964 as we were finishing training, the Vietnam war heated up. The navy decided they needed aircraft with radar in the air overnight to protect the seventh fleet operating in the gulf of Tonkin, off Vietnam. My training class graduated in August and all but two were sent to Guam for further deployments to the Philippines and then provide night time radar coverage off the coast of Vietnam. The two who went east ended up in Rhode Island and deployed to Newfoundland to provide coverage over the frigid North Atlantic, poor guys.

And that is how uncle Billy got involved with a far east extension of the DEW line. During that time I met Doug Cullwell, Cal Potter, Dave Barth, Ken Vaughn and John Strickland, whom I still have as friends today, except for Doug who passed away a few years ago. Those were fun, exciting times which I still remember and hold dear today.