Because Wurtsmith Air Force Base was an Air Force Base it had to have the ability to go into complete lock-down in times of emergency and still support the mission. In 2016, residents near Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Michigan discovered that the water they drank, bathed in, swam in, and fished in was contaminated with jet fuel, cancer-causing chlorinated . 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. There is a lot of open runways still today that can be rented out for a multitude of events. [4] Enchanted Forest Web Page Design Service. We thought that was kind of unbelievable.. There is an ongoing project to decontaminate the area. At this time, the camp was renamed and the airfield was under III Fighter Command jurisdiction. Aircraft upper wing, left lower wing, rudder and propeller damaged. Off Base Housing. empty, 3310 lb gross. 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 . Wurtsmith Air, Force Base was constructed with a runway layout specifically for this. The KC-135s would finish one mission and there would be another one waiting for them as soon as they were available. It had a commissary, a gas station, a hospital, housing, a bowling alley," said veteran Michael Grogan. History Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan, served primarily as a combat crew and bomber training base throughout its 70-year history. My first daughter was born there at their hospital.my ex husband now, is very sick. [2] Another unfortunate occurrence that Happened more than it should have were Court-Martials. 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. [3], www.nytimes.com/1988/10/12/us/six-are-killed-in-crash-of-an-air-force-tanker.html, www.wurtsmithairmuseum.org/Wurtsmith_AFB/wurtsmith_afb.html, www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/Wurtsmith_AFB.htm, www.strategic-air-command.com/wings/0379bw.htm, http://ss.sites.mtu.edu/mhugl/2015/10/11/wurtsmith-air-force-base/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wurtsmith_Air_Force_Base. After a trip to the Boneyard in September 2019, hundreds of current and vintage photos are being sorted, scanned and uploaded. Members of the Tuskegee Airmen, trained at Oscoda for several weeks and stayed on the base. 1946. 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. My family lived on this base in 1983 to 1987, are we at risk? It excelled in low-altitude ground support as a well-built and reliable aircraft capable of absorbing quite a bit of battle damage. 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. When the Gulf War started in 1990, the 379, Bomber Wing sent B-52s as well as their accompanying KC-135s into the Middle East. The base came to be because of chance. They have been detected in air, water, soils, sediments, and in rain at levels that would be considered unsafe in drinking . This bunker compound housed, the flight crews on ready alert, the three B-52 bombers ready to take off at a, moments notice, and the accompanying KC-135s ready to top off the B-52s after takeoff. In 1953 it was renamed Wurtsmith Air Force Base after Michigan native, Major General Paul Wurtsmith. Congress set a May 2022 deadline for the DOD to report on the cleanup status of these bases, the Filthy 50, with extremely high levels of PFAS contamination. Cindi developed hypertension and Lawrence diagnosed with lung disease. Everyone from the mechanics keeping the planes flyable, to the cookspreparing food for the airmen stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, to thecommanders who ensured that everything from the flight schedules being correctto the proper paperwork being completed to allow the missions to continue. Nothing contained herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of a competent Veteran Service Officer (VSO)in good standing and licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. [5] One crew flew 29, mission out of Jeddah, setting the record for most missions flew by a bomber, crew in theater. Because of this KC-135 squadrons would routinely fly 175 day assignments and return to their home base. All kind of special chemicals that Boeing told the USAF we had to have. At just after 10 pm on the 30 th October, on-duty personnel at Wurtsmith Air Force Base would report seeing a strange object hovering over the . distance from the bunker. 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. This is a very big issue for the people of Oscoda and the surrounding areas for obvious reasons. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in Iosco County, Michigan.It operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. The average person has around 3 or 4 parts per billion of these chemicals present in their blood. Located in Oscoda, Michigan this base is positioned no more than two miles off the shore of Lake Huron. 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 . U.S. Air Force should abide by state of Michigan's PFAS Standards, state must hold Air Force accountable. The cockpit canopy offered exceptional all-round visibility for the pilot. The human-made chemicals are in your blood, your clothes, your cosmetics. To gain a measure of the extremely high levels of contaminated drinking water, according to the ATSDR, TCE levels in a well at the corner of Arrow Street and N. Skeel Avenue were as high as 5,173 parts-per-billion (ppb) during 1977, 1978, & 1979 tests, which is more than 1,000 times the EPA's current limit of 5-ppb for TCE in drinking water. Then everything happened so fast it seems unbelievable. With all of this in a single family, the V.A. After a devastating fire in Oscoda which cleared over 600 buildings, the remaining citizens heard about the proposal to clear an area for the base. The history of Oscoda Military Aviation is the same as the History of the Air Force. WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. In 1955 Wurtsmith Air Force Base became an official permanent post in the United States Air Force, which meant that many new services were implemented on base. Heart condition, prostate cancer, diabetic, sometimes confused in making decisions. [1] Mr. Nortonarrived fresh from navigation school as a 2nd Lieutenant at Wurtsmith Air ForceBase in the fall of 1985. Lester Graham. Download Images of Wurtsmith air force base - Free for commercial use, no attribution required. There were four planes, and I was watching them from our front window, as I usually do when theyre engaged in gunnery practice. [5] The 379th flew with a Triangle K tail flash to continue the, tradition from their World War II counterparts. Wurtsmith Air Force base (Oscoda), Michigan; PFAS Water Contamination Map . All Rights Reserved. If you are interested in any particular aircraft of time period please let me know. For more information regarding services offered by the Lackland Air Force Base Education Center, call 210-671-2895 or DSN 473-2895. . 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. ircraft operated from Oscoda Army Airfield. This is a short video about the small museum located at the decommissioned Wurtsmith AFB in Oscoda Mi.http://www.rv-project.com [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. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base that was closed by the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC 2) and is a proposed EPA Superfund site. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. One of these places included directly underneath the Oscoda high school. Two years after release I started to experience very visible loss of musculature and strength. Physical Location:4071 East Van Ettan StreetOscoda, Michigan 48750, Mailing Address:PO Box 664Oscoda, Michigan 48750, Tele: (989) 739-7555(Not answered Nov-Apr)Email:email@wurtsmithairmuseum.net, AN ARTIFACT FROM WURTSMITHS COLD WAR PAST HAS RETURNED HOME, There was one final project I wanted to accomplish before departing my assignment as Flight Commander of Aircrew Flight Equipment and SERE at the. He flew from Dayton, Ohio to Washington, D.C. at a speed of approximately 266 mph, at an altitude of 25,000 ft. The Losinskis said they want to preserve the site for people to dive on. One of these men were named Lt. Ennis Whitehead. Mr. Norton would occasionally return to fresh fish left by his neighbor on his porch. Smoke started coming from the tail of the second plane, and I could see it was in trouble. More than 40 private businesses and public agencies use the former Air Force facilities and infrastructure, providing more than 1,300 jobs to the area, as well as the conversion of former base housing to 700 privately owned residential homes. As an officer Mr. Norton had to sit in on Court-Martials. Since its establishment in 1923, Wurtsmith played an important role in World War II, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, hosting the 134th Army Air Force Base Fighter Unit and 379th Bombardment Wing respectively. I kept up with all this for a while then gave up. Stay tuned for further developments. Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Mich., served primarily as a combat crew and bomber training base throughout its 70-year history. [1] This meant that there was always at least three, B-52s armed with nuclear bombs, ready to take off at a moments notice. The plane was equipped with the cannon and four .50-caliber machine guns two mounted on the wings, two more just behind the propeller and timed to fire through the spinning blades. [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. The base was first named after Capt. 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. As long as these assignments were under 180 days they were considered Temporary Duty Assignments. This article is from 2018.. Fast forward to 1992, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the US Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command. Because the Committee on Toxicology (NRC, 1979) concluded that it could not determine a level of exposure to chlordane below which there would be no biologic effect under conditions of prolonged exposure of families in military housing. The pesticide levels and CERCLA 120(h) Deed Restrictions are public information and readily available. http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/06/wurtsmith_veterans_health.html, http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/11/13/deq-we-dont-yet-know-full-extent-wurtsmith-air-base-contamination/93242484/, https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/08/18/21105/military-bases-contamination-will-affect-water-generations, http://www.wurtsmithairmuseum.org/Wurtsmith_AFB/wurtsmith_afb.html, Military History of the Upper Great Lakes. On May 9, 1961, the base took delivery of its first new Boeing B-52 H Stratofortress, The State of Michigan. The military has not begun cleanups at any of the 50 Department of Defense sites Congress has identified as highly contaminated with the "forever chemicals" known as PFAS - and it could be years before cleanups are complete. Located in Iosco County, Michigan, Wurtsmith Air Force Base operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. The brown tint is (mostly) caused by scale build up in the pipes being knocked loose. Even studies on fish have been done, where it was found that PFOA is a liver carcinogen in rainbow trout. From: Members of the ground crew move a maintenance cart into position next to a B-52 Stratofortress aircraft parked on the flight line. The married enlisted airmen who lived on base lived in a condo type set up with their family. It was also possible for these missions to originate in the United States. He saw the surrounding land and figured it would make a great place for a gunnery range. out of Prince Abdullah AB in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Debbie Stabenow (MI) and U.S. [1] While this was a relatively boring week, it was extremely stressful, because no one knew when the alarm would sound, but more importantly no one, knew if it would be a drill or not. Had some issue at Loring Maine where I was stationed from 86-88 and nothing.VA is cricket s on this Richard Stanfill, 12/5/21I was stationed there from 1982 to October of 1985 and lost my left kidney to 3rd stage clear cell carcinoma I never smoked or did drugs. This is very dear to my heart and want to get involved however I can. We make no endorsements or recommendations of any VSO, attorney, law firm, claims specialists or organization working with veterans on their service-connected claim(s). There are many people who were exposed to the Wurtsmith water that are now coming out and blaming the chemical filled drinking water for their health problems. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. Groundwater data collected in 1999 at Wurtsmith Air Force Base (Michigan), Tyndall Air Force Base (Florida) and Naval Air Station Fallon (Nevada), where PFC concentrations ranged from below detection limit to over 14,000 g/L, suggest that any military site where AFFFs have been used is likely to have a dissolved plume containing . Veterans of the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda from the 1970s, and their families who lived with them on the base, face increased risks of leukemia and other harmful effects from prolonged exposures to toxic volatile organic compounds that were in the now-shuttered base's water supply at the time, a federal health agency has found. [1], As new technologies and mission goals evolved with time the need for the Strategic Air Commands need for the northern tier became obsolete. It is perhaps the best-known of all the between wars Army pursuits. I saw a big splash, and then the plane went out of sight.. [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. At least thirty French piloted P-47 aircraft accidents were reported at Oscoda AAF during the time period 1944-1945 and resulted in at least four pilots killed. [1], When the Gulf War started in 1990, the 379th Bomber Wing sent B-52s as well as their accompanying KC-135s into the Middle East. The majority of married enlisted and officers preferred to live on base because of the free daycare for children. U.S. In their letter, the members expressed their concerns that the Air Force's proposed remediation plan . He was stationed at the base. The gunnery range was tasked with training pilots fromSelfridge air base in the challenging maneuvers required to land a DeHavillandbiplane on the frozen lake Van Etten for the young Army Air Corps. This air field was in dire need of a gunnery range because they being forced out of their gunnery range on Lake St. Clair.

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