Military Biographies of EB-66 Personnel

I was a crew chief on the B66B version from 1957 until 1961 while stationed at Hurlburt Field Florida in the 37th Bomb Squadron, 17th Bomb Wing, 9th Air Force. In 1958 the 34th, 37th and 95th Bomb Squadrons left Hurlburt and moved to RAF Alconbury and RAF Schulthorpe, England. Later during that assignment the personnel obtained top secret clearance for the assigned mission. One does not ever see the data and history which developed during the 1958 to 1961 assignments of the B66B in England. The 37th Bomb Squadron became the 86th Bomb Squadron, the 34th became the 84th and the 95th became the 85th, but you see nothing mentioned or noted on these squadrons. (Click on underlined text above for more information about these units.)

Do you have knowledge of the units during that time frame and do you know the mission at the time (1958-1961)? As far as we knew there were no other units operating with the B66 Bomber version during that time frame. Of course, there were RB66 versions elsewhere. I was also a crew chief on the newly equipped ECM version in which the guns on the tail were removed and the ECM equipment installed in Mobile, Alabama during 1959 or early 1960. I retired in 1973 as a MSgt and reside in Panama City, Florida. I have lots of knowledge about what went on concerning the aircraft, but the mission was considered top secret. Needless to say...loved the aircraft then and still do today.

I also served in Vietnam in 66 and 67 in maintenance control for F-4C's. I did not enjoy that as much as I did with the B66B squadrons.

After retiring from the USAF in 1973 I became a law enforcement officer in Bay County, Florida and served active duty for fifteen years. I started in corrections, moved to patrol and was promoted Sergeant and Lieutenant. In 1987 I was promoted Captain and served as the Chief of Administration, Bay County Sheriff's Department, Panama City, Florida. During that time I attended and graduated from Gulf Coast Community College (Panama City) earning an AS degree in law enforcement science. I also graduated from the University of West Florida (Pensacola) earning a BA in Criminal Justice. I left active duty law enforcement and became an academy colonel and the Director, Criminal Justice Training Academy (A Florida Department of Law Enforcement authorized academy) where I remained for eleven years. During this time frame I served as captain and commander of a law enforcement reserve and later a member of a sheriff's auxiliary program. Upon completing twenty-six years of service I retired from Gulf Coast Community College, State of Florida Retirement System. Florida retirement covers all sheriff's and community colleges in Florida. After a total of forty-six years service I became a private investigator and I now own a fully licensed private investigative agency known as American Gray Fox, Inc.

Thomas R. Larimer

I just saw the B-66 aircrew list for the first time. That's quite a list you've compiled. Brings back a lot of memories. I was in the EB/WB in the 9th TRS for just about two years -- July '60 to Aug '62. I was a navigator crewed with Jess Kendler at first, then Chuck Dodd.

I went to Wiesbaden in '62 and to the 12th AF IG team in Waco, TX in '65. 12th AF relocated to Bergstrom AFB (Austin) in '68. In '69, I went through the RF-4C RTU at Bergstrom and went to SEA in '70 at Udorn, Thailand. After that I returned to Shaw as an IN in the RTU and an instructor in the Recce Academics School. I transferred to W-PAFB in '75 and was a finance guy in a SPO. After three years, I went back to Shaw to requalify in the RF-4 and went to Zweibrucken AB, FRG.
I retired as an O-4 in August '80.

Jan and I live in Bellbrook, Ohio, about ten miles south of Wright-Patterson AFB. Our main hobby is sailing our MacGregor 26 sailboat on the Great Lakes.

George Thatcher

I was a '66 pilot, training at Shaw in early 1969, Takhli from July '69 to June '70. I had enlisted in the AF in November '51, served five years in the ranks. OCS Class 57-B, took a one-year assignment as a GCI intercept director while waiting for pilot training class 60-H to open. After graduation, took a B-52 assignment, flew as copilot, A/C and instructor, Arc-Light tours in '65-66, then volunteered for the '66. Manned the command post while flying the regular rotation, did the same for SAC after returning from Takhli, retired (O-4) in December '71.

Post-retirement, attended college for Bachelors and Masters degrees, trained as urban planner but sold real estate instead for several years. Got the itch to become a teacher, retrained in foreign languages (German, Spanish). After a couple of years in the public school classroom, was accepted as a doctoral fellow in Bilingual Education, obtained the doctorate at Texas Tech. Returned to TTU after several years at other institutions, employed here the past three years as professor of Bilingual/Multicultural Education. We're planning to semi-retire after this year and relocate to Pensacola, FL. We'll continue teaching part-time for a university that serves military installations (S. Illinois U.), and I'll also be a docent for the Naval Air Museum at NAS Pensacola.

We're continually thankful that we've been given good health, which we take as our "message from on high" to stay active in the education profession. My wife, Jean, has been an educator at all levels for over 40 years, and she remains my mentor and muse on all things pedagogical.

George Werth

My first job, right out of the U of Wisconsin-Madison, was with Douglas Aircraft at Long Beach, CA. One of my first assignments was the Design & Testing of the Engine Inlet Ice Protection. The test was accomplished on the summit of Mount Washington, in New Hampshire, during the month of December of 1955. The Air Force also asked that I test the operation of an Ice Detector; it was mounted on the Engine Air Inlet. Both worked, as advertised, during the test period. Later on, I was assigned the task of mounting an Air Inlet that provided Fuselage Boundary Airflow to dispense the Aluminum Chaff particles from the Chaff Dispenser at the tail of the aircraft.
I was employed at Douglas Aircraft from FEB 54 to SEP 59. At that time I joined Lockheed Missiles & Space Company in Sunnyvale, CA. During that time I became very familiar with the B-66 airplane. One advantage of working in the Thermodynamics Division was that our Subsystems were
located all over the airplane from the Nose Radome to the Chaff Dispenser in the tail and from wing-tip to wing-tip. I have many fond memories of helping engineer and testing
all versions of the B-66. George R. Werth, Sunnyvale, CA <GeorgeRatWerth@cs.com>

I was assigned to the 16th TRS at Shaw AFB, SC in June 1957 as an Aircraft Radion Repairman. Then moved to the 363rd A&E Sq. in Feb 1958. I went with the 363rd on TDY in June 1958 to Turkey. I remained in the 363rd A&E Sq. until July 1961 working on the RB-66 Aircraft of the 9th and the 16th Sq. Went TDY many times to support the WB-66D Aircraft as they flew weather missions for the fighter aircraft movinig across the Atlantic. Donald Haskett <a13don@bellsouth.net> Biloxi, MS USA

I joined the 12th TAC in Oct 56 before the arrival of the new aircraft. While waiting for the B-66's to arrive I spent most of my time giving jet checkouts in the T-bird to RB-26 pilots arriving from Itami. I became an RB-66 instructor and was later the "seeing eye" Lt. for Col Thacker, the new Wing DO. My gunner was Jack Legault who I previously knew from my B-29 Tow Target days at Randolph and Tyndall. My Navigator was Jerry Campaign who became a life long friend until his death in SEA when the wing peeled off a B-26 on his first mission.

About the time I was due to rotate back to the States, I wrangled an RF-101 assignment with the 15th TACat Kadena. I went from there to Shaw in the 20th Tac. Couldn't seem to get out of Recce (had even been an RB-36 tail gunner before going to cadets). Was in the 30th Tac at Alconbury and the 11th at Udorn. Also the Recce shop at TAC and the Joing Recce Center at Stuttgart. Much later became the 16th Tac squadron commander and Wing ADO in the RF-4. Also was the Director of Reconnaissance at TAWC before retiring as the Vice Comander in Panama in 1979.

If you remember Jack Legault and have a current contact address/number, please pass it on.

Robert H. "Bob" Mearns

Assigned 42TRS; 10thTRW from March 1959 through June 1961. Spangdahlem and RAF Chelveston, UK Assistant Crew Chief; Crew Chief, Flying CC? ECM Operator. A couple of pilots names that are missing are "Red - Dog" Pachura and Everett Ruble. Ev Ruble later surfaced in C-130 Safety atNellis AFB. I crossed trails briefly with him in that capacity while stationed in Alaska. After I left the $2nd; I was out for 10 months and re-enlisted inMarch 1962. I went to Sewart AFB initially and eventually woung up a Flight Engineer on the C130 A,B, D, D-6,and E aircraft at Sewart, Forbes, and Elmendorf. When I left Alaska in the summer of 1972; I went to Keesler and cross -trained into computer maintenance.From Keesler I went to Carswell @Ft. Worth,Tx and retired from active duty August of 1978. I went to work for General Dynamics / Lockheed where I'm currently employed and not too distant from retiring from Lockheed having just celebrated my 65th birthday. Super glad to see Charles E. "Skip" Jones made General. He should have made 5 star. Sure hope to see him in Dayton. He was a great friend and boss.

Robert H. "Bob" Mearns <rhmearnssr@earthlink.net>
Granbury, Tx USA - Monday, June 09, 2003 at 21:03:23 (EDT)