They very well might have saved us from having World War 3. That is by the way the meaning of those men assigned to this very top secret mission of spy planes. Many people don’t realize that, but back in those times all of us kids were practicing ducking under our school desks because of the very real possibility of a nuclear war with the Russians. It was very dangerous times back then. We needed information on the logistics of the Russian capabilities of delivering nuclear missiles to the USA. We got it from some of the activities done by these brave men. We owe them a deep debt of gratitude for finding out that the Russian threat back then was only problematical. A war diverted and many lives saved. I happen to lived next to an engineer that helped design the engines for this super spy plane. Remember Gary Powers when he was shot down over Russia?
Richard
It is my sad duty to report the final flight of another of our Roadrunners, Lt Col Ralph William (Bill) Thomas on 8 March 2011. Lt Col Thomas was born in Council Bluffs , Iowa on September 4, 1923, the son of a Union Pacific Engineer and spend his youth working on trains throughout the Midwest. In 1942 he enlisted in the Army and became a Radioman stationed at Ft Dix. He broke his back just prior to shipping out or he would have been in D-Day as as part of the 27th Division. After the war he returned to collage, went into the Air Force where he served for over 30 years as Meteorologist . Thomas' duty Assignments included Harmon AFB, Newfoundland Canada - Langley AFB, Va. - Ramstien AB, Germany - Offutt AFB (SAC HQ) Neb. - Nellis AFB, Nevada (1129th Det 1 3rd Wx /CC Kadena AB, Okinawa Commander Det 6, 20th Wx - and Peterson Field, Co. Norad IG Team. He retired in 1974 and moved to Las Vegas where he remained until 2008 when his darling wife Ruth died and he was moved to Santa Clarita , Ca to be near his only child, Ronald. Bill died on March 8th at 2221, peacefully. His most remembered times were spent at the Ranch and though he only spoke of it briefly in later years with his son Ron, who was working at the Ranch for Lockheed, it was always will warmth and pride for the job and the people.
Thomas, while a USAF Major was assigned to the Air Force 1129th SAS contingent at Groom Lake, Nevada during the CIA Project Oxcart. Project OXCART was the building of a Mach 3+ plane capable of flying above 80,000 feet to replace the U-2 surveillance plane. Major Thomas was a member of the meteorology team at Groom Lake for the flights of the A-12 and the F-101 VooDoo support planes. Major Thomas deployed to Kadena, Okinawa during Operation Black Shield, the operational phase of Project OXCART where the A-12 flew sorties over North Vietnam to locate the SAM and surface to surface missiles of the enemy, and the missions over North Korea to locate the USS Pueblo seized by the North Korean navy. Major Powell resided in the Morgan Manor with the CIA project pilots and the Air Force support team, including his fellow meteorologist Weldon "Walt" King who was killed in the crash of one of the Blackshield F-101 planes. Major Thomas served with the 1129th SAS from 1965 to 1968 and shared with all Roadrunners the consideration of his time at the "Ranch" being the best years of his 30-year Air Force career. Colonel Thomas is survived by a son, Ron, who followed his footsteps 20 plus years later to work at the Ranch for Lockheed on another leading edge platform. No services are planned. RIP Bill. You served your nation well and will be missed.
Thornton D. (TD) Barnes President/Webmaster Roadrunners Internationale http://roadrunnersinternationale.com/ 468 Palegold St., Henderson, NV 89012 (702) 566-4168 "You can delegate authority but not responsibility" What did you do today for freedom?
Tags: Passing Vets
