We had a navigator in the 822nd that was a quiet fellow, I think his last name was Robinson, but I am not sure any more. He was double E engineer by trade and a really smart one at that. After Command and Staff college he and I met up again at Hanscom Field, a Systems Command base that hosted the Electronic Systems Division. It was a pretty heady place, if you did not know a persons title it was safe to address them as Dr. because there where so many there that your chances where better than 50-50 you where right. Any how he was the inventor and engineer that came up with the huge phased array HF receiving antennas that some of you may have seen at remote places Scotland, The Philippines, Turkey, and other places encircling the USSR during the cold war. They were huge circular arrays that would listen on various HF frequencies and could amplify the signal and sense the direction it had came from. I was totally amazed to find out that he was the primary one responsible for the whole project.

ITEK (I Took Easman Kodak) was just outside the front Gate of the base, they were the inventors of the special camera that was in the Patty Lynn B-57’s that Col Harris flew in Vietnam. The base was host to two R&D labs, Lincolin and Cambridge both way up on the ladder of advanced thinking. In fact lunches at the officers club were so interesting that it was hard to choose which conversation you wanted to join or eves drop on one at the next table. In fact that is where I learned the concept of the range gate stealer ECM equipment that we used in our ECM squadron at Otis and Westover AFB’s. Several of the EWO’s that I flew with and CWO Payne my electronics systems boss asked where I had learned about it. The conductor of the Boston Pops orchestra and I both had our Volkswagens serviced at the Bedford, MA VW dealer, one day the owner asked me to take Mr Fiedler to the O-club for lunch. Of course I did and he enjoyed one of the complimentary Manhattans or Martinis that were offered at the door. We had a nice time and he invited me to the Esplanade on the bank of the Charles river in Boston. He promised to play my favorite “76 Trombones”, I had invited all my friends and neighbors and we brought beer and blankets like every one else, then just after intermission he said ” this is for Bob” and they played ’76 Trombones ” I could not he[p my self I cried.

Then there was Lynn Bolinger that was one of the exec’s that had worked with an aero engineering professor at MIT who had been the inventor and principle engineer in the development of the Helio Courier STOL aircraft that I had flown in Thailand, I had a lot of respect for him because that airplane is truly amazing, but he was really easy to talk with and we visited several times. And there was the HAM radio club, what an amazing bunch of creative people, some were into moon bounce, in fact they used my ARC 1 VHF transceiver to make the first voice moon bounce communication between the 170+ ft dish in a swamp a few miles west of Hanscom to a similar dish in in Hawaii. I couldn’t keep track of all the things that were going on. I was just awed in admiration of all the talent surrounding me.

Yeah, you that have been around the scientific community for some time
may not be awed by the talent that exists in the world and we may not
think of the craftsmen that are doing their own thing but each one is a
contributor to the betterment of our lives and enjoyment, I should have
included the many artisans that bring us entertainment that we all enjoy.
Of course I some times disagree with some of their political views but
still they are part of what makes the world a great place to live. Any
how living in the Boston area gave me a chance to get to know some really wonderful and creative people. I am sure that those of you that have lived in California or any where near the technology centers have had a similar experience. I for one enjoy an intelligent conversation. It is
what makes our world work in spite of what our government might be trying to do…. Bob