Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda Township, Mich. U.S. Department of Defense In Oscoda, authorities tracked the contamination of Van Etten Lake to Wurtsmith Air Force Base , which closed in 1993. In a nutshell, this is what were trying to do get permission to relocate the parts so they would resemble a plane, David Losinski said. [5] While the 379th, Bomb Wing was stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base they were part of the Ready, Alert Nuclear Strike Force. 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. [2] Another unfortunate occurrence that Happened more than it should have were Court-Martials. This year, we went out diving, and we could see these points of interest from the surface, Losinski said. As seen, in the picture of the runways, there is a Christmas tree coming off of the, beginning of the runway with a building next to it. Wurtsmith Air Force base (Oscoda), Michigan; PFAS Water Contamination Map . If your base is not on the map or list above, this does not mean you were not exposed to PFAS chemicals from firefighting foam. Because of this KC-135 squadrons would routinely fly 175 day assignments and return to their home base. Representatives Dan Kildee (MI-05) and Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) today urged the U.S. Air Force to take more significant steps to address PFAS contamination around the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscoda. How is it that these large and respected scientific organizations can continue to be ignored in the face of statistically overwhelming data and human impacts. These mission were into Iraq. The history of Oscoda Military Aviation is the same as the History of the Air Force. August 8, 2018. Just run the water until it clears up. Environmental groups are calling on the Air Force and the State of Michigan to get serious about cleaning up PFAS around the site of the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. [1] Wurtsmith Air Force Base was 2nd Lt. Nortons firstpermanent duty station in the United States Air Force.[1]. The Wurtsmith Air Museum is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, dedicated to preserving the history of Wurtsmith Air Force Base and aviation in Northeastern Michigan. My husband and our two children lived there from 1985-1993 I have a nerve problem my daughter has autoimmune (MS) youngest daughter has kidney problems. They are surely exposed to this chemical nearly every day, whether it be playing outside on the playground or from being exposed to the chemicals via drinking the water. Someone who works in a place that uses these chemicals and is exposed to them can have up to 100 parts per million, or 0.01%, in their blood. The B-52 is being serviced under the Strategic Air Command Recovery Oriented Aircraft Maintenance (ROAM) system. . Today, the Wurtsmith Air Force Base has a museum where you can learn about its history. A single-seat low-wing fighter developed for the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) by Republic Aviation, it was the largest single-engined piston fighter ever produced. The base became a permanent installation on January 1, 1951, when the U. S. Air Force designated it as a fighter training base for the Air Defense command. [4] Its mission was tomaintain half of the fleet on a 15 minute alert, meaning the plane could be inthe air in 15 minutes, to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet preemptive missilestrike. [1], Over the course of Mr. Nortons career as both a KC-135 Navigator, and a DC-10 Pilot, Mr. Norton served as a flight commander, served numerous, deployments during the Gulf War escorting fighter squadrons from the United, States into theater, supporting fighter squadrons and bomber squadrons in, theater, served multiple temporary duty assignments to England, Spain, Saudi, Arabia, Alaska, and other Air Force Bases around the globe. Comprehensive Base Plan, Department of the Air Force, Directorate of Engineering and Services DCS/PRE - Washington DC 1 April 1970 (revised 12 July 1978) . The 700 hp Conqueror engine was exceptionally powerful for its day, but it had many minor and some major faults which needed to be corrected. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. After being relieved, the flight crew had until the following Monday morningoff. 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 . Six Are Killed in Crash Of an Air Force Tanker. The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Oct. 1988, www.nytimes.com/1988/10/12/us/six-are-killed-in-crash-of-an-air-force-tanker.html. No injuries to the pilot. U.S. Air Force should abide by state of Michigan's PFAS Standards, state must hold Air Force accountable. Download Images of Wurtsmith air force base - Free for commercial use, no attribution required. Theseplanes would regularly fly missions from Wurtsmith Air Force Base during thecold war. There were frequently extremely large and loud airplanes taxiing, taking off, and landing in the base. The base was put into a standby status to be there just in case something happened in those areas. The 4026th was a SAC Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wing that had been organized on 1 August 1958. NPL Status: Proposed Street Address: AFBCA/DB, OSCODA, MI 54961 Congressional District: 01 EPA ID: MI5570024278 Population (within 1 mile): 101-1,000 Contaminant Information. Neither Michigan nor any U.S. officials have conducted a comprehensive study on the contaminants and pollutants under the base. Many of drums ruptured. Therefore, regardless of the location of cancer in your body, we strongly encourage you to contact our law firm if you spent time at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, either as a veteran or as a family member of one, to recover the financial compensation you are entitled to. The site of Wurtsmith Air Force Base is located 2 miles Northwest of Oscoda, Michigan, about 150 miles North of Detroit. However, the drawdown was fairly rapid after that and they were quickly replaced by P-38s, P-47s and P-51s. [3] Search Superfund Site Information. EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 28 Dec. 2016, cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0503675. This includes extra parts, munitions, fuel, and flight crews. This is a very big issue for the people of Oscoda and the surrounding areas for obvious reasons. In fact the only time B-52s would travel was for training missions, or actually delivering ordinance to its target. My mom was recently diagnosed a month ago with colon cancer and skin cancer and still being treated by a dr, my broth had sever ulcers his entire early childhood. The EPA Superfund Contaminants of Concern Update of June 3, 2016 lists all the same contaminants listed in 38-3307(7)(i) as it relates to USMC Camp Lejeune water contaminants. This gave the Army operations the opportunity to begin creating the base we know today. Call 205.328.9200 Claim Application. The Air Force says, Any aircraft before 1961, weve abandoned it.. This, flight crew would spend one week in the bunker and be confined to an undisclosed. [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. Since 1994, the Wurtsmith Air Museum has upheld the mission of preserving the history of the history of Wurtsmith Air Force Base (an integral part of the US Air Force from 1923 until 1993) and aviation in Northeast Michigan. I was born on base November 1978, and lived on base with my mom, brother born 1989 on base, and my dad, a civil engineer stationed on base until oct 1982. 1942 -- Camp Skeel is renamed Oscoda Army Air Field and becomes a P-47 fighter base. the first KC-135 in operation Southern Watch. Aircraft upper wing, left lower wing, rudder and propeller damaged. The main mission of Oscoda Army Air Field, at the time, was to defend Sault Ste. Environmental context Total organofluorine and known fluorosurfactants were quantified in 11 aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) used to extinguish fires in Ontario, Canada, and one commercial AFFF product. My wife has breast cancer, and Hashimoto's Disease (auto immune), I had a double mastectomy to remove growths, hormone issues, kidney scaring liver lesions, lumps in both lungs, sleep APNEA, sudden onset Headaches, unexplained stress attacks, to name a few. [1] Mr. Norton also landedthe first KC-135 in operation Southern Watch. Although in the past the Wurtsmith Air Force Base was extremely successful there are some prevalent issues with it today. This is heinous, and my heart goes out to so many. He said the wreckage from the plane is scattered across the lake bottom. A sand and gravel aquifer of glacial origin underlies Wurtsmith Air Force Base in northeastern lower Michigan. The landing gear was changed from rubber-block shock absorbers inside the fuselage to oleo-and-spring units mounted in the outer forward strut. He was training with fellow pilots out of what was then Selfridge Field when his plane crashed. [1], While these crews were on ready alert they did not have a whole, lot to do. After being relieved, the flight crew had until the following Monday morning, off. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The airplane operated on a flight from Oscoda Wurtsmith Airport, MI to Oscoda-Wurtsmith AFB, MI (OSC). Robert Krouse, 12/31/19Stationed at Wurtsmith AFB from 1978 to 1980 and lived in barracks. Theyve seen lots of things underwater, but the story of the P-39 fighter lost just off the Port Huron beachfront touched them. 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. Stationed there for 84-88 and am suffering with a motor neuron disease process. A ground-water divide cuts diagonally across the Base from northwest to sou I am not a doctor or attorney, and cannot give medical advice or legal advice. He brought this idea to the attention of his squadron commander Major Carl Spaatz. Kelly mentioned she'd been thinking about getting . Senator Gary Peters (MI), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today called on the Air Force to expedite PFAS cleanup efforts at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda.In a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Energy John . [2] The flight crashed at 2:20PM while returning from K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula. The study doesn't estimate past concentrations or exposure dosage and was released with . We offer visitors three hangars full of military (all branches) and aviation history, static aircraft displays, artifacts, equipment and lots of WAFB memorabilia. The water table is about 10 feet below land surface in the western part of the Base and about 25 feet below land surface in the eastern part. In 1942, three 5000x150 concrete runways were built. One of these men were named Lt. Ennis Whitehead. This happened a couple weeks before the IOC which is in the wing,ahistorical records on microfilm. It was also possible for these missions to originate in the United States. Published August 24, 2021 at 4:15 PM EDT. There are a lot of stories to tell. The 5,223-acre Wurtsmith Air Force Base (Wurtsmith AFB) is located on the northeastern part of Michigans lower peninsula. The 1st Combat Evaluation Group (initially "1CEG", later "1CEVG") was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) unit. Only after, the plains were airborne would the crew be notified if it was a drill or not.[1]. Within a few days, a mere 28 Airmen established housing for over 400 personnel, replete with . Weve done quite a bit of documenting and measuring, David Losinski said. Powerplant: 1 Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12, 1,200 hp (895 kW), Maximum speed: 376 mph (605 km/h) (Redline dive speed was 525 mph), Range: 525 miles on internal fuel (840 km). Its poor high-altitude performance was a result of a critical decision to remove the turbo-supercharger. "The Department of Defense is evaluating [cleanup standards], and we take our lead from what the Department of Defense says," said Stephen TerMaath, who leads the Air Force division in charge of Wurtsmith cleanup. I was stationed there from 11/84-1989. Veteran Compensation Programs (veteranprograms.com) assumes NO liability, and expressly disclaims any and all responsibility, for the content of all posts, surveys, topics, comments, blogs or responses. The P-39 had a unique configuration with the engine placed behind the pilot and the drive shaft running under the cockpit to the propeller. Theyre looking for other divers who can assist with the effort. There is an ongoing project to decontaminate the area. These bases wereresponsible for a housing a Ready Alert Nuclear Strike Force. Air Force Base was essentially a self-contained airport with all of the necessities to support a full community on Base. The intent is to create a self-help registry for those who were harmed by the extremely toxic organochlorine pesticide contamination detected at Military Family Housing. As a young airman, assumed we were returning the stuff to supply to send to the next base. This bunker compound housedthe flight crews on ready alert, the three B-52 bombers ready to take off at amoments notice, and the accompanying KC-135s ready to top off the B-52s after takeoff. 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. Welcome to The WAFB Historical Site dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of Wurtsmith Air Force Base and the units assigned there. 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 . The Wurtsmith Air Force Base, created in 1923, played a large role in WWII. [5] However, the B-52H aircraft maintained nuclear alert at Wurtsmith, Air Force Base. I like combining historical photographs with the stories behind them. Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport became a public airport in 1993. Wurtsmith AirForce Base was constructed with a runway layout specifically for this. [1] This was further broken down by marital status. These high levels of PFOA elevate the risks of kidney cancer, mesothelioma, and diabetes. The base came to be because of chance. My ex wife has thyroid disease and auto immune disease. [1] The KC-135s had many more opportunities to travel because they would fly in support of any craft capable of refueling in flight. to share information regarding health issues, and probable chemical exposure via base water sources. All Rights Reserved. U.S. The Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12 engine behind the pilots seat drove the propeller by means of a driveshaft mounted under the pilots seat. Mrs. Cecil V. Fowler saw the crash, according to the Times Herald article. The tire bead failed, allowing the casing to slip over the rim on one side and bind on edge of the wheel fairing on takeoff. In 1979, the state of Michigan sued the Air Force for the contamination. 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. Stay tuned for further developments. Section 107, the written material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for educational purposes. [1] This meant that there was always at least threeB-52s armed with nuclear bombs, ready to take off at a moments notice. The P-47 Thunderbolt fighter and fighter-bomber was used by the Allied air forces during World War II. More individuals impacted by these chemicals are Cindi and Lawrence Ashbeck. City officials in Dayton, Ohio, have also found the response from the Air Force to cleanup contamination at Wright Patterson Air Force Base to be inadequate. The former base includes 4,626 acres (1,872ha) located approximately two miles west of Lake Huron in the Charter Township of Oscoda, bordered by Van Ettan Lake, the The KC-135s would finish one mission and there would be another one waiting for them as soon as they were available. Wurtsmith AFB has a better paper trail showing irrefutable evidence of contamination of the base drinking water with Trichloroethelene (TCE) first discovered in 1977 as a result of a complaint from a base housing resident. They took a photo on April 11, from the surface of Lake Huron, of the wing of a Wold War II-era fighter plane that crashed during a training exercise, killing its pilot. The majority of married enlisted and officers preferred to live on base because of the free daycare for children. I have always scheduled an apt with my dr to talk about the possibility of how this may have affected me. Im using a combination of several source materials to tell the history of the area. [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. History Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan, served primarily as a combat crew and bomber training base throughout its 70-year history. 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. In addition across the base boundary dirt road was the EOD range where every friday morning we burned and destroyed old munitions and other stuff they needed disposed of. There is no amount of PFOA that is officially recognized as harmful. However, many studies have shown otherwise. [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. Members of the Tuskegee Airmen, trained at Oscoda for several weeks and stayed on the base. It is one of the most famous bases located in our state. [1] As tensions increased around the world and the likelihood of an actual mission being flown while on ready alert increased, the weekbecame more stressful. Veteran Compensation Programs (www.veteranprograms.com) does not monitor, pre-screen or moderate posts, surveys, topics, comments, blogs or responses. Military bases are known for significant staffing turnover. The documentary by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sara Ganim focuses on PFAS contamination at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan. [3], [1] Dave Norton, Former United States Air Force Captain, interviewed on 23 OCT 2017, [2] Ap. Wurtsmith AFB Water Health Issues via water, Organochlorine Pesticides Levels at George AFB Family Housing. The Air Force knew that due to the method used to apply the pesticide, the building design flaw, that a completed exposure pathway (CEP) existed at a large percentage of its tenantable/habitual . Engine not damaged. After a trip to the Boneyard in September 2019, hundreds of current and vintage photos are being sorted, scanned and uploaded. Drinking Water At Wurtsmith AFB Contaminted. [1] On May 9th 1961 the first B-52 landed in Wurtsmith Air Force Base, signifying the re-designation to a Strategic Air Command Base. It was also possible for these missions to originate in the United States. These chemicals have been shown to cause problems with thyroid, liver, kidney, reproduction, and other health problems. 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. Photos of P-47s flown by French Pilots at Oscoda. Learn how your comment data is processed. PORT HURON, Mich. David and Drew Losinski are struck by the coincidence. He was stationed at the base. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Debbie Stabenow (MI) and U.S. Lee N. 2023 Aspyre Media Group, LLC. In their letter, the members expressed their concerns that the Air Force's proposed remediation plan . The former Wurtsmith Air Force Base (WAFB), located in Oscoda, Iosco County, MI operated from 1924 to 1993. Even after the base closed in 1993, the base maintained a fire staff for many years. This is extremely important because harsh chemicals can negatively impact the future of children and infants as well as the elderly. These Air Force bases were remote. Paul B. Wurtsmith Air Force Base closed in 1993, dealing a sharp blow to the economy of rural Iosco County. 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. After one week in the bunker on ready alert the flight crew would be relieved. During the Gulf War these planes were run practically 24/7, landing only to swap flight crews to meet the flight crew rest requirements.