Don
“ollie” brumback
In Memory
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Don passed away in September 2003
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I arrived in
Istanbul on March 24th, 1960. Thinking we were going to one of the remote sites, we
decided to spend the weekend in “the bul” before reporting to Mainsite. We had a great time at the TUSLOG
hotel and seeing the sites of the old, old city. The trip from Istanbul to Mainsite is another story. (Just ask Jack Wood or Phil Bredesen
about this journey). I was
assigned to Dog Flight, the best according to Snoopy, as a Morse Intercepter. My duty there at Base Ops and at the
DF shack was an exciting experience every day. We all spent a lot of extra hours there because we were
afraid we would miss something.
I did get to see a lot of the world while there by going to Athens for
a long weekend and a week trip to the Holy Land, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan
(now Israel). I left dear ole
KAS in September, 1961. An
experience I shall always remember. I reported to Otis
AFB on Cape Cod, Mass. On the 15th of December 1961. Here I cross trained into the Air
Traffic Control field. This too
was an interesting and rewarding assignment. Working on the air field and directly with the pilots was
almost as exciting as being at KAS.
John F. Kennedy was our President at that time and his Air Force One
always parked directly in front of our office window. (We received and “Air Force
Outstanding Unit” award and ribbon for taking good care of him). We had a direct line to his home in
Hyannis Port that we would check in with the Secret Service personnel each
day. Things really became
exciting in October of 1962. We
were on full “Red Alert” with armed aircraft lined up at the end of our
runways during the Cuban missile crisis. Praise God for being on our side that day! I was discharged
from Otis in May of 1963. Now,
what to do. I passed up an offer
to become a partner in the flower business of H.V. Lawrence, Inc. in Falmouth
where I had worked in my spare time and had become close friends with Mr.
H.V. Lawrence, his wife and brothers.
I felt I had to come back to Kentucky to be closer to my Mom and
Dad. I did so and found a job
with a new factory in Versailles, about 15 miles from home. The Rand McNally Publishing and
Printing Co. This lead me to a
career of 35 yrs, 9 months and 13 days.
During that time the Lord lead me to a wonderful wife, Joy and 5 years
later to my son, Eric, whom I have always been very proud of. He in turn brought me a Daughter-in-law,
Abby, and their union brought me two of the most beautiful Grandchildren,
Allison, now 9 and Ethan now 4.
Yes, God has surely blessed me and my family. I was able to
retire in 1999 and Joy and I spend a lot of time with our Grandkids. Our other hobbies are Outdoor Theater
and Bluegrass Music. We enjoy
plays at the Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, Kentucky’s 1st outdoor
theater, the Actors Theater and the lavish productions at the Center for the
Arts in Louisville, Ky. Our
Bluegrass interest takes us to many outdoor Festivals in the summer and to
many indoor shows in the winter months.
We have been to Ralph Stanley’s Festival near Norton, Va. (Joy’s
favorite), the Beanblossom BG Festival in Indiana and our “Special” festival
is to the one in Hiltons, Va.,The Carter Family Fold as they call it. We go there for the first weekend in
August as we celebrate our wedding anniversary. This Aug. 1st will be our 39th celebration. God is Good! Now we must add one
more “hobby” to our list, the Reunion of the KAS 60-61 group of which I am so
proud to be a member. Van Damron
“found Ollie” in March of this year.
Joy and I are so excited about our trip to Gatlinburg in October. (By the way, that was where we went
on our Honeymoon in 1964). Think
of all those memories. Looking
forward to seeing you there.
Good bless you and yours. Don, the “Ollie” at KAS Brumback |