Remembering the Dragon Lady: The U-2 Spy Plane: Memoirs of the Men Who Made the Legend

by Gerald McIlmoyle

  When I returned to Albany, I went to meet with the owner of a moving company. I asked if the company had moved Turner people to Del Rio recently; the owner smiled and said he had made a million dollars on those moves. I explained my situation and told him I needed to be moved to Del Rio. I realized I was talking to the right person, and I was finally going to get a break. This man said the magic words, “Let's talk.” The owner told me to get a copy of the shipping list when I moved from MacDill to Albany. He offered to move me from Albany to Del Rio; I was to sign the shipping documents and leave a copy of my new orders. He would enter the dates and send the orders to the Air Force office to get paid. The moving company owner said he had done this a number of times. He would send my household goods to Del Rio and then direct his truck to San Antonio to pick up an east coast bound load. The day after I talked with the owner of the moving company, his crew came to pick up my family's household things and we headed west on Highway 90. When we arrived in Del Rio, we checked out the house my wife had rented by phone, but we arrived before our household goods. I went to the 4028th Supply Office at the base and requested the loan of a couple of mattresses for my family to sleep on until our things arrived.

  The next day I went to the 4028th SRS and reported in to Col Nole. He was quite surprised to see me. “What the hell you doing here, Nelson?” he asked. I wasn't supposed to be there for another 15 days. He asked if my family had arrived and I told him we already had rented a house in town. The colonel told me to take off a few more days and the wing would get orders covering me. By the time I returned to the base, my orders were ready, and I promptly sent copies to the mover in Georgia who had been so generous with me. I then reported for duty in the Physiological Ssupport Division (PSD).

  TDY with the 408th SRW

  In the dead of winter 1958, I went TDY to Eielson AFB, Fairbanks, Alaska on a nuclear debris collection mission, more commonly known in the wing as air sampling. The most significant thing I recall about that tour was it was so incredibly cold; I was happy to return to Texas when it was finished.

  When I returned to Laughlin, Col Elsworth Powell, Director of Materiel, had been checked out in the U-2 in 1958. I had been trained in PSD to work with the partial pressure suits for the pilots. One day Col Powell called and asked for me: I was to be at the flight line in thirty minutes. An aircraft had flamed out and was waiting at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas, approximately 150 miles from Laughlin. The colonel told me to get ready for an overnight trip. I learned early on with the 4080th that TDYs sometimes came on short notice, and I always had a small bag ready. The C-54 Skymaster we were taking to Corpus Christi had been recently repainted, and the paint was not even dry. Col Powell ordered the tape peeled off, and we were immediately airborne en route to Corpus Christi.

  The Navy boys had helped our pilot out of the U-2 and pushed it into their hangar to wait for our recovery team from Laughlin. Without pogos to keep the wings level, they were resourceful and put a barrel under each wing. The first thing our maintenance techs did was install the pogos under each wing. Col Powell told the team the aircraft would be ready tomorrow morning. We spent the night in the Navy quarters, and the next morning the crew chief ran up the engine for testing. The same pilot was going to fly low to Laughlin making the pressure suit unnecessary. The Navy guys had not seen anything like a U-2, and our pilot put on a show for them by making a spectacular takeoff that almost stood the aircraft on its tail. The Naval Air Station is probably still talking about that takeoff. Laughlin called Col Powell to report the U-2 had arrived there. When we returned to Laughlin in the C-54, the paint shop was ready with the paint to start all over.

  Crow Flight

  In early 1959, I went TDY to Plattsburg AFB, in Plattsburg, New York on a mission called Operation Crow Flight for another sampling operation. Some of our crews went to Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico for nuclear debris collection in the southern hemisphere. Major Joe Jackson was our detachment commander at Plattsburg. We had two flights scheduled in one day, one for a 7:00 am takeoff. I went to preflight the personal equipment the night before and discovered an oxygen regulator malfunctioned. There were no spares. I was there all night in the altitude chamber testing it, but the regulator would not function properly. The next morning the pilot came in, and ate his steak and eggs breakfast in preparation for the flight. Major Jackson came in, and I had to tell him to “put him down,” the pilot could not fly the mission. Jackson then called Laughlin to report a cancellation; reason, safety of flight. Later that day the regulator part was brought from Buffalo, New York and the flight was rescheduled for the next day.

  Promotions became frozen, and I could see no change or improvement in the near future. I requested to be reassigned off the U-2 program to no avail. I made a trip to The Pentagon and met with some people I knew there. The result was a reassignment in July 1960 to Torrejon AFB, Madrid, Spain, where my family and I spent three years. We lived in town in a lovely house, and traveled throughout Europe, a great experience for all of us. When it was time for reassignment, I applied for MacDill AFB, but was assigned to Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada for three years. As NCOIC, I was responsible for five personal equipment shops at Nellis where the base trained pilots at Fighter Weapons School. I was up for promotion to Senior Master Sergeant E-8 with 22 years 6 months service and had been assigned a line number for the order of selection. However, in early 1968 my wife became very ill. With her illness continuing to be a concern for the family, I decided in 1968 to retire from a career that I had enjoyed. We returned to St. Petersburg, Florida where we had family.

  After I retired from the Air Force, my wife was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage, and I knew we had to have some good insurance benefits. I was hired at Sears, and worked there for 22 years. My wife passed away in 1978, and in 1990 I retired from my second career.

  Gerald E. (Jerry) McIlmoyle

  Venice, Florida

  The Pressure Suit

  The David Clark Company in Worcester, Massachusetts, made the first partial pressure suits for us. This entire process was done “in the black” with the CIA directing every aspect of the trip. The company also made full pressure suits for astronauts, helmets, earphones, mikes and other devices used by our bomber and fighter aircraft crews.

  I went there in late 1956 or early 1957 with instructions not to bring military ID card or dog tags. We were told to bring only civilian clothes and no GI issue underwear. I went to David Clark Company to be fitted for two partial pressure suits. In my mind's eye, I can still see the humongous room with row upon row of sewing machines operated by women sewing bras and corsets, the original products of the company. In the middle of the room was an oldtime wooden stairway leading to a basement where the corridor ended at a green door. Behind the green door were a few people sewing what looked to me like flight suits. At the back of the room was a black door leading to the next room. Inside this room were only a few people and I was instructed to remove all clothes except undershorts. I was told to climb on the two-foot high elevated round platform and stand at a brace.

  A stoop-shouldered, wizened old man entered the room. With a tape measure dangling around his neck, he wore a white shirt with sleeves held away from his hands by black armbands. This skillful man proceeded to measure every inch of my body, and I mean every inch. He even used a cup that he could adjust to determine the volume of my “you know what apparatus”! Then he said, “Okay, we are through. Come back in the morning. A car will come again for you. We will then determine any adjustments that must be made.”

  The next day I returned to the company. Again I was instructed to strip down, don a set of inside out “long johns” and then put on the pressure suit. The company people hooked it all up, showed me how it should be worn and proclaimed no adjustments were needed.

  They gave me two bags containing two partial pressure suits and handed me a folder of airline tickets. The company rep told me, “The first ticket takes you to New York and you will stay at a
designated hotel for two days. Go see all the sights, a ball game at Yankee Stadium, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and Grant's Tomb just like you are a tourist.”

  I did the tourist routine. On the third day I presented the tickets at the airline counter and flew all over the country, changing planes and airlines. Casper, Wyoming was experiencing a blizzard and I almost got stranded there, but continued my journey and finally arrived back in Great Falls, Montana where I had begun. This was a memorable trip for sure.

  Joseph (Joe) Ruseckas

  (Deceased February 2009)

  Wife: Marcia (Deceased May 2008)

  Joe submitted the following prior to his death.

  My own flight career began during WWII from February 5, 1942 to February 24, 1946. I served in the Air Force Reserves until my honorable discharge with the rank of Major.

  Following my retirement, I was employed by Civil Aeronautics as a flight check pilot and had the opportunity to meet David G. Clark when I flew with him for his own check flight. That meeting was the beginning of a new career for me. Mr. Clark offered me a job as a pattern maker with his company. The current pattern maker was leaving the company on maternity leave and a position was available.

  I was then employed by the David Clark Company. Inc. in Worcester, Massachusetts. The company had a Government contract and it designed, furnished and supported the pressure suits the U-2 pilots and astronauts wore for high altitude flights. The company was awarded the NASA contract for all Gemini flights. I was not assigned to the 4080th SRW but was “adopted” into the organization because of the close association with many of its personnel. Pilots came to the Worcester facility of David Clark Company to be measured and fitted with the custom-made suits. I accompanied them to Wright Patterson AFB for chamber flight qualification. It was very special for me being personally involved in the pressure suit project from design to implementation.

  I had the opportunity to work with the Air Force and Navy to design and make full pressure suits for X15 pilots. Chuck Yeager was the first to be fitted and I was responsible for his measurements and fitting. The Navy was set to make an altitude record in 1953 in a Douglas 553. I went along on the flight in the bomb bay and recorded the altitude of 83,000 feet.

  The Air Force got into the X15 project with Scott Crossfield. He did a test in a Clark suit that I measured and fitted for him. The U-2 program came along and pilots required a partial pressure suit. Every U-2 pilot came to the David Clark Company in Massachusetts. I accompanied the early pilots to Wright Patterson AFB to see that the suit passed testing before the pilots were assigned to the program.

  Mr. Clark started out with a knitting company in the 1930’s and later left to start his own company that made a two-way stretch fiber used in girdles. He became acquainted with a Navy flight surgeon stationed on the aircraft carrier, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As early as 1946, the Air Force contacted the Clark Company about developing early model pressure suits.

  Mr. Clark's flight surgeon acquaintance again contacted him and requested the company's help to provide ear protection for flight line personnel. Mr. Clark asked me to design the ear muffs and sent the early model to Pratt & Whitney for test. The end result was so successful a half dozen were made and sent to the carrier. A call came back almost immediately to make more. The Clark Company earmuffs have distinctive green domes with the letters “DC” and are presently used by many flight personnel. We later put headsets and microphones in the earmuffs and we were the first to produce the headsets for football teams. It all started with the call to Mr. Clark from the flight surgeon aboard the carrier Roosevelt.

  Joe and Marcia Ruseckas.

  At the time I worked to support the U-2 project, my wife, Marcia, understood that I could not tell her where I was going or what I was doing due to the security classification. Like military wives, Marcia accepted my career choice and she ran the household and cared for our daughter, Connie, in my absence.

  Marcia has suffered some major health problems in recent years that have left her incapacitated, but she was in those days, as she is now, my “Co-pilot”. My “Co-pilot” was unable to attend the 2005 reunion with me, but my daughter, Connie, accompanied me and shared in the many memories we all recalled those many years ago. It was also a pleasure to meet some new friends as well.

  Thomas J. (Woody) Woodall

  Morgantown, West Virginia

  Wife: Betty

  It Started in Texas

  I entered the Air Force in August 1961 from my home in Morgantown, West Virginia at age eighteen. Although I had traveled to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC, I had never been to Texas. Basic training was at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas during the hottest part of the summer. When I had completed basic, I was selected to remain at Lackland and attend six weeks of Medical Helpers School. Then I was assigned to attend Physiological Training Specialist School for another six weeks at Brooks AFB, Texas; actually it was just across town from Lackland. After graduation at Brooks, I must have been ready for a real assignment; I received orders to report to the 4080th SRW at Laughlin AFB, Del Rio, Texas, only 150 miles west of San Antonio. I was destined to spend a great deal of my Air Force career in Texas.

  Airman Richard Nielson became my guide at my new duty station in the Physiological Support Division (PSD). He also worked in PSD and spent two days showing me around the shop. When I arrived at PSD, I reported to Major Aubrey Mahaffey, Chief of PSD and MSgt James Kimball, NCOIC. Richard took me to the new duty section and introduced me to all the guys. My supervisor was TSgt David Watson who shortly thereafter became my training instructor and mentor throughout my Air Force career. Two other airmen, Jay Barnett and Donald Mathews, were also in on-the-job training (OJT), but they were about three months ahead of me. When I asked how soon I could start my OJT, Sgt Watson asked if I would be willing to stay after hours for him to catch me up with the other two airmen in the classroom. I agreed and within a month I was up with the other airmen. All three of us took our five level test at the same time, and we all passed. The five level was part of the skill level test we were required to pass to qualify for promotion. While we were in basic training, we were Level 1 Unskilled, Level 3 Training OJT, Level 5 Skilled, Level 7 Supervisor, Level 9 Superintendent.

  In addition to Major Mahaffey, Sgt Kimball and Sgt Watson, the other NCOs in the unit were Clem Francis, Ralph Cline, Toby Bernstein, Clifton Perkins, Regis Fredette, Jesse Gamble, Walter Hand, Samo King, Larry Land, Billie Lloyd, Edward Sears, Eugene Sekinger, Kenneth Stevens and Joe Terrell.

  Airman Thomas Woodall, PSD specialist, after hooking up the pilot. The next step would be for another PSD specialist to double check the hook up then the Mobile Officer would go through his checklist. The pilot in this picture is Jack Carr. August 1964

  In addition to Richard Nielson, Jay Barnett and Donald Mathews, the airmen in the unit were Edgar Darden, Bobbie McAffee, Tommy Miles, Elbert Parris, Sebert Quick, Kenneth Walker, Roger Wilson, Paul Arnold, Karl Kilpatrick, James May, Robert Wilson, and Gary Brady.

  Assigned later were NCOs Walter Russell, Robert Spearman, Donald Linker, Raymond Gray, Mathew Dionisi, James Register, Bobby Hanks, Richard Peterson, Jack Zimmerman, Gilbert Franco, Paul Perkins and Roger Lau.

  Airmen assigned later were Burton Kimball, Wendell Shinault, Dave Dwiggins, Wayne Mackinnon, Robert Cunninghan, Ronald Liford, William Miller, Larry Reynolds, Johnnie Rarbush, Robert Zasada, Carmen Montoya, Larry Ellis, Roger Griffin, Donald Roberson and Graham Malone.

  As a PSD specialist, I was required to inspect and maintain high altitude partial pressure suits, helmets and gloves worn by the U-2 pilots. Specialists assisted crew members donning and doffing the special purpose clothing. When the pilot was ready to board his aircraft, the specialist integrated the partial pressure suit and seat kit and connected all the hoses to the appropriate connectors in the aircraft. I was also cross trained to perform the duties of a Personal Equipment (PE) Specialist. The PE specialist inspected pa
rachutes, survival equipment, seat kit, non-high altitude helmets, oxygen mask and instructed the pilots on the use of the equipment.

  I had been in the unit about two weeks, but my flight line badge had not yet caught up with me. Security with the 4080th SRW was extremely strict throughout the base, most especially on the flight line around the airplanes. In addition to identification of the wearer, the badge indicated the areas that were approved for access. Air Police security could detain anyone without authorized clearance to an area.

  Thomas Woodall, Jim Eichnor, David Dwiggins and William Miller. The picture was taken at a nightclub at Ciudad Acuña. Eichnor was with the Medical Group. Woodall, Dwiggins and Miller worked at PSD. Sometime in 1962.

  An example of the tight security was demonstrated one day when Airman Barnett and I were sent to the Oxygen Shop a few hangars from our shop to pick up some seat kits that had been inspected by Mike Santo, the Tech Rep for Firewell. The regulator, manufactured by Firewell, was in the survival seat kit that was part of the pilot's life support system. I was later trained to perform these inspections. On this particular day, neither of us had our flight line badges. Our instructions were to have a NCO go with us to vouch for us if we were stopped by the Air Police. None of the NCOs wanted to go with us so Jay and I got into the Metro Van and proceeded on our own. Jay drove and said he would go inside to get the kits while I stayed in the van. Five minutes later a truck with four Air Police raced up to the side door of the hanger and rushed inside. It only took a few minutes for the Air Police to come out with Airman Barnett. Poor Barnett. He had his arms up, hands behind his head and they put him spread-eagle on the ground. Before I could decide what to do, one of the Air Police came to the van and told me Barnett wanted me to go back to PSD and bring Sgt Kimball to vouch for him. As I was starting the van, the same Air Policeman turned back to me and yelled, “Wait a minute! Where is your flight line badge? I replied, “I don't have one either.” It took only seconds for him to jerk me out of the van and put me spread eagle next to Barnett. Sgt Kimball came a half hour later and pretended not to know us, but then he explained to the Air Police what had happened and he got us out of the mess. A couple other NCOs had their butts chewed out over that one for not ensuring we had badges.