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Those of us who were lucky enough to be stationed at Eielson Air Force Base remember the wonderful long sunny summer days and the beautiful scenery. But we tend to forget the cold bitter winter weather and all the things that went along with it.
In order to keep an automobile running in the winter time you had to use light engine oil, like 5W or some combination. The engine had to be tuned to a “T” to be sure that it started quickly when you cranked it up. Batteries loose efficiency at sub-zero temperatures. Frost shields on the side and rear windows helped to keep them clear of frost on the inside. And then there were the heaters. A small electric interior heater, a battery heater and of course some sort of an engine heater such as a circulating heater in the cooling system or a frost plug heater helped keep the engine warm to facilitate starting. Of course these things needed to be plugged in whenever your car was parked, whether at home, at the store or at work.
There was a long line of electric posts in the parking lot of Ptarmigan Hall where many of us worked. The problem was that you had to find a working outlet where you wanted to park. I had a small test probe that I plugged into the outlet to be sure it worked. Then I would take a short extension cord and put it between the outlet and a plug that came out through a hole in the grill of the car. A short piece of rawhide lacing secured the cord to the outlet, just to be sure that the cord stayed in the outlet.
When we were assigned flying duties, we were gone for 20 or more hours for a local mission to five or more days for a TDY trip. If your car heating system failed while you were gone, it was a big chore to get the car going again. If I was leaving the car for any length of time I would have someone check on it for me. Better safe than sorry.
One morning Don Fisher (GRHS) and I were heading into Ptarmigan Hall in preparation for a mission. As we went up the stairs to go inside, I noticed someone unplugging my car and plugging his car into the outlet that I had been using. Not a good thing. I headed back to the parking lot to confront this person and found that it was a young lieutenant. I asked him what he was doing unplugging my car and he told me that he had a hard time finding a live plug. Well, by then I was fuming mad. I told him that he had no business unplugging my car and that I would show him what happened when someone did that. I reached under my car seat, took my lineman’s pliers, unplugged his extension cord and proceeded to cut it into many short pieces. Then I plugged my car in, secured the rawhide safety cord, gave the flabbergasted lieutenant a salute and headed for Operations.
After the pre-mission briefing I went out and checked on the car. The plug was safe and secure. The Lieutenant's car was nowhere to be seen. Oh well, off on the mission and I pretty much forgot about the incident. However, when I returned to Operations late that night, there was a note for me to report to the SAC office the next morning to see some officer and explain the cord-cutting incident. I thought I was really in trouble.
When I got to the SAC office, the young Lieutenant was there and his superior asked me what happened the previous morning. I told my story and the Lieutenant did not deny it. His boss told him that he got what he deserved and to be more considerate in the future. The boss then had the Lieutenant apologize to me and told me that I gave him what he deserved. I was quite relieved and thanked them both for understanding. There was a short piece in the base newspaper the next week about not unplugging cars at the hitching posts and that is the end of that story, except when retold at reunions and veteran’s gatherings.
Precious Memories...
Dave Bristol is retired and lives in Leesburg, FL