Cold Bay Air Force Station, Alaska Photo Gallery by Ron Waggoner at pbase.com

Cold Bay Air Force Station, Alaska

Welcome to my story about life at Cold Bay and the radar site that was once there! If you are just finding this page, you will find that it is an account of my experiences while stationed there with the U.S. Air Force in 1970-1971. When I first arrived at Cold Bay, I started recording letters home on a cassette recorder that I kept on the desk in my room. Each night before I went to sleep, I would talk into the recorder about my experiences that day. When each cassette filled, I would mail it home to my family. Often, those cassettes were accompanied by film that I had shot in my three cameras. At my previous Air Force assignment, I had taken up photography as a hobby. Naturally, I did a lot of shooting and experimenting during my year in Alaska.
After leaving Cold Bay, I kept those photos and cassettes for many years. When digital photography came of age in the first decade of the 2000’s, I digitized the photos and transcribed the cassettes into files on my computer. The photos and the stories on this page are taken from those recorded letters that I had sent home some 30+ years earlier.
I hope you enjoy them!
Ron
Cold Bay Air Force Station, the 714th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, was one of several long-range radar sites located in Alaska. They were strategically placed to monitor the skies for potential threat during the Cold War. Operated and manned by the United States Air Force, the sites were a part of a large and complex defense system that kept the nation safe. In 1970 I was assigned to become the Communications and Electronics (C&E) Officer for the radar site at Cold Bay. Assignment there was designated by the USAF as "remote". Accordingly, family members were not allowed to accompany the airmen to the site. My family was no exception. My previous assignment had been at the 810th Radar Squadron in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. So, after moving my family to my hometown in Illinois, I flew from St. Louis, Missouri to Anchorage, Alaska. Once there, I spent a few days in-processing at Elmendorf Air Force Base. I arrived at Cold Bay during the month of May, making the 600 mile trip from Anchorage on Reeve Aleutian Airlines. At Cold Bay on the tip of the Alaska Peninsula and at the eastern end of the Aleutians, I served an eleven-month tour. This is my story.

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Alaska Peninsula	Nearer	Cold Bay Air Force Station	Location
714th Area of Responsibility	Isolation	High Tide and Sleeping Bear	Low Tide and Muck
White Alice Antennae	White Alice Antenna	Cold Bay AFS at Dusk, My Radio	Evening

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David Gillespie		06-Dec-2020 02:35
My name is Dave Gillespie and I was 7 years old when I lived there. That was from 1969 to 1971 and then again from 1974 to 1976.My dad worked for the FAA as an electronic technician. Cold Bay has been intertwined in my whole life. I went back there after high school and worked for Reeves as a fueler in 1981. After I joined the Coast Guard and was stationed at Kodiak, I was a C-130 flight engineer where we stopped in Cold Bay often. As many of you, I have the fondest of memories of Cold Bay as a boy growing up.

Guest		14-Apr-2019 11:15
Good stories, Al Dennis! They paint an accurate picture of our experiences at Cold Bay!

Al Dennis		24-Jun-2018 00:07
My Name is Al Dennis. I was stationed at cold bay july 71, july 72, Was Radar NCOIC. Enjoyed ?? tour. Ran the BX for awhile. There was 4 jeeps for rec use. One day myself and Capt Hoffman was out on the road to the old army observation site road. I was taken him out so he could drop off another jeep for when he returned from a bear hunt. He was flying out somewhere and walking back. On the way back the rear end of the Jeep locked up. No choice, walked back to site. There was a fifth jeep that was inoperative. Took the rear end out and when back out to where the broken down jeep was. Put the rear end and drove back to site. Somebody must have helped me, but don't remember name. Another memory. QC was at the site for an inspection. We did good. The QC inspector and Capt Hoffman and I took one of the boats out to look for glass balls. The boat hit a wave and down we went This was late Nov and very cold. Lucky for us the water was only about waist deep. Up righted the boat and got in. Motor would not start. It had been under water. Started paddling back. There was a strong wind and we were drifting toward and past the point. Capt Hoffman did most of the paddling while the QC guy and I almost. We made it back ok, and went out later in the day to tempt to recover the guns and other stuff that fell out of boat. Located the spot and recovered the rifles and some other stuff. We were extremely lucky that the water was not deep. Al

Ted Calver		05-Jun-2017 22:18
I was stationed there in '68? as Operations Officer for the several sites that made up the southern DEW line. What a beautiful, wild place. Lt Col. Smith was the CO. We refurbished the NCO club that year. I built the entrance screen to the club using glass fishing floats gathered from the Bearing Sea side and another handyman(SSgt Cauthren??) upholstered the bar. I noticed it was still there in your pictures. One day the state abruptly closed the king crab fishery and we befriended the crew of a boat that had pulled into port after the season closed. We ended up with the entire boat load of king crab in exchange for free drinks and some good cooking. We ate king crab for days and froze the rest for trading with other sites. Good times!

Jim Farley		20-Feb-2017 03:04
I was stationed their from 73 to 74 in engineering old memories Jim Farley in Indiana great photos

Robert Murphy		19-Nov-2015 17:40
From 1966 to 1968 I lived in Cold Bay as a small boy of five. My stepfather, George Carranza was a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. To this day, Cold Bay remains as one of my fondest memories as a child. George was a natural outdoorsman and we spent many a day fishing and exploring the early fortifications. I remember well the community of friends and families that were so close and supportive. Remember too the occasion that I became ill and was medivaced to Anchorage on a Flying Tigers L188. That impression lasted a lifetime and convinced me to go into aviation and I'm now a B777 captain. I too used to sit along the side of the runway and just watch the planes takeoff and land. Thank you so much for the photo's...greatly appreciated!

Guest		19-Jun-2015 00:05
I was a stewardess with Flying Tigers and remember flying into Cold Bay late at night. the cook had to get up to cook us a dinner then someone with a guitar started some music and the party started! this was 1963 to 64.

Noah Overly		11-Feb-2015 06:18
My name is Noah Overly and have lived in Cold Bay when I was a kid from from 1964-1966. Mr. & Mrs. King were our grammar school teachers. I know the Livingston Family and they lived just across from our home at the time. My mom and dad were good friends with Mike's parents (Bob & Anna) and I'm glad that a clinic was named after Mrs. Livingston. I still remember watching the commercial jets take off and land at Cold Bay airport runway. It sure brings back good memories and will always treasure it.

Guest		05-Oct-2014 21:43
I was there 1973-1974. Paul Shelton

Mike Parker		13-Jun-2014 00:31
So nice to see these images. Thanks for posting them. I was at Cold Bay in 1980-81 when the site personnel numbers had been reduced to 14 AF and 13 or 14 RCA O&M folks. The Alice White antennas were gone by then. One of the highlights of my 26 years in the USAF.

Ed Sydboten		14-Feb-2014 23:35
I would enjoy hearing from anyone who was stationed there also or who lives there now. I am 77 now so I doubt that many are still living from the time I was there.

Ed Sydboten		14-Feb-2014 23:31
My is Edward Sydboten. I was stationd at Cold Bay in 1956 as an Army Sp5 with Alaska Communication System. I was on duty in the station the night Canadian Pacific Airlines passenger DC6 crashed on a landing approach with several fatalities. My trip to Cold Bay was a long one. It started from Ft. Gordon, Ga.(Augusta) by train through Chicago to Seatle and then by ship to Anchorage and to Cold Bay on Reeves Aleutian Airlines. Cal Reeves was in charge of the airline in Cold Bay at that time. I got a couple of days off during salmon season and got to ride a fishing boat from Cold Bay to the cannery at King Cove. Havn't eaten canned salmon since b ut the trip was an unforgettable xperience.Went along as a spectator on a bear hunt where one of the 2 hunters got a 10ft brown bear. Did a lot of fishing at the lakes around the area and in the river during spawning.Overall, it was great duty and I have had a place in my heart for Cold Bay and the people that lived there at that time.

Michael Livingston		12-Aug-2012 01:32
Hi Ron, Great stories and photographs! My name is Mike. I was raised in Cold Bay. The clinic is named after my mom. You might remember my parents, Bob & Anna Livingston. We lived on the homestead at Trout Creek. I'm writing a small book on life in Cold Bay, looking for photographs, stories, information. I'm particularly interested in funny stories, tragic stories, the good, the bad, and the ugly of what life was really like. Please send your stories or photographs to michaelpocatello@gmail.com or by snail mail to Michael Livingston 200 W. 34th #153 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 www.michaellivingston.net

Dennis Verschelde		20-Jun-2012 01:52
Great page Ron. Found it while looking up the radar station. I was a SGT working in the power plant in 1967. The SSGT I replaced ran the BX and I also took on those duties for about 8 months. It was open a whole 2 hours a day but came with the responsibility of keeping the pop and candy machines full. Loved the fishing and hiking during my stay and the two black Labs (Mitsey and Mogas)had 14 pups and 13 of them made it. Did alot of target shooting in one of the old Quonset Huts that we made into a indoor shooting range. SGT Dennis Verschelde

Jeffrey Riddle		17-Apr-2012 14:31
Hello my name is Jeff Riddle, a 19 year old airman 2nd scope doper durring my time at Cold Bay. My tour was from May 1968 to May 1969. Many in my tac radar group at Shaw in South Carolina were recieving orders for monkey mountain in Viet Nam. I had a friend in airmans assignments who told me if I wanted immediate orders in 30 days to request remote isolated duty. I did I was born and raised in a row house in Philadelphia soooo when I arrived at Cold Bay I was shocked. I really enjoyed my year Hunting geese, fishing silver and dog sammon,live king crab by the boatload bought out by the villagers which we would trade for smokes and booze. I loved being on duty at night and talking to the pilot crews as they flew over. We had quite a few exciting times guiding them in to Cold Bay's 10,000 foot runway when they were low on fuel due and were not sure if they could make the lower 48. When I was there the Russians on two occations sent single bear bomers to challenge our radar coverage. It was so exciting when we busted fighters out of King Salmon to intercept them. The guys I hung around with were Nuckles, Capt Chismire, Jim Taylor, Gary Egland and Robbie. One sad thing I remember was one of the 2 weather guys who were stationed at the airport got into a fight with one of the local fisherman and was killed. Thanks for all the great pics, Hard to believe I was there 44 years ago.

Guest		13-Mar-2012 03:47
my name is ed higgins and I was stationed at cold bay in sept 1973. coming form north carolina and all the trees it was a shock to see all that empty tundra. it had to be one of the best years of my life. made lots of friends both on site and in town and the hunting and fishing was second to none. I too was a scope dope.

Guest		13-Mar-2012 03:45
my name is ed higgins and I was stationed at cold bay in sept 1973. coming form north carolina and all the trees it was a shock to see all that empty tundra. it had to be one of the best years of my life. made lots of friends both on site and in town and the hunting and fishing was second to none.

Douglas B Smith		16-Feb-2012 19:18
My name is Douglas Smith from Minnesota. Back then was Sgt. Smith. I was a radar operator (Scope Dope) stationed at Cold Bay from Feb. 1969 until Feb. 1970. Sounds like our tours overlapped but only by a month or so. I think I remember Lt. Smith and I worked for Lt. Jimmy Coyal. Our Commander was a Lt.Col Quirk. Seeing these pictures and reading your comments brought back a lot of old memories for sure. Now, most of the memories are the good ones like the old Jeeps and hunting and fishing and bear and beer stories. It was easily the longest year of my life. Thank you for posting all this stuff and taking down memory lane.

Mike		30-Jan-2012 01:08
Pictures brought back memories to me. I was an HH-3F Coast Guard pilot based in Kodiak and we would deploy to the station for a few weeks in the spring to do repair work to navigation aids along the coast. We'd fuel at the airport then flyup and park in the back of the station. I can remember coming out one morning to find the helo had sunk into the mud which had frozen overnite. We'd fly all day and when we returned leave a couple of baskets of glass balls we found on the beach outside the galley... in the morning we'd find bread, meats, fruit etc for lunch waiting in our baskets for the day.

Frances		25-Jun-2011 04:06
Does anyone know the number to the flight terminal there???

Sgt Robert Milisits		19-Apr-2011 01:14
Wow! I remember Bonnie from when I was there. We used to have "disco" nights. the whole town would turn out. We made the most of our time there. My daughter still has the ceramic stuff I made in the hobby shop. My Christmas gifts that year was canned salmon and trout that we processed ourselves! Everyone loved it!

Ron Waggoner		02-Apr-2011 12:31
Bonnie, thanks for your comments. Gee, I don't remember the strawberries. I sure missed out there!

Bonnie		02-Apr-2011 06:09
Awesome collection and memories. I was a kid living in town '79/'80. I remember going to the Site, watching movies, and even dancing in the club. All of the men were perfect gentlemen and watched out for me like a little sister. It freaks me out a bit to see the BX; my memories of it 10 years later match the photos. Do you remember the wild strawberries that grew on the tundra?

Larry Smith		13-Feb-2011 17:51
Nice photos, Ron. Just like it looked when I arrived in 1973! Larry Smith

Bob Milisits		09-Nov-2010 20:36
I was stationed there from 79 - 80. The place has an emotional hold on me, for some reason. It's sad that it's all gone, completely demolished about ten years ago. Sgt Robert Milisits

Larry		05-Jun-2010 19:55
I was stationed at Cold Bay in 1966-67. We had a pair of Black Lab's and the female gave birth to 14 pups. Flying Tigers was operating through COB then and took a lot of them to Anchorage and Japan. I did a lot hiking around the area then but didn't go too far because of the bears. We had a small crew there, 44 personnel total.

Leo Bass		14-Mar-2010 01:22
These pictures brought back memories. I was the NCO-in-charge of the Mountain Rescue Team from Fort Richardson, AK and we were called to Cold Bay from Sept 8 to 18, 1973 on a rescue and recovery mission. A World Airways plane chartered to the Air Force crashed on Mt Frosty and we made of base of operations at the radar site. There were no survivors of the crash. I got my regular pay TDY pay, separate rations pay, and World Airways gave each of us $100.00. Thank you for sharing your pictures!

Guest		19-Oct-2009 20:37
I really enjoyed your page. It brought back many memories. I was "sentenced" to Cold Bay in 1986 as a weather observer for the National Weather Service. I had just graduated college and found myself planted a few weeks later in Cold Bay...in the middle of January. It hadn't changed much from when you were there! :)

Guest		26-May-2009 18:13
This was very fun to read and some great photos as well! Thanks for posting it. -Mike

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