To Christopher Moore
Response to Vet Blog questionnaire
Segment 1.
Feb. 10, 2019
Via e-mail
Matz E. Malone
DOB…10/04/1940
U.S. Air Force 1959-1963, Cold War
A/2c
Lackland AFB, TX, May –July 1959 Basic Training
Kessler AFB, Biloxi, MS, July –December 1959, Basic Training and Radar School.
Dobbins AFB, Marietta GA, Dec. 1959- October 1960, 32nd Air Division Headquarters
Iceland, 667th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, H-2, Langanese Peninsula
Iceland; H-3, Hofn, Iceland
Otis AFB, MA, 961st Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron, Crew 30, RC
121-D and EC 121-H, aircraft.
Segment 2
I enlisted in the Air Force
I lived at home in Wellsburg.
I joined the Air Force because I had uncles who were in the Army Air Corps during
WWII and was very proud to serve my country as they had served. I have never
regretted my four years of service to my country.
First day of basic training was not fun. I remember getting a haircut and getting
yelled at a lot. As every new enlistee knows, I felt alone and wondered what I had
gotten into. Texas in the summer is hot and marching and physical training was not
fun.
I don’t remember the Drill Instructors, other than they were very “forgettable.”
They always stressed duty to the mission and teamwork. You get through basic
training with the attitude that it will not last forever.
Segment 3
My time of service was during the Cold War. This was a time when the United States
and Russia were in a nuclear arms race (Atomic Bombs) and each side was
prepared to defend or launch a “First Strike Attack.”
I was trained as a radar operator and sent to isolated radar sites in Iceland (see
photos) to interpret radar returns, watching for a Russian air attack on the United
States. The radar site H-2 was located on the Arctic Circle. Supplies, replacement
troops and mail were flown in from the main base at Keflavik, a four-hour flight for a
C-47. When the weather was bad, which was quite often, there were times when it
may be a month before the supply and mail plane could get to the landing strip.
Iceland was considered the first line of defense in the event of a Russian attack on
the United States.
While we were watching for the Russians, the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC)
had B-52s on polar patrol, armed with nukes as a retaliatory strike.
After my tour in Iceland, I was sent to an Airborne Early Warning unit on Cape Cod
as an Airborne Radar Operator on RC 121-D Warning Star Super Constellation
aircraft and flew more than 50 missions at various stations 150 miles off the Atlantic
Coast watching for Russian aircraft and directing fighters that were scrambled on
unknown aircraft.
The eight stations were from Nova Scotia south to off the coast of South Carolina.
There was AEW&C Squadron in Florida that took care of stations south.
The missions on which I flew were designated Active Air Defense Missions, the same
designation as a fighter scramble.
I flew with a crew of between 14 and 18 men. I was one of five radar operators.
Other crewmembers included Aircraft Commander (Pilot), Pilot (Co-Pilot), Flight
Engineer, Navigator, Radio Operators, and Radar Techs.
Our mission durations were between 12 and 18 hours in the air, with a three to
four-hour briefing and debrief. On the aircraft we had food, coffee and water as well
a latrine and bunks for crew rest between times on duty (watching radar scopes).
Because the stations we flew were at least 150 miles off the U.S East Coast, when we
had engine trouble or the weather was closed-in at Otis AFB, our recovery base was
usually Kinley AFB, Bermuda.
I was on alert flight duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Prior to the actual
showdown, on our way to some stations, we would fly over Russian fishing trawlers
more than 100-miles off the East Coast.
We knew the trawlers were spying on us, looking for more than fish, so we had
“dummy load radar signals” so they wouldn’t know our actual radar frequencies.
Segment 4
Mail was the only way we got word from home and the food at the Iceland sites was
not good. The buildings (barracks, chow hall, club, gym, etc,) at the site near the
Arctic Circle were connected by cement hallways. The wind on that mountain was so
strong that site personnel were not allowed outside unless it was an emergency. The
windows on the buildings were covered with expanded metal coverings so rocks
picked up by the wind wouldn’t break the glass.
One of the most difficult things to get used to in Iceland was 24 hours of daylight in
the summer and 24-hours of dark in the winter.
The sites had radio stations where troops could act as DJs and play music for the
site. The Armed Forces Radio Television Service supplied records.
Segment 5
I was discharged at Otis AFB on May 18, 1963 and went home to Wellsburg and got
a job.
I completed Air Force courses in Photography and got a job as a staff photographer
at the Herald-Star in Steubenville.
While working full-time, I also took classes at West Liberty State College, West
Virginia Northern and JCC.
I have kept in touch with some of the people I served with. We try to get together at
lease once a year. We also attend Iceland Radar Sites reunions and other veterans’
reunions and gatherings.
I belong to AMVETS Post 275 in Steubenville. Our programs are community-based
as well as offering support to all veterans.
Segment 6
I had a 40-year career as a journalist at the Herald-Star, covering government,
courts and business.
I retired as Business Editor after more than 20 years of covering the steel industry.
I strongly feel my service time had a great influence on my work ethic and ability to
take orders as well as give orders.
I strongly feel every young American should serve at least one year in the military,
then go on to college or pursue a vocation.
Response to Vet Blog questionnaire
Segment 1.
Feb. 10, 2019
Via e-mail
Matz E. Malone
DOB…10/04/1940
U.S. Air Force 1959-1963, Cold War
A/2c
Lackland AFB, TX, May –July 1959 Basic Training
Kessler AFB, Biloxi, MS, July –December 1959, Basic Training and Radar School.
Dobbins AFB, Marietta GA, Dec. 1959- October 1960, 32nd Air Division Headquarters
Iceland, 667th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, H-2, Langanese Peninsula
Iceland; H-3, Hofn, Iceland
Otis AFB, MA, 961st Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron, Crew 30, RC
121-D and EC 121-H, aircraft.
Segment 2
I enlisted in the Air Force
I lived at home in Wellsburg.
I joined the Air Force because I had uncles who were in the Army Air Corps during
WWII and was very proud to serve my country as they had served. I have never
regretted my four years of service to my country.
First day of basic training was not fun. I remember getting a haircut and getting
yelled at a lot. As every new enlistee knows, I felt alone and wondered what I had
gotten into. Texas in the summer is hot and marching and physical training was not
fun.
I don’t remember the Drill Instructors, other than they were very “forgettable.”
They always stressed duty to the mission and teamwork. You get through basic
training with the attitude that it will not last forever.
Segment 3
My time of service was during the Cold War. This was a time when the United States
and Russia were in a nuclear arms race (Atomic Bombs) and each side was
prepared to defend or launch a “First Strike Attack.”
I was trained as a radar operator and sent to isolated radar sites in Iceland (see
photos) to interpret radar returns, watching for a Russian air attack on the United
States. The radar site H-2 was located on the Arctic Circle. Supplies, replacement
troops and mail were flown in from the main base at Keflavik, a four-hour flight for a
C-47. When the weather was bad, which was quite often, there were times when it
may be a month before the supply and mail plane could get to the landing strip.
Iceland was considered the first line of defense in the event of a Russian attack on
the United States.
While we were watching for the Russians, the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC)
had B-52s on polar patrol, armed with nukes as a retaliatory strike.
After my tour in Iceland, I was sent to an Airborne Early Warning unit on Cape Cod
as an Airborne Radar Operator on RC 121-D Warning Star Super Constellation
aircraft and flew more than 50 missions at various stations 150 miles off the Atlantic
Coast watching for Russian aircraft and directing fighters that were scrambled on
unknown aircraft.
The eight stations were from Nova Scotia south to off the coast of South Carolina.
There was AEW&C Squadron in Florida that took care of stations south.
The missions on which I flew were designated Active Air Defense Missions, the same
designation as a fighter scramble.
I flew with a crew of between 14 and 18 men. I was one of five radar operators.
Other crewmembers included Aircraft Commander (Pilot), Pilot (Co-Pilot), Flight
Engineer, Navigator, Radio Operators, and Radar Techs.
Our mission durations were between 12 and 18 hours in the air, with a three to
four-hour briefing and debrief. On the aircraft we had food, coffee and water as well
a latrine and bunks for crew rest between times on duty (watching radar scopes).
Because the stations we flew were at least 150 miles off the U.S East Coast, when we
had engine trouble or the weather was closed-in at Otis AFB, our recovery base was
usually Kinley AFB, Bermuda.
I was on alert flight duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Prior to the actual
showdown, on our way to some stations, we would fly over Russian fishing trawlers
more than 100-miles off the East Coast.
We knew the trawlers were spying on us, looking for more than fish, so we had
“dummy load radar signals” so they wouldn’t know our actual radar frequencies.
Segment 4
Mail was the only way we got word from home and the food at the Iceland sites was
not good. The buildings (barracks, chow hall, club, gym, etc,) at the site near the
Arctic Circle were connected by cement hallways. The wind on that mountain was so
strong that site personnel were not allowed outside unless it was an emergency. The
windows on the buildings were covered with expanded metal coverings so rocks
picked up by the wind wouldn’t break the glass.
One of the most difficult things to get used to in Iceland was 24 hours of daylight in
the summer and 24-hours of dark in the winter.
The sites had radio stations where troops could act as DJs and play music for the
site. The Armed Forces Radio Television Service supplied records.
Segment 5
I was discharged at Otis AFB on May 18, 1963 and went home to Wellsburg and got
a job.
I completed Air Force courses in Photography and got a job as a staff photographer
at the Herald-Star in Steubenville.
While working full-time, I also took classes at West Liberty State College, West
Virginia Northern and JCC.
I have kept in touch with some of the people I served with. We try to get together at
lease once a year. We also attend Iceland Radar Sites reunions and other veterans’
reunions and gatherings.
I belong to AMVETS Post 275 in Steubenville. Our programs are community-based
as well as offering support to all veterans.
Segment 6
I had a 40-year career as a journalist at the Herald-Star, covering government,
courts and business.
I retired as Business Editor after more than 20 years of covering the steel industry.
I strongly feel my service time had a great influence on my work ethic and ability to
take orders as well as give orders.
I strongly feel every young American should serve at least one year in the military,
then go on to college or pursue a vocation.