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Airway Pioneer Member |
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Another member of my senior class and I enlisted in the Navy in 1944. Following boot camp in San Diego, I was assigned to Signalman training at the Naval base in Bainbridge, Md. After training I served in the South Pacific aboard the tanker USS Tallulah as a signalman and quartermaster. Our mission was refueling vessels at sea. Following discharge from the Navy, I attended school and worked for the Milwaukee Railroad in Montana and Idaho as a relief telegrapher until being hired by CAA in January of 1949. I served in Flight Service Stations in Alaska and my hometown, Bozeman, MT., until transferring to Cleveland ARTCC in 1951. While there, I was able to attend Baldwin Wallace College, thanks to the support of Center Chief Chet Church and the rest of the Center staff. I moved to the Washington ARTCC as a controller then to Oklahoma City as an instructor. I next moved to the Anchorage Regional Office and later to the Washington Office of FAA. During the Area Office era, I served as Air Traffic Branch Chief in the Salt Lake City and Los Angeles Area Offices. When the new Regional Office opened in Seattle in 1971, I moved to Seattle as the Air Traffic Division Chief. When the Rocky Mountain and Northwest Regions were combined in 1981 with headquarters in Seattle, I continued as the Northwest Mountain Region Air Traffic Division Manager. My wife Janet and I remained in Seattle following retirement in 1986. Our two daughters and son and families live in the Seattle area. We have four grandchildren. I had an airplane, N200NM, a Cessna 210, for over thirty years. While serving as LAX-500, I was able to commute by air from the Capistrano Airport near my home in South Laguna to the office in hangar six at LAX. The Capistrano Airport was a grass strip which has since closed. In those days, 3000 feet of the east/west taxiway, south of runway 25L at LAX was designated as runway for use by commuter aircraft (and LAX-500) so we didn't have to mix it up with the heavies landing on 25L. Mike Wandrick would often drive to Capistrano from his home in Tustin and join me for the flight to the office. We talked to controllers at El Toro, Long Beach, Torrance and Los Angeles on the way in each morning and again during the evening commute home. We had some interesting experiences during those flights. I enjoyed owning several airplanes and flying most of my life but finally hung the goggles up at age 70. We have taken up boating and since retirement have spent many good days cruising the inland waters from Seattle to Juneau with family and friends, including many former FAAers. We also still get in a few rounds of golf most weeks. Dave | |
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