No, this isn't the "Patrick" Air Force Base I'm speaking about (courtesy Chairforce.com).
Patrick is a geographically interesting place since it sits on a narrow barrier island. Click on the image for a closeup. Omernick types out there: Patrick AFB belonged to the Navy from the 1930s to the late 40s. It was known as Naval Air Station Banana River. That name rang a bell so I called my sister Maggie, keeper of the CD of Grandpa Greg's old Navy records. Turns out Greg Omernick passed through in Oct-Dec 1944 as one in a long line of training schools before his action in the Pacific Theater. Thanks Maggie and I look forward to examining those documents more closely at home.
[UPDATE] You gotta give Maggie credit! She rushed Grandpa's scanned documents to me ASAP. Here's his travel voucher for the train tickets between Corpus Christie, TX and NAS Banana River, FL. Thanks Mags! [Click to enlarge the photo]
Here's a good shot of the Space Coast. Click on the photo for a closeup of the spots I traveled to.
I drove up to the Space Coast Tuesday afternoon to get a room at Patrick AFB, check the history, look at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and see a Manatees game. Patrick, the Cape, and Kennedy Space Center are all separate areas.
Patrick AFB hosts several different types of units from the 45th Space Wing to the 920th Rescue Wing, making for some interesting aircraft on the flightline. Check out that cool C-130J model on the far end.
I stayed in one of the old VAQ buildings with the rooms that share a bathroom. This concept has been largely phased out in the USAF. While Air Force rooms are the best, this building needs to be leveled. It's done its duty.
The Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) is headquartered at Patrick. This agency monitors seismic and nuclear events worldwide.
The Patrick Passenger Terminal hosts a C-17 Globemaster out of Charleston, SC.
The outside of Space Coast Stadium, home to the Manatees and the Washington Nationals' Spring Training complex.
I attended another Brevard County Manatees game, this time in Brevard County. You may recall that they are the Class-A minor league team for the Brewers. I printed some of the photos from the last game I went to in Sarasota and had Ned Yost IV and others autograph them. I stayed through the sixth inning as the Manatees pummeled the Tampa Yankees 6-1. I had to get back to the room to watch the ongoing ESPN original drama series
The Bronx is Burning. I've been watching since the first episode in July. It's pretty good, covering the Yankees' 1977 team, the Son of Sam murders, power outages, NYC mayoral race, as well as a bunch of other stuff I remember from childhood. Has anyone seen this series? Leave a comment with what you think about it. They mix the acting scenes with plenty of real footage. Good stuff. There are three episodes left. Tuesdays at 9pm Central on ESPN.
One disappointing note regarding the Manatees: I looked for catcher Angel Salome (pictured
here in Sarasota in July). He did not appear on the roster. Huh? I thought perhaps they promoted him to double-A Huntsville. Nope. Looks like we had a cheater on our hands. He's serving a 50 game suspension. See the press release
here. Bad role model. The guy is only 19, so he doesn't have "Bonds-Head" yet. Check out
Time Mag's interactive look at Bonds' physique from the 80s through today. Notice the 1999 and beyond time frame. HF1
There's the Visitor Quarters at Trumbo Annex of Naval Air Station Key West. I found the one-mile walk to downtown convenient and the Theda-Clark-ish look of the hotel uncanny.
I spent Sunday afternoon driving six miles back eastward to Boca Chica Key and the airfield portion of NAS Key West. My grandfather passed through here for a three week Naval school 1945 and I thought I'd poke around the base a little. Currently the field is under renovation. And with Labor Day holiday upon us, it was pretty slow. It made for easy exploration.
With nothing going on due to construction, the young Navy troop working the desk inside Base Ops enjoyed perhaps the easiest duty on station.
I wondered if these hangars are post-WWII or perhaps existed during the 1940s.
The "Sundowners" adversary squadron HQ resides at Boca Chica Field. They fly F-5s and play the "bad guys" in air combat training.
The heat, humidity, and brackish odor of the salty standing water around the Boca Chica Annex of NAS Key West is something that doesn't come out in Grandpa's photos and documents. Driving and walking around the area definitely added to getting a better idea of his WWII experiences.
Here's the terminus of Highway 1 along Whitehead Street near downtown Key West. HF1
