They were stationed at the air base from 1986 to 1993. [1] This would result in a large amount of paperwork and extra expenses for the Air Force. One of these men were named Lt. Ennis Whitehead. . [5] In recent years groundwater contamination has be linked to jet fuel, cleaning agents, and fire suppression agents used at Wurtsmith Air Force Base. With that being said, these chemicals are going to be reaching a lot more people than just the Oscoda residents. Deliveries of the first P-6s were late, the first example not appearing until October 1929. [6] The 379th Bomb Wing was, Dave Norton resigned his commotion as a United States Air Force, , 1993 exactly 9 years after receiving his commission, Lt. form the United States Air Force Academy. Here is a list of military bases that are known to have had their drinking water contaminated with PFAS chemicals: Alameda Naval base, California. There were frequently extremely large and loud airplanes taxiing, taking off, and landing in the base. Anyone know the status on this? Typical occurrences on Wurtsmith Air Force Base included planes flying in and out on missions. Drinking water laced with high levels of poisonous chemicals may be to blame for cancer and other chronic disease among veterans and families who lived at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in northern Michigan, according to a new federal health report draft. Tests in Michigan near the former Wurtsmith Air Force base have found PFOS in groundwater at levels as high as 42,000 ppt. Survived stage 3 oral cancer and per medical review, origin unknown since I have never smoked. We thought that was kind of unbelievable.. I have also read about the PFAS via fire retardant foam. Timothy Marcum, 1/15/2071-73 camp lejeune nc bad water va in redding pretends they know nothing about having problems. Wurtsmith Air, Force Base was constructed with a runway layout specifically for this. The chemicals, notably benzene and trichloroethylene (TCE), were documented at extremely high levels in Wurstmith AFB water many times when the former Strategic Air Command (SAC) base was active and home to B-52 Bomber Wings. Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Mich., served primarily as a combat crew and bomber training base throughout its 70-year history. [1] This was followed by one and a half weeks of normal day to day activitiesuntil the flight crew relieved crew on ready alert in the bunkers.[1]. At this time Wurtsmith Air Force Base was still part of the, Strategic Air Commands bomber fleet. The runways were aligned NE/SW, E/W, and NW/SE. Mr. Norton experienced this first hand while being station at Wurtsmith Air Force Base when he had his Squadron Commander help him hang drywall in his house. Section 107, the written material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for educational purposes. From humble beginnings in the 1920's as a aircraft gunnery range, to its status as a vital member of our strategic defense, Wurtsmith Air Force Base has distinguished itself as an important part of our country's military history. Their children developed asthma, spinal defects and thyroid problems. The base was put into a standby status to be there just in case something happened in those areas. As previously stated, there is a museum open to the public which has artifacts and information on the bases history. Poison Spring: The Secret History of Pollution and the EPA. This cycle was from Wednesday to Wednesday. The B-52 is being serviced under the Strategic Air Command Recovery Oriented Aircraft Maintenance (ROAM) system. Beginning in July 1944, the P-47 Thunderbolt was used extensively to train Free French Air Force pilots at Oscoda Army Air Field (AAF). Prior to our IOC inspection for the SRAM we were ordered to clean out igloos full of barrels 5gal to 55gal drums,1,000s of gallons which had been ordered by mistake to start the system. The Wurtsmith Air Force Base, created in 1923, played a large role in WWII. City Picto Map, Clark Air Base / Angeles City. [1], The usefulness and mission type of the KC-135 in maintaining air superiority, as well as supporting missions originating in the United States meant that they would have longer assignments, as well as much more fluid assignments than other types of squadrons. Airport History. In 2016, residents near Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Michigan discovered that the water they drank, bathed in, swam in, and fished in was contaminated with jet fuel, cancer-causing chlorinated . GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Veteran Compensation Programs (www.veteranprograms.com) does NOT represent or warrant, and makes no claims, promises or guarantees about, the usefulness, completeness, adequacy or accuracy of any information, posts, surveys, topics, comments, blogs or responses contained in or linked to this website, or the competency, qualifications or identity of any person providing information or making a post, survey, topic, comment, blog or response contained in or linked to this website. ircraft operated from Oscoda Army Airfield. Environmental groups are calling on the Air Force and the State of Michigan to get serious about cleaning up PFAS around the site of the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Just run the water until it clears up. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base that was closed by the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC 2) and is a proposed EPA Superfund site. Stay tuned for further developments. He was stationed at the base. [4] On August 1st 1958 the 4026th Strategic Wing was formed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base. The cockpit was fairly easy to enter and exit, but the doors had a tendency to fly open in midair at high speed if improperly secured. All four of the the guys that were in that flight were from Tuskegee, Losinksi said. Air Force Base was essentially a self-contained airport with all of the necessities to support a full community on Base. NPL Status: Proposed Street Address: AFBCA/DB, OSCODA, MI 54961 Congressional District: 01 EPA ID: MI5570024278 Population (within 1 mile): 101-1,000 Contaminant Information. The M&FRC is located at 1550 Wurtsmith St . Any one else from 84-89 have issues? .. did this bill die in the committee s? I like combining historical photographs with the stories behind them. It still haunts me today that we had to do that and were told to just follow orders. Call 205.328.9200 Claim Application. Veteran Compensation Programs (veteranprograms.com) assumes NO liability, and expressly disclaims any and all responsibility, for the content of all posts, surveys, topics, comments, blogs or responses. [5] While the 379thBomb Wing was stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base they were part of the ReadyAlert Nuclear Strike Force. The single enlisted airmen who lived on base were housed in barracks. The 1st Combat Evaluation Group (initially "1CEG", later "1CEVG") was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) unit. Following cleanup, operation and maintenance activities are ongoing. The ready alert flight crews were rotated on a three week cycle. the first KC-135 in operation Southern Watch. I have had sever kidney problems since 1983 that carried on into my mid teens. [1], The ready alert flight crews were rotated on a three week cycle. At the start of 1985, Wurtsmith maintained an $80 million annual payroll with 3,600 military and civilian personnel. [1] As tensions increased around the world and the likelihood of an actual mission being flown while on ready alert increased, the weekbecame more stressful. During World War II, P-47 fighters were assigned to Oscoda. Why are you focusing only on chlordane and other organochlorine pesticide (OCP) contamination at the Family Housing? Most individuals are not educated on what the base did before and after World War II, what is currently happening at this location, or how the historical space is impacting the land and local citizens today. Now that the contamination has reached the Au Sable river, it could potentially carry this contamination into Lake Huron. It is perhaps the best-known of all the between wars Army pursuits. Because Wurtsmith Air Force Base was an Air Force Base it had to have the ability to go into complete lock-down in times of emergency and still support the mission. In 1977 the 379th Bomb Wing upgraded the B-52H fleet to B-52Gaircraft. Even after the base closed in 1993, the base maintained a fire staff for many years. The base is located in Oscoda, Iosco County, Michigan. [2] Another unfortunate occurrence that Happened more than it should have were Court-Martials. Because the Committee on Toxicology (NRC, 1979) concluded that it could not determine a level of exposure to chlordane below which there would be no biologic effect under conditions of prolonged exposure of families in military housing. The pesticide levels and CERCLA 120(h) Deed Restrictions are public information and readily available. Bert E. Skeel was a WWI pilot who died in an air race in Ohio. Moodys body was not recovered until it washed ashore in Port Huron on June 4, 1944 two days before D-Day and the invasion of Normandy. The average person has around 3 or 4 parts per billion of these chemicals present in their blood. Their water table has been contaminated with high levels of PFOA because of the leakage of chemicals from Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Wurtsmith got its start in 1923 as Loud-Reames Aviation Field, a soft-surface landing site for Arm Air Corps aircraft from Selfridge Field. If you are interested in any particular aircraft of time period please let me know. Wurtsmith earned recognition during the war as the leader of the group of pilots using P-40 and P-38 fighter . Dover Air Force base, Delaware. 1946. Veterans of the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda from the 1970s, and their families who lived with them on the base, face increased risks of leukemia and other harmful effects from prolonged exposures to toxic volatile organic compounds that were in the now-shuttered base's water supply at the time, a federal health agency has found. She has all kinds of problems, my ex died of cancer and I have all kinds of problems. He was training with fellow pilots out of what was then Selfridge Field when his plane crashed. Theseplanes would regularly fly missions from Wurtsmith Air Force Base during thecold war. This bunker compound housedthe flight crews on ready alert, the three B-52 bombers ready to take off at amoments notice, and the accompanying KC-135s ready to top off the B-52s after takeoff. [1] The EPA began requiring public water systems to monitor for PFOA and PFOS in 2012, but even today there is no federal drinking water standards for PFOA or PFOS. The aquifer overlies a thick clay layer at an average depth of 65 feet. It is one of the most famous bases located in our state. State officials' concerns about pollution in the area date back to 2012, when the health department issued a "do not eat" advisory for all fish caught near Wurtsmith Air Force Base. This happened a couple weeks before the IOC which is in the wing,ahistorical records on microfilm. According to Robert Delaney, a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality specialist, If you pull the water out of the ground in that training area, it still foams, theres so much in there. Since this entire problem stems from the fact that the foam used to extinguish fires on the base is what carried the toxic chemical, that goes to show just how invasive and problematic this contamination can be. These, planes would regularly fly missions from Wurtsmith Air Force Base during the, The 379th Bomb Wing moved to Wurtsmith Air Force Base in June of, 19661. Located in Iosco County, Michigan, Wurtsmith Air Force Base operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. It was formed on 1 August 1961 to merge the 3908th Strategic Standardization Group for SAC aircrew evaluation with the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group that had originated from the 263rd Army Air Force Base Unit which transferred from 15th AF to directly under Strategic Air Command c. Environmental context Total organofluorine and known fluorosurfactants were quantified in 11 aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) used to extinguish fires in Ontario, Canada, and one commercial AFFF product. It excelled in low-altitude ground support as a well-built and reliable aircraft capable of absorbing quite a bit of battle damage. In July 2018 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), set the table for Congress to consider legislation that would force the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to extend health benefits to base veterans without making them prove their illnesses are linked to chemical exposure. More than 40 private businesses and public agencies use the former Air Force facilities and infrastructure, providing more than 1,300 jobs to the area, as well as the conversion of former base housing to 700 privately owned residential homes. I am pretty sure Diabetes and Sleep Apnea I have now and neuro dammage in both arms are related , So Presumptive Claims puzzleing I have a claim in and never heard anything I know Senator Kilddee of Michigan is trying to help veterans on this matter but congress are dragging this out. The P-6E was quite a good-looking airplane, and became the most famous of the Hawk line of biplane fighters. [2] The flight crashed at 2:20PM while returning from K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula. The 5,223-acre Wurtsmith Air Force Base (Wurtsmith AFB) is located on the northeastern part of Michigan's lower peninsula. The Air Force . Most individuals are not educated on what the base did before and after World War II, what is currently happening at this . It was criticized for its low service ceiling, its slow rate of climb, and its generally poor high-altitude performance. There is no amount of PFOA that is officially recognized as harmful. However, many studies have shown otherwise. In 1979, the state of Michigan sued the Air Force for the contamination. While the vast majority of personnel on Wurtsmith Air, Force Base were not part of a flight crew rotating through ready alert, their, respective jobs all served to ensure those planes could take off at a moments, notice. My daughter was born at the base hospital. There are a lot of stories to tell. http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/04/wurtsmith_pfas_pfc_april_45_me.html. The P-6 could climb to 10,000 feet in 6.6 min. In 1960 it became part of the Strategic Air Command . [1]These KC-135s were necessary because the B-52 could not take off with both afull load of ordnance and a full tank of gas. I am not a doctor or attorney, and cannot give medical advice or legal advice. The landing gear was changed from rubber-block shock absorbers inside the fuselage to oleo-and-spring units mounted in the outer forward strut. The sources Im using include The Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFRA); Photo collections from Wurtsmith Museum; Photo collections from Selfridge Museum, Selfridge AFB Historical files; and Aircraft Accident Reports. Welcome to The WAFB Historical Site dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of Wurtsmith Air Force Base and the units assigned there. This judgement flies in the face provided by the federal ATSDR and the National Institute of Health. This is a short video about the small museum located at the decommissioned Wurtsmith AFB in Oscoda Mi.http://www.rv-project.com The Lackland Air Force Base Education Center is located at 1550 Wurtsmith Street, Suite 5. . The tire bead failed, allowing the casing to slip over the rim on one side and bind on edge of the wheel fairing on takeoff. In March of 1943, the Third Air Force reactivated the field for training of black aviators. A total 9589 Airacobras were built before production finally ended on July 25, 1944. This is an evolving issue with many moving parts. These levels were published by the Enviromental Protection Agency (Mlive.com). The Bell P-39 Airacobra was not the best fighter aircraft of WWII, but it was the only fighter available in quantity during the first six months of the war. [5] The 379th flew with a Triangle K tail flash to continue the, tradition from their World War II counterparts. There were four planes, and I was watching them from our front window, as I usually do when theyre engaged in gunnery practice. All kind of special chemicals that Boeing told the USAF we had to have. Eielson Air Force base, Alaska. Everyone from the mechanics keeping the planes flyable, to the cookspreparing food for the airmen stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, to thecommanders who ensured that everything from the flight schedules being correctto the proper paperwork being completed to allow the missions to continue. "Keeping Wurtsmith AFB and Aviation History of NE MI Alive" Opens on Armed Forces Day in May, hosts a Welcome Home. In fact the only time B-52s would travel was for training missions, or actually delivering ordinance to its target. Representatives Dan Kildee (MI-05) and Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) today urged the U.S. Air Force to take more significant steps to address PFAS contamination around the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscoda. My first daughter was born there at their hospital.my ex husband now, is very sick. Drinking Water At Wurtsmith AFB Contaminted. I served at Wurtsmith from 1974-1977 my whole family has suffered from various ongoing ailments. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in Iosco County, Michigan.It operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. Therefore, regardless of the location of cancer in your body, we strongly encourage you to contact our law firm if you spent time at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, either as a veteran or as a family member of one, to recover the financial compensation you are entitled to. Aircraft upper wing, left lower wing, rudder and propeller damaged. [5] While the 379th, Bomb Wing was stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base they were part of the Ready, Alert Nuclear Strike Force. [4] In the lateryears of World War II Wurtsmith Air Force Base was used as a fighter-interceptor training base and housed the 332d fighter group, which was part of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. A Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker plane, serial 60-0317, was damaged beyond repair in a landing accident at Oscoda-Wurtsmith AFB, MI (OSC), United States of America. distance from the bunker. Theyve seen lots of things underwater, but the story of the P-39 fighter lost just off the Port Huron beachfront touched them. The presumptive disabilities from contaminated water at Wurtsmith AFB would lead to automatic compensation to potentially thousands of veterans. Stationed there for 84-88 and am suffering with a motor neuron disease process. Only after, the plains were airborne would the crew be notified if it was a drill or not.[1]. "It was a city within a city. Wurtsmith Today The former Wurtsmith Air Force Base (AFB) properties are being reutilized by 28 businesses and agencies that collectively employ more than 1,660 workers (representing 240 percent of civilian jobs lost). We have a lot of sick civilians and = veterans from contaminated drinking water. These mission were into Iraq. Drinking water laced with high levels of poisonous chemicals may be to blame for cancer and other chronic disease among veterans and families who lived at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in northern Michigan, according to a new federal health report draft. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base that was closed by the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC 2) and is a proposed EPA Superfund site. The study doesn't estimate past concentrations or exposure dosage and was released with . All the artifacts that were taken off were replaced in their original position and original situation except for the tag we cleaned up, he said. They took a photo on April 11, from the surface of Lake Huron, of the wing of a Wold War II-era fighter plane that crashed during a training exercise, killing its pilot. The Air Force knew about the contamination and spent millions since 1977 to try to cover up the problem by adding phosphates to mask the odor of the chemical in the water. [1] On the first Wednesday thefresh flight crew would relive the current flight crew in the bunkers. One example of this is autocross racing. He saw the surrounding land and figured it would make a great place for a gunnery range. At least thirty French piloted P-47 aircraft accidents were reported at Oscoda AAF during the time period 1944-1945 and resulted in at least four pilots killed. My family lived on this base in 1983 to 1987, are we at risk? Mr. Norton remarked that they were flying the wings off of the planes. We didnt know really what we had.. This year, we went out diving, and we could see these points of interest from the surface, Losinski said. Some areas of the site are still under investigation. Mr. Norton remarked that they were flying the wings off of the planes. [1], While Wurtsmith Air Force Base was its own little town, it was segregated by officers and enlisted. If your base is not on the map or list above, this does not mean you were not exposed to PFAS chemicals from firefighting foam. Theyre looking for other divers who can assist with the effort. [5] The 379th flew with a Triangle K tail flash to continue thetradition from their World War II counterparts. Hill Housing area-- Wurtsmith Elementary School, Grissom Elementary School, Wagner Middle School, . [5] One crew flew 29mission out of Jeddah, setting the record for most missions flew by a bombercrew in theater. Since, 2010 sampling by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the U.S. Air Force has identified elevated levels of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination in drinking water wells and some locally caught fish and deer. 70-77 lived on base housing with family, flight line assistant supervisor. Report also stated that the Oscoda Michigan gunnery field was very rough and sandy and notoriously hard on wheels, landing gears etc. Lt. Ennis Whitehead was part of a unit at Selfridge Army Air Field. [1] On the first Wednesday the, fresh flight crew would relive the current flight crew in the bunkers. My ex wife has thyroid disease and auto immune disease. [1] While this was a relatively boring week, it was extremely stressfulbecause no one knew when the alarm would sound, but more importantly no oneknew if it would be a drill or not. [5] One crew flew 29, mission out of Jeddah, setting the record for most missions flew by a bomber, crew in theater. Today, the Wurtsmith Air Force Base has a museum where you can learn about its history. This unfortunately happened on October 11. , 1988 when KC-135 crashed with 6 crew members and 10 passengers on board. The Air Force knew that due to the method used to apply the pesticide, the building design flaw, that a completed exposure pathway (CEP) existed at a large percentage of its tenantable/habitual . [2] Another unfortunate occurrence that Happened more than it should have were Court-Martials. The Losinskis havent abandoned their quest to bring this long-forgotten chapter in the history of World War II to light. One of the unfortunate risks in flying is a crash. However, the P-6 differed from the P-1 in having its fuselage rounded out to match the fatter engine cowling required by the Conqueror engine. This is extremely important because harsh chemicals can negatively impact the future of children and infants as well as the elderly. I was stationed there 1978 -81 lived on base they never told us about the water being contaminated . The state says, We dont have jurisdiction over that; its the Air Force, Losinski said. Had some issue at Loring Maine where I was stationed from 86-88 and nothing.VA is cricket s on this Richard Stanfill, 12/5/21I was stationed there from 1982 to October of 1985 and lost my left kidney to 3rd stage clear cell carcinoma I never smoked or did drugs. I lived in base housing, I want to say 8607H Ohio from 82-84. Wurtsmith AirForce Base was constructed with a runway layout specifically for this. History Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan, served primarily as a combat crew and bomber training base throughout its 70-year history. As seenin the picture of the runways, there is a Christmas tree coming off of thebeginning of the runway with a building next to it. It was eerie, David Losinski said. The base became a permanent installation on January 1, 1951, when the U. S. Air Force designated it as a fighter training base for the Air Defense command. [5] However, the B-52H aircraft maintained nuclear alert at Wurtsmith, Air Force Base. P-6E, serial number 32-156, 17th Pursuit Squadron from Selfridge Field Michigan. There are many good photos of P-39s at Selfridge Field (Posted below), but none of P-39s at Oscoda. "The Department of Defense is evaluating [cleanup standards], and we take our lead from what the Department of Defense says," said Stephen TerMaath, who leads the Air Force division in charge of Wurtsmith cleanup. After all of that great history, the Wurtsmith Air Force Base is still standing as a place that is visited by a plethora of people. [5], Dave Norton resigned his commotion as a United States Air ForceCaptain on May 30th, 1993 exactly 9 years after receiving his commissionas a 2nd Lt. form the United States Air Force Academy.

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wurtsmith air force base housing

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