Like so many others, my career started at the AC&W School which was located at Keesler AFB at Biloxi Mississippi. I had been selected to be trained as an Aircraft Control and Warning Operator, and I departed the School with the AFSC 27330A level designator.
To set the record straight – I did not volunteer for assignment at Red Cliff. Travel to this location was pretty well straight forward. After a 30-day leave in Philadelphia, PA, I departed McGuire AFB, NJ for Harmon AFB on a MATS C-54. I then flew from Harmon AFB to RCAF Station Torbay on a Trans-Canada Airline Viscount. I was picked up at Torbay by a driver from Red Cliff.
I arrived at Red Cliff in May 1961 as an Airman Third Class (A/3C) right out of the training school and this meant that there was a lot to learn as a new member of the 642nd AC&W Squadron. We worked 9 and 3 – 3 days, 3 swings, and 3 midnight shifts which was then followed by three days off. There were about 125 USAF personnel at Red Cliff. I do not recall how many civilians were employed at the squadron.
We made use of the AN/CPS-6B radar equipment at Red Cliff and while this equipment had built in height finder capabilities – we made use of the Height finder facilities which were located at the RCAF manned 226th AC&W Squadron which was located at Gander. The set at Red Cliff was variable in performance, and was probably a good set to cut my teeth on.
We only tracked traffic that was inbound (westbound) in the CADIZ, except for special (yellow) traffic. Most normal traffic was scheduled passenger airline flights from Europe to USA and all of these checked with Gander on the way in. It was normal to get 5 or 6 of these per hour. Sometimes we had SAC B-52’s on airborne alert flying north and southbound between Thule and Arkansas. Yellow traffic at Red Cliff was usually P2V’s on anti-sub patrol from Argentia. All our moves were called into Harmon. They had the Identifying Section there. Every few weeks we’d get an unknown, and it would usually turn out to be a SAC flight of B-47’s, inbound from Europe that was absurdly off course. We often ran practice intercepts using F-102’s from Harmon. We made use of full-size plotting boards, but they were only used during training missions.
I cannot remember any day room at Red Cliff, but would be surprised if there were not one at this location. There was no airmen’s club at Red Cliff – so we shared the NCO club. It was rumored to be the richest NCO club in all the USAF. There were scheduled flights from Torbay to Argentia to permit personnel and dependents at St. Johns to shop at the naval PX. I went once.
I was not at Red Cliff during the bad weather months so it not possible to reflect on the weather based on year round experiences. I saw some high winds during my short stay at Red Cliff and there were rumors of winds strong enough to blow a human off the hill. The barracks at Red Cliff were not interconnected. One had to go outdoors to get anywhere. We had private rooms. There are pictures of the interior of the barracks and the rooms on the Pinetree Line web site.
I don’t remember what the food was like at Red Cliff, so I must assume that it was probably acceptable – but nothing to write home about
St. Johns was full of single women. There was talk of ratios like 12 women for each man, although I often wondered how such a thing could be counted. It was said that they left the small villages around the island in droves to come to St. Johns. It was indisputable that, unlike St. Anthony, there was no shortage of single women. St. John’s was not a town of night clubs. If there were any, I never heard of them. The freewheeling NCO club at Red Cliff was THE place to be. The price of a drink was 15¢, from a gin and tonic to a bottle of Heineken. There was an up-to-date juke box, a dance floor, slot machines, and plenty of young good-looking GIs. Apparently, Red Cliff was isolated from St. John’s enough that the local moral authorities could look the other way. Every GI was allowed to bring two guests onto the base to attend the club in the evenings, and it was not uncommon to find a half dozen girls hanging out at the main gate, waiting for any GI who would come and sign two of them into the club. Likewise, for the GIs getting a date simply meant walking to the gate and selecting someone who looked promising. I suppose that because few local men found their way to the NCO club, keeping the peace there was easier than one might expect in such a place. In any event, I never witnessed any serious rowdiness there.
The upshot of all this was that the NCO club did a land office business and its coffers overflowed. Hence the unusually low prices. When the base closed, the money in the NCO club’s account was due to be absorbed into some general USAF fund for starting or helping other clubs at bases around the world, so it was decided to spend a good chunk of it on a closing party. A hall was rented in St. John’s and a grand dinner and dance celebration for the GIs and their guests was held, free of charge. This occurred very shortly before my departure.
Mail at Red Cliff was regular. Almost everyone sent their mail home through the Canadian postal system, rather than the APO since this approach proved to be much faster. Canadian postage stamps were sold on the base so we had quick access to the necessary postage.
I had managed to be assigned to the 642nd AC&W Squadron at the time when it was decided to close the unit. The following is the text of a letter that I wrote to my brother on 11 May 61, only days after I arrived at Red Cliff:
John – (come in, America) – Here I am at Red Cliff AFS, Call sign "Ginger", known to those stationed here as "The Hill". We are the easternmost station on the Pinetree Line. We are on a coastal ridge 6-7 miles northeast of St. John’s. I am an apprentice AC&W operator. I am learning while doing. So far, my duties consist of making coffee, sweeping up, and talking like Donald Duck to the plotter at Harmon AFB. I am supposed to be studying for my 5-level in between drinking and working, but I can’t seem to find the time. At 15¢ a drink, who can find time for anything? We are closing. General opinion is that it will happen about 1 July. General opinion is that I will be sent to Thule. So I don’t work or care much about that 5-level. At 15¢ a drink, I probably wouldn’t want to anyway. I’m in Newfoundland – on the hill. That’s where I am. Tony.
The base was rife with rumor when we were advised that the station at Red Cliff was going to close down. Nobody knew for sure what was going to happen even days before it did. It turned out that most of the men were returning to ZI early, so they were generally elated about it.
There were, however, a small number of men who were transferred to St. Anthony – as opposed to be rotated home to the United States. I was one of these fortunate/unfortunate few. We left Red Cliff for St. Anthony in August 1961 – among the first group to depart from Red Cliff – within a few days of the radar being shut down at Red Cliff.
There was a little irony for me though as I was upgraded to AFSC 27350A on 10 August 1961. I had managed to make the 5 level after all.
The men who had driven their cars to Red Cliff from the States had a real dilemma when they were sent to St. Anthony. Since there was no road to St Anthony at that time, they had to either abandon them or have them sent by ship. Sgt. Hickey and Airman Banks had their cars shipped in. Other airmen at St. Anthony had cars, also, presumably purchased there.
Cars purchased in Canada were a problem for all GIs. Bringing them home meant paying duties that often amounted to more than the value of the car. Unless the owner was lucky enough to find a buyer, he had to dispose of the car some way. It was rumored that there were dozens of GI cars at the bottom of the Atlantic at the foot of the cliff by the station. It is very possible that there was a flurry of this activity shortly after I left.