Robert McCafferty:  

Life Hello to the class of '57. After I graduated from McCook High, I attended a year of college in McPhereson, Kansas. While there, my father was transferred to Colorado Springs, Colorado. I joined them there and worked as a Bellman at the Broadmoor Hotel for a year to earn money to attend the University of Colorado. I had to drop out a couple of times and return to the Broadmoor to get more funding to complete my degree at CU. But that had its blessings for it was there that I met my future, (and still) wife, Phoebe Myers McCafferty. We were married in December of 1963 during the Christmas break. She had graduated a year earlier with a degree in Education and was teaching grade school in Boulder while I finished up. I joined Air Force ROTC and was commisioned a Second Leiutenant on graduation. I was sent to Mather Air Force Base in Sacremento, California where I was taught to be a Navigator in the Air Force. I went from there To Castle AFB, near Merced, Ca. where I upgraded to Navigate KC-135 aircraft. The KC-135 is a large four engine jet aircraft that refuels other aircraft in the air. My next assignment took me to an Air Force Base in the upper penisula of Michigan. While there, I was sent to Southeast Asia and flew 66 combat missions, primarily out of Utapao Air Base in southern Thailand. A follow-on assingment took me back to Castle AFB, where I was an Instructor, teaching student Navigators to navigate the KC-135. After the war in Viet Nam was over, I was trained to become an Intelligence Officer, which I very much enjoyed. Other assignments followed and I ended my career by being sent to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where I was a Squadron Operations Officer, Chief of the Mission Planning cell and single point of contact for our wing interacting with Saudi the Saudi Military during the Gulf War. Our squadron was the primary unit sent to Saudi Arabia to refuel the F-117 Stealth Fighters. I spent nine months there and came under several Iraqui Scud missile attacks...Expand for more