This my 82-year-old father, Robert “Bob” Kaltenmark, he is my veteran.
I grew up hearing the stories of his time in the service. How much he loves the planes. His time overseas. Getting to meet some of his buddies when visiting the occasional base open house at the 122nd at Bare Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Truth be told, I really did not hear his stories. I probably was not listening because I was busy doing other things or letting my mind wander as I often do. I had a chance to do some research, and to hear his full story again. Like many veterans, there is more to the man (or woman) wearing a hat with their service branch or unit than meets the eye.
Kaltenmark joined the Air National Guard in 1955, he was 17 years old, during his junior year of high school. Given his age, his mother, Pauline, also had to sign his enlistment papers for a 6-year obligation.
His early enlistment was the result of watching the news and studying what was happening with the French in Vietnam. Family members suggested he decide where he wanted to go versus waiting to get drafted as had happened with the previous two wars.
His guard experience was normal for that period, “basic” was held there on base and weekend drills were regularly scheduled. He married Marilyn Cayot on April 23, 1960, shortly before the Gary Powers U-2 incident increasing tensions between the Soviets and the “Western Powers.”
Unit mobilization rumors started going around. Even though Kaltenmark was due to be discharged in 1961 he was called to active duty in August of 1961 for deployment to France. Operation Tack Hammer, the United States response to the Berlin Crisis of 1961, was about to happen.
In November, 1961, the Indiana Air National Guard 122nd Tactical Fighter Wing was deployed to Chambley France from Baer Field, Fort Wayne, Indiana. When activated, the 122nd consisted of three tactical fighter squadrons, the 112th at Toledo Express Airport, Ohio, the 113th at Hulman Field, Terre Haute, and the 163rd at Baer Field.
The deployment of the support units was a hopscotch path from Fort Wayne to Charleston on to Bermuda, the Azores, and finally Chambley. Each stop provided an opportunity to deplane, stretch their legs, and grab a meal.
The Chambley Air Base was in Northeast France near the German border having a history dating back to 1940 when it was used for a short period by the French Air Force. Located near the French city of Metz, the base went through several upgrades for use by the United States in response to the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union.
Kaltenmark’s Military Occupational Specialty was Air Police. He was 1 of 55 security personnel divided into 4 flights to cover base security. A tall order given their small numbers and only being armed with M1 carbines, 38 caliber revolvers, and 45 semi-automatic pistols.
Each shift started with a briefing providing standing orders for the day and updates on security threats. Their primary mission stayed the same, should the alarm sound they were there to protect the aircraft until they could get into the air. After that, they were on their own. “This meant nuclear war,” Kaltenmark said. “No orders were given to regroup with other units; we were on our own.”
If the threat of war with the Soviets was not enough, they had a constant fear of subversive activity. While the Cold War was going on, Charles de Gaulle was dealing with the French withdrawal from Algeria, causing problems within France. The Chambley Air Police had problems with Algerian sympathizers trying to get on base to steal guns and ammunition. One night the rear gate was put on high alert expecting a cargo truck to ram through to get to the ammo dump.
Base life was about routines with guard duty, patrols, and color guard activities for Kaltenmark. Winter months were miserable on the flight lines with the blowing cold winds and few places for shelter. Color guard duties were for visiting officers, politicians, and ceremonies.
All the soldiers lived on base in dorms, responsible for keeping their quarters clean and orderly. Kaltenmark described the meals, “were taken at the enlisted club, that is where I had my first egg and cheese omelet!” I also suspect this is where he had S-O-S, short for shit-on-a-shingle that I heard so much about growing up.
His favorite part of the tour was his time off base. Visits across the border to Saarbrücken, Germany were common. All were surprised how quickly Germany was rebuilt after World War II. While the older Germans were more accepting of them, the younger was more hostile to the American visitors often spitting on them or creating a scene in local restaurants if Americans were served before local Germans.
On one lucky occasion, a group of Airmen was treated to a tour of Vatican City, a private tour of the Sistine Chapel, and an audience with Pope John Paul the 23rd. This was always one of my favorite stories.
As the Berlin Crisis turned into the Berlin Wall, it came time for the 122nd personnel to rotate home. This time the hopscotch had fewer steps starting in Chambley to Glasgow, a stopover in Newfoundland, and then finally back at Bare Field. Kaltenmark had the 23rd seat on the plane coming back home.
Needless to say, a large party was thrown to celebrate their safe deployment and returned home. Shortly after were the 1-on-1 meetings behind closed doors with reenlistment offers.
“You could go anywhere you wanted; you just had to sign on the line,” Kaltenmark said. “We all knew that would be Vietnam.”
Kaltenmark passed on the offer getting his DD214 discharge papers and exiting the Guard as an Airman 2nd Class.
We would go to airshows and base open houses as I was growing up. Sometimes he would see others he deployed with; one time I was lucky enough to meet his Sergeant.
He has since stopped looking at the obituaries as there are fewer and fewer of his comrades left from that deployment 60 years ago. That does not keep him from wearing his hat when he goes for his daily walk. That is how veterans recognize each other.