Childhood Cold War memories.

     The Cold War - the geopolitical standoff between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and The United States of America and their respective networks of allies, satellites, and proxies. It was the greatest assemblage of armies, navies, air forces that never fought - each other.  While naval and air forces would occassionly come in close contact, and armies would periodically move en masse in massive global exercises, great care was taken that one side or another would not set off the powder keg that would begin a great and possibly final conflict. 

     Weapons and tactics were instead fought by puppet states. Famous and not so famous conflicts were waged world wide with adversaries supported by the U.S. or the U.S.S.R. Blood was shed in Paraguay, Vietnam, Korea, Geece, China, Malaya, Sudan, Algeria, Central America, Congo, et cetera. 

     On the home front, there was the constant stream of propaganda and fear. Baby boomers have memories of "duck and cover" drills. Almost everyone had a family member in the military.  

     San Antonio, TX in the 1960s resembled a city under occupation. Home to four Air Force bases (Kelly, Lackland, Brooks, and Randolph) and Fort Sam Houston, men and women under arms could be seen walking about in their their khaki uniforms downtown or at the various shopping centers around town. 

     I remember riding my bike to the nearby Las Palmas Shopping Center and watching young adults who would be only 10 years older than myself, doing their shopping in the their freshly pressed uniforms. It made an impression on me.

     Growing up in the west side of San Antonio, our house was under one of the flight paths for aircraft coming in for landings at the former Kelly Air Force Base. I remember many times, just sitting in the yard plane spotting - identifying incoming aircraft. I spotted fighters, bombers, and cargo aircraft of all types.

     Living in close proximity of Kelly AFB, I watched B-52 bombers of Strategic Air Command fly in and out almost every day of my young life. They were part of the nuclear strategic deterrent that was on call 24 hours a day every day. A B-52 drill can be seen here.

    Wars are not won by bullets and soldiers alone. Logistics - the ability to move troops, weapons, and supplies to the battlefields is what wins the day. Supplying the troops in far flung regions requires sealift and airlift capabilities. Kelly AFB serviced the heavy lift aircraft that kept the U.S. military machine moving.

     I watched C-130s, C-141s, and  C-133s from Military Airlift Command flying in for servicing after their long treks around the globe. 

     On Saturday afternoons I would often watch WWII films, I remember the shark mouth often painted on fighter aircraft. That's why I thought the Douglas C-133 Cargomaster was funny.  This large, Vietnam era aircraft would overfly my backyard with it's distinctive smile. 

     I thought it was a smile until 2012 when I saw a C-133 up close at the National Museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, OH. The smile wasn't a smile, but a "badge" with numbers on it. 

     My chilhood friends grew up in the same neighborhood, but our experiences and perceptions were all different. I was probably the only kid who thought that aircraft was smiling. 

     Interestingly, the museum is located on Spaatz St., the same street name where my mother grew up, within sight of what is now Palo Alto College. Oddly, it was also on a flight path for a northbound landing into Kelly AFB