William T. (Rody) Rodenbach II.
Del Rio, Texas
Base housing had not been been built by the time we arrived at Laughlin. We had to find houses or apartments to rent in town. Many of us found houses in a dated development not far from the base on Kennedy Drive. Some of our Moses Lake group settled nearby and others were scattered around town.
Now to the worst of times category. We had barely emptied packing boxes and arranged the furniture when Rody had an appointment at Lackland AFB Hospital in San Antonio, approximately three hours away by car. I had assumed it was a physical exam related to his new flying job. I was not prepared for him to be admitted into the hospital for surgery on both ears. I suddenly felt overwhelmed as he drove off and left us in this unfamiliar place for four weeks and without a car.
While Rody was confined to the Lackland Hospital, the children and I spent those hot August afternoons on the shaded carport catching a slight breeze. We had not even had time to buy an electric fan or plastic wading pool for the kids. I filled the biggest pan I could find from the kitchen and sat little Chuck in it while the three older kids played and sprayed themselves with the garden hose. At night I opened all the windows hoping for some breeze and lower temperatures to cool off the house. In the morning I pulled the shades in hopes of trapping the slightly lower temperature for a while longer.
I was so grateful to have friends like Joe and Ann Nemo who lived three houses down from us on Kennedy Drive; Millie and Buzz Curry lived nearby as well. They were all family. They checked on the kids and me and drove me to the base commissary for groceries. We were all one-car families then; the guys usually car pooled to the base leaving a car for the wives to go to the commissary or to ferry the kids to sports activities. In those days, neighbors helped neighbors.
I laughed when I recently looked at those photos I had taken of our kids posed in front of the Kennedy Drive house. The children were not standing on grass, but instead they stood on sandy soil where prickly things grew and fire ants built hills. Scorpions and huge roaches were also in residence.
Capehart Base Housing
All of the Moses Lake families who lived around Kennedy Drive moved a year later into the completed Capehart base housing. What a joy it was to have a brand new house with all new appliances, a lawn landscaped in soft, green grass and new trees and shrubs. The term “tree” was really a misnomer; they were newly planted sticks that would take many years before they grew to provide shade from the Texas sun. Rody and neighbor, Phil Chase, solved that problem by cutting down three big cottonwood trees that grew along a stream out in the desert around Laughlin. Phil said he knew the cottonwoods to be excellent transplanting trees for this location regardless of the fact that they didn't have roots. Cottonwood trees are known to be resilient but horticulture experts recommend transplanting with a rootball. These adult trees were planted along one side of the house and by the patio in back. The next morning base photographers were in our yard taking pictures of this overnight “miracle” on Arantz Drive.
The Wing Commander and two US Senators came to see the new housing area. They asked if we would allow them to tour our house. We were honored to be asked especially when we learned one of the visitors was Senator Capehart, the very man who sponsored the Congressional Bill for construction of the housing on military bases. The visitors were very impressed with our fully leafed out cottonwood trees. These were the only adult trees in the entire housing area.
The other famous visitor to Laughlin was President Dwight Eisenhower, who was driven through our new housing area in his motorcade. I'll always remember seeing him standing in the convertible waving to us. I read that Senator Homer Capehart and President Eisenhower were very good friends.
The U-2 Spy Plane
The move to Laughlin didn't seem much different from all the previous ones. Rody was happy in his new job. He was checking out in a new plane, and enjoying the new assignment. The two older children were enrolled in Eastside Elementary School in Del Rio, and the two younger ones were at home with me. I don't remember hearing rumors at Moses Lake about the reason for the transfer to Laughlin, but Rody and the other pilots knew they were going to fly the new U-2 spy plane. The project was called Dragon Lady and everything surrounding it was secret. Wives were not told anything, because as one Colonel put it, “If the women know, it won't be classified for long.”
It wasn't long before everyone on base was aware of the mission. Rumors started to fly, and we noticed the black planes with long wingspans parked on the ramp. I had totally forgotten about the day back at Moses Lake when Rody came home for lunch. That was very unusual for him to come home during the day. He usually grabbed a fast lunch at the base cafeteria. That day I asked what brought him home as he hurried to the bedroom; he explained he had to go into town for an appointment. When he came out, he was dressed in civilian clothes. He said he couldn't tell me about it right then, but said, “Don't be concerned. I don't know much about it myself so we'll both know later.”
It was long after we moved to Del Rio and after the security was lifted on the U-2 that he told me the two men he met at Moses Lake were from the CIA and they came to talk to him about flying the plane for the Government. He learned the flying job would require him to be away from his family of three and soon to be four children for extended periods of time; he declined the offer.
Laughlin was a well-known training base for pilots. I should have been able to put it all together, but I was never a “had to know everything” military wife. I kept busy with our home, children and my own volunteer projects. As it turned out, Rody was at Laughlin to fly the U-2, not for the CIA, but for the Air Force.
This was becoming the best of times. From my point of view we had great housing, convenient shopping at the commissary and base exchange, a hospital and Officers’ Club. When I was asked to write what it was like to be the wife of a U-2 pilot during the late 50’s and early 60’s, I was sure I would have to decline. So many years have passed. However, once I turned the pages of my saved copies of the Laughlin Officers’ Wives Club newsletter, known as the LOW JET, I recalled such pleasant memories of happy social events I had attended.
Both the Officers’ and Wives’ Clubs were the glue that kept us socially and actively connected. Considering how remotely situated Laughlin was from a city with theaters, a choice of restaurants and cultural opportunities, it was important to have active clubs. I looked forward to the monthly Newcomers Coffee gatherings and luncheons. We socialized and established friendships with many of the women through the club.
Once a month and on special holidays, the club would hold a big theme party. Each squadron would take a turn sponsoring the party, such as Casino Night, Ship Wrecked party and Valentine dinner dance. Anyone with an ounce of talent could count on a full-time non-paying job in the entertainment. One outstanding party at the club was St. Paddy's Night with the talent of John Quinn. He wrote, casted, directed and performed in the show.
Not long after we moved on base, I joined the Laughlin Players, a Little Theater group. I helped the enlisted men and women put on talent shows at the NCO Service Club. I was dancing in a show one time when a local dance studio owner and volunteer, Helen Marie Jones, stopped in. She had just finished writing a Mexican musical called ‘Ole’, and she was looking for dancers. She invited me to join her show and I was honored to accept. The show was a success at Laughlin. Helen Marie offered the show for Del Rio and Ciudad Acuña residents at La Macarena. I thought the show was so funny. Imagine a troupe of gringos performing the Mexican Hat Dance and the Flamenco to the Hispanic audience. It was such a success that we were asked to continue the show for two more nights.
Those five years spent at Laughlin were definitely the best of times. It was long enough for us to feel part of the community and a closely knit family on base. In all honesty, the long separations from our guys were the worst of times.
Rody left the U-2 program in the summer of 1962 when he was reassigned to Command and
Staff School in Montgomery, Alabama and we bid a sad farewell to our many friends at Laughlin.
Rody's Flameout
On September 16, 1958, Rody was on a training mission in the U-2 when he experienced an engine flameout at a critical altitude. Following proper emergency procedures, he called “Stargazer” for assistance in fixing his position and informed controlling agencies of his difficulty. His UHF radio would not respond after repeated efforts to contact any ground station.
Rody then turned off all electrical switches and descended to a safe airstart altitude. He had enough to deal with, but the canopy and his faceplace frosted over during the descent. Rody managed to clear a small area in the faceplate by rubbing his nose against the inside and successfully flew the aircraft on instruments.
The first airstart attempt was successful, but he was without hydraulic pressure. He continued on to Laughlin and lowered the landing gear by the emergency system. After penetration a GCA straight-in approach was requested. Three miles out, he realized he could not reduce airspeed. He attempted two more landings trying to reduce the airspeed without drag devices and managed to bring the aircraft down on the final try by lowering the engine RPM past the idle setting. The drag chute deployed and he completed a safe landing.
Investigation revealed a faulty speed brake hydraulic line had failed resulting in complete loss of the hydraulic system.
Rody was named the 4028th SRW Pilot of the Month in October 1958 for his skillful handling of the flight emergency.
Memories of Bill Rodenbach (then 11 years Old)
My first rattlesnake roundup was in one of the base hangars. A guy stood inside a big box giving a lecture as a bunch of rattlesnakes slithered around his feet. I listened to his speech the whole time but wondered why the snakes didn't bite him.
Our house on the base was beside the playground and our large side yard was the site of many football games with Eric Chase, Gene Smith, Don Schweikert, Ricky Waters, and Chuck Wilcox. When we played football for Del Rio Junior High, our moms carpooled to pick us up after practice and brought us back to the base.
We caught the school bus down the street from the Colonels’ houses. I think it is part of the golf course now. The Del Rio public school bus picked up students along the way and then left the base by way of the back gate.
I mowed yards on the base to earn spending money. One of my customers was the U-2 pilot who was shot down over Cuba. I learned what had happened when I saw the moving van outside his house.
Dad and I drove many of those three-hour trips to San Antonio for me to go to the orthodontist. In the summertime on the way home, we stopped at a river and swam, and then bought a watermelon for 25 cents. What a treat. Our car didn't have air conditioning so we had a canvas bag full of water on the outside of the car to use in case the car overheated and to drink if necessary. The water from the canvas bag didn't taste good and I didn't drink it unless it was absolutely necessary.
Memories of Jane Rodenbach (then 9 years old)
After we moved to Arantz Drive, we heard a lot about rattlesnakes being found around the houses. There was a story that the brand new fence surrounding the housing area was snake proof with a fine mesh on the lower part of the fence. Unfortunately, the housing was built on Rattlesnake Hill and it appeared the snakes were fenced inside!
One Halloween I returned home after Trick or Treating unexpectedly and was surprised to be hosed down in our driveway by Bill and one of his friends. I was dripping in my wet costume. I reached for the screen door and heard the rattle. There was a snake coiled up between the inside door and the screen door. I let out a big scream that got the attention of my brother and his friend and we all went for help.
The best part of being an Air Force dependent, especially at Laughlin, was the freedom to walk by myself to the swimming pool, to the movie theater, to the new library with its wonderful children's section or to visit friends close by. I loved going to the stables for horse riding lessons and trail rides. To me the base was like a safe little village.
Jennifer Rodenbach (then 5 years old)
I don't remember a lot about those days, but I do have a vivid memory of one morning watching my Dad as he got ready for work. To me he looked so patriotic and handsome in his uniform. I watched as he pinned on his rank and wings to his uniform shirt. It needed something more. I ran to my bedroom and brought my little American flag attached to a stick and put it in his back pocket as he walked out the front door. I'm not sure how far he went before the flag was discovered.
Chuck Rodenbach (then 2 years old)
I was the youngest member of the Rodenbach crew at Laughlin and the one who was transported to Texas in “the box.” Because I was so young, I remember very little of those days. I liked riding my bike in our driveway, the only place I was allowed to ride. One day I felt adventurous and went a little farther and got lost. All the houses looked alike. I was so happy to see Mom coming for me on the back of a neighbor's motor bike.
Royal Air force U-2 Pilots
Royal Air Force U-2 Pilots
Through agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, the following pilots were trained in the U-2 aircraft.
Martin Bee
Michael G. Bradley
Richard Cloke
Basil Dodd
David E. Dowling
Harry Drew
John W. McArthur
Robert T. Robinson
Charles Taylor
Christopher Walker
Ivan B. Webster
Martin Bee
Royal Air Force
Croydon, England
Wife: Lilleba
My RAF training began at the RAF College Cranwell (similar to the US Air Force Academy) in 1955-1958. My first solo was on the tail wheel Piston Provost and then the Vampire jet. After receiving my pilot wings, I flew fighters, Hawker Hunters, Gloster Meteors and English Electric Lightnings. In 1960 we were the first Mach 2 squadron in the RAF.
My selection for the U-2 came out of the blue. One day my Station Commander, Group Captain Bird-Wilson instructed me to go to London for an interview. At the Ministry of Defense some senior officers talked in circles about going to the US, but they never told me the full story until a few days before I boarded the Cunard liner for New York. My guess was that the selection criteria included tail-wheel and high performance experience. I had certainly had no recce (reconnaissance) experience.
My period of service on “secondment” to the CIA began in 1964. (Secondment meant I was loaned to the CIA.) I traveled to New York by Cunard passenger liner with Squadron Leader Basil Dodd. Our flight planner/navigator, Alistair Sutherland and our doctor, Squadron Leader Nigel Mills, joined us a month or two later.
In the 1960s the RAF had about 100 personnel serving on “exchange” duty with several US air operations and, in turn, the Americans served on reciprocal “exchange” duty in the UK. The RAF personnel serving on the U-2 program had rather different orders than the other exchange personnel. We were never part of the regular 100 exchange personnel and were forbidden to meet up with them. Our initial month of training was with the USAF at Davis Monthan AFB. Gerald McIlmoyle was among the many I met through my instructor, George Bull.
Martin Bee in pressure suit at Lake Meade for parachute training, 1964.
Parachute training at Lake Meade, Nevada, 1964. Martin Bee is in the harness.
Left to right: Lilleba Bee, Al Rand (CIA U-2 pilot) and Martin Bee in the UK, 1967.
Martin Bee at RAF Duxford Imperial War Museum beside a U-2, 1995.
We made six flights in the U-2A at Davis Monthan and then moved to Edwards AFB where we flew the much more powerful U-2C, U-2G, U-2F and U-2H which were owned and operated by the CIA from 1964 to 1968. We were still considered part of the RAF there but we seldom wore our uniforms.
Like our USAF counterparts, we traveled several times for pressure suit fittings to the David Clark Company in Worcester, Massachusetts. I was told the Clark Company manufactured women'
s undergarments prior to getting into the pressure suit business. As a gift on departure, we each were given a 1960 bra, which they also made in profusion.
One morning our Commander, Lt. Col. Miles Doyle called me to his office. He told me the following day we expected the Senate Armed Services Committee and some RAF VIP visitors arriving at Edwards to be briefed on our operation. I was selected to fly a demonstration for them to show the high performance of the U-2 and finish with some Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) – touch and go landings.
I flew a U-2G, a modified U-2C fitted with a slightly beefed up landing gear, a flap setting increased from 35 to 50 degrees and a tail hook. With a standard training fuel load of 400 US gallons, the aircraft would weigh a little under 16,000 pounds and have a thrust available of 17,000 pounds at full throttle. However, full throttle could not be used at takeoff because it was far too much “oomph” for a fragile aircraft and airspeed and “G” limits could be exceeded in seconds.
For the Senate and RAF VIP demonstration I made a normal “gated” reduced power takeoff, lifting off at about 90 knots and accelerating quickly. I rotated the aircraft to about an 80 degree climb angle, and selected gust control. I added full power slowly, and activated the fuel dump producing an air-show style twin contrail of fuel vapour from the mid-wing fuel dump points. I held the airspeed at 170 knots, going nearly vertical in a corkscrew climb. It took only one minute to reach 10,000 feet. Without the vapour trail, the aircraft would have been barely visible to the onlookers at the runway edge.
Remembering the Dragon Lady: The U-2 Spy Plane: Memoirs of the Men Who Made the Legend Page 49