In April of 1963, I was called into Gen. Wade's office. He asked how quick could I get ready to fly commercial to Paris. “Within the hour” was my reply. My home in Madrid was only 10 minutes away from Madrid International Airport. Off to home to pack a tooth brush and some essentials and off I went to Paris. On arrival, at the American Embassy I was in uniform, with a Green Passport. After an intense briefing, I departed in civilian clothes for Orly International Airport with a red Diplomatic Passport and no visa to enter Madagascar; but, I was assured that my entry Visa would be waiting for me in Nairobi. I had a 1:45 wait for departure. Off to the airport restaurant I went. I was quite hungry. I ordered a French Pepper Steak. Never before had I tasted anything so good. After finishing one off, I was still hungry and ordered a second one.

The Boeing 707 from Air France was fully loaded. First stop Cairo. Departing Cairo the aircraft had only one passenger and that was me. The food was excellent. All window blinds were pulled and remained that way to Nairobi, Kenya. Why???! I had no idea why, and I did not want to ask. An attempt to disembark from the plane at Nairobi, to contact the American Embassy, was thwarted by airport police. I was a marked man with the Red Passport. The same thing happened in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. On arrival at Antananarivo, the capitol of Madagascar, I was detained for about 3 hours by and in custody of the Airport Police. Waiting for the Air Force Attaché to arrive and spring me was gruesome. A USAF Lt/Col showed up and I was released.

A grand dinner was served and I received a briefing by the Ambassador’s staff after the two of us had finished dinner about 0100. I spent the next day at the Embassy being briefed and then I made my own presentation to the Ambassador and staff.

Our final survey visit was at Majunga Airport at the Northern tip of Madagascar which was at sea level. It had in-ground refueling at all the aircraft parking hard stands. just like a SAC base. The hotel was a Humphrey Bogart likeness from Singapore with ceiling fans for cooling and louvered doors. I made the rounds to locate shops to obtain an adequate food supply. It was spooky. The first night in the Majunga Hotel, a mosquito net was required for sleeping. During the night, I guess I was dreaming and pulled the net down from the ceiling. It fell on me and I thought a monster had me.

On return to Antananarivo, a briefing was in order and after my write-up was complete and encrypted to be sent to the French Embassy in Paris, I departed. The Boeing 707 was fully loaded on the return trip to Paris. An Embassy car took me to the Embassy for further debriefing. Two days later I was back at my office and no questions asked. While in Madagascar, I witnessed the most beautiful sunsets ever. It was truly an amazing and adventurous experience.

[Editor’s Notes:

(1) Earl received a certificate of authorization for conduct of his special mission from the Ministere Charge Des Relations. A slightly tattered copy of that certificate is included in an attachment. You may view it by clicking here with an easy return to this page.

(2) Earl has provided some additional commentary relating to Madagascar that you will find by clicking here, with an easy return to this page.

Gen Rosie O’Donnell, 73rd Bomb Wing Commander on Saipan during WWII, and Gen Wade are the two most outstanding memories I have of exceptional leadership experienced throughout my military career. What a gift it was to serve under them. They were great.

In the summer of 1963 General Wade was replaced as 16th AF Commander by General Knapp. I have a number of stories to tell about those experiences but this chapter is getting a bit long in the tooth. After experiencing the brilliant leadership and comradere of General Wade with his staff, there was no direction to go from there but downhill.

The tour of duty in Spain was a challenging and adventurous time for my family, as well as for me. They adapted well to the new environment and the Spanish language. Our five bedroom home was completely walled with a six foot stone wall around the property, with a deep water well and garden. Our home had all marble floors which was quite unique for an American family; but, quite common in Europe.

While cooking our first Sunday dinner we soon found out that the power would be off about noon for about an hour. For what reason, I know not. The water from the well was about 65 degrees, but in the hot sun of Spain, it only took about 2 days for us to be able to swim in that cold water as though we had the insulation and constitution of a polar bear. To go out to dinner before 2300 hours was unheard of. Returning home from a long flight, a swim refreshed me, no end. Growing our own vegetables was a real education and besides, they tasted good, just like "back home". Thirty days vacation per year is the military way of rewarding you for your military service. Instead of using our leave time flying home to the United States and back, we took trips to France, Germany, Italy and Gibraltar and several other destinations in Europe.

My son Steve excelled in baseball as a pitcher. His team was the winner of the US military baseball playoffs in Spain with one heck of a lot of competition from other Bases. They were sent to Germany for the European playoffs. The team came out second in Europe. Enjoyment was in abundance at each game and there was a lot of first class competition to cope with. Steve never faltered pitching before any size crowd. Down the line Steve was picked by the New York Mets for a scholarship and he later played in the minor leagues and finally went to the Kansas City Royals for a period of time and then received a cut. It was a great ride while it lasted.

Steve won a prize for being the best shot with a 22 rifle. He won a duck, a real live one. He brought it home and put it in the pool. The duck loved it. The pool suffered tremendously however as there were duck droppings over 1 inch in depth within 2 days and of course the water clouded up. It took a week to clean out the pool using chlorine and brooms to wash down the debris. The landlord and his family enjoyed a good duck dinner. Steve made many friends while attending the American School in Royal Oaks, a U.S. housing area for American servicemen and families. He still attends class reunions. The most recent was in New Orleans in April 2003.

The bull fights were new to all of us. We soon learned the seats in the Sol Y Sombre (sun and shade) were too hot (Sol) in the evening sun, but the seats in the Sombre (shade) were the best. A Bota (goat skin) of wine was necessary to be enjoyed, like the Spaniards. The wine cost about 10 cents. What a show. The bull did not go to waste, as it was butchered and the meat sold. It was cruel however to see a beautiful animal taunted into anger and then killed slowly with all the different maneuvers of a bull fighter. The (cabyous) horses were often gored as were the Matadors.

Our tour in Spain ended in June 1964 when I was reassigned to Pease AFB, NH where I served under the 817th Air Division Director of Operations until 1966.

On the return trip to the States, we were assigned to return by ship. The USS Independence. It was plush with pool. We drove to Algiceris and had the car put on the boat. Our first stop was Maderia, a Portugal possession. On arrival at the port several small boys were present and would dive for coins that were tossed overboard by the passengers much to the delight of all. The water was crystal clear. We took a tour of the city and overnighted there. The streets were all cobblestone and at the top of one high hill, a sled and driver was available for the ride down very steep slopes of the cobble stone road. These driver's were very skilled in there profession. The food was outstanding. In departing Maderia, the same boys were again diving for coins. The community was exceptionally clean in every respect. Very memorable, all of Maderia.

On the ship, dinner with the Captain was most enjoyable. We soon found out that if you had a desire for Pheasant Under Glass at 0300 hrs. it would be delivered to you stateroom within an hour. The food and dancing seemed to last all night. Five days later we entered the Hudson River about sunrise and what a glorious site that was, seeing The Grand Old Lady, The Statue of Liberty. In disembarking, the car was offloaded and waiting when we cleared Customs and Immigration. The first thing Steve and I did was buy a large long hot dog from a street vendor with all the trimmings and a soda. Man what a trip. Adios Espania!