September 1994
How the reunions got started by Chuck Thweatt.
How the Reunions got started: Chuck Thweatt was at the American Legion Post No 1, in St
Albans and bumped into Jose Guevara. Jose and Chuck were stationed together at the 764th Radar Site in St Albans
from 1955 to 1957 and became very good friends. As they were reminiscing about each-others-life developments, Jose pulled
a piece of paper from his pocket he said; “Let’s have a 764th reunion”. As Jose took a
piece of paper out of his pocket he stated; “This is a list of eight ex-radar guys that I have collected”. I took
the list from his hand I asked; “What do you mean”? Jose responded with; “We want to get a reunion going”.
I said; “This is quite a list” and I stuck it in my shirt packet. Jose said; “You just wait a minute, I
have been working on that list collecting names for a long time”. I replied; “Yeah, you already have eight names
and that is a good start”.
That is how the Air Force, 764th Radar Squadron, reunions got started.
The first reunion was coordinated and hosted by MSgt Chuck Thweatt, USAF Retired. The
first reunion was held in 1995. The reunions have been held every two years.
The next reunion is August 14, 15, 16 2009.
Disposition of Radar Site Property
Letter to Townsend Anderson
Townsend Anderson
November 14, 1994
Division for Historic Preservation
133 State Street Drawer 33
Montpelier, Vermont 05633
Towny:
I learned this week that the Federal Aviation Administration plans to demolish in 1995 the last Air Force radome on the hill overlooking St. Albans. While the FAA's regional Public Affairs
Office has yet to put me in touch with someone familiar with the plans, she said it's likely that a similar dome would be
constructed on the same spot.
What's the big deal? Visible from Georgia to Swanton all along Lake Champlain, this c. 1950 structure
was a U.S. Air Force installation that formed part of the Fine Tree Line, a radar system whose mission was to detect. Russian
bombers coming over tire Arctic Circle.
As the last of five radomes once on that site, this white dome ‑‑ once described as God's
own golf ball teed up atop Bellevue Hill ‑‑ is a 45‑year‑old landmark for the residents of the St.
Albans region as well as Vermont's most visible reminder of the Cold War era. The presence and influence of some 300 Air Force
personnel (some of whom later settled in St. Albans) is a significant part of the cultural history of the town and region. Just as Vermonters in Franklin County during the
War of 1812 found their lives influenced by proximity to Canada, so Vermonters of the Cold War era were reminded by the sight
of this radome, that at any moment, Russian bombers could arrive or American missiles be launched across the border to the
north.
I believe the radome anti the related .structures on this site nave statewide significance in the context
of War and Peace time, and possibly in the contexts of Historic Architecture and
Culture and Government. Related resources are underground missile silos said to exist in Franklin and Orleans counties; housing
constructed off‑base near St. Albans for military families; private, residential and public bomb/"fall‑out." shelters
built in the state.
The Cold War period in Vermont is currently neglected as too recent to seem "historical." Yet it is so
long ago as to be nearly forgotten. As those who lived through the period lose their memories of it or pass away, and as the
physical record of the time Vices undocumented, unprotected and thus is destroyed, valuable cultural and architectural information about the period may be 1ost.
In addition to its historical significance, the radome is a source of social pride and cultural identity.
Franklin County towns sent off their young men and women to fight is battles from Cedar Creek to Korea and Vietnam. The Air
Force installation is a reminder of the role that entire St. Albans community played in national defense during the 1950s.
As such, the remaining, radome is identified as a landmark in the forthcoming regional cultural heritage tourism publication.
All of the Air Force structures, if retained, adapted and interpreted, could become a social and economic benefit to the community
as the Cold War era becomes acknowledged as a period of American and Vermont history worth preserving and studying, as I believe
it will be.
In five years, the St. Albans radome and military installation would become eligible for the National
Register of Historic Places. But if action is not taken now to prevent its destruction, this significant resource may be lost.
I urge you, through the Advisory Council and the Division for Historic Preservation, to seek the preservation of the radome
and the installation of which it is a part and with them, the symbol and record of St. Albans' Cold War contribution to the
national defense. Since the Air Force no longer owns the St. Albans site, it was passed over by the Defense Department's
Legacy Program when it selected Mew England military bases for inclusion in this national cultural resource documentation program. (The FAA owns
the radome site on the upper property and Robert Marcotte, of Essex Junction, owns the lower portion of the former installation.)
The present radome may be functionally obsolete and apparently will not be required for future operations up there, but perhaps
neither would it be in the way. There seem to be other adjacent concrete pads suitable for a new dome.
The interior of the radome is clearly an invention of the 1950s, according to Melissa Cotton, a second‑year
graduate student in the University of Vermont's Historic Preservation Program, who toured it as part of recent field work.
On Wednesday I'll give you a copy of her recent report, which alerted me to the FAA's plans and which establishes the Cold
War era historic context for the radar. station. Ms. Cotton spent the summer of 1994 working in the Legacy Program, documenting
cultural resources on military installations for the Department of Defense. I believe her report is accurate and credible
and is an excellent first step for establishing the context for Vermont Cold War architectural resources.
On Wednesday I’ll also show you some slides of the
radome and various buildings on site.
Sincerely,
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