The sound of freedom is still alive
REMEMBER WHEN
The weekend of August 19 through 21 will be one I will remember for the rest of my days. In 1994 when the last KC-135 left Loring Air Force Base, I said to my wife as the plane flew overhead, “There goes the sound of freedom!”
That was a kind of different statement for a Navy veteran to make, but then it is one any veteran would feel to their deepest being. We lived with the sound of fighters, tankers and huge bombers flying over Aroostook County at all hours day and night.
Over the reunion weekend I had a chance to do something that I had only dreamed of in the past. I “toured” Loring Air Force Base for over an hour and sat on one of the taxiways as a KC-135 Boeing Strato-tanker flew over the runway from north to south. Less than 10 minutes later a huge Boeing B-52 Strato-fortress, heavy strategic bomber flew over from north to south only to make a left banking turn and return to fly over once again from south to north and as he exited the area to head back home the thought came back to me again, “There goes the sound of freedom!”
Ya know, we have a lot to be thankful for. Earlier I said I had a chance to “tour” the base. That in itself is an ironic statement because I now live on base in a truly lovely home that we purchased this spring. When I go anywhere on base I feel the spirits of all the men and women who served to maintain that sound of freedom. My adopted dad plowed snow on the base from 1958 until LAFB closed in 1994. I remember him coming home with a framed certificate and a copy of the base newspaper “The Limelite.”
The certificate was presented to all members of the snow removal crew of the 42nd Engineering Squadron for going above and beyond the call of duty in keeping the runways and flight line open in all kinds of weather since the base had opened. Folks, they did this to keep the sound of freedom alive and not have it be forgotten at any time.
Now, when I hear a jet engine or look up and see the contrails high in the sky I think to myself, is this the sound of freedom or am I just going to sit and Remember When …
Guy Woodworth of Presque Isle is a 1973 graduate of Presque Isle High School and a four-year Navy veteran. He and his wife Theresa have two grown sons and five grandchildren. He may be contacted at lightning117_1999@yahoo.com.
