First Spangdahlem crew chief returns

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Clay Murray
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Omar Garcia sat in the front seat of a government owned vehicle, peering out the window in awe as he entered the base.

"This doesn't look like a base," he said. "It looks like a city."

Mr. Garcia was the first crew chief stationed here. During his visit May 7, he saw how much the base has grown and changed since he witnessed its infancy more than 50 years ago.

With a portfolio of memories in hand, Mr. Garcia toured the base and recounted what it was like to serve in the Air Force after World War II in Germany.

"It's overwhelming really, looking at a whole city that 56 years ago was just a small air base where I knew most everybody," Mr. Garcia said. "Sometimes I go back, wishing I was still in that time period. I think others years from now will also think back to this day."

Mr. Garcia worked at Spangdahlem as a crew chief from 1951 to 1954, but did not have this job during his entire tour. He originally worked at Wiesbaden Army Airfield performing aircraft security, but after appealing to his supervisors, he moved here to work on the L-5 Sentinel.

Mr. Garcia tried planning a trip to his former duty stations in Europe, but it never panned out. Finally, with help from his son, Omar C. Garcia, and his son-in-law, Paul Glosch, he was able to return.

After a brief tour of the base, Mr. Garcia met 52nd Fighter Wing maintainers and crew chiefs. He shared stories about his time as a crew chief and the Airmen showed him their current work - the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

"When I got back home, for the longest time I missed the sound of the aircraft," he said. "After some time away you just miss it, and I definitely have. It's quite a bit louder now than it was then."

Mr. Garcia reminisced about "hopping in the back of the L-5 with the pilot" and being told by his supervisors to "sleep in if it rained" - situations the Airmen found interesting and unlikely to happen now. Like 52 FW Airmen stationed here now, he did travel frequently throughout Europe and shared many photos of his adventures to Italy, France, Switzerland and more.

"Being able to interact with and communicate with a hero of the maintaining world was very interesting," said Staff Sgt. Roderick Kemp, 52nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief. "He is a maintainer at heart and so am I, and that was probably the greatest thing we had in common. It's wonderful that an enlisted guy from more than five decades ago came back to visit a base that he was a major part of during his tour here at Spangdahlem. He had photos, stories and good memories of this base."

Mr. Garcia separated from the service following his assignment here and currently resides in Texas.

After several years at Spangdahlem, Mr. Garcia applied for more time on the installation, but was denied because the assignment system at the time required Airmen to break up overseas assignments, he explained.

"I was interested in having my wife move out to Germany," he said. "I liked it there, but I could not stay longer and went back home."