Memories of Kindley AFB, Bermuda
by Larry Myers


I was stationed at Kindley AFB in Bermuda about 1954 or 1955 until September of 1956.  It seemed appropriate, after more than half a century, to upload images, remembering the days spent and the friends I had there.  Some of the images are from my sparce collection from that time period.  However, most of the images are those donated by my friends who were there.  My unit, as I recall, was Detachment 10, 9th Weather Group.  Not all the individuals in these photos have been identified.  If you can identify some of the people in these photos, your help would be appreciated.  Or, if you have photos from that time of  Kindley people, yourself included, I'd like to hear from you.

Here's the first picture, showing the 9th Weather Group Baseball Team!

9th Wx Grp Baseball Team


"Croog" is Bruce Krueger,  "Nash" is Thomas Nash, "Mac" is Al McClellan, "Ted" is Theodore Laken, "Van" is Howard VanAlstine,
"Lamar" is William Lamar,  we're not sure if "Charlie" is Charles Berry or Charles Gilliken, "Jess" is Jesse Trevino,
"Huff" is Donald Huff, Don Beard is Donald F Beard, and "Joe" is Joe Ferguson.  Let us know if there are any corrections.

email  Larry Myers



Here's a picture of me and the barracks that I called home while I was in Bermuda.


Doug Orlick was a great friend.  We used to explore the islands together,
go rollerskating, swimming, and yes, work together as well.  Here's a shot
of me and Doug somewhere on the island.


Larry exploring St. George, Bermuda


Don Fry was also a friend.  He and I lived on our motorcycles whenever
we had the time.  Here's a snapshot of us just outside our barracks.

Me on a cliff near the ocean


The base chapel was a hop, skip, and a jump down the hill from our
barracks.  I attended services there most Sundays and even tried to
sing in the choir.  Here's a look at the chapel.


It was either on Easter of 1955 or 1956 that our chapel choir combined
with the choir from a local church on the island.  It was a wonderful
morning.  Someone took a picture of the combined choir.


The year 2009 was exceptional in that for the first time in more than
50 years I was able to contact any of my friends from the days at
Kindley AFB in Bermuda.  One of those friends, Lou Feltz sent
me some pictures he had taken back then.  Here they are:

Lou as he appeared in the mid 1950s

Sunrise on the base

Helmut Maile petting a pooch

Bruce Krueger with Reena DeSanto

Helmut making music

Glen Woo taking a break

Helmut facing off with a goat

Lou's, Bruce's, & Helmut's sailboat

The Queen of Bermuda at dock

The Ocean Monarch at dock

Floyd Haas checks out the Queen of Bermuda

How Lou Feltz looked during a recent trip to Bermuda


Floyd Haas was another long-lost pal from Kindley days that
we were fortunate enough to make contact with during 2009.
He has sent us some 35 photos from the Kindley era.  We've just
numbered the photos,  all you have to do is click a number to
see the corresponding photo.

FH1FH2FH3FH4FH5
FH6FH7FH8FH9FH10
FH11FH12FH13FH14FH15
FH16FH17FH18FH19FH20
FH21FH22FH23FH24FH25
FH26FH27FH28FH29FH30
FH31FH32FH33FH34FH35

FH3 shows Verne Kauer, Larry Myers, Floyd Haas, & Don Fry
FH4 & FH5 shows Floyd, FH6 shows Floyd & Don Beard.
FH7 shows Floyd with Henry Meyer.  FH9 & FH11 show Floyd.
FH19 - Girl on left unidentified, the other 2 are Ruth and Forrest Bicknell.
We could use help in identifying people in the other photos!



Here's that photo of Helmut Maile he sent to us via email.
Since then he has sent us eleven 35mm slides for us to scan.  Here they are!:

Helmut's Flight at Chanute AFB won the Honor Award in June, 1955, just
prior to his assignment to Kindley AFB.  Here he is with the award.

This is a picture of the Kindley AFB flight line.  

Bruce Krueger sits on a fence near South Beach, Bermuda.

Lou Feltz, "The Artist", works on a water color.

Verne and Charlotte Kauer return to the states on the "Queen of Bermuda"
at the conclusion of his assignment at Kindley AFB.

A couple from Kindley (yet to be identified) enjoy the scenery
along a Bermudan harbor.

Krueger, Maile, and Feltz paint their 16-foot snipe.

Helmut enjoys the Botanical Gardens in Bermuda.

Helmut invests in Bermudan stocks at St. George.

The Gombey Dancers entertain at the 1957 Easter Parade.

Sunrise at Castle Harbour Bay, opposite the base.

Helmut tells me that he and Lou Feltz both took the Water Ski program
in Bermuda.  Here's a snapshot of Lou celebrating his graduation.


What a pleasant surprise it was, sometime after this “Kindley” website had been up, that I received a second package from Floyd Haas, this time 35mm slides instead of photos.  It’s now my pleasure to present these images.  Several of the people pictured are not yet identified.  If you can help, we’d appreciate it.

The Rzepkas, Danny, Fran, and Eugene 

Eugene and Danny 

Fran Rzepka 

Joe Wiegman 

Al “Mac” McClellan & Joe Wiegman 

Floyd Haas atop the lighthouse 

The Boatright family 

Don Fry in uniform

Eugene Rzepka at his home 

Floyd Haas 

Don Fry getting up in the world  

Don Fry clowning with ??? 

Don Beard at the beach 

Don Fry deep in thought 

Larry Myers 

Don Beard with ??? 

Doug Orlick photographing a painting 

A close up of Doug Orlick 

Floyd Haas with members of 3 Air Force families 

We’re not sure, but could this be Gerry Kherli? 

Eugene Rzepka at work 

Floyd Haas at work 

Larry Myers at work 

Jesse Trevino at work 

Not sure, but could this be George Brandt? 

***

We could use your help in identifying the following people:

Freshly shaved, who is he? 

Burning the midnight oil, who is he? 

Holding the baby, who is he? 

I’d remember her if I knew her, who is she? 

From Weather Service families, Babe Lane in the center, who are the others? 

The beachcomber, who is he? 

Hard at work, who is he? 

On the phone, who is he? 

Plotting the weather charts, who is he? 



I showed you a picture of Doug Orlick and me earlier on this page.  What I didn't tell you was that Doug died when he was stationed in Bermuda.  His picture on this website was discovered by his niece, Debbie Ellicott, who emailed me and thanked me for the picture which his family had never seen.  Subsequently, Debbie has sent me a few photos of Doug while he was in the Air Force.  This one shows Doug when he was home on leave from basic training.   Here he is as A/1C in his khakis and overseas cap.   Here's Doug at home in his dress blues, and finally, a nice picture of Doug on his motorcycle on base.  Thanks for the photos, Debbie.


Go to the "Green Door" menu


email Larry Myers
 .