Wild Postcards

This card has it right: A never-ending flat plain, delineated only by Interstate 80. As the back of the card tells us, “Nebraska lives by its extensive sea of grain — principally corn, wheat and rye. More varieties of grass grow in Nebraska than any other state. Beef cattle and hog production are major contributors to the economy of the state. Nebraskans take unusual pride in their football teams, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers have been consistently among the nation’s top college teams for many years.” Again, dead on: football is venerated there, far more so than in any other community I’ve ever seen.

This card was sent off to Aunt Brenda by my mom, who came to visit me with the rest of the family in 1987 while I was stationed at HQ Strategic Air Command at Offutt Air Force Base. She writes: “Hi, Made it here. Car over-heated in Iowa (in fact, they had left it there to be worked on and had gotten a rental to finish the trip to Omaha). Chris is fine. Went riding in his friend’s ’63 Buick convertible. See ya soon.”

It seems that, as a postcard collector, Aunt Brenda was the central point of communication; the cards would go to her and she would pass on the message to whoever was waiting for it.

This card has it right: A never-ending flat plain, delineated only by Interstate 80. As the back of the card tells us, “Nebraska lives by its extensive sea of grain — principally corn, wheat and rye. More varieties of grass grow in Nebraska than any other state. Beef cattle and hog production are major contributors [...]

Lest there be any doubt: The Cold War did not end, it was won, and it was won by these guys. The aircraft at the top of the postcard is a B-52, while the headquarters building is pictured below.

I was stationed here from August 1986 through November 1989, and worked in this building (though not the part that you can see above ground in this photo). I loved the work; it was always comforting to know just how many minutes I had to live (usually about 12) on the off chance that the Soviets decided that their submarines were getting too heavy and needed to release some of their missiles. But Bellevue, Nebraska was not the most exciting locale for a young airman.

We had a saying about Offutt Air Force Base: once you get on it, you never get Offutt — but I needed to. Finally, I decided that the only way I was going to PCS out of there was to put an 88 on my dream sheet — that is, volunteer worldwide. I quickly received new orders — for Southwest Asia.

Lest there be any doubt: The Cold War did not end, it was won, and it was won by these guys. The aircraft at the top of the postcard is a B-52, while the headquarters building is pictured below. I was stationed here from August 1986 through November 1989, and worked in this building (though [...]