T-Shirt

This t-shirt is one I bought at McClellan AFB, CA when I was there working as a migrant aircraft mechanic in the late 80s. The interesting thing about the shirt is that it has the silhouette of a B-52 on it. The base has had a variety of aircraft from when it started in the 30s as Pacific Air Depot 'til it closed in 2001 (the Coast Guard still operates HC-130 aircraft from McClellan). One plane that has never been stationed there is the B-52. If there has ever been a B-52 on the base it was just passing thru.

This is kinda like a shirt I heard about at Isle Royale National Park. As the story goes, they told the company that was to make the t-shirts that they wanted a Bull Moose, a Cow and a Wolf on the shirt. The first batch of shirts had a Bull Moose, a Holstein Cow and a Wolf on it. They got bought up real quick as collectibles by those working at the park before the company was notified that what they wanted on the shirts was a Bull Moose, a Cow Moose and a Wolf.

Shortly before I got out of the Air Force on Cape Cod, I got orders for McClellan. I was in the 551st Airborne Early Warning Wing and as they were shutting it down, they gave me orders for the 552nd Airborne Early Warning Wing at McClellan. Both units were using EC-121 and RC-121 Super Connies. When I went to the orderly room and was told about my new orders, it felt good to be able to happily say, "I'm too fucking short!!!!" (Didn't have enough time left to do a move.)

Side note: I was at McClellan in the late 80s as part of a team of contractors doing an inspection on WC-135 aircraft. After inspecting 5 aircraft and finding problems on a couple of the WC-135s, we got sent to Hawaii to inspect a couple of KC-135s and a couple of C-135s, then to Andrews AFB in the D.C. area to do the General of the Air Force's plane and back to McClellan to do the last of the WC-135s.