Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: AKKuya on September 16, 2026, 11:49:12 PM
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Back in 1983-1984, AKBmzawy went back into the USAF by taking a leave of absence from the Burlington Norther railroad at the time. I was 10-11 years old at the time. We were at Altus AFB in southwestern OK.
I used Google Earth to look at the base.
Most of the base housing is gone including our house. I was told by a former coworker that a tornado ripped through the base causing extensive damage. No information to corroborate that statement.
The elementary school was still there. I attended 5th and 6th grades there. The youth center still right by the school.
The Airmen's Pool still there. That's where we kids went in summertime. NCO Club and O'Club had their own pools for the adults.
I couldn't find the movie theater, bowling alley and the library. They could've been moved or removed.
The commissary was still there. The hospital still commanded a large presence. The BX also stood proud. The only thing it held for us was the arcade.
There was a toy store on base. It was called Toyland.
There was something NEW. This was probably built in last 10 to 15 years. It took the area where Toyland used to occupy.
They put in a mini golf!!!!!!
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Many of the AF bases at which I was stationed got the axe in the early 90's. Even those converted to Guard bases typically saw much of the property sold off including base housing. Base housing was never fancy but it was well maintained. Now, not so much.
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A list of my assignments in order and the status of those bases.
Lackland AFB - open
Lowry AFB - closed
Myrtle Beach AFB - closed
Howard AB (TDY) - closed
Kadena AB - open
Kunsan AB (TDY) - open
Carswell AFB - JRB
Keesler AFB - open
Cannon AFB - open
Grissom AFB - JRB
Keesler AFB (TDY)
Kadena AB - open
Yokota AB (TDY) - open
McClellan AFB (TDY) - closed
Nellis AFB - open
Norton AFB (TDY) - closed
Osan AB - open
Little Rock AFB - open
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They kept up the Air Museum at Grissom (just north of Kokomo Indiana) and it even looks better than when I was there in early 80's.
https://www.grissomairmuseum.com/
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You can buy what was base housing there pretty cheap. But I wouldn't.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/?searchQueryState=%7B%22isMapVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22mapBounds%22%3A%7B%22west%22%3A-86.17443686897604%2C%22east%22%3A-86.13006240303366%2C%22south%22%3A40.65865688103756%2C%22north%22%3A40.683362142104514%7D%2C%22filterState%22%3A%7B%22sort%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3A%22globalrelevanceex%22%7D%7D%2C%22isListVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22mapZoom%22%3A15%2C%22listPriceActive%22%3Atrue%2C%22pagination%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22usersSearchTerm%22%3A%22%22%7D
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Me in the back yard of our base housing on Grissom, maybe '83. I was flying a balsa glider I had built, 6' wingspan. Went down on the other side of the fence which was the perimeter of the base. I drove around (several miles) and walked a long ways through a field to get it. Next flight was at a park where I hit a guy wire which tore through the wing. I repaired it and it flew again.
(https://i.postimg.cc/QK5RMr4K/20201130-163828.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/QK5RMr4K)
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You can buy what was base housing there pretty cheap. But I wouldn't.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/?searchQueryState=%7B%22isMapVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22mapBounds%22%3A%7B%22west%22%3A-86.17443686897604%2C%22east%22%3A-86.13006240303366%2C%22south%22%3A40.65865688103756%2C%22north%22%3A40.683362142104514%7D%2C%22filterState%22%3A%7B%22sort%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3A%22globalrelevanceex%22%7D%7D%2C%22isListVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22mapZoom%22%3A15%2C%22listPriceActive%22%3Atrue%2C%22pagination%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22usersSearchTerm%22%3A%22%22%7D
Thats not cheap, thats expensive
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It has gone up in the last 6 or so years. You could get one of those places for $20K-$30K then. I don't know where you are but current prices are still cheap compared to places I know.
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What used to be Perrin AFB housing not far from where I live. The base was closed in '71. I wouldn't live in this area for free.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/?category=RECENT_SEARCH&searchQueryState=%7B%22isMapVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22mapBounds%22%3A%7B%22west%22%3A-96.66017249090572%2C%22east%22%3A-96.64907887442013%2C%22south%22%3A33.70821727245384%2C%22north%22%3A33.71499111486332%7D%2C%22filterState%22%3A%7B%22sort%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3A%22globalrelevanceex%22%7D%7D%2C%22isListVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22mapZoom%22%3A17%7D
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I lived off base at Myrtle Beach AFB so am not familiar with the base housing there but from Google Maps it seems they must have torn it all down and built new homes.
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Nothing like buying part of a superfund site!
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No shortage of industrial dump sites all around.
I grew up in Dallas. Back in 50's and 60's they dumped raw sewage in the Trinity River (runs southeast just south of downtown Dallas). You really had to hold your nose when getting close and crossing the bridge over that river back then.
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I did 2 stints at Altus for flight engineer training in the early 90's. All I remember was a Taco Bell that didn't serve or know what anything about chalupas.
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The biggest place to eat in Altus was Ken's Pizza. They had refill cups you bought. Each time you returned. You paid 25 cents per cup for refill.
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Pizza Hut is reverting their restaurants to the tiffany lamps, checkerboard table cloths, red plastic cups. There is a demand for this. May be a nostalgic phase that passes.
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Thunderbolt Park does not have a thunderbolt there.
That one and the A7D with rotary cannon are at Warbird Park which is connected by trails to Thunderbolt Park.
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It's been over 50 years since I was last in Myrtle Beach. A visit is on my bucket list.
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They're connected by trails and it's likely that they decided to put the static displays at "warbird park" because it is more visible than "thunderbolt park" from nearby RT. 17.
Took my dad there and we looked around and I noticed the A7D had a M61 rotary cannon.
During his visit, he said "I won't approve the skyraider II until I get a ride in one."
He's still miffed his skyraider #577 with mig kill markings has some other pilot's name on it at the midway museum.
Most of the bases where he was stationed have closed except Lemoore where I lived as a young kid.
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My second child, a daughter, was born when I was stationed at Myrtle Beach. No facilities on the base for that so she was born at the North Myrtle Beach hospital.
Though I was in the AF when all 4 of my kids were born only one was born in a military hospital. That was at a Navy hospital in Okinawa.