August 8, 2014

Oroville Mercury Register
Oct. 8, 1964
Paul Williams Completes Summer Marine Training – Paul E. Williams, 20, is spending a week here with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Williams of Canyon Highlands Drive, after spending the first part of the summer at Marine Base in Quantico, Va. Williams is a U.S. Marine Corps trainee, who joined the service under a program that will allow him to continue and complete his college work uninterrupted. The 1963 graduate of Oroville high School, has already completed two years of college work at the University of California at Davis, where he majored in math. He will leave here Saturday to spend the summer attending the University of California at Berkeley. Williams who was a platoon leader of his class at Quantico, has passed his flight physical and plans to enter Marine Corps aviation after his graduation from college. The future Marine Corps officer will return to the university at Davis for the fall semester.

Oroville Mercury Register
Oct, 8, 1964
Capt. J Franklin Feted On Return To Air Force Duty – Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Franklin of Third Ave entertained with a dinner party Saturday evening honoring their son and daughter-in-law, Capt. And Mrs. James Franklin, and family, Shelly and Judy, former residents of Oakland. Capt Franklin has been recalled into the Air Force and the family left Wednesday for Shepherd Air Force Base at Wichita Falls Tex. The captain will be attached to the accounting and finance office there. Attending the dinner party were Mr. and Mrs. David Dealey and daughter, Laurie, of Red Bluff and Mr. and Mrs. Arlie Barton.

Oroville Mercury Register
Oct. 8, 1964
Beale is Base for New Plane
Washington – Americas’ new 2,000 mile-an-hour strategic reconnaissance plane, the SR71, will be based at Beale AFB Marysville, Calif., the defense department announced today. The airplane, considered to be a derivative of the A11 announced last February by President Johnson, has not yet flown but the Pentagon said it “is scheduled to become operational in 1965.” The SR71 “will give the United States an aerial reconnaissance capability far greater than any now available,” the announcement said. The Pentagon said $8,395,000 had been allocated to build technical and support facilities for the SR71 unit that will be based at Beale. In announcing development of the SR71, Johnson said on July 21 that it would fly higher than 80,000 feet and exceed 2,000 miles an hour. It is believed to be a twin engine, two-man airplane like the basic A11. A11 was the designation given the original airplane by Lockheed Aircraft Corp., Burbank, Calif. The plane was believed to have been built as a successor spy plane to the U2. A version of that type is reported to be in operation. The interceptor version, known as the YF12A, was publicly unveiled at Edwards AFB Calif., Sept 39 it is a long-range, missile-armed bomber destroyer. No decision has been made whether to produce it.

Stu Says:
Paul Williams, I wonder if anybody told him about a place called Vietnam, by 1964 things were getting a little bit on the War Side.

Headlines in the Oroville Mercury Oct 8 1964. US Military Disclaims Viet Copter Report, Yreka Man Dies in Action at Viet Nam Capt. Gary Riggins. He had four children with his wife Christine.

Capt. James Franklin recalled by the Air Force. The Air Force was a big part of the Vietnam War.

The SR71, what a plane. Never until now has a faster better plane been built by a world power. I was working building a hanger on the flight line at Beale AFB the summer of 1971. We had quite a thrill when the SR71 took off, the Hanger we were building shook so much we couldn’t walk the beams. We got down on all fours and waited. The Plane was so powerful it cleared the runway in short order and went straight up and disappeared. Oh, while we worked there I met “My Lynn” after work at the Dairy Queen. A very lucky day for me. You know we in Oroville don’t seem to hear much about Beale but it sure has been good for Butte County and has brought a lot of Hero’s out there.

Remember Capt Randy Roby, for those who have not heard, he gave his life for the people of Oroville. You can see the plaque up there on a rock by CDF headquarters.

Hopefully you saw Ronnie Scharbor on TV promoting tomorrow nights big fund raiser put on by the American Legion. The Sons of Italy will be cooking spaghetti and there will be live music by Decades playing all the hits and dancing in the huge ballroom at the Veterans memorial hall on Montgomery St. Don’t miss it! 1pm-7pm is dinner followed by Dancing with Music by Decades. All profits go to the Oroville Veterans Memorial Park Honoring all of Butte County.

This week in 1945 two bombs went off in Japan and the War soon ended.