Karen just sent the following message:

Porterfield House

Porterfield Dedication

Porterfield House Plaque

I cannot let this day go by without remembering the significance of this day.

Difficult to believe that it has been 10 years since this horrific event.  I can remember like it was yesterday as I watched the events unfold on television.  I just could not believe what was happening.

In my little town we received a steel beam section of the World Trade Center.  A memorial was built at our township fire department and unveiled today.  I was happy to see so many people who came to pay their respects and remember this day.

Picture from 1966 shared by member Ken Hill. This is a great picture of the Ramey Air Force Base and Flight Line. The top left corner is the Alert Area, B-52′s and KC-135′s

Many, many thanks goes to Orlando Gallardo Jr.

Orlando is a frequent contributor to the Ramey AFB Facebook site and the material he shares is just amazing.  If you use Facebook and have not visited the Ramey site, I encourage you to do so.  The link to the site is Ramey Air Force Base Facebook Page

Here is a picture Orlando shared back in February.

As he boards the presidential plane for long flight to Brazil’s new capital (Brasilia) President Eisenhower gives a farewell salute to Brig Gen Joseph J. Preston commanding 72nd Bombardment Wing and his host at Ramey Air Force Base, (Tuesday) Feb. 23, 1960. At right is Colonel William G. Draper the president’s personal pilot. (AP Photo)
The day before President Eisenhower flew to San Juan where he met with Governor Luis Muñoz Marin and his Cabinet. Later that day President Eisenhower flew to Ramey and played golf with Preston, Draper and his Press Secretary James C. Hagerty. The last event that day was a reception in his honor.

Preston was Commander of the 72d BW during 12 Oct 1959-28 Sept 1960.
Behind the President is VC-137A 58-6970 ‘Queenie’ (SAM 970). SAM stands for Special Air Mission.

Another presidential moment in Ramey AFB history.  President Lyndon Johnson visits the base in 1968.

This photo was posted by Orlando Gallardo Jr. on the Ramey AFB Facebook page with the following caption:

President Johnson with his grandson Patrick Lyndon Nugent having just arrived at Ramey AFB a little after 5:10pm AST, 3 March 1968 for the weekend. He came directly from Georgia after attending the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy Rollout. As Vice President, LBJ visited PR on 2 April 1961 and 25-26 July 1962. The VC-137 in the background is probably 62-6000.

Once again much thanks to Orlando for his many contributions and keeping the memories of Ramey Air Force Base alive.

This pictures comes from the Borinquen Field-Ramey AFB Museum courtesy of Museum Director, Ricardo Busquets.   Ricardo and I are going to start working on the history section of the web site.  Stayed tuned because there will be many excellent photographs posted, just like this one….

The Borinquen Field/Ramey AFB Museum just acquired a photo album which holds an extraordinary significance in the history of the base.

25th Bombardment Group – Borinquen Field 1939

The album belonged to Pvt. R.M. Lahti of the 25^th Bombardment Group. The 25^th was the first Group to be stationed at Borinquen Field in 1939.

Airman Lahti documents in photographs, not only the arrival of the 25^th to Borinquen Field, but the continuous development of the Field.

The images from this album will be studied for some time to come and will become available for viewing thru the upcoming Museum section of the RAFBHA website.

Treasures such as this only become a reality thru donations made to the RAFBHA and the Borinquen Field/Ramey AFB Museum. A special thanks for all of you that have done so. The purchase of this priceless album would not have been possible without your help.

Field trip to Borinquen Field/Ramey AFB Museum

The main reason for the Museum existence is to create an awareness of Borinquen Field – Ramey AFB place in history.

Museum Associate Director, Jorge Gonzalez, answers questions about the B-29 wreck off Ramey AFB

Bringing future generations to the Museum is a sure way to continue the “Spirit of Ramey”.

Hurricane Hunter uniform, anyone…

Teachers and students all had a blast. Even the bus driver, guy with the white mustache, had a good time. He mentioned we had something special and would pass the word about the Museum.

 All mission narratives and photograph captions are in English and Spanish for all to enjoy. Stay tuned for the Museum section of the RAFBHA website. Guaranteed to blow your socks off !!!

A message received from the website….

My grandfather, Jacob Willis Paulk, was a meteorologist with the Air Force stationed at Ramey in the early to mid 50s. I know he was there from 54 until 58 because my father was born there.  Grandfather’s 80th birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I wondered if there was any way you might have a list of some of the men who served with him who might still be alive with some contact information. His house burned down several years ago, so we would love to be able to get a hold of some photos and memorabilia from his time at Ramey. He and my grandmother say it was among the happiest times of their lives.

This message was received from Jacob’s granddaughter.  Although we were unable to give her contact information, Museum Director Ricardo Busquets and Ramey AFB Historian Gerry Giles shared with her the following photos.

If you have any information that you would like to share about the photos or with the family, please reply to this post.

In my home town of Elkhart, Indiana, we had something very special, a war bird fly in.  Before I got involved with RAFBHA  I probably would not have taken the time to attend this show, but thanks to Ramey, my interest in aircraft is at an all time high.  And what a wonderful time and opportunity this was for me!  The weather was beautiful and the aircraft I saw was incredible.  Also, because Notre Dame is in our backyard, and Air Force was in town for a football game, the Goodyear blimp was also at the show.

Although this post does not really involve RAFBHA, I think anyone who appreciates vintage aircraft will like viewing these photos.  I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I had taking them.  I’m sorry I’m not able to tell you exactly the type of aircraft, still learning, but if you are fan, I’m certain you will know what you are viewing.