Today things are not much different in the Air Force. Although telephones and email are easily available, troops must still endure long periods away from home and loved ones. The heat isn't any less hot in the Saudi Arabian desert then it was on Guam and much like then, Air Force units are still on the forefront of technology. In fact, some of the B-29 units of then are still active and serve today with the newest technologies in the Air Force. Perhaps the most famous of these is the 509th Bomb Wing. More commonly known to the World War II generation as the 509th

Composite Group, the unit gained fame for dropping atomic bombs and winning the Second World War. Today, the wing is based in Missouri and flies the ultra-secret, high technology B-2A 'stealth' bomber. It recently proved itself in Operation Allied Force, the bombing of Kosovo. In between these two great aircraft, the B-29 and B-2, the wing was involved in many other historical events, such as the so-called "Roswell Landings" of 1948, and was one of only three units of Strategic Air Command to fly the FB-111 medium bomber.

Another unit of the 1945 Pacific Campaign was the Twentieth Air Force. In command of what was debatably the most powerful aerial fighting force ever assembled up to that point, it was comprised of eighteen very heavy bombardment groups and the nuclear-capable 509th Composite Group , encompassing thousands of aircraft and men. These qualities made it one of the most important units of the Army Air Forces at the end of World War II. Today, the Twentieth is still one of the most important components in the Air Force, and is still at the edge of the sword of powerful weaponry. For this unit is the sole operator of the Air Force's inventory of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The unit is still on the frontier of civilization - operating from the cold harshness of the northern tier of the continental United States, where temperatures frequently hover in the winter at -50 degrees Fahrenheit.

ICBM

It is important for us, in this age of laser weapons and satellites, to remember what was the frontier of technology in 1945. Air Force legacy has always, and will always be based upon how advanced its technology is and how well trained its people are. If we were to forget how far we've come since the B-29s of the 20th AF and the impact upon technology they made, we will never again advance.

The airmen and aircraft of the 20th were the cream of the crop in 1945, and today, their predecessors in the missile 20th are still the cream of the crop and still control the enormous amount of firepower that their lineal ancestors did. In addition to the 20th Air Force, other B-29 units are still the cream of the crop of the Air Force - notably the 509th Bomb Wing, which as fore-mentioned, flies the ultra stealth B-2 bomber. These units provide the full time deterrent needed to keep growing nuclear powers such as China and North Korea from destroying a fragile world peace. We can thank the enormous effort made by the men of World War II B-29 units for their hard work and

determination, which has allowed the US to become a world power. We can also thank the members of today's Air Force who currently serve in what were once B-29 units, for they carry on that tradition and hold the US at the world power status that their fathers and grandfathers achieved.

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George Runkle is a 17 year old son of an Air Force Reserve major and a private in the Army National Guard. The grandson of a B-24 mechanic whose unit transitioned into the B-29 at the end of World War II, he hopes to join the US Navy or Coast Guard and become a full military aviation and Air Force historical writer. You can reach George here.

April 1999 - How the Revisionist Grinches Stole the 50th Anniversary of the End of World War II
by Andy Doty.

May 1999 - The tale of our 16th mission . . .
by Joseph Majeski

We did not have a guest columnist in June 1999.

July 1999 - Col. Patrick J. Ryan - The REAL Bombardier by Fred Byars

We did not have a columnist in August.

September 1999 - The Take Off in a Loaded B-29 by Earl L. Johnson, Maj. Gen. (Retired)

October 1999 - The first B29 to Bomb Japan - by Terrence Lindell

November 1999 - Ford Speaks Out