Courtesy Photo | U.S. Air Force Gen. Jerome Francis O'Malley, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing former...... read more read more
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Fifty years after the Wheatland Union High School (WUHS) Class of 1974 graduated, 25 alumni known as the “Habu Brats,” returned to Beale Air Force Base, California, Sept. 20, 2024, where many of their parents supported the legendary SR-71 Blackbird program.
The “Habu Brats,”— a nod to the SR-71 Blackbird nickname inspired by the poisonous pit viper, are sons and daughters to wing commanders, pilots, navigators, physiological support specialists, and other professionals that contributed to the world’s fastest and most advanced aircraft of it’s time.
Bill Kraus, son of an SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance surveillance officer (RSO), and his mother, a former kindergarten teacher at Lone Tree Elementary, reflected on what made Beale a special place to grow up.
“We had no restrictions, we ran amuck on the base, and everyone watched out for us,” said Kraus. “We spent a lot of Saturdays at the bowling alley and golf course. The dads played intramural sports, and we’d jump in to play against the Airmen.”
The Habu Brats, who were just kids when they first arrived at Beale, grew up and eventually started families of their own. Mary and Steven Lighthill, whose fathers served together in the field training detachment, met on base and married at Beale's Foothills Chapel in 1975.
“We dated for three years in high school,” said Mary Lighthill, WUHS alumni. “Our wedding was planned for the day after our prom, so everyone showed up to the ceremony in their prom dresses and tuxedos.”
Team Beale made a special effort to help the Habu Brats reconnect with their old neighborhoods. Peggy O'Malley, daughter of U.S. Air Force Gen. Jerome Francis O'Malley, who once commanded the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing and piloted the SR-71 Blackbird, rediscovered Lakeview Drive—the street where she grew up during her father’s command and where she built lifelong friendships.
“As an Air Force brat who moved almost every year, I have a special connection to Beale,” said O'Malley. “We lived here for four years, longer than anywhere else, so the friendships and memories are really meaningful.”
The reunion took the Habu Brats across Beale, with stops at the World War II-era prisoner of war memorial, their former neighborhoods, a high-pressure suit demonstration by the 9th Physiological Support Squadron and a close-up briefing of the U-2 Dragon Lady and T-38 Talon. The group saw the T-38 Talons later that day when the jets performed a flyover during a Salute to Service WUHS football game in honor of the class's 50th reunion.
As Friday drew to a close, the former neighbors and classmates reflected on the bonds they’ve maintained and offered advice to the current generation of military children at Beale.
“Make lifelong friends,” said Linda Sheffield Miller, daughter of U.S. Air Force Col. Richard “Butch” Sheffield, SR-71 Blackbird navigator. “We’ve stayed friends for 50 years, and we feel like family.”
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.25.2024 14:02 |
| Story ID: | 481735 |
| Location: | BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Habu Brats Return to Beale AFB After 50 Years, by SSgt Shaei Rodriguez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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