BUFF 695

Members of the 461st Bomb Wing and their spouses pose for a picture Oct. 1 in front of “Early Riser,” a B-52 in Tinker’s Maj. Charles B. Hall Memorial Air Park. The retirees, who meet every two years, were treated to a tour of Tinker and the B-52 maintenance facility. (Air Force photo by Kelly White/Released)

Retirees meet, swap stories about BUFF 695

Published Oct. 8, 2015
By Kimberly Woodruff
Staff Writer

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Sitting in Tinker's Maj. Charles B. Hall Memorial Air Park is "Early Riser," a B-52 with the tail number 695. That aircraft flew countless combat missions during the Vietnam War.

On Oct. 1, a small group of retirees from the 461st Bomb Wing met at the air park for a reunion. This group meets every two years to reconnect and share stories of their time with the Big Ugly Fat Fellow (BUFF).

The 461st Bomb Wing deployed B-52 aircraft and crews to Anderson Air Base, Guam, from Jan. 18 to July 4, 1967, for combat operations in Southeast Asia, according to the Strategic Air Command's website.

Among the retirees were some former pilots who flew tail number 695.

Fred Martin came all the way from Rochester, N.Y. His career consisted of 110 combat missions in the B-52, the last taking place in 1973.

"I like hearing the old stories and seeing people I had forgotten about," said Mr. Martin. "It's both interesting and enjoyable. You tend to forget how tight you were as a group in the squadron."

Terry Mock, from Choctaw, still has his original log book chronicling his flights in tail number 695 on Aug. 12, 1965, Sept. 13, 1965, and May 23, 1966.

"This is the most fun reunion we have had," he said. "There are people in from all over, including Virginia, Florida, Washington, New York and Texas."

Ned Kerr from Napa, Idaho, said BUFF 695 was modified to carry 84 500-pound iron bombs and 750 pounds of multiple injectors on each wing -- 108 bombs total for about 55,000 pounds of bomb power.

Mr. Kerr joked with his buddy, Dave Howe from Choctaw, and said he flew the BUFF all by himself and didn't need anyone to tell him where to go.

Turns out Mr. Howe was Mr. Kerr's navigator and did tell him where to go. The two have stayed close friends through the years. They flew three combat missions together in 1971 from Uda Pao, Thailand.

Mr. Howe flew a total of 168 combat missions. After leaving military service, he served as the B-52 system program director here at Tinker from 1986 to 1991.

After a tour of the base and the B-52 maintenance facility, the group parted ways, but will meet up again in a few years to reconnect with old friends.