WHERE WAS I IN 1962?
This is a dilemma I have pondered for a few years, and recently as Dory and I were walking I shared it with her for the first time. Sounds spooky, doesn't it? And in a way, it is - for I have never been able to figure it out.
Let me briefly share the dilemma with you - and then I will flesh it out in more detail. In April 1962 I attended the 20th Reunion of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders at the Del Mar Beach Club in Santa Monica, California.
Yet in October 1962 I was in Washington DC/Virginia and deeply affected by the Cuban Missile Crisis. But I did not move back to or travel to California until after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
However, I recall both events in great detail and have no doubt in my mind that I did attend both events - one in California, the other in Washington DC, in the same year - but at impossible times.
Now for the promised detailed accounts of both events - and then see if you can explain how this happened.
DILEMMA PART 1:
In April 1962 I lived at in an apartment at 15425 Vanowen Blvd, Van Nuys, California, corner unit 3rd floor, and totally by chance I had the honor of attending the 20th Reunion of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders at the Del Mar Beach Club in Santa Monica.
I was a young, single, Computer Field Engineer living in Southern California, working for Ramo Wooldridge (later TRW), and making good money. And what is a young man earning good money, living in Southern California in the early 1960s - the decadent decade - to do but party every night?
After a while I realized that I could not continue to party and drink seven night a week. I had to find another outlet for my energy.
I had always thought it would be cool to an actor, and I lived in Southern California - so why not go to acting school? I found an ad in the newspaper for the Theatre of Arts which was located in the Del Mar Beach Club in Santa Monica. I called and was told to come to their facility on the second floor of the beach club next Wednesday.
So on that fateful Wednesday night, April 18, 1962, I went to the Theatre of Arts acting school where I met another young man, Jim Anthony. Jim was 19 and I was 25 years old. We met in the lobby and by the time we had walked up the stairs to the second floor, we realized we were there for the same reason and became instant friends.
But that night there was a note on the door of the acting school telling us, "School closed. Come down the hall to the right, to the Blue Room." When we found the Blue Room, we realized that we were not only joining the acting school - but that was the first night of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders 20th Reunion being held at the Del Mar Beach Club - and we, the acting school, were their guests.
They had invited the acting school to attend, I suppose to add some color to their celebration. So the acting school I joined to stop partying and drinking seven nights a week - led me into a four day Tokyo Raiders Reunion party with a free open bar. Oh well, I decided I could postpone my partying slowdown for one more week.
At that time, most of Doolittle's Raiders were still alive. It was exciting to be able to mix with those heroes and hear their personal stories. Did you realize that all of the planes crashed except one? The B-25s on this mission had a strict weight limit to enable them to take off from an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet. They were stripped down and had the gallons of fuel on-board fuel calculated carefully. One crew chief snuck an extra can of fuel on his plane, which could have killed his crew - but did not.
They were able to take off, finish the mission, and while all the other planes crashed in China and were saved by the Chinese, a couple of crews were captured by the Japanese - his plane and crew were able to make it back to what they thought was an allied air base, a Russian air base. The Russians held them as "house guests," i.e., captives for one year - and we never got the plane back. The crew chief told me this story himself and I have later verified that it is true.
That was four nights of partying, great stories, and celebration. And on Saturday night, at the closing dinner, Bob Hope was the guest speaker and then General Doolittle spoke.
Bob Hope was a sight for he got caught in the Los Angeles traffic trying to get to Santa Monica that Saturday evening and evidently did not have time to change. When he was standing on stage at eye level, his pants were inches too short (high water pants) and he had on white socks. Yet, he was still funny. And he was doing what he did so well, entertaining our troops.
The man in charge of the reunion that year was a suave, handsome, peppered-haired Colonel from the Pentagon - and the lady who owned the acting school, Madame Valmar Oleska, chased that poor Colonel every night of the reunion.
While I returned to my true vocation, the computer industry - Jim Anthony, who had became my friend during our acting school days, went on to have a successful career as an actor. To join SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) he later changed his name to Anthony James and appeared as a character actor in just about every western and detective television series that aired in the 1970s and 80s.
I was living in Huntsville briefly when I first saw Jim in a 1968 episode of the new, to me, western TV show "The Big Valley" where he was a nutty mountain man and killer. When we turned on the TV that Wednesday evening, the first image I saw was Jim's face - and I thought, "Wow, he made it in television." Yes, I will admit to a wee vicarious thrill.
The next Saturday evening my girl friend and I went to the movie with bowling friends and, surprise, surprise - there was Jim in the 1967 movie "In The Heat Of The Night" where he was the killer Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier were chasing. He retired a few years back and was living in the Boston area doing his thing as an artist, creating art through his paintings. He died from cancer on May 26, 2020.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I attended the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders 20th Reunion the week of April 18-22, 1962. And that week in 1962 I met my friend, Jim Anthony, and together we became students at the Theatre of Arts acting school.
DILEMMA PART 2:
Fresh out of the Air Force, in August 1958, I joined Burroughs Corporation as a Computer Systems Technician at their plant in Pasadena (Sierra Madre), California. A year later, in 1959, I transferred into the company's Field Engineering department and was assigned to help maintain the Burroughs B220 computer system at the Naval Supply Depot in Norfolk, Virginia.
Later I was transferred to the Burroughs district office in Washington DC - where I became lead Field Engineer on their system at Atlantic Research Corporation in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
In October 1962, I was the lead Field Engineer on the Burroughs computer system at Atlantic Research Corporation. In the Air Force I had been an electronic technician maintaining the F-86 jet fighter Weapons Fire Control/Radar Systems. A friend and fellow Field Engineer, Paul, was my co-worker at Atlantic Research. He had also been in the Air Force, and together we decided to join the Air Force Reserves just to stay abreast of military electronics.
Paul and I planned to go on Saturday, October 20, 1962, to join the Air Force Reserves. However the computer system at Atlantic Research developed a problem so we had to work that Saturday. We agreed that the following Saturday, October 27th, we would visit the Air Force Reserve unit and join.
But Fidel Castro, Cuba's Communist dictator, stepped into our plans. On Sunday, October 14, the Cuban Missile Crisis burst upon us. Russia had installed missile sites in Cuba - within easy target range of America. That led to a 13-day (October 16-28, 1962) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the apparently offensive missile sites in Cuba.
On Monday, October 22, 1962, President Kennedy, because of the Cuban Missile Crisis, announced that the U.S. military forces would go to DEFCON 3 and the Air Force Reserve unit that Paul and I would have joined that previous Saturday - was activated that Monday. That close call of being reactivated into active military duty convinced me of an old military maxim, "Never volunteer for anything!"
DILEMMA CONCLUSION: Where was I in 1962 - California or Washington DC/Virginia? And how do I explain that both events are very vivid in my memory, down to minute details? I had to have been in Southern California, at the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders 20th Reunion, April 18-22, 1962 - and I had to have been at Atlantic Research Corporation in Tysons Corner, Virginia, on Saturday, October 20, 1962. BUT, HOW?
I have literally replayed these events over and over in my mind for years - and cannot find an answer. Did I confuse the year? Was the Reunion in 1963 instead of 1962? Was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1961 instead of 1962?-
As my photo collage below shows, the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders' Reunion was held April 1962 as shown in the Del Mar Beach Club May 1962 issue - with William Bower's Reunion badge also showing April 1962.
And the whole world knows when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, October 16-28, 1962 - for the whole world was holding their collective breaths for that 13 days. If you can explain this dilemma, other than saying I was on a Timothy Leary High in 1962 - PLEASE DO!
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
This is a dilemma I have pondered for a few years, and recently as Dory and I were walking I shared it with her for the first time. Sounds spooky, doesn't it? And in a way, it is - for I have never been able to figure it out.
Let me briefly share the dilemma with you - and then I will flesh it out in more detail. In April 1962 I attended the 20th Reunion of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders at the Del Mar Beach Club in Santa Monica, California.
Yet in October 1962 I was in Washington DC/Virginia and deeply affected by the Cuban Missile Crisis. But I did not move back to or travel to California until after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
However, I recall both events in great detail and have no doubt in my mind that I did attend both events - one in California, the other in Washington DC, in the same year - but at impossible times.
Now for the promised detailed accounts of both events - and then see if you can explain how this happened.
DILEMMA PART 1:
In April 1962 I lived at in an apartment at 15425 Vanowen Blvd, Van Nuys, California, corner unit 3rd floor, and totally by chance I had the honor of attending the 20th Reunion of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders at the Del Mar Beach Club in Santa Monica.
I was a young, single, Computer Field Engineer living in Southern California, working for Ramo Wooldridge (later TRW), and making good money. And what is a young man earning good money, living in Southern California in the early 1960s - the decadent decade - to do but party every night?
After a while I realized that I could not continue to party and drink seven night a week. I had to find another outlet for my energy.
I had always thought it would be cool to an actor, and I lived in Southern California - so why not go to acting school? I found an ad in the newspaper for the Theatre of Arts which was located in the Del Mar Beach Club in Santa Monica. I called and was told to come to their facility on the second floor of the beach club next Wednesday.
So on that fateful Wednesday night, April 18, 1962, I went to the Theatre of Arts acting school where I met another young man, Jim Anthony. Jim was 19 and I was 25 years old. We met in the lobby and by the time we had walked up the stairs to the second floor, we realized we were there for the same reason and became instant friends.
But that night there was a note on the door of the acting school telling us, "School closed. Come down the hall to the right, to the Blue Room." When we found the Blue Room, we realized that we were not only joining the acting school - but that was the first night of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders 20th Reunion being held at the Del Mar Beach Club - and we, the acting school, were their guests.
They had invited the acting school to attend, I suppose to add some color to their celebration. So the acting school I joined to stop partying and drinking seven nights a week - led me into a four day Tokyo Raiders Reunion party with a free open bar. Oh well, I decided I could postpone my partying slowdown for one more week.
At that time, most of Doolittle's Raiders were still alive. It was exciting to be able to mix with those heroes and hear their personal stories. Did you realize that all of the planes crashed except one? The B-25s on this mission had a strict weight limit to enable them to take off from an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet. They were stripped down and had the gallons of fuel on-board fuel calculated carefully. One crew chief snuck an extra can of fuel on his plane, which could have killed his crew - but did not.
They were able to take off, finish the mission, and while all the other planes crashed in China and were saved by the Chinese, a couple of crews were captured by the Japanese - his plane and crew were able to make it back to what they thought was an allied air base, a Russian air base. The Russians held them as "house guests," i.e., captives for one year - and we never got the plane back. The crew chief told me this story himself and I have later verified that it is true.
That was four nights of partying, great stories, and celebration. And on Saturday night, at the closing dinner, Bob Hope was the guest speaker and then General Doolittle spoke.
Bob Hope was a sight for he got caught in the Los Angeles traffic trying to get to Santa Monica that Saturday evening and evidently did not have time to change. When he was standing on stage at eye level, his pants were inches too short (high water pants) and he had on white socks. Yet, he was still funny. And he was doing what he did so well, entertaining our troops.
The man in charge of the reunion that year was a suave, handsome, peppered-haired Colonel from the Pentagon - and the lady who owned the acting school, Madame Valmar Oleska, chased that poor Colonel every night of the reunion.
While I returned to my true vocation, the computer industry - Jim Anthony, who had became my friend during our acting school days, went on to have a successful career as an actor. To join SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) he later changed his name to Anthony James and appeared as a character actor in just about every western and detective television series that aired in the 1970s and 80s.
I was living in Huntsville briefly when I first saw Jim in a 1968 episode of the new, to me, western TV show "The Big Valley" where he was a nutty mountain man and killer. When we turned on the TV that Wednesday evening, the first image I saw was Jim's face - and I thought, "Wow, he made it in television." Yes, I will admit to a wee vicarious thrill.
The next Saturday evening my girl friend and I went to the movie with bowling friends and, surprise, surprise - there was Jim in the 1967 movie "In The Heat Of The Night" where he was the killer Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier were chasing. He retired a few years back and was living in the Boston area doing his thing as an artist, creating art through his paintings. He died from cancer on May 26, 2020.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I attended the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders 20th Reunion the week of April 18-22, 1962. And that week in 1962 I met my friend, Jim Anthony, and together we became students at the Theatre of Arts acting school.
DILEMMA PART 2:
Fresh out of the Air Force, in August 1958, I joined Burroughs Corporation as a Computer Systems Technician at their plant in Pasadena (Sierra Madre), California. A year later, in 1959, I transferred into the company's Field Engineering department and was assigned to help maintain the Burroughs B220 computer system at the Naval Supply Depot in Norfolk, Virginia.
Later I was transferred to the Burroughs district office in Washington DC - where I became lead Field Engineer on their system at Atlantic Research Corporation in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
In October 1962, I was the lead Field Engineer on the Burroughs computer system at Atlantic Research Corporation. In the Air Force I had been an electronic technician maintaining the F-86 jet fighter Weapons Fire Control/Radar Systems. A friend and fellow Field Engineer, Paul, was my co-worker at Atlantic Research. He had also been in the Air Force, and together we decided to join the Air Force Reserves just to stay abreast of military electronics.
Paul and I planned to go on Saturday, October 20, 1962, to join the Air Force Reserves. However the computer system at Atlantic Research developed a problem so we had to work that Saturday. We agreed that the following Saturday, October 27th, we would visit the Air Force Reserve unit and join.
But Fidel Castro, Cuba's Communist dictator, stepped into our plans. On Sunday, October 14, the Cuban Missile Crisis burst upon us. Russia had installed missile sites in Cuba - within easy target range of America. That led to a 13-day (October 16-28, 1962) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the apparently offensive missile sites in Cuba.
On Monday, October 22, 1962, President Kennedy, because of the Cuban Missile Crisis, announced that the U.S. military forces would go to DEFCON 3 and the Air Force Reserve unit that Paul and I would have joined that previous Saturday - was activated that Monday. That close call of being reactivated into active military duty convinced me of an old military maxim, "Never volunteer for anything!"
DILEMMA CONCLUSION: Where was I in 1962 - California or Washington DC/Virginia? And how do I explain that both events are very vivid in my memory, down to minute details? I had to have been in Southern California, at the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders 20th Reunion, April 18-22, 1962 - and I had to have been at Atlantic Research Corporation in Tysons Corner, Virginia, on Saturday, October 20, 1962. BUT, HOW?
I have literally replayed these events over and over in my mind for years - and cannot find an answer. Did I confuse the year? Was the Reunion in 1963 instead of 1962? Was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1961 instead of 1962?-
As my photo collage below shows, the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders' Reunion was held April 1962 as shown in the Del Mar Beach Club May 1962 issue - with William Bower's Reunion badge also showing April 1962.
And the whole world knows when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, October 16-28, 1962 - for the whole world was holding their collective breaths for that 13 days. If you can explain this dilemma, other than saying I was on a Timothy Leary High in 1962 - PLEASE DO!
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Click on the image to enlarge:
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