Features lmltl atttljfcttr Features
KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1963
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BONUS Tourists attracted to the Northwest by the World's Fair last summer found
a bonus attraction in the new museum and observatory overlooking Central Ore-
?onls Round Butte Dam project. The facility offers a view of the spectacular 1,000
oot deep Deschutes River Canyon and was visited by over 35,000 persons last sum.
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ROCK SAMPLES The Deschutes region Is happy hunting ground for rockhounds, fo
PGE's museum includes many samples from area. Here Peggy Taylor inspects some
rare specimens from ranches around Madras.
One-Time Naval Officer
Wins Air Force Scroll
For Liaison Effort Here
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' The imprint of accomplishment
left upon a community with the
successful effort to meld two
units of society, the folks who
call Klamath Falls home, and the
newcomers, the military person
nel at Kingsley Field, has been
recognized and rewarded by the
United States Air Force.
'. The Air Force Scroll of Appre
ciation has been presented to Lt.
land Mrs. John Sterling of this
:city.
; The citation is for the "render
ing of meritorious service to the
;L'niled States Air Force from
jApril 8. 1956. to May 22, 1W1. The
personal interest, outstanding ini
tiative, and wholehearted cooper-
.ation of Mr. and Mrs. Sterling
!have contributed materially to
promoting and maintaining sound
;and understanding relations be
tween the community of Klamath
Falls. Ore., and the United States
Air Force. Their unselfish devo
tion to public responsibility and
good citizenship has been instru
mental in furthering the public
understanding and appreciation of
the Air Force and its mission in
maintaining world peace . . ."
The contribution made hy Lt
Cmdr. Sterling in public re
lations, which earned the award,
was founded long before the dates
mentioned in the formal recogni
tion. Early in lf44 while the haze nf
World War II still shadowed the
work), a Naval Air Station was
established here at what is now
Kingsley Field under the Com
mandant, 1.3th Naval District, a
j staging point for air groups and
pilots returning from duty with
the Pacific Fleet. These squad
rons were reformed and after a
short period of gunnery were sent
out to the fleet with various car
rier units.
"It was notably known." re
calls former U.S. Fleet Air Com
mander Sterling, Naval Air Base,
Klamath Falls, "that Klamath
Falls with its wide range of cli
mau was most suitable as a stag
ing area." and that resolve was
true also with the determination
' of the U S Air Force to establish
Klamath Falls as headquarters
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for the 40Rth Fighter Group (Air
Uclcnsei in later years.
The flatland southeast of the
city in 1!M4 teemed with activity.
While residents were tuned to the
economic impact of such an in
stallation, there was apprehension,
too. that integration of such a
military group into the commu
nity might not be successfully ac
complished.
But as the U.S. Navy planned
and built for its air force, Lt.
Cmdr. John Sterling, in charge
of the largest Group Fleet Air Car
rier Unit 68 and his complement
of 1.200 men and officers, over 100
aircraft, fighters, torpedo bomb
ers and utility aircraft, was con
cerned not only with his official
duties but with the need to prove
that a multi-hundred influx of
service men need not disrupt a
citv.
The base had still another com
plement nf some 500 officers and
enlisted men with fully equipped
(Continued on Tage 2)
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AIRBORNE Here, Lt. Cmdr. John Sterling piloted an SBD (Scout Bomber, built by
Douglas Aircraft I, also called the Douglas Dauntless, one of the fastest planes of
World War II and the heaviest of the bombers, "it could dive straight down without
a guiver." The flight was made from the then Naval Air Station in Klamath Falls dur
inq World War !l years when Sterling was in command of the staging point for air
groups and pilots returninq from duty with the Pacific Fleet for gunnery periods
and reassignment with carrier units. His bombardier is in the rear seat.
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FROM THE RANKS UP Lt. Cmdr. John Sterling, who
has been flying for 45 years, and now a Klamath Falls
businessman, played an important part in the Air Force
in World War II in the training of gunnery squadrons et
what is now Kingsley Field. Because of his outstandingly
profound and sincere interest in the development and
promotion of effective public relations between military
personnel of Kingsley Field and the civilian populace of
Klamath Falls, the officer has been awarded the Air
Force Scroll of Appreciation.
INTERESTING SPECIMEN Central Oregon geology fascinates many, and the Round
Butte Observatory and Museum includes exhibits of the region's more interesting
specimens. Here Dave Campbell inspects subterranean samples taken by diamond
drill in geologic explorations prior to start of dam construction.
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LARGE MODEL The museum and observatory, constructed by Portland General
Electric as a permanent feature of the Round Butte project, includes a gallery and
a large model of the dam, its reservoir and fish passage facilities.
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Stiwry Trains
U.S. PACIFIC FLEET HEAD
QUARTERS, PEARL HARBOR,
Hawaii Far back in Uie Paleolith-
age, Man learned the uses
and misuses of fire. Fire has
provided the light, the heat and
the power Man has required to
exist and advance through the!
ages.
But fire is not always the ser
vant of Man. Unchecked it is the
world's worst natural destroyer.
Nowhere is it more dangerous
than at sea.
In most circumstances, people
can run from fire, or they can
retreat to more advantageous po
sitions from which to ligm it.
Aboard ship, there is no place to
go but the bottom of the ocean.
Each member of a sea-going
crew must be an accomplished
firefighter. !Ie must be familiar
with the intricacies of shipboaiti
fires and the methods used to
combat them.
The skill of the Navyman to
control end conquer e fire at sea
was graphically illustrated dur
ing the waning days of World
War II. The aircraft carrier USS
Franklin was attacked by enemy
airplanes off the coast of Japan
and received two 550-pound bomb
hits. Both bombs exploded among
fully gassed and armed aircraft
beneath the flight deck. Fires
spread the length of the carrier.
reaching toward fuel and ammu
nition stores.
Well-drilled damage control par
lies reacted immediately, ror
five hours, weary but determined
men fought against smoke, flames
and explosions. Due to their brav
ery and rigorous training, they
were abie to bring the fire under
control and take their ship home
to fight another day.
Knowledge and skill concerning
principles of firefighting do not
exist instinctively In the minds of
men; they have to be acquired
The firefighting teams alward Uie
Franklin were trained in Nav)
schools to combat the kinds ol
fires that threatened to sink thcir
ship.
Today's Pacific Heet Navymen
are prepared to fight the same
kind of battle. If and when it be
comes necessary, iney acquire
these skills at one of six fire
fighting schools throughout the
Navy, one of which is part of the
Fleet Training Group at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii.
As soon as the students kam
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Uie construction and operation of
the highly specialized Navy fire
fighting equipment, they use tlieir
new ly acquired knowledge to fight
full-scale fifes. From the first.
they work as a single coordinat
ed unit, using what they learned
as individual sUidents minutes af
ter hearing it. Teamwork, as with
any Navy job, is one of the most
important incidental aspects ac
quired from the course.
The practical culmination of the
course doesn't lie in the written
examination at the end, but in the
successful fighting of a scries of
fifteen oil fires in a large build
ing fitted out as the interior of a
standard Navy boiler room.
How docs it feel to fight
boiler-room fire? We asked
Navyman w ho had Just completed
the course, Seaman Thomas
Moore of Avalon, Calif. He re
plied:
'Inside Uie smoke blackened
mock-up, 300 gallons of contam
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TASTE OF SMOKE Moving in on an "open tank" fire,
students at firefighting school get their first taste ol
smoke end flames. Using high-velocity water fog from
the hose et left, students rotate positions en the hoses
EXTERIOR VIEW This is the exterior of the Round Butte Dam observatory which was
constructed by the Portland General Electric as a permanent feature of the project.
Not only can the visitor see salient points of the massive job from a 1,000 foot high
perch, but within are artifacts and geologic specimens from the surrounding terrain.
mmi m tie Pairi
Oregon sighl-secrs and tourists
are in lor a 1. 000-foot high thrill
when they visit the new Round
Butte Dam observatory on the
ite of the Desdiutes River proj
ect near Madras.
Though the dam is not sched
uled for completion until I'JM.
sufficient progress has been made
to afford an overall view of the
immensity of the project, which
is estimated to cost $tiO million.
Inside tlie observatory is a scale
model of the project showing the
terrain and buildings as they will
look when tire job is complete.
There were 35.000 tourists visiting
the museum and observatory last
summer.
Among the latest proposals af
fecting the electrical project are:
A projected 500,000 volt intertie
from the dam site to the new Pa
cific Power and Light Company
substation at Klamath Falls.
An offer to build a lHO-mile
power intertie between the Co
lumbia Basin and California
made several weeks ago by the
Portland ticneral Electric Com
pany to the Bonneville Power Ad
ministration.
Later the PPL interconnection
would be supplemented by a lie
directly between PGE and Pacific
Gas and Electric Company, which
proposes to construct a 500,000
volt transmission line between its
Feather River plants and Uic
Oregon border. P(1E would also
install a 300,000 KVA of suhsta
tion capacity at the Hound Butte
site and have lite interconnection
facility ready for nperation by
'late 10(15.
To Fight fire At Sea
inated dicscl oil lies wailing for
Uie instructor's torch. Looking like
a fugitive from hell, a grinning
instructor bangs down a heavy
iron torch un wet spots of flung
gasoline around the room. Because
of their red skullcaps and jerseys.
the instructors look impossibly
like happy devils as Ihey light Uie
heavy black oil.
"Now it's your turn to go in.
Another team cools the entrance
for a few seconds. You charge
through Uie doorway sweeping Uic
intense heat of Uie flames away
from you with Uie spray of high-
velocity water fog from Uie hose
in your hands:
"The heat stuns you for a mom
ent. Then you remember how to
keep the cone of water coming
from the all-purpose nozzle you're
holding. You advance slowly.
pushing the flames from you with
a gcnUc, sweeping moUon.
"Just as soon as you have the
fire almost beaten, the smoke real-
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FASCINATED Ancient artifacts fascinate Dick Arm
strong, visitor to Round Butte Dam Museum. Displays of
Central Oregon wildlife are also a feature of museum;
on edge of Deschutes River Dam.
ly goLs to you. A Ulick, black
and choking blanket of what
.smells like pure oil mist wraps
itself around you suffocating and
blinding. Finally tlie fire is out.
ind your instructor shouts 'water
off!'
You stand for a moment, won
dering if you have really man
aged to put the raging holocaust
out. Your face is singed in places,
covered with soot, and your eyes
are still watering from the smoke.
You hear Uie 'all clear!' snouts
of Uie instructors from various
parts of Uie cavernous room, and
suddenly you remember the men
on the hose behind you: if any
one of them hadn't paid complete
attention to what they were do
ing, you could have been serious
ly injured. So you respect Uie
rest of your team, and promise
yourself that you'll back them up
as well as Uiey did you."
Tie other fires fought In the
course are more or less in prepa
and put out the open tank fire a fotal of 15 times. The
hose on the right is a safety prscaution in case of mal
function of the first. U.S. Navy Photo
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ration for the boiler-room fire, to
gain experience in hose handling
and lose some of Uie instinctive
fear of fire. Tlie fires include fight
ing 300 gallons of blazing oil in
an open tank, end extinguishing a
iool of fiery gasoline inside a
mock-up of an aircraft carrier's
hangar deck.
Such UJngs as the construction
and operation of the different
kinds of Navy pumps are also
explained in detail. Complete un
derstanding of the complexities
and difficulties of firefighting are
stressed. Indeed, the motto of Uie
school is "Learn or Burn."
Admiral John H. Sides, Com
mander in Chief of the Pacific
Fleet, has this to say of the school
that trains his officers and men:
"When a student finishes the
course, he knows that he can
do the Job that might someday,
through this training, save his life,
the lives of bis shipmates, and
his ship."
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