Glen Davis
Age 76
Born 1940 in Lewisville, MN
Currently lives in Fairmont, MN
U.S
Air Force Cold
War Veteran
Glen Davis is part of a long line of military tradition within his family.
Between himself and his four other brothers, they amassed a total of 99 years
of military service between them.
Davis remembered three significant events beginning in 1958 that took
place during his time in the United States Air Force. “Vietnam War had started,
the Berlin Wall went up in Europe and the Cold War began with the Cuban Missile
Crisis,” he said.
Davis remembered he celebrated his 19th birthday while
flying to Germany to become part of the 497th Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance Group (497 ISRG). The unit was based in Wiesbaden, Germany with
the mission to support the tactical targeting program in Europe by furnishing
photographic support such as overlays, aerial photography and photo
interpretation.
Following his three-year deployment in Germany, Smith was stationed
stateside at Turner AFB in Georgia as part of the 1370th photo
mapping wing of the USAF. It was the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Davis spent hours upon hours in the darkroom processing reels of film recorded
during high altitude flyovers of Cuba by U-2 spy planes. “It was an interesting
job, but it wasn't really what I wanted to do,” he admitted. “I didn't realize
it at the time how critical our job was to the security of the Nation. It was
very tense time.”
Story and Image © 2016 Joseph Kreiss Photography
