Newspaper Page Text
10A
Tribune & Georgian
Thursday, November 14,2013
Triad
from page 1A
everything to click right to be
able to do this without a gap,”
he said. That’s where we
are as a nation and the average
American has no idea. They
sleep in peace.”
It’s a challenge the Navy is
facing after optimizing its re
sources for the “god of afford
ability” and doing its part by
extending the life of the Ohio
class subs, Breckenridge said.
Nuclear-powered ships typi
cally have a lifespan of 50
years, according to the Navy.
The first Ohio class sub was
commissioned in 1981. Each
replacement sub is estimated
to cost $5.4 billion in 2010
dollars — with the initial boat
costing $12 billion, which in
cludes $4.6 billion for detailed
design and nonrecurring engi
neering costs for the whole
class — and the Navy is work
ing to reduce the cost to $4.9
billion, according to a study
prepared for Congress in Oc
tober.
“We are a prosperous na
tion that can well afford the
small fraction of the invest
ment,” Breckenridge said of
replacing the subs. “The re
turn on the investment is so
great and the risk of failure so
disastrous.”
As China, Russia and Iran
seek more power and Islamic
warfare continues, it’s not the
time to cut defense spending
in the U.8., Breckenridge said.
“We are shrinking our
forces and undermining our
national will just as threats are
marshaling in at least three
important geographic re
gions,” he said. “It is crystal
Honor
from page 1A
truck to fill up the planes with
gasoline.
It was during this time that
he read about paratroopers in
Reader’s Digest and saw a
post with more information
on the base bulletin board.
He went through a rigorous
physical exam where every as
pect of his health was assessed
— from bad teeth to color
blindness. Three out of 13
men passed. Wilbur was one
of those three.
Wilbur’s next stop was
parachute school at Fort Ben-
ning in Columbus, where he
had to pack his own para
chute and jump on the first
day. He recalled kicking other
guys out of the plane when
they couldn’t get up the
courage.
“They’d thank you when
you got to the ground,” he
said.
Training abroad
From Fort Benning,
Wilbur headed to Camp Ed
wards in Massachusetts and
then loaded up with 10,000
other troops in New York to
head overseas. On their way
to north Africa, the ship
passed a sunken German sub
marine and stopped at the
Rock of Gibraltar in $pain
before coming to Casablanca.
When they arrived, Wilbur
and his division walked four
miles to set up camp.
A pilot asked for volunteer
passengers in a glider one day,
Wilbur said. $ince he had
never been, he was quick to
respond.
“I volunteered right quick,”
he said.
Tvo pilots and another
passenger boarded the glider,
taking off in the desert. The
plane was loud, Wilbur said,
mimicking the sound of the
aircraft, and the motor from
the plane in front of them fell
and rolled across the sand,
creating large amounts of
dust.
“You couldn’t hear anyone
talk,” Wilbur said of the
hourlong ride. When the pi
lots went to land, they hit the
ground close to a cactus patch
at 120 mph, came back up
and hit again going 90 mph.
“I got out and said ‘that’s
the last time I ever ride in one
of those things,”’ Wilbur re
members.
He spent the rest of his
time in Casablanca working
on trucks and hauling ammu
nition at night. One night,
they drove near Kasserine
Pass, where a large battle was
fought in February 1943.
Wilbur said he could see
planes that had been shot
down over the steep moun
tain, but their company was
told not to pick up anyone
because two German soldiers
had killed two American sol
diers, taken their clothes and
were in disguise.
“That was a little scary
time, “ he said.
Wilbur’s division then trav
eled to Tunis, in north Africa,
for a short time, where most
of the population had left. It
was at a small store that
Wilbur and some other sol
diers thought they would buy
some cognac. Wilbur was un
pleasantly surprised by his
first sip.
“I thought it was some
thing sweet,” he said. “Man,
it was like drinking fire.”
Eventually, the company
started practicing jumps in
preparation for what would
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152208GA/10-1 3/8289
clear what is going on. Our
potential adversaries are arm
ing themselves to increase
their abilities to intimidate
and our allies and friends are
trying to make up for what we
are no longer providing.”
This leads to opportunities
for those adversaries, Breck
enridge said, likening the
world to a chess game and
noting that the player who
goes first and claims territory
wins. He noted that by not
paying attention to other play
ers and investing in defense,
America is skipping its turn
and voluntarily removing its
pieces from the board.
“This new dynamic will
change the manner in which
this scenario plays out and
should be of intense personal
interest to everyone in this
room and every American,”
he said. “This is not just going
to be another nap cycle in
America. This time while we
sleep there will be mischief
afoot and it may be impossible
to undo the damage done
while we slept.”
Breckenridge encouraged
those attending the confer
ence to educate others about
the military’s nuclear triad and
the importance of maintain
ing it and be more vocal as
they advocate for it.
The partnership hosted the
conference along with the
$ubmarine Industrial Base
Council, Camden County
Chamber of Commerce,
Camden-Kings Bay Council
of Navy Feague, the Navy
Feague of the United $tates
along with Peter Huessy
Congressional Breakfast $em-
inar $eries sponsors the Air
Force Association, National
Defense Industrial Associa
tion and the Reserve Officers
Association.
go down in history as Nor
mandy, one of the Allies’
most famous invasions of
Germany during the war.
It was during practice that
a plane flew too low and
wounded 300 soldiers,
Wilbur included. He broke
four vertebrae and a leg and
dislocated his shoulder when
he jumped. His leg healed,
but his back still gave him
pain. The steam engine home
was full, so he boarded an
other ship home to Georgia,
where a storm rocked the
boat at 1 a.m., making almost
everyone seasick.
“Not me,” Wilbur said. “I
never get sick.”
Back home
Wilbur returned to his
home on Harrietts Bluff in
1944. He married Joyce
Wainwrightin 1949.
Joyce remembers going
on dates with Wilbur. He
would drive his work truck,
a large dump truck, to the
drive-in restaurant, and the
waitresses on skates would
have to hoist their food or
ders up to the window. The
couple celebrated their 64th
wedding anniversary in Oc
tober of this year.
Wilbur then spent time at
various jobs. He built shrimp
boats for a short time, build
ing four boats until the busi
ness went downhill and his
remaining 10 boat orders
were canceled. He owned and
operated Readdick’s Excavat
ing, building roads in the
area, and spent 30 years haul
ing wood.
Now retired, Wilbur still
keeps busy. He has his own
smokehouse, numerous citrus
trees full of ripe fruit, trays of
bees to make honey and a few
boats for cruising along the
Crooked River.
Besides these hobbies,
Wilbur hasn’t forgotten one
of his first loves — flying. He
often flies his personal plane
along the rivers to see if the
anglers are catching anything.
Just a few weeks ago, he got
lost, but of course that didn’t
phase him.
“If you were flying and did
n’t recognize anything be
neath you, what would you
do?” he asked. “I knew the
ocean was east, so I flew east.
I finally knew where I was
when I saw Brunswick. Then
I headed home.”
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