What was envisioned as a nostalgic visit to the Air Force base where he served more than 60 years ago to meet up with an old military buddy and take in a performance by the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's aerobatic formation flight team, turned out to be both something less and something more than a Putnam County man expected.
Carroll Hutton, of Scott Depot, paid his first visit to Youngstown Air Force Base in northern Ohio in January of 1953, when he was assigned to the post as an aerial photographer.
"I loaded and processed all the gun camera film and went on missions to photograph what went on during them," he said. "I spent a lot of time flying over Canada to photograph [Defense Early Warning] Line radar sites. Sometimes I would have to photograph accident sites."
Hutton served at the base until 1956, and was a first sergeant by the time left the Air Force and returned to civilian life in West Virginia. "I got to fly a lot and I learned a lot about photography, which carried into the underwater business I started," Hutton said, referring to Underwater Services Limited, a regional provider of diving and imaging services.
Hutton's plan was to have a friend drive him to Youngstown the day before the June 17 Thunderbirds show to meet up with his Air Force pal, Gerry Mortimer of Copley, Ohio, and drop off some photos he had taken of the base and the activities in which its occupants were involved during early 1950s. "I was hoping that someone at the base would want to archive them," he said.
But when Hutton arrived at the base, now an Air Force Reserve facility, he said he was denied entry and not given a reason for the denial, and retreated to a hotel to spend the night.
The following day, Hutton, whose mobility is impaired following a fall and relies on an electric scooter for basic transportation, was again denied access to the base, where a guard informed him that no spaces were available for handicapped parking, and advised him to drive to a parking area several miles distant and ride a shuttle bus back to the base. Hutton complied, but when he attempted to board a shuttle bus, the driver told him there was no place to stow his scooter, and thus, no way for him to take in the air show at his old base.
"At that point I was almost ready to come home," Hutton said. "I had been able to meet my buddy and his son, so that was something, but we had really wanted to watch the Thunderbirds one more time together."
Since Hutton couldn't get onto his old base, he thought it was worth a shot to try to watch the air show from its perimeter. He and Mortimer drove to a civilian aeronautical maintenance shop at one end of the base, from which the air show could be seen through a cyclone security fence.
"A group of young people working there saw our plight and invited us in to see the show," Hutton said. "The boss brought out some cold water and Gerry, who brought a watermelon in a cooler, stood on the back of his truck and served it to everyone. I bought a round of milkshakes."
Hutton and Mortimer sat in folding chairs, watched the show and reminisced. "It was pretty emotional getting together again one more time," Hutton said. "Those kids really saved the day. It just goes to show that when you have good people, you can make something good out of a bad situation."
A private pilot and a former member of Yeager Airport's governing board, Hutton organized five air shows during his time with the Charleston airport.
"I'm not upset with the guards at the base - they were just doing their job," Hutton said. "But I think the people planning events like this need to look at making sure handicapped veterans and other people with access issues can get in to watch the show."
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5169 or follow @rsteelhammer on Twitter.