Cold War USAF pilot Buz Carpenter talks Vietnam recon, Skunkworks and more
Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times
Ian Sanders
4.8 • 865 Ratings
🗓️ 21 September 2018
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War. |
| 0:05.9 | If they fired a missile at you and the flame from the missile stayed in a fixed position on your canopy, it was coming to you. |
| 0:17.5 | This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts. |
| 0:27.4 | Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app or join our emailing list at coldwarconversations.com. |
| 0:36.2 | Welcome to episode 28 of Cold War Conversations in partnership with the Cold War Museum. |
| 0:44.8 | Today we are talking further with US Air Force pilot Buzz Carpenter. |
| 0:50.3 | We talk about flying reconnaissance over Vietnam, the skunk works where secret US Air Force |
| 0:56.6 | projects were developed, his time commanding Ramstein Air Base at the end of the Cold War, |
| 1:02.3 | and more. Thanks to all those who are supporting the podcast with monthly pledges and donations. |
| 1:09.6 | It is much appreciated and will allow us to continue to expand the scope of the podcast. |
| 1:17.5 | If you donate to more than $5 a month, you get extras from the cutting room floor. |
| 1:24.0 | And this week's episode's Extra is a great anecdote from Buzz where he describes an |
| 1:29.8 | encounter with Jimmy Doolittle who was awarded the Medal of Honor for personal |
| 1:35.1 | valor and leadership as commander of the Doolittle Raid, a bold long-range retaliatory |
| 1:42.2 | air raid during World War II on the Japanese main islands only four months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. |
| 1:50.1 | If you would like to support the podcast further and get access to these exclusive extras, |
| 1:56.1 | go to our website at Cold Warconversations.com and click on the support the podcast menu option. |
| 2:04.9 | Back to today's episode where Buzz continues his story of his time in Vietnam, |
| 2:10.7 | his work in the Pentagon and when he served as wing commander at Ramstein Air Base. |
| 2:18.2 | Welcome to Cold War Conversations, Buzz. |
| 2:21.6 | The first question I had was, why did you enlist in the Air Force? |
| 2:28.3 | I came from a family that was very, my dad was an aeronautical engineer. |
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