Kathleen Sanchez-Milliken

Iveth Gutierrez

Robert Gilman

Air Force-Twenty seven years

Robert Gilman

Robert Gilman was born in New York City in 1926. He grew up as an orphan and at the age of 18 was drafted. Before he was drafted, he worked in a Grumman aircraft factory and got paid fifty cents an hour, “top wage” at that time. That was a good amount to go out and have fun.

When he was drafted he had “no choice” but to go, Gilman was “18 and young”. He served the

United States for twenty- seven years; he was in World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Cold War.

Gilman went to school for training but he already had some experience working at the factory. He went to the B29 Mechanic School and then B29 Flight Engineer School. Later he assigned to later the Strategic Air Command, known then as the 20th Air Force. He was assigned in the 509 composite group in Wendover Field, a United States Army Air Force unit created during World War Two. This group’s task was to carry the nuclear weapons. The composite group was in Tinian Island in the South Pacific; that was where their planes were located for security reasons. Their task was to drop the atomic bomb over Japan. They did not know what the atomic bomb was, they only knew that is was a new weapon but were not aware of its effects.

At this time only the president and the scientists knew what it was, “not even the vice president knew”. The Composite group flew the Enola Gay, the first mission was in August 6, 1945, it was to drop the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, called the “Little Boy”. The second mission, August 9

1945 was to drop the atomic bomb over Nagasaki, called the “Fat Man”. “I looked into the eyes of……” The Necessary Evil took pictures of the affected areas of Japan; most of the city was destroyed by fires. After their mission they returned to Tinian Island.

Robert was reactivated in a new base in the Air Force, went on TDY’s (temporary duty trips). He traveled around the world carrying nuclear weapons. Gilman and his group stayed in

Guam during the Korean War; carried nuclear weapons. They carried out five reconnaissance missions in 1952 and 1953. In 1964 he served in the Vietnam War, in the Air Force. He was the

N.C.O.I.C (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge): Sergeant fms, Field maintenance squadron; management overall. It was safety first, then recover people, and finally recover the aircraft.

While in Vietnam he had great combat experiences where ever he went, for example, when his group went to a 5 star hotel to go eat dinner. Or another time when they were also in a restaurant and they heard gunshots and thought it was inside the restaurant and it was really outside. After

Vietnam he went to Yokota AB Japan. There his family settled while he was in flight aircraft maintenance. During the Cold War, the president threatened Russia to use the atomic bomb if they thought in taking over Berlin. Gilman and his group were in charge of carrying the atomic bomb just in case if this were to happen. In 1946 July he participated in the atomic bomb test at

Bikini Island. At their main base of operation they found a sunken PT boat near shore and restored it for pleasure use. It was not just all about the war it was also about family and friends.

Robert Gilman’s biggest priority was his family. In 1950 he met his wife on a blind date.

Later they got married and had five kids. His youngest daughter went to World Competition for kayaking and won two gold medals, at that time there was not Olympics for woman’s kayaking.

Also, one of his sons went to the Olympics four times for kayaking and one time for luge. They both got to meet President Carter in 1980 acknowledging his son for his achievements. They made Mr. Gilman “one happy father”. His family pushed him through his job knowing that he was soon going to be back with them. The most he was gone was three months, except one time and that was during the Vietnam War. He and his family lived in Roswell, NM for 18 years. He lived a normal life with his family and did not carry any weapons around them. He and his wife did square dancing that’s what kept him fit. He cherished every moment he got to spend with his family because he loved them. They were a happy united family and still are.

After 27 years of service he went back to school and got his engineering degree. A few colleges he attended were Chapman, U.C.L.A, UCSB, and ENMU. Robert earned his FAA license then worked in aircraft. He later became inspector. Gilman worked in Lockheed for ten years; took airplanes and modified them to a new function making something different out of them. After 45 years of working in aviation he retired and is now 86 years old. He recalls that his service in the air force was “his life” and it was a normal job to him. He had a great time serving his country and enjoyed doing it. During his service he did not experience discrimination but on the contrary he associated with different groups. He recall an African American told him he didn’t feel as if he was being treated differently at all and Robert said it was because he never felt he should treat African Americans differently. After every war he was treated with respect except after the Vietnam War, he resented the media aspect of the Vietnam War. Media would change the stories making the United States seem like the bad guys when in reality, what they would release was all changed and the truth was twisted. He earned many medals for his great achievements in the military. All of his close friends are gone but his family keeps on growing.

His new entertainment is playing cards and watching TV, he likes to go to musicals. One of his favorite places he went to was Running Springs and although he loves every type of food, his favorite food is spaghetti. Robert Gilman is well appreciated for his achievements and sacrifice for his country.