Read at the plaque dedication by
Dave Creamer on April 24 1999
I have in my possession official USAF orders dated, 30 May 1951
and 18 June 1967, which I believe are the first and last orders
issued for this Squadron. Thus, from the day it opened until the
day it closed this site was officially called the Belleville Air
Force Station. Unofficially and affectionately this site is
referred to as Turkey Hill. The United States Air Force
designated the occupants of this site as the 798th Squadron.
According to records maintained at Headquarters Air Force Space
Command the official history of the 798th reads as follows:
"Activated 1 May 51 Belleville AFS IL; assigned to 546th AC
& W group; transferred to 159 AC & W Gp 4 June 51;
transferred to 33d Air Division 6 Feb. 52; transferred to 20th
Air Division 1 March 56; transferred Kansas City ADS 1 January
60; transferred to Chicago ADS 1 Jul 61; re-designated from AC
& W Sqd. to Radar Squadron (SAGE) 1 March 62; transferred to
20th Air Division 1 April 66; reassigned to 30th Air Division 1
December 67; discontinued 18 June 68."
That's the bare bones or skeleton view of the 798th. Now as the
official unofficial Squadron historian let me attempt to put some
flesh on those bones. The U.S. government acquired this property,
which at one time was a turkey farm, in 1949. Construction began
the same year for an early warning radar site. This site would be
included in the U.S. Air Force's network of early warning radar
sites. Construction was completed in the late spring of 1951 and
this site was officially designated the 798th Aircraft Control
and Warning Squadron. At the same time the 798th companion
Squadron the 113th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was activated.
The 113th was soon replaced by the 85th FIS which was located at
Scott AFB.
The 798th AC & W Squadron was initially staffed by two Air
National Guard units that were activated for that specific
purpose. One unit was from Denver CO and the other unit was from
Southern California. Both units arrived here in May/June 1951.
From the very beginning, due to the nature of our assignment,
this site was clothed in secrecy. The town people and even the
personnel at Scott Air Force Base new little to nothing about
this location. In these early years there are a number of stories
that newly assigned personnel can tell about their endeavors to
locate this 798th Squadron.
The first Commanding Officer was Major Walter J. Sherrell from
the Air National Guard unit from Denver, CO. Major Sherrell
served as the Commanding Officer here until August 1953 when he
was replaced by Major John F. Cercak. The first public
acknowledgement of this radar site was from a press release
published in the Belleville News Democrat dated 11 November 1951.
It addressed the mission of the Squadron and read in part,
" Our job involves the use of radar to detect the approach
of enemy planes which might attack the St. Louis area. We are
also charged with directing the U.S. Air Force fighters to
intercept any attacker in this area. This organization is part of
the 33d Air Division with headquarters in Oklahoma City and under
the Central Air Defense Force, and the Air Defense Command."
As they years passed the mission and operations of the Squadron
changed. On 1 July 1959 our sister Squadron the 85th Fighter
Interceptor Squadron was inactivated. Nike Ajax and Hercules
missiles replaced the F- 86 Sabrejets as the local air defense
guardian. The 1st Missile Battalion, who became tenants of this
site, controlled from here it's four firing batteries which ringed
the Scott/St. Louis area. Then in 1962 the 798th Aircraft
Control and Warning Squadron was re-designated the 798th Radar
Squadron (SAGE). Thus, the Squadron converted from a ground
control intercept station to a semi-automatic ground environment
surveillance station. That's when a simple radar scope became a
GDP or Graphic Display Position indicator.
Made obsolete by technological advances this radar site was
abandoned in 1968. The last Commanding Officer of the 798th was
Lt. Col. Brady A. Miracle. According to a first-hand witness, on
23 June 1968 all the equipment had been shipped, the buildings
were closed and secured , including the housing area, and the
keys to the main gate were turned over to Scott Air Force Base
who became guardian of this site. The last chapter in the book on
the 798th Squadron was finished.