776 Radar Station

 

 

This first part was written by Rick Chinn a fellow Airman.

About the 776th
Point Arena Air Force Station, aka the 776th Radar Squadron, was a small US Air Force installation located about 8 (straightline) miles from the town of Point Arena, California. If you stick to the road, it's more like 11 miles from the intersection of Highway 1 and Eureka Hill Road. Point Arena is located on the northern California coastline, about 150 miles north of San Francisco. This was a cold-war era radar site, whose mission was to look for hostile air traffic coming at us from over the horizon. As part of the SAGE system, there were height and search radars there, as well as radio gear to communicate with military aircraft in the area. With the end of the cold war came the end of the site's mission, and between 1980 and 1998, it became less and less a part of the big picture. It was finally decommissioned in 1998. The nearest Air Force Base was Hamilton AFB, near Novato CA, about 120 miles to the south.

It was considered a remote assignment, but if you were married, your family could accompany you there. Children went to the elementary school located in the town of Point Arena. I really don't recall where older kids went. Because of its remoteness, the site itself had many recreational amenities onsite. If you wanted to leave the hill, you had to have a car.

The drive to get there remains one of my favorite drives on the planet. From San Francisco, you travel north across the Golden Gate Bridge on Highway 101 to Santa Rosa. At Santa Rosa, you head west, on Highway 116 following the Russian River, one of the California Viticulture areas. Highway 116 ends at the town of Jenner By the Sea. Head south and you encounter the town of Bodega Bay, site of the Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Birds. The schoolhouse used in the movie still stands today

Head north on Highway 1, about 50 miles, to the town of Point Arena. This is a twisty, windy road, with many switchbacks and tight turns. There are places where you can actually hit 60mph for a short time. Mostly it is 30-40mph, with many 15-25mph turns. If you see an arrow sign, be prepared to make a 90-degree turn in the direction of the arrow as the road follows a fjord in the coastline. In many places, the road hugs the coastline and it's redwoods on one side, Pacific Ocean on the other. In the right car, this is heaven on earth. In 1968, however, it was somewhat clogged by underpowered pickup truck-mounted campers and people dragging bulbous Airstream trailers up or down the coast. People were a bit less aware that they were impeding traffic then and I remember several hair raising moments trying to dodge one of these moving roadblocks. It seems better today, or maybe I've become more patient

Today the site is deserted, and a civilian caretaker lives onsite to try to prevent the remaining buildings from crumbling completely and as a deterrent to vandalism and squatting. Many of the buildings, such as the barracks, orderly room, and chow hall are already gone. The radars have been dismantled, although their structures remain. Some of the other buildings, such as the bowling alley are crumbling under their own weight.

My Time At the 776th

I was assigned there in Nov. of 1967. I spent almost two years working as a AC&W radar repairman. I worked on a large saearch radar set. I took care of the transmitters and every Friday I serviced the antenna.
I spent the first six months learning my job and working very long hours. I shared a room with a couple of different airmen over my two years.

I played on the units basketball team and went bowling once a week. After six months I bought a 1965 Austin Healey .  This began my love of driving on the costal highway.  I was also to begin a love affair with the greatest city in the world, San Francisco. To make extra money I operated the base movie theater and showed movies every Wed. and Sat. nights to people stationed on the base and their families.

I also spent a lot on nights at the NCO club watching tv or just drinking.  I visited ,and stayed ,with a lot of friends that lived in San Francisco and San Jose. They showed me the California lifestyle.  I really had fun and enjoyed my time there.

Sgt Gary Andres