30-01-2025
Air Force veteran recalls flying with atomic bombs during Cold War
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Ken Jones, a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel, shared what it was like flying with nuclear bombs aboard his plane during the Cold War. He was one of the last military draftees.
Jones has not lost his edge of concentration and precision. If bean bag baseball was a pro sport, he would be an all-star. The precision he displays in the game was part of his DNA as a navigator 50 years ago.
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'You had to be pretty good in math, precision. You had to be somebody that was precise,' said Jones.
He flew aboard big B-52 Stratofortress Bombers. Not the modern high-tech ones in the air today, but the more low-tech models flown in the 1970s and 80s during the Cold War.
'I used to say we had mice behind the back of all the instruments back there running on a treadmill to make them turn and get all the information or something,' said Jones.
Jones was one of the last group of men to be drafted in 1971, under the new lottery system. He qualified to attend the prestigious Defense Language school at Presidio in Monterrey California.
'I said 'what language am I going to be learning?' They said Czechoslovakian. I said, 'I don't know how to spell that, much less speak it,'' said Jones.
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After three months of Language School learning Czechoslovakian, he had to opportunity to go to office training school. It would take nearly another 18 months to complete his B-52 navigation school training where precision was an important part of the job.
'We were trained basically – you have to be over your target at a certain time. Because if you are not there, you may come in and be right in the middle of someone else coming in and laying bombs down. So, you could get literally blown out of the sky,' he explained.
His service was during the height of the Cold War when bomber crews like his were on continuous alert status.
'I was at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport,' said Jones, explaining he was ready to go anywhere around the world.
'Well, they were atomic bombs,' he said. 'I probably can tell you now 50 years later, most of our targets were in Russia.'
Jones retired with 21 years of service. Then for two years, he taught Air Force JROTC at Austin-East High School.
'I felt like I did something that benefited our nation,' said Jones.
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