West Coast Field Office Personel at Perkin-Elmer

This old photo was taken in the blockhouse at Vandenberg Air Force Base on 18 April 1986, the day the 20th and last Hexagon satellite was launched. Unfortunately it exploded about 1000 feet above the pad. Some of the Perkin-Elmer WCFO (West Coast Field Office) crew were trapped in the blockhouse for several hours before being allowed to leave. They were subjected to the extreme noise and shaking of the ground during the explosion and subsequent damage to the area outside the blockhouse.

left to right. Lyle Lindasy, Chuck Bruener, John Knauer, Roy Odom, Don Armstrong, Ed Woyshner, Capt. Steve Gorley (customer), and Ken Dudschus. In the background on the wall are things from previous missions such as cut ties, a tradition after each successful launch.

Don Armstrong provided this photo.

Perkin-Elmer West Coast Field Office group that searched the Vandenberg AFB area near the launch pad for several days for leftover film after the rocket explosion in 1986. They recovered much debris ending up with numerous bags of film and other items.

Left to right:

Bill McCafferty, Jim Dimas, Ken Dudchus, George Manolis, Frank Harrigan, John Thomson, Jim Manis, Don Armstrong, John Knauer.

Their shirts say “Slick Bushwackers.”

Here is another photo of some of the west coast staff in front of the memento wall with souvenir ties cut from participants in past launches. Sorry for those I could not identify. 

More Fishing

This is really old photograph of some senior managers on a fishing trip into Long Island sound. They include:

Left to right:

Al Ross, Tom O’Mara, Charley Karatzas, Ennis Warren, Hans Haberland, Charlie Bryant, Dick Babish, Paul Petty, Len Molaskey, Mike Weeks, Rocco Coscio and Ed Butterly Sr. behind camera.

Fishing with Sam Palasciano

After a diligent search Sam Palasciano found two old photographs of a fishing trip with some Perkin-Elmer colleagues and a few unknowns. Several boats left together from Point Judith harbor, Rhode Island in 1983.

He attempts to identify those in the groups. In the kitchen scene are left to right: Sam, Al Pirone, ?, John Savitski, ?, Bob Kelley, Frank Scott, John Montouri, Bob Browbne, Dick Whittlesey, ?. 

At the docks are left to right: Frank Scott, ?, ?, John Montouri, John Savitski, Al Pirone, Bob Browne, Bob Kelley, Dick Whittlesey.

If anyone has photos of other PE related folks please email them to me at phil.pressel@gmail.com 

A Youthful Photo

Frank Sileo, one of my best friends, worked at Perkin-Elmer for many years. He was a thermal analysis expert and worked on many programs including Mats and Hexagon. He lives in Ridgefield and each time my wife and I come to the east coast we try to get together for dinner. It is great to reminisce.

The purpose of this posting is to show Frank in his youth with dark hair, not white like now, and his young recognizable face. He is seen in the bottom row at the extreme left of this group photo taken at his Teaneck, New Jersey high school. How many of us have such an old photo from high school. He attended Stevens University and graduated as a mechanical engineer.

Perkin-Elmer Golf League

Sam Palasciano played in the Perkin-Elmer golf league for many years. He and Bob Whitesell started the golf league. Here are two photos of him and several other PE players. They were taken on November 4, 1969 at the first golf league banquet held at the Italian-American Club in Ridgefield, Connecticut. 

Photo number one includes: Unknown, Jordan Jack (test), Sam Palasciano (engineering), Charlie Yorio (test), Bob Whitesell (quality), Lou Damast (engineering).

Photo number 2 includes: Bob Markin (security), Bob Whitesell  (quality) Sam Palasciano (engineering), Bob Rice.

The Importance of Hexagon Imagery

During the height of the cold war  one of the most important tools that provided the United States with information about the Soviet Union's military assets such as aircraft, naval crafts, missile bases, was the photographic imagery that the Hexagon spy in the sky satellite took. This photograph in 1974 is of George H.W. Bush, then Director of the CIA (seen on the left) explaining a photograph taken by the Hexagon cameras to then President Gerald Ford (seen on the right) in the oval office.